In the midst of another national debate over gun safety regulations, some argue that higher rates of gun ownership will protect people from dangerous strangers with deadly intentions. Physician and public health researcher Michael Siegel set out to study that argument. He ultimately found no relationship between gun ownership and stranger-related firearm homicides. But he did find that gun ownership levels translated into higher homicide risks for one group in particular — women.
Environmental Health
Researchers link high exposure to air pollution to increased risk of premature birth
Each year, the U.S. spends $26.2 billion on costs associated with preterm birth — that’s birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Beyond the costs, babies born too early experience immediate and long-term problems, from developmental disabilities to asthma to hearing loss. For years, scientists have been studying possible environmental contributors, with many finding an association between preterm birth and air pollution. Earlier this week, a new study brought even more depth and clarity to this connection.
Food Safety & Nutrition
Amputations abound at Tyson Foods, OSHA records shed more light on industrial food production
OSHA now requires employers to report when a work-related amputation occurs. In the first nine months under the new regulation, how many amputations did one of the country’s largest food manufacturers report to OSHA?
Environmental Health
Appeals Court rejects coal industry complaints, upholds health protections for miners
In a decision issued yesterday, the US Court of Appeals rejected the National Mining Association’s legal challenge to a Labor Department regulation to better protect coal miners from developing black lung disease.
Injury Control & Violence
Not an “accident”: Kevin Purpura, 39, suffers fatal work-related injury in Wheeling, WV
This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality in the US. This one occurred on Wednesday, January 15 in Wheeling, WV.
The Center for Investigative Reporting exposes discriminatory hiring practices within the temporary staffing industry; a worker dies in another chemical facility explosion in Houston; a new Amnesty International report links tech giants to child labor; and Amazon is cited for failing to report workplace injuries.
Think about all the objects you use every day that are made with pieces of metal. Before that object got to you, a worker in the metal manufacturing industry used a machine to cut, saw, bend and assemble the metal pieces into the countless products that make our lives easier. But sometimes those machines break. And when they do, a simple and inexpensive procedure helps ensure both worker and machine can return safely to the job.
Government
Not an “accident”: Justin ‘J.D.’ Jorgensen, 30, suffers fatal work-related injury in Altoona, Iowa
This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality in the US. This one occurred on Wednesday, January 6 in Altoona, IA.
These days, there’s a lot of attention on finding new and creative ways to turn around the nation’s opioid abuse and overdose problem. And it’s attention that’s very much needed because the problem is only getting worse.
Some disabled coal miners have received lung transplants as a treatment for black lung disease. It’s clearly a work-related illness, but workers’ compensation insurance doesn’t seem to be paying the bill for the $1 million procedure.