Death in Seconds: The Dangers of Grain Engulfment
April 9–13, 2018, was Stand-Up for Grain Engulfment Prevention Week, a joint effort by the agricultural sector, the states, and OSHA to eliminate one of the most dangerous hazards for farmworkers.
Category: Injuries and Illness
Modern safety management goes beyond covering traditional workplace accidents to now being equally concerned with illnesses caused on and even off the job. This section will explain what you need to know to avoid both injuries and illnesses, and to track your progress in reaching this goal.
Fumigants Hiding in Shipping Containers Pose a Hazard
Workers opening freight containers can be exposed to harmful levels of pesticides or fumigants that have been shipped to protect or preserve the contents of the containers. The hazard of worker exposure to these gases appears to be slipping under the radar in many nations, notes the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work […]
Kids and Tractors Can Be a Dangerous Combination
In 2017, the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety reported that every 3 days, a child dies in an agricultural-related accident. Of the leading sources of fatalities among all youth, 25 percent involved machinery, 17 percent involved motor vehicles (including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs)), and 16 percent were drownings. For working youth, […]
Cleanliness Is the First Step in Hepatitis A Protection
Cal/OSHA continues to warn employers and employees that the major outbreak of hepatitis A in parts of the state is ongoing and that California law requires that employers take measures to stop or reduce the spread of this highly contagious disease in the workplace. Most of the essential measures involve keeping a clean workplace and […]
The Hazards of Roofing
While falls from roofs are a major hazard in the general construction industry, hazards posed by hot work during built-up roofing are also significant. With warm weather approaching in much of the country, roofing work will pick up, and this is a good time for roofing employers to review their practices to protect roofers. Several […]
Off-the-Job EHS: Asbestos in the Home
Many people look forward to the comfort of coming home after a long day. While it should be a place of safety and refuge free from the daily concerns of work and uncertainty, unfortunately, this is not always the case. Hidden dangers around your house, such as toxins like asbestos, could be impacting your health […]
Asbestos Awareness Week Infographic
It’s Global Asbestos Awareness Week—check out this infographic from the Mesothelioma + Asbestos Awareness Center (MAA) for valuable information regarding this persistent environmental, health, and safety hazard.
It’s Global Asbestos Awareness Week! Do You Understand the Risk?
Commonly thought of as an issue of the previous century, asbestos is still very much a hazard that many employees face in the workforce today. From existing asbestos that has been in buildings for decades to the few remaining current uses, asbestos awareness should be of concern and handled properly.
Workplace Chemicals Can Cause Hearing Injuries
Hearing impairment can be caused by exposure both to noise and to chemicals, and the impairment from either of those two exposures can be worse if there is exposure to both. Damage to hearing from chemicals—called ototoxicity; the chemicals themselves are called ototoxicants—is a relatively unknown cause of injury to workers, a state of affairs […]
Coast Guard Regs Preempt OSHA’s in Injury Case
An offshore energy company successfully defended itself against claims by a former employee that a drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana, where she worked as a galley hand, was unseaworthy; that the company was, therefore, negligent; and that negligence was a cause of an injury she suffered.