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This paper summarizes historical asbestos exposure data collected during the handling of short-fiber chrysotile asbestos that was used as an additive to drilling fluid in oil and gas exploration. A total of 1171 industrial hygiene (IH) personal and area air samples were collected and analyzed from more than 20 drilling rigs between 1972 and 1985. The dataset consists of 1097 short-term samples (<240 min) with more than 80% having sample durations less than 30 min. Average airborne fiber concentrations measured during asbestos handling activities ranged from 0.62 f/cc to 3.39 f/cc using phase-contrast microscopy (PCM). An additional 14 samples were considered long-term samples (>240 min) and there were 60 samples with no reported sample duration. Eight-hour time-weighted average (8-h TWA) results, calculated using short-term samples, along with long-term samples greater than 240 min, did not exceed contemporaneous Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limits (PELs). This analysis fills a data gap in the evaluation of asbestos exposures from the use of drilling mud additives (DMAs) that contained chrysotile asbestos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halfmask air‐purifying respirators are used by millions of workers to reduce inhaling air contaminants, both chemical (e.g., asbestos, styrene) and biological (e.g., SARS‐CoV‐2, Mycobacterium tuberculosis). In 2006, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) promulgated a standard that gave halfmask respirators an assigned protection factor (APF) of 10. This signified that OSHA assumes a fit‐tested and trained wearer will experience a 10% maximum total inward leakage of contaminated air into the facepiece. To derive APF = 10, OSHA analyzed data from 16 workplace studies of the efficacy of halfmask respirators worn against particulate contaminants. In this commentary, I contend that, in considering the data, OSHA made several errors that overstated halfmask respirator efficacy. The errors were (i) failing to properly account for within‐wearer and between‐wearer variability in respirator efficacy; (ii) ignoring the effect of particle deposition in the respiratory tract; (iii) aggregating unbalanced data within and between studies, and effectively double‐counting the data in some studies; and (iv) ignoring the effect that particle size exerts in penetrating respirator facepiece leak paths. The net result is that OSHA's APF = 10 can lead to excessive toxicant exposure for many workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) professionals increasingly need to assess and mitigate a broad scope of worker safety, health, and well-being concerns that extend beyond traditional OSH training curricula. Work-related and non-work-related psychosocial hazards, chronic physical and mental health conditions, and changing work arrangements call for an integrative, public health approach to occupational risk management; this approach has been called, " Total Worker Health ®" by United States public health authorities (Schulte et al. 2019). OSH professionals need education to ensure that Total Worker Health (TWH) practice approaches are consistently and effectively applied. This study sought to develop a valid, reliable scale that could be used to assess TWH skills gaps that can be addressed with tailored, competency-based curricula. Method We developed a survey scale to assess professional competency for specific TWH practice approaches described in prior literature (Lee et al. 2016 ; Punnett et al. 2020). The scale contained 11 statements and used a 5-point scale (not skilled to highly skilled) to rate the level of competency. We pre-tested and refined the statements for face validity then administered the scale with a convenience sample of 258 professionals from mixed OSH disciplines. A total of 210 OSH professionals (31% safety, 17% industrial hygiene, 12% occupational nurses, 11% occupational physicians, 29% other) who completed 50% or more of the questions were included in the analysis. Scale reliability was assessed with a Cronbach's alpha test. Scale validity and structure were assessed with exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Results The 11-item scale had high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.92). The initial EFA solution suggested 2 factors that explained 65.3% of variance, with one cross-loaded question. A final 10-item, 2-factor scale was developed that accounted for 66.0% of variance with no cross-loaded items (Cronbach's alpha α = 0.91). Factor 1 (6 items) contributed to 55.5% of the variance and captured skills related to TWH program leadership (e.g. leader commitment, integrating program systems, engaging with other program leaders and workers). Factor 2 (4 items) contributed to 10.5% of the variance and captured technical skills related to hazard identification and control (e.g. identifying hazards, designing work to reduce hazards). Internal consistency was very good for both TWH program leadership (Cronbach α = 0.89) and TWH risk assessment and control (Cronbach α = 0.80) subscales. Conclusion A novel 10-item TWH skill scale to assess specific TWH practice approaches was developed with very good reliability. Factor analysis revealed 2 latent constructs: TWH leadership skills and TWH risk assessment and control skills. This study offers an evidence-based tool to assess competency for specific TWH practices among OSH professionals. The results of this study contribute to the broader research base needed to formalize a TWH competency framework, as advocated by other scholars interested in TWH workforce education (Newman et al. 2020). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is decentralized, wherein field offices coordinated at the state level undertake inspections. We study whether this structure can lead to interstate frictions in sharing information and how this impacts firms' compliance with workplace safety laws. We find that firms caught violating in one state subsequently violate less in that state but violate more in other states. Despite this pattern, and in keeping with information frictions, violations in one state do not trigger proactive OSHA inspections in other states. Moreover, firms face lower monetary penalties when subsequent violations occur across state lines, likely due to the lack of documentation necessary to assess severe penalties. Finally, firms are more likely to shift violating behavior into states with greater information frictions. Our findings suggest that internal information within regulators impacts the likelihood and location of corporate misconduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) gathered data between 1989 and 1997 to build an "objective database" to further understand the occupational exposures generated by the few asbestos-containing materials remaining at various steelmaking companies at this time. This paper analyzed the 520 samples from this campaign which occurred at five different steel manufacturers: Georgetown Steel Company, Inland Steel Company, Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) Corporation, United States Steel Corporation, and Weirton Steel Corporation. This database is believed to have never previously been systematically organized. Samples were grouped based on sampling times to determine whether they should most appropriately be compared to the OSHA short-term excursion limit (EL) or the 8-hr time-weighted average (TWA) permissible exposure limit (PEL). Sampling times of 30 min or less were considered short-term samples, and samples of 180 min or greater were considered representative workday samples. Samples that did not fit into either category, with sampling times between 31 and 179 min, were considered task samples. Overall, the data indicated that the airborne concentrations were quite low in 1989 and they continued to be low through the study period which ended in 1997. Only seven out of 286 (approximately 2.5%) short-term or representative workday samples were in exceedance of the current OSHA OELs that were implemented in 1994 (short-term samples being compared to the 1 f/cc EL and representative workday samples being compared to the 0.1 f/cc 8-hr TWA PEL). Consistent with prior data, analysis of this dataset supports the view that materials containing asbestos were not used in many applications in the steel industry, and measured airborne concentrations of asbestos were almost always below the occupational exposure limits (OELs) in the post-OSHA era (1972–2000). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing employees with proper work conditions should be one of the main concerns of any employer. Even so, in many cases, work shifts chronically expose the workers to a wide range of potentially harmful compounds, such as ammonia. Ammonia has been present in the composition of products commonly used in a wide range of industries, namely production in lines, and also laboratories, schools, hospitals, and others. Chronic exposure to ammonia can yield several diseases, such as irritation and pruritus, as well as inflammation of ocular, cutaneous, and respiratory tissues. In more extreme cases, exposure to ammonia is also related to dyspnea, progressive cyanosis, and pulmonary edema. As such, the use of ammonia needs to be properly regulated and monitored to ensure safer work environments. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work have already commissioned regulations on the acceptable limits of exposure to ammonia. Nevertheless, the monitoring of ammonia gas is still not normalized because appropriate sensors can be difficult to find as commercially available products. To help promote promising methods of developing ammonia sensors, this work will compile and compare the results published so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study sought to determine the effect of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliant noise on auditory health and assess whether pre-noise near infrared (NIR) light therapy can mitigate the effects of noise exposure. Methods: Over four visits, participants (n = 30, NCT#: 03834714) with normal hearing completed baseline hearing health assessments followed by exposure to open ear, continuous pink noise at 94 dBA for 15 min. Immediately thereafter, post-noise hearing tests at 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were conducted along with the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT), Masking Level Difference Test (MLD), and Fixed Level Frequency Tests (FLFT) [collectively referred to as the Central and Peripheral Auditory Test Battery (CPATB)] to acquire baseline noise sensitivity profiles. Participants were then randomized to either Active or Sham NIR light therapy for 30 min binaurally to conclude Visit 1. Visit 2 (=24 and = 48 h from Visit 1) began with an additional 30-min session of Active NIR light therapy or Sham followed by repeat CPATB testing and noise exposure. Post-noise testing was again conducted immediately after noise exposure to assess the effect of NIR light therapy. The remaining visits were conducted following =2 weeks of noise rest in a cross-over design (i.e., those who had received Active NIR light therapy in Visits 1 and 2 received Sham therapy in Visits 3 and 4). Results: Recovery hearing tests and DPOAEs were completed at the end of each visit. Participants experienced temporary threshold shifts (TTS) immediately following noise exposure, with a mean shift of 6.79 dB HL (±6.25), 10.61 dB HL (±6.89), and 7.30 dB HL (±7.25) at 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz, respectively, though all thresholds returned to baseline at 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz within 75 min of noise exposure. Paradoxically, Active NIR light therapy threshold shifts were statistically higher than Sham therapy at 3000 Hz (p = 0.04), but no other differences were observed at the other frequencies tested. An age sub-analysis demonstrated that TTS among younger adults were generally larger in the Sham therapy group versus Active therapy, though this was not statistically different. There were no differences in CPATB test results across Active or Sham groups. Finally, we observed no changes in auditory function or central processing following noise exposure, suggestive of healthy and resilient inner ears. Conclusion: In this study, locally administered NIR prior to noise exposure did not induce a significant protective effect in mitigating noise-induced TTS. Further exploration is needed to implement effective dosage and administration for this promising otoprotective therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal air monitoring using a TSI SidePak AM520 personal aerosol monitor was performed on a northern Colorado construction site during five tasks from the OSHA Table 1 : Specified Exposure Control Methods When Working With Materials Containing Crystalline Silica to estimate silica dust concentrations in real time. Photometric measurements were modified using a gravimetric correction factor and a % respirable crystalline silica adjustment. Each task was sampled once; sample time ranged from 14 min to 40 min, with a mean sample time of 27 min. The mean silica dust concentration estimates (μg/m3) (standard deviation [SD]) for the five tasks computed from the TSI SidePak AM520 respirable dust measurements were core drilling 12 μg/m3 [2.46], grinding 918 μg/m3 [1134.08], cutting with a walk-behind saw 36 μg/m3 [79.67], jackhammering 27 μg/m3 [23.24], and dowel drilling 66 μg/m3 [77.65]. Silica exposure estimates from real-time monitoring can be used to identify exposures that may be related to inadequate controls or worker behaviors that contribute to peak exposures. Respirable crystalline silica exposure estimates presented here are likely not generalizable to other construction sites or tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how basic safety practices can affect the daily work of operators can reduce the chance of harm to personnel and infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy-based surgical instruments produce surgical smoke, which contains harmful byproducts, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and viable microorganisms. The research setting has shifted from the laboratory to the operating room. However, significant heterogeneity in the methods of detection and placement of samplers, diversity in the tissue operated on, and types of surgeries tested has resulted in variability in detected levels and composition of surgical smoke. State regulation limiting surgical smoke exposure through local evacuators is expanding but has yet to reach the national regulatory level. However, most studies have not shown levels above standard established limits but relatively short bursts of high concentrations of these harmful by-products. This review highlights the limitations of the current research and unsupported conclusions while also suggesting further areas of interest that need more focus to improve Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an effort to aid the reopening of workplaces and curb the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States of America issued a set of guidelines for COVID-19. While the importance of these measures has been touted, studies focusing on antecedents of compliance with workplace safety guidelines, including those of COVID-19, are at a nascent stage. The current research draws on social cognitive theory to investigate the effect of psychological entitlement on adherence to COVID-19 workplace safety protocols. Specifically, the present study proposes that psychological entitlement increases one's tendency for moral disengagement, which subsequently reduces compliance with COVID-19 workplace safety protocols. Consistent with social cognitive theory, the study further proposes moral identity as a conditional moderator in mitigating the proposed relationships. The current study finds general support for the hypothesized moderated mediation model by employing multi-wave data collected from various organizations in the United States (N = 351). Theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research directions, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study introduced a novel approach for predicting occupational injury severity by leveraging deep learning-based text classification techniques to analyze unstructured narratives. Unlike conventional methods that rely on structured data, our approach recognizes the richness of information within injury narrative descriptions with the aim of extracting valuable insights for improved occupational injury severity assessment. Methods: Natural language processing (NLP) techniques were harnessed to preprocess the occupational injury narratives obtained from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from January 2015 to June 2023. The methodology involved meticulous preprocessing of textual narratives to standardize text and eliminate noise, followed by the innovative integration of Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) and Global Vector (GloVe) word embeddings for effective text representation. The proposed predictive model adopts a novel Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM) architecture and is further refined through model optimization, including random search hyperparameters and in-depth feature importance analysis. The optimized Bi-LSTM model has been compared and validated against other machine learning classifiers which are naïve Bayes, support vector machine, random forest, decision trees, and K-nearest neighbor. Results: The proposed optimized Bi-LSTM models' superior predictability, boasted an accuracy of 0.95 for hospitalization and 0.98 for amputation cases with faster model processing times. Interestingly, the feature importance analysis revealed predictive keywords related to the causal factors of occupational injuries thereby providing valuable insights to enhance model interpretability. Conclusion: Our proposed optimized Bi-LSTM model offers safety and health practitioners an effective tool to empower workplace safety proactive measures, thereby contributing to business productivity and sustainability. This study lays the foundation for further exploration of predictive analytics in the occupational safety and health domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the pervasive issue of painkiller addiction among NHL (National Hockey League) players, which is exacerbated by a league culture that valorizes playing through injuries. It highlights the shortcomings of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in managing and regulating prescription drug use, alongside the inadequate oversight and accountability from the NHL and regulatory bodies like OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration).

Highway work zones are essential for the preservation and improvement of the national road system. Nevertheless, these areas are reported to be among the most hazardous workplaces. Thus, it is crucial to develop appropriate measures to effectively mitigate the safety risks, which require a good understanding of the critical causes of accidents. While there are many previous studies on critical causes of construction accidents, none of them was specifically focused on highway work zones. This type of construction workplace has its own characteristics (e.g., near-passing traffic), which can lead to a unique set of critical causes of accidents. This study used text mining to extract root causes from a large narrative data set of construction accidents at work zones obtained from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The study applied latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) modeling on the text corpus to extract 12 root causes, which were subsequently classified into five groups: management, human, unsafe behavior, environmental, and material factors. In addition, social network analysis (SNA) was conducted to gain further insights into the interrelations between the root causes to determine their criticality degree. As a result, four highly ranked causes were identified: supervision dereliction of duty, weak safety awareness, poor construction environment, and risk-taking behavior. The findings of this study offer a new understanding of critical factors that highway agencies and contractors should focus on when developing construction accident prevention strategies at work zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the noise levels recorded in a hospital-based pediatric dental clinic and evaluate the occupational exposure personnel have to potentially hazardous levels of noise. Methods: A SoundAdvisor™ Sound Level Meter Model 831C was used to gather 19 days of background sound data (equivalent continuous sound levels, measured as LAeq) in the open bay, quiet room, sedation suite, and operating room settings. A Spartan™ Wireless Noise Dosimeter Model 730 (Larson Davis) was utilized to capture data about personal noise exposure of pediatric dental residents over 81 clinic sessions. Personal noise exposure was compared to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard. Results: Background A-weighted sound pressure level was significantly less for the open bay than in the operating room, quiet room, and oral sedation setting (P<0.05), while the operating room was significantly less than the oral sedation setting (P=0.038). Personal LAeq was significantly less for the open bay than the quiet room (P=0.007) and oral sedation settings (P=0.007). There was a significantly larger percentage of time above 80 dBA captured in the oral sedation suite compared to the open bay (P=0.010) or operating room (P=0.023). Conclusions: Daily occupational noise exposure did not exceed the thresholds set forth by OSHA. Sedation and quiet room treatment settings were noted to be the loudest pediatric dental clinical environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emission of airborne particulate matter is produced by the industrial processes of metal extraction from electronic waste (e‐waste). These aerosols can transport organic contaminants, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polybrominated biphenyls. These pollutants are proven to have long‐term effects on workers' health. In this work, we characterize aerosol particles and dust deposited from a recycling process of printed circuit boards in a recycling plant. This study also explores the significance of the secondary aerosol sources, and their importance, as an additional burden compared to primary sources. A Scanning Mobility Particles Counter and Sizer (SMPCS) was used to measure the size distributions of ultrafine particles. A Micro‐Orifice Uniform Deposition Impactor (MOUDI) collected aerosol particle samples for chemical analysis. All plant compartments checked are subject to high particulate matter concentrations during work hours. Concentrations of organic pollutants in the machinery compartments do not pose a short or long‐term health risk according to US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA). The application of the model presented in this work revealed that the accumulation of contaminants in other compartments should be considered in an occupational exposure assessment because it can present an equally important burden to workers' health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) severe injuries reports include work-related injuries from establishments under federal OSHA jurisdiction that result in an amputation, loss of an eye, or inpatient hospitalization. Data from 32 jurisdictions were examined to determine oil and gas extraction industry-specific severe industry trends during January 2015-July 2022, using the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes for oil and gas extraction. During this period, a total of 2,101 severe work-related injuries were reported in this sector. Among these severe work-related injuries, well service contract workers' injuries included the highest number of amputations (417) and hospitalizations (1,194), accounting for 20% and 57%, respectively, of all severe injuries reported. Overall, 895 (43%) of all severe injuries reported involved upper extremities. Contract workers in the service and drilling subindustries (NAICS codes 213112 and 213111, respectively) experienced disproportionately more work-related injuries compared with those in the operation subindustry (NAICS code 211). These injuries could be preventable by including contractors in worksite safety plans that administer the hierarchy of controls, are within an effective safety management system, and provide consistent safety training on work equipment, personal protective equipment, and daily site safety meetings that increase safety culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Health care workers (HCWs) in hospitals are at risk of infection with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Prevention measures are necessary to protect HCWs against COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the status of occupational risk factors and prevention measures for COVID-19 in hospitals. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Iranian hospitals. Based on the results of reviewing the literature and guidelines, two checklists on occupational risk factors and prevention measures for COVID-19 in hospitals were designed and validated. The status of occupational risk factors and prevention measures against COVID-19 in governmental, non-governmental public, private, and military hospitals were determined using designed checklists. RESULTS: Results confirmed the validity of checklists for assessing the status of COVID-19 prevention measures in hospitals. The military hospitals had the lowest mean risk factors compared to other hospitals, but there was no significant difference in occupational risk factors of infection with COVID-19 among governmental, non-governmental public, private, and military hospitals (P-value > 0.05). In the checklist of occupational risk factors of Covid-19, the type of hospital had a significant relationship with the provision and use of personal protective equipment (P-value<0.05). The mean of implementation of prevention measures among all hospitals were not statistically significant difference (P-value > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The provided checklists could be a suitable tool for monitoring of status of prevention measures for COVID-19 in hospitals. Improving ventilation systems is necessary in most of the hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Globally, the number of small-scale miners (SSM) is estimated to be more than 25 million, but it supports the livelihoods of around 100 million individuals. In Tanzania, the number of SSM has increased from an estimated 150,000 in 1987 to ~1.5 million in 2017. The miners are at a high risk of occupational-related health challenges. The study aimed to assess the concentrations of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) and radon among the tanzanite mining communities in Simanjiro District, Tanzania. Methods We carried out a cross-sectional study involving the Mererani mines in Tanzania. These are underground mines comprised of informally employed miners, i.e. SSM. Concentrations of RCS and radon gas were measured in 44 study units, i.e. 22 mining pits and within 22 houses in the general community, e.g. shops in the peri-mining community. A total of 132 respirable personal dust exposure samples (PDS), 3 from each of the study units were taken, but only 66 PDS from the mining pits were analysed, as this was the main interest of this study. Radon concentration was measured by continuous monitoring throughout the working shift (and overnight for residences) using AlphaGuard monitor. The medians and comparison to the reference values, OSHA USA PEL and WHO/IARC references, were done for RCS and radon, respectively, using SPSS Ver. 27.0.0). Results The median time-weighted average (TWA) concentration of the RCS in the mining pits was 1.23 mg/m3. Of all 66 personal dust samples from the mining pits, 65 (98.5%) had concentrations of RCS above the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 0.05 mg/m3. Mining pits had a median radon concentration of 169.50 bq/m3, which is above the World Health Organization (WHO)/International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP) recommended reference of 100.00 bq/m3 but not above the upper reference of 300.00 bq/m3, while the community buildings had a median radon concentration of 88.00 bq/m3. Overall, 9 (20.5%) and 17 (38.6%) radon measurements were above 300.00 bq/m3 and between 100.00 and 300.00 bq/m3 references, respectively. Specifically, in the mining pits, 9 (40.9%) test results were above 300.00 bq/m3, while none of the test results in the community was above 300.00 bq/m3. Conclusion The tanzanite SSM in Mererani we highly exposed to RCS, which increases the risk of pulmonary diseases, including silicosis, tuberculosis, and pulmonary malignancies. Immediate action by OSHA Tanzania should be enforcement of wearing respirators by all miners throughout the working hours. Health education programmes to the SSM must be strengthened and OSHA Tanzania should adopt the 0.05 mg/m3 PEL, and enforce other occupational health and safety measures, including regular use of dust suppression mechanisms (water spray and wet drilling) and monitoring of RCS exposures among SSM. Monitoring of radon exposure both in the mining pits and community buildings should be conducted, and mitigation measures should be implemented in areas that exceed the reference level of 100.00 bq/m3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many oil and gas extraction (OGE) activities occur in high-heat environments, resulting in a significant risk of heat-related illness among outdoor workers in this industry. This report highlights cases of occupational heat-related illness that resulted in death and identifies common risk factors for heat-related fatalities and hospitalizations among OGE workers. Two databases maintained by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) were reviewed to identify heat-related fatalities, hospitalizations, and associated risk factors among OGE workers. Nine fatalities and associated risk factors were identified during 2014–2019 from NIOSH's Fatalities in Oil and Gas Extraction (FOG) Database. Risk factors identified included those commonly associated with heat-related fatalities: new workers not acclimatized to heat, inadequate heat stress training, and underlying hypertension or cardiovascular disease. Of particular note, substance use was identified as a significant risk factor as more than half of the fatalities included a positive postmortem test for amphetamines or methamphetamines. Fifty heat-related hospitalizations were identified from OSHA's Severe Injury Report Database during January 2015–May 2021. Heat stress has been and will continue to be an important cause of fatality and adverse health effects in OGE as hot outdoor working conditions become more common and extreme. More emphasis on heat stress training, acclimatization regimens, medical screening, and implementation of workplace-supportive recovery programs may reduce heat-related fatalities and injuries in this industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the authority of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a standard regulating workplace heat exposure to protect workers. Topics discussed include U.S. Supreme Court decisions in NFIB v. OSHA and West Virginia v. EPA, workplace heat standard at OSHA, difference of heat standard from vaccine-or-test mandate, OSHA's authority and sphere of expertise to regulate universal hazards, and major questions doctrine concerning OSHA authority.

The article explores issues concerning the observed subjectivity of the performance standards being implemented by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Topics discussed include the evolution of some specification standards into performance standards, the performance criterion being required by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act), and the concept of objectivity and its application to the OSH Act.

The structural diversity and high surface reactivity of the metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) offer an ideal material platform for various applications such as gas storage, gas separation, catalyst, etc. However, their use in chemiresistive gas sensing is limited due to the requirement of optimized gas adsorption properties with electrical conductivity. In the present investigation, we have modulated the electrical properties of zinc benzene dicarboxylate (Zn-BDC) MOF by modifying it with partially reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The Zn-BDC and rGO composite (Zn-BDC@rGO) was synthesized by utilizing a solvothermal method and multiparametrically tested by various techniques such as X-Ray diffraction (XRD), UV–visible spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and I–V characteristics, for its structural, spectroscopic, morphological, surface area analysis, thermal stability, and electrical characterization, respectively. The synthesized Zn-BDC@rGO composite was deposited via drop casting method on the copper electrodes on a glass substrate (100 µm gap) using the shadow mask technique by the e-beam evaporator, and tested for the detection of ammonia, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide using chemiresistive modality. The principal component analysis (PCA) indicates that the developed sensor selectively discriminates among the NH3, CO, and SO2 gases with low response/recovery time, i.e., 60/120 s at 20 ppm, which is far below the permissible exposure limit (PEL) suggested by The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), USA for CO and NH3 and very close to the PEL level of SO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the one-off nature of projects, which necessitates setting up of unique production sites, the construction industry requires stringent requirements for safety of the workforce and the public around job sites. Although there are various federal (e.g., OSHA) and local safety regulations (e.g., NYC Department of Buildings codes) to keep construction sites safe and incident free, around 20% of work fatalities in the private industry have been from the construction industry in the past years. Within the current practice, the requirements listed in these regulations are kept within document-based safety plans. The challenge is the large number of safety requirements to be checked with more than 1,000 sections and multiple narratives under each. Given this, the manual approach fails in tracking whether these requirements are properly considered in safety plans, hence resulting in omissions and accidents/incidents due to inadequate implementations of safety requirements. Although automated safety compliance-checking coupled with building information modeling (BIM) has been an opportunity to bring efficiency to the process, there are several challenges that stand in the way of the ideal practice. This research provides the results of rigorous research conducted with the guidance of practitioners in the construction safety and insurance domain, and analysis and implementation of OSHA Part 1926 narratives using model-based checking tools. The results have been consolidated and presented as a taxonomy of challenges along with potential solutions to these challenges. Researchers and practitioners (software vendors, construction companies, regulators) can build on the outcomes to generate solutions to address these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry has witnessed a surge in heat-related accidents alongside rising summertime temperatures, exposing workers to potential injuries. The absence of specific heat stress standards by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) underscores the urgent need for more comprehensive and interactive educational materials to prevent such incidents in construction projects. This study proposes the adoption of an interactive Virtual Reality (VR) application to offer construction workers realistic and effective training, mitigating heat-related injuries. During the training sessions, VR headsets were utilized to immerse workers in two lifelike scenarios: (1) Addressing self-care during heat exhaustion; (2) Assisting a coworker experiencing heat exhaustion. A case study evaluated the effectiveness of the proposed VR training for 82 construction workers from two companies. Company A had traditional training, while Company B used VR training. Both groups took pre- and post-assessment surveys with six questions. The pre-assessment found no significant knowledge difference between the groups. After training, VR showed a significant reduction in incorrect answers compared to traditional training. Statistical tests confirmed the superiority of VR training (p-value = 0.00152 < 0.05), suggesting its effectiveness in preventing heat-related injuries in construction compared to traditional training methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examine the effect of labor unions on workplace safety. For identification, they exploit the timing and outcome of union elections, using establishments in which elections narrowly fail as a comparison group for establishments in which elections narrowly pass. Data on elections come from the National Labor Relations Board, and data on workplace safety come from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The results indicate that unionization had no detectable effect on accident case rates at the mean, but shifted downward the case-rate distribution below 2 cases per 100 full-time equivalent workers annually. The downward shift is most evident among larger bargaining units and manufacturing establishments. Results at the higher end of case-rate distribution are inconclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors study how union certification affects the enforcement of workplace-safety laws. To generate credible causal estimates, a regression discontinuity design compares outcomes in establishments in which unions barely won representation elections to outcomes in establishments in which unions barely lost such elections. The study combines two main data sets: the census of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) representation elections and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) enforcement database since 1985. Evidence shows positive effects