Workplace Exposures

Tumwater, WA — Fully vaccinated workers in Washington state do not have to wear masks or follow physical distancing protocol unless otherwise required to do so by their employer, according to updated COVID-19 workplace safety and health guidance from the state’s Department of Labor & Industries.

Davis, CA — U.S. counties that are home to beef-, pork- and poultry-processing plants experienced accelerated COVID-19 infection rates during the pandemic, according to a recent study led by a researcher at the University at California, Davis.

Lansing, MI — In addition to updating its temporary COVID-19 emergency rules intended to clarify employer requirements for protecting workers from exposure, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration has rescinded a draft of permanent COVID-19 rules.

The NSC-led initiative wants to help employers ‘understand the spectrum of what they can do’ to safely return employees to the workplace.

Spot the hazard, assess the risk, make the change – these are common risk mitigation practices for employees working in and around the manufacturing production process. But what about the energy that can’t be seen?

Portland, ME — A new online training course launched by the University of Southern Maine’s Cutler Institute focuses on protecting retail workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — Citing “continued concerns regarding personal protective equipment shortages in the agricultural sector,” the Environmental Protection Agency has extended until Sept. 30 the provision on “annual fit test delay” in temporary guidance intended to help protect workers who handle agricultural pesticides against exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — OSHA is reviewing new COVID-19-related guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for fully vaccinated people and anticipates an update of its own guidance materials in the near future, the agency says on its COVID-19 website.

London — Workers who use cleaning and disinfecting products may be more likely to develop asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – 50% and 43%, respectively – than those who don’t, results of a recent study led by British and Italian researchers show.

Washington — OSHA has no target date for issuing an emergency temporary standard related to COVID-19, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh testified during an April 28 hearing convened by the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.