S+H Staff

Serious injury and fatality (Sif) prevention has long been considered a matter of numbers. Reduce “smaller” events and you also will reduce more serious ones. As organizations became better at preventing injuries, no one was surprised when the rate of recordable injuries declined.

Workers do not make decisions in a vacuum. Safety experts say worker shortcuts often reflect larger problems in an organization.

As part of an effort to reduce red tape, the Republican-controlled House has passed legislation that would create additional burdensome steps in the rulemaking process.

Ann Arbor, MI – About two-thirds of parents have not talked with their teens about hearing loss because many believe their teens are not at risk, according to a study from the University of Michigan.

Washington – The Department of Labor is proposing to survey workers to determine their “voice” in the workplace as it relates to occupational safety and wage laws.

Washington – NIOSH on Dec. 12 issued a report on its effort to establish a roster of workers assisting with the cleanup of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Washington – A bill that supporters suggest will ease the regulatory burden on employers by requiring major regulations to obtain congressional approval passed out of the House in a nearly partisan 241-184 vote Dec. 7.

Silver Spring, MD – A survey of 4,614 registered nurses found their work environment has become safer in the past 10 years, with fewer assaults and work-related illnesses and more prevalent safety equipment, according to the American Nurses Association.

Washington – U.S. highway deaths declined to 32,885 in 2010 – the lowest total since 1949 – from 33,883 in 2009, according to a report released Dec. 8 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Gaithersburg, MD – Temperature and heat-flow conditions can damage facepeice lenses on standard firefighter breathing equipment, according to research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.