Safety Tips

Silver Spring, MD — Employers in the construction industry need to promote “effective, non-opioid pain-management methods” for injured workers, a nonprofit safety group is saying after two of its recent studies found construction workers with musculoskeletal disorders are three times more likely than their co-workers to use prescription opioids.

Washington — A new guidance document from OSHA is intended to help cleaning staff reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19.

Portable generators can be found in many workplaces. Among the risks users face, according to OSHA, are shocks and electrocution from improper use of power or unintentionally energizing other electrical systems, and fires from improperly refueling the generator or not storing fuel correctly.

A 28-year-old lighting technician, employed three weeks with a staffing agency and with no electrical trade experience, was electrocuted while working on an energized lighting fixture.

Overexposure to welding fumes and gases can cause both short-term and chronic health effects, resulting in dizziness, unconsciousness, illness and even death.

When a COVID-19 case occurs in the workplace, the local health department may ask an employer for help. Health departments are responsible for leading case investigations, contact tracing and outbreak investigations.

New York — More than half of dentists have experienced verbal aggression from patients within the past year, and more than 1 out of 5 have been the victim of physical aggression, results of a recent survey show.

Melbourne, Australia — Musculoskeletal disorders cost people around the world nearly 140 million years lost to ill-health, disability or early death, results a recent study out of Australia and Iran indicate.

Washington — Although some state drug laws recently have been revised to legalize marijuana, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is reminding officials that the federal government’s Drug-Free Workplace Program has not changed.

Cambridge, MA — Workers who receive larger quantities of opioids shortly after an injury, as well as those who are prescribed higher doses, are at increased risk of longer-term opioid use, according to a recent study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute.