Workplace Exposures

New York — The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has halted until at least Aug. 22 an Environmental Protection Agency final rule that revises the pesticide application exclusion zone requirement in the agency’s standard on agricultural worker protection.

Four special mini episodes focus on National Safety Month, observed every June. Each episode highlights a different weekly theme throughout the month: musculoskeletal disorders; workplace impairment; injury prevention; and slips, trips and falls. Listen to all four now.

Oakland, CA — Two fact sheets, along with an updated FAQ document, from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health highlight the latest revisions to the state’s emergency temporary standards on COVID-19 – adopted April 21 by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.

Calgary, Alberta — Young workers in construction and other outdoor industries are “key groups that warrant further investigation” into their increased risk of carcinogen exposures on the job, according to a team of Canadian researchers.

North Kingstown, RI — More than 4 out of 5 health care workers experience headaches associated with the use of personal protective equipment, according to a new report from the Association of Migraine Disorders.

Shreveport, LA — Firefighters’ risk of developing atrial fibrillation – an abnormal heart rhythm that can trigger serious health problems – increases with the number of fires they respond to, results of a recent study show.

Durham, NC — The rates of “moral injury” that health care workers experienced during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic was akin to those of U.S. military combat veterans, results of a recent study show.

Durham, NH — U.S. seafood workers were twice as likely to contract COVID-19 as workers in other food industries during the height of the pandemic, results of a recent study indicate.

Washington — A companion bill to the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 1195), passed by the House in April 2021, has been introduced in the Senate.

Gaithersburg, MD — The use of ultraviolet light to disinfect N95 respirators has minimal impact on their form and function, allowing frontline workers to reuse the masks, results of a recent National Institute of Standards and Technology study show.