S+H Staff

December is Member Appreciation Month

Washington – The Department of Transportation on Nov. 23 announced a final rule that bans commercial motor vehicle drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving.

Washington – Drunk driving cost the United States $132 billion in 2009, according to a report from Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

NIOSH has published global research findings from the 2010 International Conference on Fall Prevention and Protection. The 256-page document covers fall protection for scissor lifts; costs of fall-related construction fatalities; and hazard recognition for iron workers.

Safety+Health magazine is now on Twitter. Follow the S+H editorial team at @SafetyHealthMag.

Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania became the 35th state to ban texting while driving after Gov. Tom Corbett (R) signed Senate Bill 314 on Nov. 9.

Chicago – Modern football helmets are no more effective at protecting players than leather helmets used in the 1900s, according to a study published Nov. 4 in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine.

Washington – Researchers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety have begun working on two devices that can detect a driver’s blood-alcohol content, according to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an auto industry advocacy group.

Washington – “Insufficient data” exists to determine whether exposure to emissions from open-air burn pits on military bases causes long-term health effects such as cardiovascular and respiratory disease, concludes an Institute of Medicine report.

Washington – The applicability of permissible exposure limits to federal agencies will be one of several topics discussed at a meeting of the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health, scheduled for Dec. 1 in Washington.