Women in Frontline Roles Need More Support: Report

Women in frontline jobs say their safety and well-being needs often go unacknowledged, according to a recently published report. The report is based on interviews with 72 women and their managers who work in the manufacturing, accommodations and food service, and retail industries. The report shows that the women believe scheduling practices overlooks those who are primarily responsible for care giving and that advancement pathways are not clear or accessible.

Safety and Health Magazine

Women on the Front Line: Enabling Them to Thrive, Stay, and Perform

The Surprising Environmental Cost of Rapid Testing, Mosquito Nets, and Other Lifesaving Health Products

A new report, published by the global health initiative Unitaid, investigates the environmental impact of 10 essential public health items. Altogether, these products — including mosquito nets, rapid testing, pills, and injectables — contribute nearly 3.5 megatons of greenhouse gases per year. Reducing their use isn’t an option, but the report points to strategies that could lead to a 70% reduction in emissions by 2030, many of which could be implemented at no additional costs. According to the report, many emissions could be eliminated by increasing the use of renewable energy in production, more effective supply chain processes, and employing new materials.

STAT News [Author: Annalisa Merelli]

From milligrams to megatons: A climate and nature assessment of ten key health products

Pilots Say They're Afraid to Seek Mental Health Care. The FAA Says It's Listening

Pilots and other aviation professionals described their personal struggles with anxiety, depression and substance use, and urged federal regulators to reform rules that often discourage people from seeking treatment because they're afraid of losing their medical clearance to work and fly. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has signaled it is open to changing its policies around mental health, and they recently announced a new advisory panel to evaluate those policies and issue recommendations "to identify and break down any remaining barriers" that discourage pilots and air traffic controllers from seeking mental health care.

NPR [Author: Joel Rose]

Do Employees with Greater Work-Life Balance Have Healthier Hearts?

Flexibility in the workplace can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and even keep your heart feeling younger, results of a recent study show. More than 1,500 workers were screened for blood pressure, body mass index, glycated hemoglobin, cholesterol, and smoking status at the start of the study as well as one year later. One group was assigned an intervention in which supervisors were trained to encourage greater work-life balance and workers received training on improving time management. Another group, meanwhile, conducted its work as usual. Results show that the workers in the intervention group had lower cardiometabolic risk scores than those in the work-as-usual group.

Safety and Health Magazine

Employee Cardiometabolic Risk Following a Cluster-Randomized Workplace Intervention From the Work, Family and Health Network, 2009–2013

Mitigating Arboviral Threats and Strengthening Public Health Preparedness: A Workshop

The Forum on Microbial Threats will conduct a two-day workshop that will identify lessons learned from previous outbreaks, outline current arbovirus surveillance capacities, and describe novel approaches to arbovirus mitigation. The workshop will include perspectives from researchers, public health practitioners, and environmental management experts from across the globe. The workshop will take place on December 12, 2023, from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET and December 13, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. ET in the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, DC and virtually.

Event Registration

The ILO Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190): Exchanges Between Practitioners and Academia on Preventing and Ending Violence and Harassment in the World of Work

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is joining the International Association on Workplace Bullying and Harassment to exchange on preventing and eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work. The webinar will provide a global overview of workplace violence and harassment based on the key findings from the ILO-Lloyd’s Register Foundation-Gallup report on Experiences of violence and harassment at work: a global first survey, followed by insightful interventions on the discrimination and OSH considerations of C190 and an engaging academic and practitioner discussion on its implications for the world of work. The webinar will take place on December 11, 2023, from 08:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. ET.

Event Registration

‘Retaliation Is a Reality’: How Agribusiness Attacks on a Colorado Farmworkers Rights Law Erode Ranch Workers’ Mental Health

Along with Colorado’s farmers and ranchers, farmworkers are among groups most prone to mental health problems linked to isolation and having to rely for work on elements completely out of their control. Until recently, many farmworkers couldn’t count on being able to talk with community healthcare workers or other visitors at their home if it was on their employer’s land. A new law, established in 2021, ensures employees’ rights to transportation and the freedom to meet with service providers on breaks and after work. This law, which could lead to improvements in farmworkers’ mental health, is still being opposed by industry representatives.

