Hazards

Washington — The Mine Safety and Health Administration has scheduled a public meeting on a Request for Information on ways to monitor and regulate miner exposure to quartz – the most common form of respirable crystalline silica.

Tumwater, WA — A new webpage from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is intended to help employers protect workers – both indoors and out – from the adverse effects of wildfire smoke.

Washington — OSHA will not eliminate all the ancillary provisions in its beryllium standards for shipyards and construction, but will propose other changes in the future, according to a final rule published in the Sept. 30 Federal Register.

London — Use of wheeled waste collection bins – instead of bags, boxes or baskets – may reduce musculoskeletal injuries and lost worktime among sanitation workers, according to a recent study out of the United Kingdom.

Washington — Building on research in its initial report issued last year, the Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center has released its second “Mass Attacks in Public Spaces” report.

Using recent data and analysis from NIOSH, the Workers Compensation Research Institute and other organizations, Safety+Health presents an infographic showing the impact of the opioid crisis on the workplace.

Four out of 5 adults will experience low back pain, data show. What can employers do to help workers?

Providence, RI — Construction and extraction workers comprised nearly 20% of all drug overdose deaths in Rhode Island over a recent two-year period, with the majority attributed to fentanyl, according to preliminary data released in August by the state’s Department of Health.

San Diego — Jack Jackson’s friend was among four people killed in a workplace shooting in July 2003 in Jefferson City, Mo. “If you had asked me just the day before, ‘Would this ever happen here (in my community)?’ I would have told you, ‘No way!’”

Springfield, IL — Beginning July 1, hotels and casinos in Illinois will be required to have anti-sexual harassment policies that include, for certain workers, access to a safety button or notification device that alerts security staff.