Category: Health and Wellness

Silica dust at construction site

Crystalline Silica: OSHA Revises Its National Emphasis Program

On February 4, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised its National Emphasis Program (NEP) for enforcement of the construction, general, and maritime industry standards for respirable crystalline silica exposure. OSHA canceled the 2008 Crystalline Silica NEP in October 2017. The replacement NEP addresses enforcement of OSHA’s amended standards for respirable crystalline silica—promulgated March […]

Coronavirus

Cal/OSHA Issues Guidance on Coronavirus

On February 3, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) issued interim guidance covering the safety and health requirements when providing care for patients with suspected or confirmed cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and laboratories testing samples for the pathogen.

Doctor, medical professional

Surgeon General Sounds Off for Worker Well-Being

In a medical journal editorial, the U.S. Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Jerome M. Adams, encouraged employers to foster worker well-being. Adams highlighted the Total Worker Health (TWH) approach developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Air quality coughing

NIOSH’s Latest Recommendations for Construction IEQ

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released detailed recommendations to help employers maintain acceptable indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and reduce exposures to dusts, gases, and contaminants during construction and renovation projects.

Construction machinery

How Climate Change Is Affecting Construction Jobs

The cost of the effects of climate change is steadily increasing, putting a strain on the buildings and infrastructure around us. Sustainability efforts are being enacted every day to help these effects, with one added bonus: They are generating job growth and positively affecting the economy while helping to battle the effects of climate change.

Workplace health and safety concept

Workplace Safety Trends to Watch in 2020

A worker is injured on the job every 7 seconds. 12,600 workers are injured on the job every day. And, those injuries are costing companies 104,000,000 lost production days. These stats, courtesy of the National Safety Council, paint a sobering picture of the modern workplace. But, it’s a picture most companies are now attuned to […]

Building indoor environmental and air quality

AIHA, Other Groups Form Indoor Environmental Quality Alliance

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and five other groups formed a new international association on indoor environmental quality (IEQ). The Indoor Environmental Quality Global Alliance (IEQ-GA) will serve as a platform for the exchange of indoor environmental knowledge and information and will promote education and research into the health and environmental quality in buildings.

A young man in construction safety vest smokes a marijuana cigarette.

Marijuana Safety Concerns Voiced by Occupational and Environmental Medical Group

An occupational and environmental medical group urged members of Congress to keep workplace safety implications in mind when considering marijuana legalization. Congress should proceed cautiously and make public and worker safety its primary concern before legalizing marijuana, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) said in a statement. Several states already have enacted […]

Thumb press the drinking water fountain

EPA Proposes New Lead Trigger Level to Reduce Exposure

The EPA’s new proposal to reduce childhood exposure to lead in drinking water seeks to strike a balance between the need for more protection and the stubborn complexity of the risk. Under the proposal, public water systems (PWSs) would be subject to six new general requirements (which include many more specific requirements), including taking an […]

Stress

The Burnout Problem: EHS Pros Should Take Notice

Environment, health, and safety professionals should be aware of (and take steps to address) “burnout,” a term that has been frequently used as a catchall for multiple issues among employees, including stress, anxiety, and depression. Burnout gained a more specific definition when it was officially recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this year.