Federal Agencies

Washington — Six weeks after the full implementation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, the agency said it had documented nearly 8,000 positive tests for substance misuse among commercial motor vehicle drivers.

Silver Spring, MD — In response to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the nation’s largest union and professional association of direct care registered nurses is petitioning OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard to protect frontline workers, patients and the public from the potentially deadly respiratory illness.

Washington — House Education and Labor Committee Chair Bobby Scott (D-VA) and 20 other representatives are sponsoring a partisan bill that would require OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard for health care facilities to implement comprehensive infectious disease exposure control plans.

Washington — A new online tool from NIOSH is designed to guide users through daily pre-shift inspections of mast climbing work platforms and help identify common hazards associated with the equipment.

Washington — Effective April 20, the Federal Railway Administration is requiring the nation’s largest freight railroads – known as Class I – and smaller freight railroads with “inadequate safety performance” to develop and implement a formal risk reduction program. However, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says the final rule does not fulfill a congressional mandate to address rail worker fatigue.

Washington — Raymond van Venetië, a doctoral student in mathematics at the University of Amsterdam, is the winner of NIOSH’s first external crowdsourcing competition.

Washington — In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, OSHA has published a guidance document intended to help employers protect workers from exposure to the potentially deadly illness and prevent it from spreading.

Washington — A final rule the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration claims would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers has been sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.

Philadelphia — OSHA has launched an initiative to help reduce hazards that can lead to amputations among industrial and manufacturing workers in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Atlanta — Comprehensive suicide prevention strategies that target certain industry and occupational groups are needed – particularly in the extraction and construction industries, a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests.