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Online Exclusive: Know the Signs and Symptoms of Heart Attack and Sudden Cardiac Arrest February is American Heart Month, making it a good time to remind workers how to recognize the coronary events that kill about one American every minute. This checklist of signs and symptoms can refresh workers' memories and help them respond quickly and appropriately to a co-worker in cardiac distress. . . . more » Inspecting Local Exhaust Ventilation Systems If you're using local exhaust ventilation to control exposures to airborne contaminants at the source, then you'll need to inspect and maintain your ventilation system in order to ensure that it is effective. . . . more » Manlift Safety Policy As we report in this month's issue, a worker in Turlock was seriously injured after materials that were being improperly moved with a manlift shifted and fell on him. It's important for workers to understand that misuse of a manlift, far from being a smart shortcut, can lead to injury or even death. . . . more » Your Medical History, In Brief and In Detail It's a bitter irony: at the moment when someone has his or her greatest need for medical care, he or she is unlikely to be able to assist medical personnel in providing that care. That's why it's essential that your medical history be available even if you are incapacitated. . . . more » Sample Incident and Near Miss Reporting Policy In order to ensure a safe, healthful, and efficient work environment for our employees, the Company has established the following incident and near miss reporting policy as a condition of employment and continued employment . . . more » More

Toxic Mold: Preventing Mold-Related Problems in Indoor Workplaces; Guidance from Federal OSHA and California California was the first state in the nation to pass a law addressing the hazards of toxic mold in buildings: the Toxic Mold Protection Act of 2001. This act required the California Department of Health Services (DHS) to present a study to the legislature evaluating . . . more » Roofing Safety: A Review of Cal/OSHA's Requirements; Prevent Slips, Falls, Serious Injuries, and Deaths Workers on roofs are at risk for serious injuries and death from falls. Not only do they perform their jobs at substantial heights, but they may also be working on surfaces that are . . . more » Best Practices: Federal OSHA's Fundamentals of a Workplace First Aid Program; Are You Ready to Respond to Medical Emergencies? Employers in California are required to ensure that medical treatment is readily available to sick or injured workers under General Industry Safety Order Section 3400, Medical Services and First Aid. . . . more » Sign up for a trial and access more articles like these

Online Exclusive: Pool Chemical Safe Storage Checklist For workers who use pool chemicals, safe storage is a critical component of overall pool safety. This checklist can be given to workers, used in training sessions, or posted in the storage area to remind workers of the principles of safe storage. . . . more » Bulletin: OSHA opens database on employer-specific injury and illness incidence rates Federal OSHA has made its work-related injury and illness data from 1996 to 2007 available to the public in a searchable online database. OSHA collects data from more than 80,000 employers within specific . . . more » Bulletin: NIOSH offers Spanish-language guide for preventing musculoskeletal injuries in construction workers NIOSH recently published a Spanish-language translation of its guide Simple Solutions—Ergonomics for Construction Workers. The booklet is designed to help employers and workers adopt effective ways to . . . more » Hazard Identification: One in Five Lost-Work-Time Incidents Is a Slip, Trip, or Fall; Control This Common Hazard Most falls on a level surface don't result in a recordable injury but merely a bump, some bruises, or perhaps scattered papers and spilled coffee. But sometimes these falls can and do cause more serious injuries. . . . more » Appeals Board Decisions: Worker Who Skipped Required Safety Training Is Injured; Employer Discovers It's Not Enough to Only Train Some Workers Everardo Diaz showed up for work on a residential construction crew in San Diego at about 7 a.m. on July 11, 2008. Diaz and his brother, Armando, were members of the "joister crew" and were working on the second floor of a house under construction. At about 8:15 a.m., Diaz was walking backwards on the top plate of the second floor, measuring and marking, when he fell. Diaz was not wearing any fall protection, and no perimeter scaffolding or guardrails were in place to protect him. He fell more than 19 feet, sustaining fractures to his back, pelvis, and arm. . . . more » Trainer's Handbook: Enhance Fleet Safety and Compliance by Training Workers in California's Newest Traffic Laws Many Californians work along the state's surface roads and highways--from highway workers and police and emergency response workers to tree trimmers, utility repairmen, crossing guards, sanitation workers, and more. For the sake of their safety, the safety of others, and an employer's own liability, it is vital that employees understand and comply with traffic laws while out on the roads. Many new traffic laws have taken effect in 2010, and this training session will help workers keep abreast of these developments. . . . more » Transportation: New Rule Holds Intermodal Equipment Providers Accountable for Safety with Marking, Inspection Requirements In December 2009, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) began enforcing the Intermodal Equipment Final Rule. . . . more » Hazardous Chemicals: Prevent Pool Chemical Injuries with These Safe Storage Tips These chemically treated pools, water parks, and interactive fountains may be safer for swimmers, but the chemicals are dangerous to the workers who handle them. They can cause injuries by igniting fires, releasing hazardous vapors, or coming into direct contact with a worker's tissues, including skin, eyes, and the inside of the nose and mouth. One way to protect workers is by storing pool chemicals safely. . . . more » Workplace Violence: Identifying Risk Factors and Preventing Violence Against Home Health Workers Home healthcare is one of the fastest growing segments of the healthcare industry. According to the Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco, California currently has 45,000 home healthcare aides, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that home healthcare employment will increase by 46 percent from 2008 to 2018. Patients often prefer to be cared for in their homes whenever possible, and home care offers substantial cost savings over institution-based care, making the option attractive