Manufacturing

As new technologies bring robots side by side with human workers, what are the implications for occupational safety?

Washington — Ototoxicants – chemicals that can cause hearing loss and balance issues when inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin – are found in certain pesticides, solvents and medications, and the risk of their adverse effects increases when workers are exposed to elevated noise levels, OSHA cautions in a Safety and Health Information Bulletin published March 8.

Boston — Workers frequently exposed to diesel exhaust may face a higher risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and the risk may increase with length of exposure, a preliminary study from Harvard University suggests.

Washington — States that have made “significant” safety improvements in recent years by incorporating Chemical Safety Board recommendations are highlighted in the agency’s inaugural Safety Spotlight publication.

Washington — NIOSH has published its National Occupational Research Agenda for Manufacturing, intended to spotlight the industry’s most important occupational safety and health research needs for the next decade.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service has denied a National Chicken Council petition seeking unrestricted line speeds in poultry-processing plants.

Washington — Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) is among four lawmakers calling for Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta to address their concerns over OSHA’s responses to a Government Accountability Office report, issued in November, on the health and safety of meat and poultry industry workers.

Philadelphia — Seeking to gain insights on how an injury to one part of the body potentially can lead to other injuries, University of Pennsylvania and Haverford College researchers have developed a mathematical model for all human muscles and bones.

Atlanta — Occupational exposures may have contributed to 11 percent to 21 percent of all asthma-related deaths among 15- to 64-year-olds between 1999 and 2016, according to a recently released report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

San Diego — A U.S. Department of Agriculture proposal to remove maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants “will translate into even more illness and injury” among workers, according to the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.