Workplace exposures

RSS

Perth, Australia — Around 1 out of 4 Australian workers experience ringing in the ears – called tinnitus – and those in the construction, automotive, transportation and agricultural industries may be at higher risk, results of a recent study suggest.

Washington — OSHA is reopening its rulemaking record on a proposed final rule on COVID-19 focused on health care workers and will host a virtual public hearing next month.

Toronto — A recent decision by Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to formally recognize Parkinson’s disease as an occupational disorder linked to McIntyre Powder exposure guarantees provincial compensation benefits to affected workers and their families, Minister of Labor Monte McNaughton has announced.

Washington — In an effort to further reduce transmission of COVID-19, the Biden administration is calling on building owners and operators – as well as all organizations – to assess their indoor air quality and improve ventilation and filtration.

Washington — OSHA recently announced the start of a three-month increase of inspections at hospitals and nursing care facilities that treat COVID-19 patients.

Washington — OSHA is reviewing comments on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at protecting workers from extreme heat exposure, administrator Doug Parker said during a Feb. 25 meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health’s work group on heat injury and illness prevention.

Toronto — A recent study of nail salon workers shows they were exposed to high levels of various hazardous chemicals, “some up to 30 times higher relative to exposures in homes” and “10 times higher than in e-waste handling facilities.”

London — Workers exposed to pesticides may face a higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, results of a recent study led by British researchers suggest.

Silver Spring, MD — Claiming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is “once again responding to political pressures from those desperate to remove any safety protocols during this deadly pandemic that is still causing unacceptable numbers of infections, hospitalizations and deaths every day,” the nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses is calling on the agency to reverse its most recent COVID-19 guidance.

Washington — Citing the increased circulation of airborne viruses when temperatures drop, “indoor air quality in the workplace during cold weather is especially critical,” OSHA says in a new alert.