Cal/OSHA issued a reminder to all employers to protect workers from heat illness as a dangerous heat wave is forecast to impact California in mid-July 2023. Specifically, the state agency has zeroed in on July 12-18 as a time of increased risk “for workers to suffer heat illness in the areas identified by the National […]
A new study of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) records reveals that there were 41 workers killed by robots between 1992 and 2017. Researchers with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) analyzed 26 years of BLS data to identify all workplace robot-related deaths, hoping it would provide a better understanding of […]
Do you have simultaneous operations, or SIMOPS, at your workplace? If so, you may want to make sure your procedures are up to snuff. Why? Because poorly managed SIMOPS have contributed to several major hazardous material incidents in the past two decades. SIMOPS was most recently cited by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation […]
Employers in Washington will be operating under new heat protection rules from the state’s Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) beginning July 17, 2023. The new permanent heat protection standard brings new trigger temperatures that will activate an employer’s heat-illness prevention plan. Those new trigger temperatures are 52 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on […]
Emergency responders to oil and hazardous substance spills should appreciate updates to regulatory revisions announced by EPA. Manufacturers of sorbents, chemicals and biological agents, on the other hand, have some work to do to comply with Subpart J of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). This final rule goes into effect […]
A federal investigation into a maritime fire aboard a yacht illustrates the fire hazards of improperly stored oily rags in any industry. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators found that the fire on the yacht was caused by spontaneous combustion of oil-soaked rags that were improperly disposed of. On July 15, 2022, the recreational yacht […]
Early findings from new research efforts on musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) reveals that just a third of organizations are currently using technology to prevent MSDs. Researchers with the National Safety Council’s (NSC) MSD Solutions Lab, which is funded by Amazon, feel this may indicate gaps in both knowledge and access to safety innovations. NSC recently released […]
The death of an equipment operator could have been avoided if his employer would have provided proper task training and performed adequate workplace examinations, according to federal investigators. U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) investigators determined that the equipment operator, who was killed when a stockpile of material slid and buried him, didn’t have […]
An ongoing federal investigation into the fatal 2022 chemical release and fire at the BP-Husky Refinery in Oregon, Ohio will focus on several key areas going forward, including hierarchy of controls. The update provided by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) gives details on the investigation, including a summary of the process […]
