"OSHA has inspected this company on five occasions going back to 1997, resulting in numerous violations, including many we found again on this most recent inspection," said OSHA Area Director Kathy Webb, North Aurora, Ill.
Preventing transmission by droplets is the key recommendation from researchers who analyzed the June 2009 outbreak among a tour group visiting southwestern China. Thermal scanning and health questionnaires at the Chinese airports did not detect symptomatic passengers.
Cook Children's Health Care System of Fort Worth, Texas, has boosted its employees' flu vaccination rates from 66 percent to 84 percent in the past two years.
“Even in these difficult economic times, cities must appropriately allocate resources to protect all employees from potential on-the-job dangers,” the group said in a statement issued to its members nationwide.
The Georgia-based company has been cited for having no written procedures for formaldehyde process equipment, engineering controls not implemented for overexposure to dust, and exposing employees to dust two-and-a-half to 20 times the permissible exposure limit, among other violations.
The Institute of Medicine committee also recommended funding research to design and develop the next generation of respirators for health workers.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Howard's selection today. OSH professional societies had pushed for him to be returned to NIOSH's top post.
The agency's inspection found that the facility, which uses large amounts of anhydrous ammonia in its refrigeration system, had not conducted a proper evaluation of hazards and that standard operating procedures were either incomplete or had not been developed for all system activities, among other things.
The next decade of NIOSH's research for the fastest-growing, most diverse sector of the U.S. economy should tackle big, persistent hazards: lifting, chemicals, diseases, stress, and violence in facilities and nonhospital settings, including home care.
"The sizable fines proposed here reflect the gravity of this employer's ongoing failure to correct clear and recognized hazards that could result in burns, crushing injuries, or death for its employees," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo, N.Y.
"Too many farm family members and hired workers are getting hurt and dying on farms," said ASSE Director of Member/Region Affairs and agricultural safety specialist Terry Wilkinson, Ph.D., CSP, CAE. "A combined effort by the safety professionals and agricultural community can lead the industry into a new direction to prevent future traumatic injuries and illnesses."
What can a doctor's rap, a man wielding a chainsaw, and a troupe of young dancers taking five on a sound stage do to encourage good health practices for this flu season? Vote now, and soon your favorite PSA may be on the air.
An Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) authorizes the use of unapproved medical products or unapproved uses of approved medical products during a declared public health emergency.
A short tutorial added to the agency's Web site explains the requirements for these mine emrgency chambers and links to the rule requiring them.
The Sept. 2-3 meeting will produce new treatment guidelines and guidance on identifying surge capacity for hospitals during a severe outbreak, said Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer.
Company officials announced Aug. 26 that the Institute, W.Va., plant will reduce its average inventory of highly toxic methyl isocyanate by 80 percent.
In 1992, with the Joint Commission first requiring accredited hospitals to prohibit smoking within the hospital, only 3 percent did, but 15 percent said they were pursuing a smoke-free campus policy.
The update responds to recommendations from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which completed a report on flu readiness that is also on the White House Web site.
The national contest starts Aug. 30 in Nashville, while the second annual surface mine rescue competition takes place Sept. 26 at a quarry in New Jersey.
Getting federal employees ready for pandemic flu is the subject of a draft report OSHA's Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health will consider next month.