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Washington – A group of Senate Democrats and an independent have introduced legislation seeking to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to eliminate human or environmental exposure to asbestos, a known carcinogen still legal in the United States.

Olympia, WA – Temporary workers file lost-workday claims about twice as often as permanent workers, according to a recent study from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.

Washington – Contending that it lacks proper regulatory authority, the Chemical Safety Board on Nov. 14 voted to withdraw its recommendations issued to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement after its investigation into the April 2010 explosion and fire that killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Washington – The Department of Transportation will include four semi-synthetic opioids in its drug-testing program for DOT employees, according to a final rule published in the Nov. 13 Federal Register.

Washington – A consolidated lawsuit against OSHA’s respirable crystalline silica final rule is “close to a resolution,” Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta said Nov. 15 during his first appearance before the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

Washington – The Department of Transportation has introduced a pilot program intended to promote the safe commercial operation and integration of unmanned aircraft systems – commonly known as drones – in agriculture, commerce, emergency management, human transportation and other sectors, according to a notice published in the Nov. 8 Federal Register.

Los Angeles – Sleep deprivation may disturb brain cells and trigger temporary mental lapses that affect memory and visual perception, according to a recent study from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Washington – Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) is making another attempt to delay the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s mandate for electronic logging devices in commercial motor vehicles – set to go in effect Dec. 18 – by asking President Donald Trump to sign an Executive Order.

Washington – The nonfatal injury and illness rate for private-sector U.S. employees decreased slightly in 2016 – as did the rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work – according to data released Nov. 9 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Washington – OSHA is delaying its crane operator certification requirements by one year, publishing a final rule in the Nov. 9 Federal Register – just one day before the regulation was set to go into effect.