Workplace Solutions

When it comes to respiratory protection, what important lessons have been learned from COVID-19?

Do you work with wet cement, paints or plaster? Maybe adhesives? These are just some of the materials that can irritate your skin because they can contain harsh substances such as hexavalent chromium, calcium hydroxide, toluene, xylene, epoxy resins and lime.

Washington — OSHA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration have released joint interim guidance intended to help seafood processing employers reduce COVID-19 exposure among workers, including those at onshore facilities and aboard offshore vessels.

Washington — Facing a staffing shortage and an increased number of complaints related to the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA must improve the efficiency of its Whistleblower Protection Program, an audit report from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General concludes.

Washington — Legislation recently introduced in the Senate would temporarily limit COVID-19 liability for employers who comply with public health guidelines and aren’t acting with “gross negligence.”

Salem, OR — Oregon OSHA is accepting public comment through Aug. 31 on a draft emergency temporary standard intended to protect workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — OSHA has published COVID-19-related guidance intended to help employers in the oil and gas industry reduce exposure among workers, including personnel in the subindustries and those whose tasks “make up the broader oil and gas industrial sector.”

Washington — NIOSH and the Mine Safety and Health Administration are looking for presenters for a virtual workshop on silica exposure and lung disease in the mining industry, scheduled for Oct. 22-23.

Silver Spring, MD — The Solid Waste Association of North America has submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services orders for more than 2.4 million complimentary cloth facial coverings to be distributed to sanitation and recycling workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

London — Although the majority of adults say they’re washing their hands more often since the COVID-19 pandemic began, 12% report they don’t wash their hands after using a public or private restroom, results of a recent survey out of the United Kingdom show.