Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Winter is approaching fast, and many parts of the country are already seeing snow. With the seasonal changes come the hazards of outdoor work in cold conditions, snow and ice removal, and other dangers. At its Winter Weather resource site, OSHA lists 10 common winter weather hazards that employers should train employees to recognize.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently published a fact sheet on hazards faced by workers in the oil and gas (O&G) extraction sector. One such hazard is exposure to diesel exhaust (DE), which contains diesel particulate matter (DPM).
The federal government has long recognized that the quality of indoor air is a prime factor in human health and illness. For example, in the 1986 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, Congress directed the EPA to coordinate with federal, state, and local governments and the private sector to conduct research on the environmental and human […]
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) recently reported that after a general decline between 2007 and 2013, the rate of occupational fatalities in the state steadily increased through 2016 and has surpassed the national rate (which has also been increasing since 2013) since 2015. Generally, deaths in the state among workers […]
The recent hurricane season has apparently prompted OSHA to issue a fact sheet on safely installing plastic tarps on damaged roofs. Reinforced plastic tarps, commonly called blue roofs, provide temporary protection for buildings following severe weather.
The use of e-cigarettes, commonly called vaping, has been promoted by manufacturers and retailers as a safe alternative to smoking tobacco smoke. The chemical evidence backs up this claim, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but there’s more to the picture.
November 19, 2018, is a key date for employers with existing outdoor fixed ladders that extend more than 24 feet (ft) above a lower level. Ladders that were erected before that date must be equipped with at least one type of device that protects workers from falling. Ladders erected after November 19, 2018, must meet […]
Protecting workers from the hazards of trenches has lately been front and center in OSHA’s outreach to employers. One critical step in ensuring that you are meeting your obligations to protect employees who dig and work in trenches is to have a solid knowledge of how to classify soils. The Agency has produced an 11-minute […]
In a case originating more than 75 years ago, a 4–3 majority of Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled that a company was liable in the death of an employee’s family member who was exposed to asbestos fibers carried by the employee on his clothing into his home.
An OSHA standard to mitigate workplace violence in healthcare facilities does not appear to be on the horizon, but this is not because OSHA is not aware of the main provisions that would be included in such a standard. In fact, it is not uncommon for OSHA to issue citations against healthcare employers whose employees […]