Construction

Summer is here, which means the weather is warmer, more people are on the roads and highway construction work is underway.

Washington — OSHA is giving stakeholders until July 5 to comment on its proposed rule for crane operator certification requirements, the agency announced June 15.

Silver Spring, MD — More than half of former construction workers have experienced hearing loss, and certain factors can exacerbate the condition, according to a recent study by the Center for Construction Research and Training (also known as CPWR).

Washington — OSHA is moving to finalize changes to its crane operator certification requirements, according to a proposed rule published in the May 21 Federal Register.

Washington — Immigrant construction workers employed by small companies do not receive the same amount of safety and health training as their counterparts at larger companies, according to a recent study from NIOSH and the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Denver — In Colorado, marijuana use among workers in certain jobs “in which workers have responsibility for their own safety or the safety of others” exceeds that of the state’s general workforce, according to a recent study from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Morgantown, WV — Falls are the second-leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States, representing 14 percent of all worker fatalities over an 11-year period, according to a recent study from NIOSH.

Washington — A coalition of 42 organizations has sent a letter to Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta expressing its concern regarding “recent reports that the Department of Labor is stalling, disbanding and allowing the lapse of several critical federal advisory committees” at OSHA.

Washington — The state of workplace safety and health protections in the United States is a “national crisis,” according to Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, which has released its annual report detailing the hazards that workers face every day on the job.

Workers caught in trench collapses rarely survive because soil can be extremely heavy. A cubic yard of soil can weigh up to 3,000 pounds – roughly the weight of a small motor vehicle, according to OSHA.