News

Washington — Citing Arizona’s “pattern of failures to adopt and enforce standards and enforcement policies at least as effective” as those used by OSHA, the agency is proposing to “reconsider and revoke” the final approval of the state’s State Plan for oversight of worker safety and health.

Washington — OSHA has scheduled a virtual public meeting to hear comments and suggestions on issues related to the agency’s Whistleblower Protection Program.

The number of pedestrians killed in the first half of 2021 jumped 17.3%, with dangerous driving behaviors, larger vehicles and insufficient infrastructure contributing to an “alarming” trend, according to a recent report from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Boston — Construction workers are at increased risk of unintentionally tracking various toxic metals from the jobsite into their homes – potentially putting family members at risk, results of a recent study show.

St. Louis — Employees with severe alcohol use disorder miss more than twice as many workdays because of illness, injury or simply skipping work, researchers from the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine say.

Washington — Understaffed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA “lost a valuable opportunity” to better protect workers by “not identifying federal partners in a position to assist during a large-scale safety and health crisis,” concludes a Department of Labor Office of Inspector General audit report released March 31.

New Orleans — The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ended a district court’s injunction against the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees on jurisdictional grounds, with a 2-1 decision April 7.

Toronto — To increase health care workers’ knowledge, awareness and prevention of occupational hand dermatitis, the Center for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease has launched a free e-learning module.

Washington — Pointing to OSHA guidance citing “the significant risks associated with inadequate energy control procedures or the failure to properly implement them,” NIOSH is reminding employers that OSHA’s standard on lockout/tagout (1910.147) requires an inspection of written hazardous energy control procedures at least once a year.

Washington — An online dashboard recently introduced by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is intended to improve the safety of offshore oil and gas operations by easing access to safety data.