Category: Injuries and Illness

Modern safety management goes beyond covering traditional workplace accidents to now being equally concerned with illnesses caused on and even off the job. This section will explain what you need to know to avoid both injuries and illnesses, and to track your progress in reaching this goal.

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Silica dust at construction site

Crystalline Silica: OSHA Revises Its National Emphasis Program

On February 4, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised its National Emphasis Program (NEP) for enforcement of the construction, general, and maritime industry standards for respirable crystalline silica exposure. OSHA canceled the 2008 Crystalline Silica NEP in October 2017. The replacement NEP addresses enforcement of OSHA’s amended standards for respirable crystalline silica—promulgated March […]

Coronavirus

Cal/OSHA Issues Guidance on Coronavirus

On February 3, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) issued interim guidance covering the safety and health requirements when providing care for patients with suspected or confirmed cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and laboratories testing samples for the pathogen.

Coronavirus rendering

Coronavirus: What EHS Professionals Need to Know

Media reports of a respiratory illness caused by a newly discovered coronavirus are pervasive and relentless. How concerned should employers be about infections at your workplace or jobsite?

Air quality coughing

NIOSH’s Latest Recommendations for Construction IEQ

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released detailed recommendations to help employers maintain acceptable indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and reduce exposures to dusts, gases, and contaminants during construction and renovation projects.

Temporary vs Permanent Workers

NIOSH Notes a Higher Injury Rate Among Temporary Workers

Temporary workers have a higher overall injury rate than permanent workers in the same occupations, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers found in a study of Ohio workers’ compensation claims.

Safety data analysis, hard hats

BLS Notes an Increase in Workplace Fatalities in 2018

There were 5,250 fatal workplace injuries in the United States in 2018, a 2% increase from 5,147 in 2017, the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported December 17 with the release of data from its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

Amputation

OSHA Revises National Emphasis Program for Amputations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised its National Emphasis Program (NEP) for enforcement related to amputations in manufacturing, the agency announced December 17. The NEP targets employers for enforcement of machine guarding standards to reduce or eliminate amputation hazards.

EPA Will Review EtO Sterilization NESHAP

Following an evaluation of the carcinogenic risks posed by ethylene oxide (EtO), which the EPA released in 2016, and a follow-up National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) for EtO, the EPA has decided that the health risks posed by EtO air emissions are “significantly higher” than previously believed.

safety statistics and data

ASSP Responds to BLS Fatality Data

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), the world’s oldest professional safety organization, is urging employers to be more active in adopting voluntary national consensus standards and implementing safety and health management systems in response to newly released fatality data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS reported that 5,250 fatal work […]