Requirements for exposure limits, exposure monitoring and determination, protective work clothing and equipment, medical surveillance, communication of hexavalent chromium hazards, and recordkeeping are described.
Breakout sessions during the March 2-3 stakeholder meeting in Pittsburgh will detail current research on protective clothing performance and help NIOSH do better at warning end users about counterfeit respirators. Dr. John Howard will be the keynote speaker.
Tim Fisher, ASSE's director of Practices and Standards, said ASSE is developing technical briefs for ANSI/ASSE A10.47-2009, "Work Zone Safety for Highway Construction," and ANSI/ASSE A10.16-2009.
"Unfortunately, this incident was a classic example of a multiple-fatality event where would-be rescuers are themselves overcome in their attempt to save the initial victim," said Kay Gee, OSHA's area director for Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.
The videos also explain how workers can perform a user seal check to test whether a respirator is worn properly and will provide the expected level of protection.
The colorless, odorless, tasteless gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, behind cigarette smoking, the agency notes.
Closing schools for less than two weeks during an influenza epidemic has no effect on infection rates, according to a study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, RTI International, and the Allegheny County Health Department.
A final rule effective Wednesday means passengers may bring any of 11 different POCs aboard aircraft and use them, with the approval of the aircraft operator.
NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard has informed OSHA's assistant secretary that NIOSH and NIEHS research on the alternative butter flavoring 2,3-pentanedione "suggests that, in rats, 2,3-pentanedione causes airway epithelial damage similar to that produced by diacetyl."
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, the high cost of home heating fuels and utilities have caused many Americans to search for alternative home heating sources such as wood burning stoves, space heaters, and fireplaces. Heating is one of the leading causes of residential fires. Over one-quarter of these fires result from improper maintenance of equipment, specifically the failure to clean the equipment.
One dose of vaccine may be effective to protect infants and children and reduce transmission of the H1N1 virus, according to a study in JAMA, which was published online on Dec, 21, 2009, because of its public health implications. The study will appear in the Jan. 6 print edition of the journal.
Pediatric researchers have identified a novel gene involved in childhood asthma, in one of the largest gene studies to date of the common respiratory disease. Because the gene, called DENND1B, affects cells and signaling molecules thought to be instrumental in the immune system overreaction that occurs in asthma, the discovery may have singled out an important target for new treatments.
Are you getting the highest levels of respiratory protection that are currently available today?
The H1N1 pandemic was 2009's biggest safety and health story, but OSHA also grabbed the spotlight last year with a blockbuster $87 million fine. For all of the attention paid to tower crane safety, combustible dusts, crumbling infrastructure, and a jobless recovery, the biggest story of 2000-2009 was Sept. 11, 2001.
Are user seal checks necessary to ensure protection? And, if so, when should they be performed? A white paper prepared by the American Industrial Hygiene Association's Respiratory Protection Committee asks these and several other questions to resolve important issues.
As families look for ways to save money in tough economic times, there is an increased risk of carbon monoxide (CO) poisonings and fire deaths associated with the use of alternative heating and power sources. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is urging consumers to check all home heating systems from fireplaces to furnaces, including any back-up power systems.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Lamartek Inc., dba Dive Rite of, Lake City, Fla., announced a voluntary recall of Dive Rite Wings.
The settlement is expected to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by almost 35,000 tons per year -- the equivalent to the emissions from 500,000 heavy-duty semi trucks, which is more than all the trucks registered in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio combined.
The American Lung Association says its smoking cessation program, Freedom From Smoking (www.ffsonline.org), and similar programs can succeed. Six other tips from ALA can help with this New Year's resolution.
OSHA has cited the company with three willful, four repeat, 19 serious, and one other-than-serious safety violations, as well as five serious and two other-than-serious health violations.