A member of the Chemical Safety Board—an agency established to make recommendations to OSHA and EPA—-has a troubling view about regulations.
Addiction & Substance Abuse
More evidence that indoor smoking bans and smart public health policy are good for people’s health
Because there can never be enough research to illustrate the positive impact of public health policy on people’s health, here’s another one. This one found that comprehensive smoke-free indoor air laws resulted in a lower risk of asthma symptoms and fewer asthma-related doctor’s visits.
Drug Safety
Messaging study: Putting a human face on opioid addiction increases public support for naloxone
Every day in the U.S., more than 40 people die after overdosing on prescription painkillers. Deaths from a more notorious form of opiates — heroin — increased five-fold between 2001 and 2013. Addressing this problem — one that’s often described as a public health crisis — requires action on many fronts, from preventing abuse in the first place to getting those addicted into treatment. But when it comes to overdoses, there’s one answer we know works: naloxone.
Government
Fatal work injury that killed Jason Strycharz was preventable, OSHA cites Kloeckner Metals
The fatal work-related injuries that killed Jason Strycharz, 40 could have been prevented had his employer followed worker safety regulations.
OSHA inspectors attempted to investigate the circumstances of a foundry worker with lead poisoning. The employer and its consulting firm threw obstacles in the inspectors’ way, but two judges saw through their obstruction.
Injury Control & Violence
Not an “accident”: Gerald Thompson, 51 suffers fatal work-related injury in Lakeville, MN
This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality in the US. This one occurred on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 in Lakeville, Minnesota.
Environmental Health
Report explores the dangerous work of recycling: ‘Recycling is the right thing to do, but we have to do it the right way’
Recycling our garbage is good for the planet, but a new report finds that the workers who process our recyclable materials often face dangerous and unnecessary conditions that put their health and safety at serious risk.
Environmental Health
No OSHA citations for fatal work injury that killed Ernesto Rodriguez at Oklahoma fracking site
The OSHA inspection following the work-related death in Oklahoma of Ernesto Rodriguez did not result in any citations. A FOIA request of records from the inspection shed little light on why it happened.
New investigative series examines the toll of occupational illness and the lack of federal protections; OSHA steps up its efforts to protect nurses; women janitors face sexual assault and rape risks on the night shift; and IKEA reports that raising wages worked so well, the company is set to raise them again.
For the just the second time in 10 years, OSHA issued citations to a poultry company for repetitive motion hazards that cause musculoskeletal injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.