to insurers and patients alike. . . . more » News Note: Leadership Traits May Reduce Work Stress, Study Finds The "Type A" personality has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and job stress. But one Type A trait may reduce worker stress, according to a study published in . . . more » News Note: Federal OSHA, Other Agencies Announce Regulatory Agendas Federal agencies including OSHA have published their semi-annual regulatory agendas, although the Federal Register no longer contains the complete agendas. Only those entries with the most . . . more » News Note: Videos Provide Respirator, Face Mask Guidance for Health Workers Federal OSHA has developed two new videos for healthcare workers that feature training and guidance on safe respirator use. The video "Respirator Safety" demonstrates how to . . . more » News Note: Study Shows Big Payoff from Pre-hiring Physical Screenings of Drivers A two-year study by Atlas Ergonomics, a provider of ergonomic service and technology, found that systematic physical screenings of truck drivers for ergonomic risks following a conditional job offer led to a 7 percent reduction in . . . more » News Note: White Paper Outlines Best Practices for Hearing Protection Programs A free white paper from hearing protection maker Howard Leight details how the merger between U.S. Airways and America West led to an enhanced hearing conservation program for the newly formed company. The document describes . . . more » Bulletin: Online Exclusive: Pool chemical safe storage checklist Chemically treated pools may be safer for swimmers, but the chemicals that make the pools that way pose dangers to the workers who handle them. Pool chemicals can cause injuries by igniting fires, . . . more » Online Exclusive: Know the Signs and Symptoms of Heart Attack and Sudden Cardiac Arrest February is American Heart Month, making it a good time to remind workers how to recognize the coronary events that kill about one American every minute. This checklist of signs and symptoms can refresh workers' memories and help them respond quickly and appropriately to a co-worker in cardiac distress. . . . more » Bulletin: OSHA schedules HCS hearings Federal OSHA has scheduled three informal public hearings for this March and April on the proposed rule to align the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) with . . . more » Bulletin: NIOSH presents six ideas for making green jobs safe for workers Green jobs have received a great deal of attention lately, especially since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but new jobs can mean new safety risks . . . more » Worker Health: Five Strategies to Cure Those Late-Winter Blues and Enhance Safety and Productivity It's February, and your workforce may be feeling a little down. For some, it might just be a post-holiday letdown or the grind of ongoing economic woes. For others, it could be a chronic, low-level depression called "dysthymia" that can be at least partially alleviated by . . . more » Hazardous Chemicals: Heavier-Than-Air Vapors; Protect Workers from This Invisible Hazard Terry Reynolds, a 55-year-old Kansas homeowner, just wanted to relight the pilot light of his propane water heater on Aug. 6, 2009. Unfortunately, the propane tank was leaking heavier-than-air propane gas into the water heater's enclosure, and instead of lighting the pilot, . . . more » Trainer's Handbook: Handling Hazardous Cargo: Training Requirements for Marine Terminal Operations Working in a marine terminal, shifting cargo containers onto and off of trucks and ships, is a hazardous occupation. Marine terminal workers have been killed by falling containers and by falling from containers. They have been run over by heavy equipment and had heavy equipment tip over onto them. . . . more » Appeals Board Decisions: Site's Designated Safety Representative Was 'Unavailable'; Sorting Out the Requirements for Safety Representatives During a routine inspection of a sewer refurbishing project being performed by Colich & Sons/J.R. Pipeline, J.V., in Los Angeles, the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) inspector asked to speak to the employer's designated safety representative (DSR). He was told that the DSR was unavailable because of a family emergency and had gone to the East Coast for an unspecified period of time . . . more » Hazard Identification: Preventing Catastrophic Pressure Vessel Failures; Beware of These Dangerous Situations On June 11, 2008, an operator at the Goodyear rubber manufacturing plant in southeast Houston, Texas, was running steam through the process tubes of a heat exchanger unit as part of a cleaning operation. The steam heated residual anhydrous ammonia that was present in the exchanger's shell, but . . . more » Health and Wellness: Firefighter Suffers Sudden Cardiac Arrest During Training Exercise; American Heart Month Is Opportunity to Educate On Nov. 9, 2008, a dozen firefighter trainees gathered in wet and chilly weather at a Virginia training facility for an entry-level firefighter certification class. The trainees dressed in their "turnout" gear--firefighting clothes and equipment--and conducted drills with hoses and self-contained contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). . . . more » News Note: NIOSH Study Examines Risk of Job-Related Violence for Home Healthcare Workers The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is conducting research to better understand work-related violence risks to home healthcare workers. According to the study's preliminary findings, . . . more » News Note: Rules for Intermodal Equipment Providers Take Effect The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is now enforcing a new rule, the Intermodal Chassis rule, designed to enhance the safety of . . . more » News Note: Truck and Bus Companies Now Subject to New Federal, California Rules Commercial trucking and passenger-carrier operations are subject to new state and federal rules aimed at . . . more » News Note: Updated California Tsunami Inundation Maps Available Newly updated California Tsunami Inundation Maps are now available from the California Tsunami Program, a joint effort of the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA), the California Geological Survey (CGS), and . . . more » News Note: Michaels Confirmed as New Federal OSHA Administrator David Michaels, Ph.D., an epidemiologist who formerly chaired the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to . . . more » Inspecting Local Exhaust Ventilation Systems If you're using local exhaust ventilation to control exposures to airborne contaminants at the source, then you'll need to inspect and maintain your ventilation system in order to ensure that it is effective. . . . more » More