Mind Site News [Author: Diana Hembree]

Rural Jobs Grew a Percentage Point in September, but the Longer-Term Trend Is Still a Problem

Rural America added more than 200,000 jobs over the past year but is still below pre-pandemic employment levels. The failure to reach full recovery three and a half years after the start of the pandemic is related to larger trends, including an aging population, lack of childcare, and lower levels of formal education. Rural employment grew to 20.4 million in September 2023, which is an increase of 1% from last year. But rural America still has 64,000 fewer jobs this year than it did at the same time in 2019, before the pandemic. Meanwhile, metropolitan counties have gained back more jobs than they lost during the pandemic.

The Daily Yonder [Author: Sarah Melotte]

‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in Freshwater Fish, Yet Most States Don’t Warn Residents

Researchers, anglers, and environmental activists nationwide worry about the staggering amount of Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) found in freshwater fish. According to a recent study from the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy organization that tracks PFAS, eating a single serving of freshwater fish can be the equivalent of drinking water contaminated with high levels of PFAS for a month. With no federal guidance, what is considered safe to eat varies significantly among states, most of which provide no regulation. Part of the challenge of getting the word out and setting location-specific consumption advisories is that contamination levels vary significantly from lake to lake, as well as species to species.

Kaiser Health News [Author: Hannah Norman]

Locally caught freshwater fish across the United States are likely a significant source of exposure to Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and other perfluorinated compounds

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Availability of $30.7 Million in Grants to Support Water Systems in Small and Rural Communities

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of up to $30.7 million in grant funding for technical assistance and training to support small drinking water and wastewater systems, including those in rural communities. This grant provides funding to organizations that work side-by-side with water systems by giving them the necessary tools and training to ensure communities have safe drinking water and effective wastewater treatment systems. Small water systems often face unique financial and operational challenges, including aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, increasing costs, and declining rate bases. Many small systems also serve disadvantaged communities with environmental justice concerns. With this action, EPA is investing in small and underserved communities to ensure safe drinking water and wastewater services are provided to those that are most in need.

EPA News Release

U.S. Department of Labor Urges Employers to Follow Federal Safety Guidelines to Protect Workers from Falls; Delivery, Warehouse Hazards This Holiday Season

To make sure the holiday season is truly joyful, the Department of Labor reminds employers and workers not to overlook workplace safety and health. The department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offers resources to help keep workers safe year-round and as they carry out an array of holiday-related jobs, from working with lighted decorations to serving customers in packed retail stores and from making rush deliveries to picking and packing orders in warehouses. To assist employers and workers, OSHA offers information focused on keeping workers safe during the holiday season in retail, warehousing, delivery, and other seasonal jobs.

OSHA News Release

Holiday Workplace Safety

At COP28, Net Zero World Showcases Progress in Transforming Emerging Energy Economies

During the 28th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United States and Net Zero World partner countries announced progress on building clean, secure energy systems in leading emerging economies. Net Zero World is the Department of Energy (DOE)’s flagship initiative that works in partnership with major energy producing countries to develop and implement holistic approaches to decarbonizing their entire energy systems. Partner countries include Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, and Ukraine. In only two years, it has informed and implemented 23 decarbonization actions across the energy sector, from facilitating coal phaseout to supporting distributed energy resource deployment.

DOE News Release

Episode 145: The Hospital Capacity Crisis

In Episode 145 “The Hospital Capacity Crisis” of the Osterholm Update podcast from the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy, Michael Osterholm, Ph.D., and Chris Dall discuss the state of the pandemic in the U.S. and around the world, the reclassification of the BA.2.86 variant as a variant of interest, and the surge in pediatric pneumonia hospitalizations in China. Osterholm also provides an update on influenza and RSV in the U.S. and shares a moment of joy from one of our listeners.

Osterholm Update Podcast Episode 145

UC Berkeley Labor Occupational Health Program Seeking Assistant/Associate Project Scientist

The Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP) is a public service program of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. LOHP is seeking an Assistant/Associate Project Scientist to contribute to participatory research projects, provide technical assistance to stakeholders, and oversee students engaged in research projects. This position will also develop proposals for future research initiatives designed to evaluate the effectiveness of worker health and safety interventions, document the impact of health and safety hazards, and identify policy solutions.

Job Posting

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