|
|
The E-Newsbrief of the National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety and Health Training is a free weekly newsletter focusing on new developments in the world of worker health and safety.
|
|
|
The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas Parker issued a statement on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) 2023 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. The report from BLS reveals that the rate of recordable workplace injuries and illnesses in 2023 fell to its lowest level since 2003. Private industry non-fatal injuries and illnesses decreased 8.4% from 2022. Looking at the BLS report and recent DOL analysis showing fewer worker deaths, the formula of strong enforcement combined with collaboration between government, labor, and the private sector to make workplace safety and health as a core value is making a difference in the lives of America’s workers.
|
|
|
Farmworkers face some of the most intense exposure to H5N1, also known as the bird flu or avian flu virus, but resistance from farmers and a lack of health insurance and paid sick leave in the industry have limited the testing of workers and hampered public health officials’ ability to track where the virus might be spreading. Now, long-awaited results from blood testing conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are starting to fill in the picture. The findings suggest that a small but not insignificant number of H5N1 infections are going undetected among people who work with dairy cows.
|
|
|
Scientists from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service crowned 2024 as the hottest year on record and the first year to surpass the 1.5 degrees Celsius benchmark. Global warming alone can’t account for all the excess heat from these past two years. At least some of the supercharged temperatures and the disasters they catalyzed can be chalked up to a strong El Niño – a cyclical upwelling of warm water in the Pacific Ocean that shifts weather patterns across the globe. Although the most recent El Niño cycle was expected to give way to the cooler La Niña pattern this summer, the heat has persisted into the end of the year.
|
|
|
Eric Persaud, Dr.P.H., a health scientist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Worker Training Program, joins the podcast in the “Five Questions With …” segment to discuss safety concerns for workers after a natural disaster.
|
|
|
Higher temperatures caused by anthropogenic extreme weather events made an ordinary drought into an exceptional drought that parched the American West from 2020-2022, according to a new study. The scientists found that evaporative demand, or the amount of water that the atmosphere can absorb, has played a bigger role in droughts than reduced precipitation since 2000. During the 2020-2022 drought, evaporation accounted for 61% of the drought’s severity, while reduced precipitation accounted for only 39%. Scientists predict that droughts will last longer, cover wider areas, and become more severe as the climate warms.
|
|
|
Being prepared for emergencies is critical to ensuring the safety and well-being of your team. This webinar summit will equip participants with essential strategies for addressing medical emergencies, including cardiac and opioid-related incidents, and preparing for chemical and hazardous material disasters. The summit will take place November 20, 2024, at Noon ET.
|
|
|
Stop Work Authority (SWA) is the right of workers to stop unsafe work and processes until the potential hazard is thoroughly investigated and abated to the satisfaction of workers, the union, and management. This free webinar from the New Jersey Work Environment Council will help local unions win effective SWA processes in collective bargaining agreements. The webinar will take place November 20, 2024, 1-3 p.m. ET.
|
|
|
This webinar’s speaker will discuss effective strategies to motivate workers, enhance engagement, and collaborate with the workforce to improve safety. Participants will learn practical techniques that you can implement immediately to boost engagement, reduce risk, and increase positive recognition for you and your team. The webinar will take place November 21, 2024, from Noon – 1 p.m. CT.
|
|
|
Across California, public health and pest control authorities are facing a new reality as the Aedes mosquitoes bring the threat of dengue and potentially other tropical diseases – such as chikungunya, Zika, and yellow fever – that were once of concern only to international travelers, into the state. So far this year, authorities have identified at least 13 cases of locally acquired dengue, up from two in 2023, with 11 in Los Angeles County and two in the San Diego area. The Aedes mosquitoes spread the disease by biting an infected person and then biting a previously uninfected person. The Aedes mosquitoes, known for their aggressive, daytime biting, are able to breed in as little as a capful of water, and are now present in at least 24 California counties.
