News

Nashville – Participants in Tennessee’s Voluntary Protection Program have injury and illness rates that are 70 percent lower than national industry averages, according to the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Washington – Gauging the effectiveness of federal and state-run OSHA programs is one of the Department of Labor’s biggest challenges, according to the DOL Office of Inspector General.

Washington – NIOSH recently issued an update to its strategic plan for protecting workers from safety and health hazards associated with nanotechnology.

New York – The nation is not prepared to protect emergency response workers’ safety and health should another 9/11-scale disaster occur, according to a report from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health.

Santa Monica, CA – Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression may be common among private military contractors, suggests a new study from RAND Corp., a nonprofit research institution.

Perth, Australia – Promoting activity in the workplace can help reduce sitting time, but not by much among workers with fixed schedules, according to a new study from Curtin University.

Bilbao, Spain – Lack of safety data and information is one of the largest challenges facing the wind turbine industry, according to a new report from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

Atlanta – Stronger regulations and early-detection efforts are necessary to prevent and diagnose occupational lung illnesses related to silica exposure, according to a new research review from Emory University and the American Cancer Society.

Washington – Nearly 30 percent of employers that rank among the top violators of federal wage and safety laws receive federal contracts, according to a report issued Dec. 11 by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee after a yearlong investigation.

Richmond, CA – California needs to change the way it regulates refineries and adopt a system aimed at reducing risk to the lowest possible level, concludes a new report from the Chemical Safety Board.