Manufacturing

Munich — The International Platinum Group Metals Association has released a guide intended to improve safety for workers who are exposed to platinum group metals.

Geneva, Switzerland — The World Health Organization has released evidence-based guidelines intended to help protect workers from potential health hazards posed by manufactured nanomaterials.

Washington — Better outreach, collaboration and information sharing among federal agencies is needed to improve worker safety in the meat and poultry slaughter and processing industries, the Government Accountability Office concluded in a recently released report.

Chicago — People exposed to organic solvents on the job may have a greater risk of developing high blood pressure, according to a recent study of Latino workers.

Washington – A group of Senate Democrats and an independent have introduced legislation seeking to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to eliminate human or environmental exposure to asbestos, a known carcinogen still legal in the United States.

Washington – Contending that it lacks proper regulatory authority, the Chemical Safety Board on Nov. 14 voted to withdraw its recommendations issued to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement after its investigation into the April 2010 explosion and fire that killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sacramento, CA – Manufacturers of cleaning products sold in California will be required by law to disclose the existence of certain chemicals in their products, making the state the first in the nation to pass such legislation.

Washington – The Chemical Safety Board has released a video on last year’s ExxonMobil refinery fire, which severely burned four workers in Baton Rouge, LA.

Washington – Noting that “regulators of high-hazard industries must have an informed and reasoned basis for making their regulatory choices,” a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine states that clarifying design concepts of safety regulations in industries such as transportation, chemical manufacturing, and offshore oil and gas development – and exploring how various circumstances may impact them – can help.

Washington – Citing a “knowledge gap related to robotics and worker safety and health,” NIOSH has launched the Center for Occupational Robotics Research in an effort to evaluate the possible advantages and hazards of robot workers, as well as foster safe robot-human interactions.