|
|
|
A new interpretation app that can instantly translate more than 200 languages and dialects can be used by employers and workers in California to communicate more easily. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) recently deployed the app as part of a pilot program. Users of the app can speak into a smartphone, tablet, or computer, and the technology instantly translates the words into the selected language. Cal/OSHA’s Enforcement Division is using the app to communicate with workers across the state, with a focus on industries in which communication barriers are common, including agriculture.
|
|
|
Several wildfires have developed across the Lower Hudson Valley in New York following prolonged periods of dry, windy weather. At least three wildfires have impacted the area in recent weeks. Dariel Vasquez, a parks and recreation aide with the New York State Parks Department, was just 18 years old when he died while battling a wildfire in Greenwood Lake. According to the New York State Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation Department, Vasquez was killed by a fallen tree while he was volunteering with the Wildland Fire Crew to tamp down a forest fire in Sterling Forest on November 9, 2024.
|
|
|
As leaders, scientists, and decision-makers from across the globe gather to address the escalating impacts of climate change, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) experts and leaders are on the ground working to offer science-based solutions and help advance the world’s ability to be resilient and better adapt to climate change. The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change takes place from November 11-22, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. This year’s COP comes in the wake of yet another record-breaking year for high global temperatures and extreme weather events, including an active Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA scientists will also share insights from their latest research on the impacts of extreme weather, sea-level rise, and the ecosystem shifts that are being driven by climate change and ocean warming.
|
|
|
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it is proposing to eliminate copayments for all VA telehealth services and establish a grant program to fund designated VA telehealth access points in non-VA facilities, with a focus on rural and medically hardly reached communities. These proposed changes would advance VA and the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to lower costs and expand access to care for all those who served. The proposed grant program would provide funding to organizations to offer veterans comfortable, private spaces equipped with high-speed internet access and the technology to meet with VA providers remotely.
|
|
|
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) amended its regulations that govern traffic safety and mobility in highway and street work zones. The FHWA recognizes that increasing road construction activity on our highways can lead to travel disruptions which could potentially result in congestion and crashes, as well as loss in productivity and public frustration with work zones. The changes will facilitate consideration of the broader safety and mobility impacts of work zones in a more coordinated and comprehensive manner across project development stages.
|
|
|
The Department of Labor (DOL) published a guide designed to educate employers about the benefits of using skills-first hiring practices and encourage them to use those practices to build a better, more qualified workforce. The Good Jobs Initiative’s Skills-First Hiring Starter Kit, developed in partnership with the Department of Commerce, is a short guide to hiring, promotion, and management built around worker skills, rather than relying on degree qualifications. Skills-first hiring – also known as “skills-based hiring” – refers to the hiring or promotion of workers around skills, knowledge, and abilities that workers can demonstrate they have, regardless of how or where they attained those skills.
|
|
|
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is hiring a senior industrial hygienist to develop, plan, and implement CTA industrial hygiene programs. Job responsibilities include identifying, evaluating, and controlling physical, chemical, and mechanical hazards within the workplace while ensuring compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and CTA regulations that promote and enforce a proactive culture of system safety; collaborating with all Authority departments to analyze working conditions and procedures, and recommend safety improvements; and auditing accident data to identify trends and accidents that can be prevented with improved processes.
|
|
|
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is looking to hire a regional administrator for their Boston Regional Office. Job duties include directing, controlling, evaluating, and providing technical policy and administrative staff assistance to operational Area and District offices; participating in the development of and evaluating State comprehensive occupational safety and health plans; and providing continuing awareness, education, and training programs for the Regional Ares staffs, State personnel, employers and employees, and others in the private sector.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. The training and grants department is one of several departments that provides assistance to local unions and other Teamster affiliates through educational programs and materials. The assistant program manager assists in the identification, management, and administration of federal training grants. Based in Washington, D.C., this position is responsible for ensuring the training programs and local union partners are in compliance with the regulations and requirements found in the grant award and the NIEHS Minimum Criteria. Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to Chris Lynn at clynn@teamster.org, Subject: “Assistant Program Manager position.”
|
|
|
|
|
