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Atlanta – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention is urging the agency to lower the standard definition of lead poisoning in children to 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood from the current level of 10 micrograms.

Musculoskeletal disorders make up more than one-third of all injuries requiring days away from work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And now efforts to understand and prevent these injuries have taken a step back.

The Department of Health and Human Services on Jan. 9 published a notice of proposed rulemaking to modify X-ray requirements for detecting “black lung” disease in coal miners.

In an informal online poll conducted in December 2011 and January 2012, readers weighed in on the effectiveness of their organizations’ safety committees.

Twice in December, OSHA officials met with stakeholders to hear concerns about the agency's final rule to align its Hazard Communication Standand (1910.1200) with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.

Washington – Overall transportation fatalities decreased by about 3 percent in 2010 despite fatality increases among medium and heavy trucks, rail, pipeline, and other categories, according to data from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Washington – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a notice of proposed rulemaking intended to help prevent drivers of vehicles with keyless ignition systems, such as push-button starts, from unintentionally leaving the vehicle while the engine is running or when the transmission is not locked in park.

Great Neck, NY – First responders exposed to toxic dust at the site of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks suffer from asthma at a higher rate than the general population, according to research from the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, a nonprofit network of several hospitals, long-term care facilities, and trauma and outpatient centers.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency may have endangered workers and the public by authorizing unapproved methods to demolish buildings containing asbestos, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

Washington – Law enforcement on-duty fatalities for local, state and federal officers rose to 173 fatalities in 2011, compared with 153 deaths in 2010, according to a preliminary report from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.