Labor

Washington – United Farm Workers and several community health groups have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately suspend widespread use of chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide already acknowledged to pose poisoning risks to workers.

Washington – NIOSH and the Labor Occupational Health Program of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health have developed a curriculum intended to teach workers with developmental and intellectual disabilities about occupational safety and health.

Washington – NIOSH has added 34 drugs to its list of those that have the potential to be hazardous to an estimated 8 million U.S. health care workers.

Cincinnati – Night-shift workers have the highest risk for sleep problems compared with all other workers, according to a recent study from NIOSH.

Washington – The Transportation Research Board, part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, has released a report recommending strategies to bolster and maintain safety culture in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Cardiff, Wales – Injuries and risk levels are underreported by global container port operators, and the industry needs more consistency in its approach to safety and health management, according to a report from Cardiff University.

Washington – In an effort to ease burdens on employers, OSHA has issued a proposed rule that would “remove or revise outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, and inconsistent requirements” in 18 standards concerning recordkeeping, general industry, maritime and construction.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency and the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative have released a guide intended to help agricultural pesticide handlers, workers and managers comply with 2015 revisions to the federal Worker Protection Standard.

Washington – Beginning in 2017, employers with federal government contracts must provide their workers with up to seven days of paid sick leave per year, according to a Department of Labor final rule published Sept. 29.

Washington – OSHA failed to follow federal rulemaking requirements when it used a memorandum to announce a revised definition of retail facilities exempt from the Process Safety Management Standard, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled.