Weekly E-Newsbrief
February 9, 2024
The E-Newsbrief of the National Clearinghouse is a free weekly newsletter focusing on new developments in the world of worker health and safety. Each issue provides summaries of the latest worker health and safety news from newspapers, magazines, journals, government reports, and the Web, along with links to the original documents. Also featured each week are updates from government agencies that handle hazmat and worker safety issues such as DOE, EPA, OSHA and others.
Subscribing to the National Clearinghouse Newsbrief is the best way to stay on top of the worker health and safety news.
- Top Stories
- Calendar Features
- On The Web This Week
- Federal Agency Update
- Awardee Highlights/Online Learning
- Job Openings
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- Newsbriefs Past Issues
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OSHA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Proposal for Emergency Response Workers has been posted for public inspection. OSHA is proposing through this notice of proposed rulemaking to issue a new safety and health standard to replace the existing Fire Brigades Standard. The new standard would address a broader scope of emergency responders and include programmatic elements to protect them from various occupational hazards. Comments, including requests for a hearing and other information, must be submitted by May 6, 2024.
US Regulatory System Failed to Prevent Thousands of Deaths in Frontline Workers During the Pandemic
A new analysis examines the risks faced by frontline workers in the U.S. during the pandemic and suggests reforms that could protect population health and save lives. The authors note that from the onset, laws and regulations in the United States inadequately protected frontline workers. At the same time, these essential workers were rarely seen as a population that needed special attention or protections.
George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health
Register Now for National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week
The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism invite you to join in National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW), March 18–24, 2024. NDAFW is a weeklong national health observance inspiring dialogue about the science of drug use and addiction among youth. You can get involved by hosting an event or accessing lesson plans or other learning materials for educators, counselors, and prevention specialists.
Scientists Explore Whether to Add A “Category 6” Designation for Hurricanes
Hurricanes are rated on a scale from one to five, depending on their wind speeds. The higher the speed, the higher the category, but as climate change makes powerful storms more common, it may be necessary to add a sixth category. The authors of the new paper have been studying the effects of climate change on hurricanes for decades. They propose that Category 5 should include hurricanes with maximum sustained winds of 157 to 192 miles per hour, and that a new Category 6 should include any storm with wind speeds above 192 miles per hour.
NPR [Author: Rebecca Hersher]
NIOSH Exploring How Construction Workers and Robots Can Safely Coexist
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will continue to research how construction sites that use robots can be kept safe for workers. Recent research by the International Federation of Robotics shows that in 2022, the global average robot density in manufacturing was 151 robots per 10,000 workers, more than double the figure in 2018. NIOSH is also interested in providing guidance on working safely with robots and improving the ability to identify and track injuries and fatalities involving them.
| Calendar Features | Back to Top |
Hazard and Risk Assessment, Respiratory Protection During Disaster Response and Cleanup
Disaster risk assessments include the identification of hazards, and a review of the safety and health hazards workers may encounter and reassess if conditions change. This webinar will discuss site safety, including respiratory risks, how to select and safely use appropriate respiratory protection, personal protective equipment (PPE), and decontamination procedures. It will take place on February 15, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET.
Hospitality Worker Day Webinar
The Department of Labor’s Wage Hour Division is presenting this webinar to employers, employees, and staffing agencies to safeguard the rights of hospitality workers and the wages they have rightfully earned. This multi-agency event will provide information on the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions and requirements under the H-2B visa program. The webinar will also cover the employment relationship as it applies to staffing agencies and clients. It will take place on February 22, 2024, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. ET.
Have You Gone Mobile? Elevating Safety Programs and Boosting Productivity
In today’s rapidly evolving safety landscape, leveraging technology is paramount to fostering a robust safety culture. Discover the positive impact of mobile environmental, health and safety apps on safety audits, inspections, incident reporting and more. Presenters will delve into real-world examples showcasing how mobile apps can elevate safety practices, streamline processes and improve data accuracy, all while significantly enhancing overall productivity. Learn best practices for successful mobile app adoption, including key features to look for, strategies to overcome challenges and methods to ensure seamless integration. The webinar will take place on February 22, 2024, from 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. CT.
Safety at Work: Addressing Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in the Service Industry
This webinar will focus on the importance of addressing gender-based violence and harassment in the service industry and how it impacts worker health and safety. Speakers will include service industry workers, an employer, and representatives from UNITE HERE, SafeBars, Restaurant Opportunities Center United and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Spanish interpretation will be available. The webinar will take place on February 22, 2024, from 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. ET.
2024 NRT Worker Safety and Health Technical Conference
The National Response Team (NRT) Worker Safety & Health Subcommittee will host the biennial 2024 NRT Worker Safety & Health Technical Conference. The conference is free to attend and will be held in-person and virtually on March 13, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET and March 14, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET. There will be an NIEHS Emergency Response Health and Safety Training and Tools session on March 14, 2024, from 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. ET.
| On The Web This Week | Back to Top |
Many Municipal Departments Aren’t Prepared for Climate Change
As the climate warms, large, intense wildfires are growing more common and spreading into new areas. In the past year, major fires have ravaged parts of eastern Canada, Louisiana, and Hawaii. According to trainers, wildland firefighting requires special tactics, like cutting trees and digging trenches to slow a fire’s spread. Structural firefighters are accustomed to fighting a fire within a single building, but now they are encountering full-on wildland conflagrations just burning right into the town. It’s important to equip municipal fire crews with the training and resources they need to help protect their communities as they encounter larger and more frequent wildfires.
Native Americans Less Likely to Visit Emergency Rooms for Self-Inflicted Injuries
While Native Americans are at the highest risk for suicide, they are significantly less likely to go to the emergency room with self-inflicted injuries than non-Natives, according to a new study. The study examined emergency room data from the National Trauma Data Bank from 2012-2017. Native Americans accounted for 1,176 out of nearly 80,000 patients studied. Compared to non-Native patients, the study found Native Americans who were treated in emergency rooms for self-harm were younger, more likely to be female, and covered under Medicaid. An underfunded Indian Health Service and systemic inequities leave Indigenous communities in a virtual freefall when it comes to mental health services.
Native News Online [Author: Elyse Wild]
| Federal Agency Update | Back to Top |
EPA Finalizes Stronger Standards for Harmful Soot Pollution, Significantly Increasing Health and Clean Air Protections for Families, Workers, and Communities
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a significantly stronger air quality standard that will better protect America’s families, workers, and communities from the dangerous and costly health effects of fine particle pollution, also known as soot. By strengthening the annual health-based national ambient air quality standard for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from a level of 12 micrograms per cubic meter to 9 micrograms per cubic meter, the EPA’s updated standard will save lives. Along with strengthening the primary annual PM2.5 standard, EPA is modifying the PM2.5 monitoring network design criteria to include a factor that accounts for proximity of populations at increased risk of PM2.5-related health effects to sources of air pollution.
Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health will meet on Feb. 21-22 in Washington
The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has scheduled a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health for February 22, 2024, from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. ET. The meeting will include remarks from the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker, updates on the construction industry from OSHA's Directorate of Construction, a discussion about women in construction, reports from committee workgroups and a period during which the public is invited to make comments.
Biden-Harris Administration Requests Proposals to Expand and Modernize the Nation’s Electric Grid
The Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a Request for Proposals for the second round of the Transmission Facilitation Program, a revolving fund supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help overcome financial hurdles facing large-scale new and upgraded transmission lines. These federal investments will unlock billions of dollars of state and private sector capital to build transformative projects that increase the reliability of the power grid and modernize it so that more American communities and businesses have access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity.
HHS Releases the National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in People
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in People (VBD National Strategy). The strategy identifies and describes federal priorities to detect, prevent, respond to, and control diseases and conditions caused by vectors in the United States. This VBD National Strategy represents the largest formal federal coordination effort focused on vector-borne disease prevention and control with contributions by over 50 representatives across 17 federal agencies.
FEMA and Partners Rally Massive Effort to Help Lahaina Rebound and Wildfire Survivors Heal
Removing debris from the 5-square-mile burn zone, with the permission of the property owners, is just one visible sign of the massive response to the August 8 wildfires that swept through the coastal town of Lahaina on the island of Maui. During the past six months, state, local and federal officials, nonprofits, and community leaders have helped thousands of displaced survivors find a place to stay, feed their families, and access financial aid, crisis counseling and other services. Since the wildfires, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has spent more than $1.7 billion, including funding critical projects administered by other federal agencies.
| Awardee Highlights/Online Learning | Back to Top |
Episode 126: The Impact of Organizational Decision-Making on Worker Safety and Health
This episode of The Case for Safety podcast will feature Pete Susca, principal at OpX Safety. He discusses the importance of examining the potential impacts that business decisions could have on worker safety and health.
American Society of Safety Professionals: The Case for Safety Podcast
The Relationship Between Workplace Drug Policies, Opioid Misuse, and Psychological Distress: Evidence From the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
This study, using a nationally representative dataset of the U.S. workforce, examines how punitive workplace drug policies relate to opioid use/misuse and psychological distress. Of the workers surveyed, 3.38% reported misusing opioids in the last 12 months. Having a punitive workplace policy was associated with higher rates of opioid use/misuse among workers aged ≤ 34 compared to their same-aged counterparts in nonpunitive workplaces. Some employers may think drug testing policies are net-beneficial to worker well-being; these findings indicate such policies may interact in harmful ways with psychological distress.
NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy [Authors: Aurora B. Le, Emily Urban-Wojcik, Meghan Seewald, & Briana R. Mezuk]
| Job Openings | Back to Top |
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations Seeking Safety and Health Fellow
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is hiring a temporary safety and health fellow for the period of February to July or August. The AFL-CIO Safety and Health Department uses evidence to advocate for stronger worker safety and health protections and worker rights primarily through federal and state regulatory and legislative activities. Responsibilities of the safety and health fellow include assisting in data collection and analysis, analyzing the impact of regulatory safeguards, and highlighting disparities and intersectionality of hazardous working conditions, among others.
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