of union certification on establishment's rate of OSHA inspection, the share of inspections carried out in the presence of a union representative, violations cited, and penalties assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary motivation of this paper is to report the effects of n-butanol addition (5, 20 and 35% by volume) to diesel fuel on regulated and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions of a diesel engine. PAH samples were quantified using rigorous analytical chemistry procedures to determine total PAHs, PAH dispersion and PAH toxicity. In comparison with diesel fuel, all n-butanol blends (DBu5, DBu20, and DBu35) reduced nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions by 6.77%, 9.59%, and 20.08% and total PAH emissions by 66.86%, 75.33%, and 80.98%. In terms of the relative distribution of PAHs, a significant decrease was recorded in higher cyclic PAHs such as Pyrene, Benzo[a]anthracene, Chrysene, Benzo[k]floranthene, Benzo[a]pyrene for all blends. Similarly, the amount of the toxicity of the PAH emissions also decreased by 11.66%, 87.53%, and 67.28% with DBu5, DBu20 and DBu35 blends, respectively. With the addition of n-butanol to the diesel fuel, total PAH emissions were detected below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA)-Permissible Exposure Level. Overall, it was demonstrated that n-butanol addition to diesel fuel significantly reduced PAH formation which is helpful to prevent wet stacking, and prolong the operating time of the diesel engine especially at low loads or cold operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) evaluated continuous and impact noise exposures and hearing loss among workers at a hammer forge company. Full-shift personal noise exposure measurements were collected on forge workers across 15 different job titles; impact noise characteristics and one-third octave band noise levels were assessed at the forge hammers; and 4,750 historic audiometric test records for 483 workers were evaluated for hearing loss trends. Nearly all workers' noise exposures exceeded regulatory and/or recommended exposure limits. Workers working in jobs at or near the hammers had full-shift time-weighted average noise exposures above 100 decibels, A-weighted. Impact noise at the hammers reached up to 148 decibels. Analysis of audiometric test records showed that 82% of workers had experienced a significant threshold shift, as defined by NIOSH, and 63% had experienced a standard threshold shift, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). All workers with an OSHA standard threshold shift had a preceding NIOSH significant threshold shift which occurred, on average, about 7 years prior. This evaluation highlights forge workers' exposures to high levels of noise, including impact noise, and how their hearing worsened with age and length of employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: The purpose of this article is to describe how regional community assessment survey data specific to healthcare workers' (HCWs') attitudes and actions related to workplace violence (WPV) from 1 participating urban tertiary hospital was compared with current evidence to identify evidence-based interventions to promote a safer work environment. The regional survey assessed real-time data regarding the state of WPV and its impact on HCWs, and to drive proposed interventions to prevent and reduce WPV in the healthcare community. BACKGROUND: Incidents of WPV in healthcare continue to increase, resulting in calls for action from staff, leadership, and regulatory organizations. METHODS: Data were collected from the HCWs who completed the survey. Experiences with WPV were analyzed. Qualitative data were evaluated for themes. A review of external evidence was conducted to identify best practices in preparing proposed next steps for the organization. RESULTS: Healthcare worker attitudes and practices related to WPV were described as unreported and not addressed. Violence was more readily perceived as a part of the job. External evidence indicated that education and training alone seemed to have minimal effect on preventing WPV. Evidence from best practices and staff feedback were recommended to be incorporated into plans for the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational exposure to ototoxicants, substances that can cause hearing loss alone or exacerbate hearing loss when exposure occurs in combination with noise, is a workplace hazard that is poorly understood. A review of existing research indicates that some solvents and heavy metals may be ototoxic, but few studies have attempted to estimate the impact of ototoxicant exposure on the United States worker population. Researchers examined trends in workplace exposure to ototoxicants among workers in the United States by comparing exposure data collected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration against worker hearing loss data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for 2012–2019. The study found that the noise exposure data was strongly correlated to the hearing loss data using Pearson's correlation (p <.001), confirming that the exposure data collected by OSHA is predictive of the risk of occupational illness as reported by BLS. Chi-square analysis indicates that reported hearing loss was more common among industry subsectors with exposure to ototoxicants than those without exposure to ototoxicants. These findings suggest that workers with coexposure to ototoxicants and noise may be at a higher risk of experiencing hearing loss than those exposed to noise alone, and action should be taken to minimize this risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Workers can be injured by animals such as mammals and insects. Previous studies found that most animal‐related occupational fatalities were caused by horses and cattle. We analyzed characteristics of recent nonfatal severe animal‐related injuries in US workers. Methods: The severe injury reports (SIR) database, collected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, contains employer self‐reports of inpatient hospitalizations and amputations. We used 2015−2021 SIR data to assess properties of animal‐related injuries, including the type of animal involved, the nature of the injury, and the industry of the employer. Industry‐specific incidence rates were calculated. Results: We identified 788 severe animal‐related injuries during the 7‐year study