Articles Posted in 2013

Highway transportation accidents are a major cause of job-related fatalities —and workers age of 65 and older may be at the greatest risk of dying in transportation accidents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a fatality rate of 3.1 per 100,000 full-time workers over 65. The fatality rate for those ages 55-64 was…

Musculoskeletal injuries are a major hazard in the American workplace. They typically occur because of repetitive stress or cumulative trauma. These injuries cost the workers’ compensation system hundreds of millions of dollars every year, although they are entirely preventable. Employers can play a key role in reducing musculoskeletal injuries by remaining mindful of the risks…

A high-stress job can be a factor in mental and emotional problems, including depression, a recent study in Japan confirms. The study focused on the risk of depression among workers who have high-pressure jobs or work for long hours. Researchers at the Kyoto University School of Public Health evaluated surveys of than 200 clerical workers.…

Can a drug help you adjust better to shift work? New research suggests that it can. Workers in shift-based jobs often must contend with fatigue and drowsiness. Now researchers at Notre Dame say they have found a gene and protein that limits the ability of the internal clock to deal with changes in the light-dark…

Federal safety officials have issued a hazard alert related to a solvent that is frequently used in industrial applications. According to the Operational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, constant exposure to 1-Bromopropane has been linked to serious neurological disorders. The chemical name for1-Bromopropane is n-propyl bromide, and…

The construction sector is one of the deadliest workplaces, with one of the highest injury and fatality rates in the country. In fact, injury rates may be higher than statistics indicate, because many accidents go unreported. Researchers recently tried to find out why there is so much underreporting of construction injuries. Their findings are distressing.…

A new report by a non-governmental organization warns that possible federal budget cuts carry serious implications for worker safety. Specifically, the cuts may curtail activities of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the agency responsible for safety in the workplace. According to the report by the Center for Effective Government, OSHA already faces a serious…

An interesting infographic developed by an insurer presents an in-depth look at the cost of trip, slip and fall accidents in American industry. Slip and fall accidents leave 9 million people with injuries serious enough to send them to the hospital each year. Slip and fall accidents are among the most frequent on-the-job accidents, accounting…

The death of a worker has led to focus on conditions at an auto-parts plant in Georgia. This is the eighth time in four years that Sewon American in LaGrange has been the subject of a federal safety investigation. Federal regulators have discovered multiple safety violations at the LaGrange plant since it opened in 2009.…

A recent report by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen calls for more oversight of worker safety in the healthcare industry. The report claims the industry remains hazardous with many safety issues unaddressed as a result of insufficient inspections and poor oversight. Workplace safety in the healthcare industry has long been in need of attention.…