Workplace Exposures

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.

Provo, UT — Recent surveys of essential workers show that, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, those in less visible professions felt less appreciated than workers in more public-facing jobs – and it took an emotional toll on them.

Atlanta — Health care workers who were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic were more likely to have contracted the illness on the job rather than in household or community settings, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study has concluded.

Denver — A new Regional Emphasis Program from OSHA is aimed at safeguarding workers in the cut stone and stone products manufacturing industry from silica hazards.

Lightning can strike with little or no warning. That’s why it can’t be ignored or taken lightly by employers or workers – particularly those who spend time outdoors.

Boston — Construction workers are at increased risk of unintentionally tracking various toxic metals from the jobsite into their homes – potentially putting family members at risk, results of a recent study show.

Washington — Understaffed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA “lost a valuable opportunity” to better protect workers by “not identifying federal partners in a position to assist during a large-scale safety and health crisis,” concludes a Department of Labor Office of Inspector General audit report released March 31.

New Orleans — The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ended a district court’s injunction against the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees on jurisdictional grounds, with a 2-1 decision April 7.

Washington — Proposed legislation that would ease access to health care and other benefits for coal miners who have black lung disease is advancing in the House.

Washington — OSHA has scheduled a virtual stakeholder meeting on the agency’s efforts to protect workers from heat-related hazards.