OSHA Awards $6.8 Million in Training Grants
On Sept. 18, OSHA awarded more than $6.8 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to 30 recipients, including labor unions, employer associations, colleges, universities and other nonprofit organizations, in support of workplace safety and health programs...
MSHA Awards $500,000 in Mine Safety Grants
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently announced awarded $500,000 in grant funds to six organizations that provide education and training within the mining industry...
OSHA Releases Guidance for Silica Control in Construction
OSHA recently published “Controlling Silica Exposures in Construction,” a guidance document that addresses the control of worker exposure to dust containing crystalline silica, which is known to cause the lung disease silicosis...
John Howard Reappointed NIOSH Director
On Sept. 3, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that John Howard, M.D., will return to his role as director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) effective immediately...
DOL Withdraws Risk Assessment Rule
The Department of Labor (DOL) on Aug. 31 officially withdrew the controversial risk assessment rule that critics claimed could jeopardize worker safety by delaying rulemaking on occupational exposure to toxins and chemicals...
Practice Safety and Common Sense When Handling Compressed Gas Cylinders
Compressed gases are hazardous due to their ability to create harmful environments that are either flammable, oxygen enriched or oxygen sdeficient...
Workers May Bring Lead Dust Home With Them
Workers employed in occupations that involve working with lead, such as construction or painting, may be at risk of bringing home lead dust from the worksite, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Aug. 21 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report...
OSHA Proposes Revisions to Acetylene Standard
On Aug. 11, OSHA published a direct final rule and notice of proposed rulemaking to revise and update its acetylene standard...
CSB Releases Combustible Dust Video
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) recently released a new safety video depicting how accumulations of combustible dust at worksites can provide the fuel for devastating explosions that kill and injury workers, shut down plants and harm local economies...
OSHA Publishes New Combustible Dust Hazards Document
OSHA has published a new guidance document that assists chemical manufacturers and importers in recognizing the potential for dust explosions, identifying appropriate protective measures and the requirements for disseminating this information on material safety data sheets and labels...
Michaels: Focus on Workplace Safety Culture, Not Enforcement
In a February 2009 New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) publication, David Michaels stressed that the Obama administration should work to change workplace safety culture instead of primarily focusing on enforcement...
OSHA Publishes Ethylene Oxide Guidance Document
OSHA recently published a Small Business Guide for Ethylene Oxide to address ethylene oxide exposure levels and monitoring requirements...
Scientists Discover Possible Origin of Asbestos-Related Pain
By using a new imaging technique, scientists have discovered that an increase in pleural plaque, a buildup of collagen fibers in the diaphragm or ribcage, is a probable reason for the unrelenting chest pain experienced in certain patients with asbestos-related diseases and cancers...
Canada Gains New Nanotechnology Research and Product Development Center
Canada’s National Institute for Nanotechnology will soon be home to a new electron microscopy research and product development center...
Review Suggests Weak Support for Workplace Hearing Loss Programs
A new review of existing research claims there is little evidence to support mandatory hearing-loss prevention programs at the workplace and suggests that workers could simply wear earplugs or other devices that protect hearing...
Industrial Vaccuum Cleaners: They're Not Your Mother's Cleaning Tools
Prevent secondary dust explosions and save lives and property by implementing a proactive approach that utilizes industrial vacuum cleaners...
Research Examines the Financial, Health Costs of Coal Mining
The costs of illness and premature deaths in Appalachia related to coal mining far outweigh economic benefits the industry brings to the region, said Michael Hendryx, Ph.D...
OSHA Launches Regional Program to Reduce Lead Exposure in the Workplace
The OSHA office in Kansas City, Mo., announced a special regional emphasis program aimed at reducing occupational exposure to lead...
AIHA Comments on Protecting America’s Workers Act
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) recently released comments on HR 2067, Protecting America’s Workers Act, a bill amending the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 that is sponsored by Rep. Lynn C. Woolsey, chairwoman of the Committee on Education and Labor’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections....
AIHce: The Injury/Illness Management Audit
Peter Greaney, M.D., identified two valuable lessons he has learned in his career as an occupational consultant: First, there are a lot of trivial injuries, and secondly, injured employees who return to work always do better physically and mentally than those who don't....
AIHce: Global EHS Issues of Nanotechnology
More research and information sharing is needed to better understand nanotechnology hazards, said Kristen Kulinowski, Ph.D., in her keynote presentation June 3 at AIHce, where she unveiled a new wiki guide designed to help disseminate information about nanotechnology hazards in the occupational setting....
AIHce: Sustainable Development Beyond Borders
Sustainable development is more than a greening trend and instead reflects the core ways of making decisions, according to keynote speaker Edward L. Quevedo, JD, at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Expo (AIHce) in Toronto....
AIHce: Communicating Risk and Effective Crisis Communications
Session speaker Pam Ferrante, CSP, CHMM, discussed key elements of effective crisis and risk communication at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Expo (AIHce) ...
Ergonomics: Office Chair Design and the Potential Impact on Heart Rate
According to research presented at the 2009 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Expo, your office chair can affect more than your posture or comfort – it also might lower your heart rate....
AIHce: Predicting the Future by Creating It
What do bionic body parts, moon-roving robots, space tourists and industrial hygiene have in common? According to AIHce keynote speaker Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., the answer is simple: revolution through incentive competition....
