
Research/Statistics

New OSHA rule: What’s required?
OSHA has issued its final rule on confined space work in the construction industry. Here’s what you need to know:

NSC: Employers should go beyond OSHA’s PELs
Add another voice to the chorus calling for companies to use the latest science and not just OSHA’s limits when it comes to protecting workers from hazardous chemicals.
Allergic to floor wax: Can she get ongoing workers’ comp?
No one is questioning that this worker developed occupational asthma from exposure to a chemical in floor wax. The question is how long her workers’ comp benefits should last.

TV news: Don’t get frostbite … like our reporter did
A TV station in Colorado recently talked to some outdoor workers about the risk of working in sub-freezing temperatures. Now, one of its own reporters can recount his own work-related bout of frostbite.
Does VPP approval shield company from OSHA fines?
An employee of this company died of asphyxiation. The company argued it didn’t deserve to be fined because once OSHA approved its participation in the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), its processes were, in effect, also approved. What did a court think?

Will settlement in exposure limit case lead to more enforcement?
OSHA watchers have had their eyes on a case from last fall in which the agency used an industry exposure limit instead of one of its own to fine a company. Now the company has settled with OSHA. What does this mean for other employers?
2 die in cesspit trying to retrieve cell phone
Here’s a lesson for workers: No piece of equipment (including a cell phone) is worth entering a hazardous confined space and endangering your life.

Do smartphone apps provide accurate noise measurement?
Can smartphone apps, costing anywhere from $1 to $20, provide accurate occupational noise measurements? A new study provides the answer.
