Workplace Exposures

Bluefield, WV – Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) met with miners, stakeholders, and miner safety and health advocates on Sept. 5 to discuss ending “black lung” – a deadly but preventable lung disease also known as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis.

Rockville, MD – Several construction industry trade associations have formed a coalition in response to OSHA’s proposed rule on crystalline silica.

Washington – A chemical advisory issued Aug. 30 by OSHA; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offers steps fertilizer facilities and others can take to help reduce ammonium nitrate hazards.

OSHA’s revised Hazard Communication Standard is one of the most sweeping regulations the agency has issued in recent years, and compliance deadlines are approaching.

Washington – OSHA has announced it will issue a proposed rule to revise the agency’s standards on occupational exposure to crystalline silica.

Winston-Salem, NC – Housing for migrant farmworkers may not provide adequate relief from hot temperatures, reducing workers’ ability to rest and recover from work exposure to heat, according to a new study from the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Chicago – The U.S. Public Health Service has published new guidelines for how health care personnel should handle occupational exposure to HIV.

Washington – OSHA has launched a Regional Emphasis Program on noise hazards targeting select New England manufacturing and food production facilities.

Washington – A joint OSHA-NIOSH hazard alert issued July 31 highlights the dangers of the solvent 1-bromopropane.

Falls Church, VA – Oil and gas workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica during directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations, a new NIOSH study concludes.