period. Mammals caused over half of these injuries (476; 60.4%), followed by insects, arachnids, and mites (183; 23.2%) and reptiles (127; 16.1%). Two‐thirds (529; 67.1%) of animal‐related injuries were traumatic, while 211 (28.0%) injuries were due to poisoning or allergic reaction. The highest observed incidence was in livestock merchant wholesalers (59.6 severe injuries per 100,000 workers per year); injuries in this industry were often due to cattle. Mail delivery and landscape architecture, two industries in which animal contact is atypical, were also among the 10 industries with the highest incidence. Conclusions: Workers in many industries experienced severe injuries due to animals. Among workers whose job involves animal contact, cattle workers appear to be at highest risk. Outdoor workers in some industries require protection from bites of dogs, snakes, and insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical residents fall into a category of workers perpetually overlooked by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") due to their dual role as employee and trainee. Despite OSHA's knowledge of the often life-threatening safety and health hazards medical residents face in the workplace pursuant to their uniquely arduous working conditions--most notably their duty hours--it has declined repetitiously to exercise its authority under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to intervene. While OSHA's past failure to intervene should not hinder it from exercising its statutory authority to protect medical residents in the workplace today, SCOTUS' recent efforts to curb administrative action under its major questions doctrine likely render any action in this previously unregulated area futile. Still, present-day action by OSHA and a subsequently well-publicized SCOTUS rejection of such action has the potential to spur a systemic movement capable of catalyzing the desired change, albeit via an alternative mechanism. It follows that OSHA should still act to regulate the medical resident workplace, notwithstanding inevitable SCOTUS scrutiny, because its very attempt to do so can ultimately result in the changes necessary to further protect medical residents from falling victim to the unique working conditions plaguing their profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing safety risks in construction is an ongoing priority, and integrating safety considerations into construction scheduling is a crucial aspect of this effort. A notable challenge is the safety risk posed by concurrent tasks, which has received limited attention in prior research. This study aims to address this research gap by introducing a novel Building Information Modeling (BIM)-based model that assesses the increased hazardousness resulting from overlapping construction activities. Historically, research has predominantly focused on individual task safety, with less emphasis on the risks associated with overlapping activities. Our innovative approach introduces the concept of a 'source–target' match, which evaluates the degree of hazardousness escalation when activities overlap. Drawing on data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) fatal accident reports, we extracted 11 hazardous and 9 susceptibility attributes to build a source–target match table. This table reveals the characteristics of activities that generate hazardous conflicts when overlapping. The key contribution of this research is the assessment, prioritization, and visualization of risk levels in a BIM environment. This framework empowers safety managers to proactively address safety risks resulting from overlapping construction activities, ultimately reducing accidents in the construction industry. By shedding light on this overlooked aspect of construction safety, our research highlights the importance of integrating safety considerations into construction scheduling and provides a practical tool for mitigating risks, enhancing workplace safety, and ultimately improving project outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formaldehyde is a common contaminant in occupational and environmental atmospheres, prolonged exposure leads to health risks, and its determination is necessary to protect health. There is a great demand for portable, rapid, and sensitive methods that can be used in resource-limited settings. In this respect, a colorimetric sensor has been developed based on the colour change from pink to purple of co-immobilized chromotropic acid and 4-aminoazobenzene in hydroxypropyl methylcellulose when it is exposed to different concentrations of formaldehyde. The concentration of formaldehyde in the gas phase was quantified by measuring the change of the appropriate colour coordinates in response to the concentration of formaldehyde. A calibration curve was obtained for formaldehyde, with a useful concentration range from 0.08 to 0.6 ppmv. The detection limit was 0.016 ppmv, which is lower than the maximum exposure concentrations recommended by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The optical sensor was found to have good reproducibility, with a relative standard deviation of 2.3 and 1.7% at 0.08 and 0.25 ppmv, respectively. The sensor can operate at room temperature and environmental humidity, 25 °C, and 50% RH, respectively. In addition, a study of interferents (acetaldehyde, toluene, methanol, ethyl acetate, acetone, acetic acid, carbon dioxide and ammonia) showed high selectivity for formaldehyde, which indicates that this membrane is a simple, fast, and economical alternative for quantifying the concentration of formaldehyde in different environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• From 2015–2021, there were 70,241 Federal OSHA Severe Injury Reports (SIRs). • SIRs increased from 2015–2019, declined in 2020, flattened in 2021. • The manufacturing and construction industries reported the largest number of SIRs. • Over the 7 years, the highest mean number of SIRs were in June, July, and August. • Most SIRs involved contact with objects/equipment, or falls, slips, trips. Problem: Employers are required to report severe work-related injuries (e.g., amputation, inpatient hospitalization, or loss of an eye), to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This study examined the OSHA severe injury reports (SIRs) public microdata to understand time-related trends and patterns. Methods: This study included all SIRs from January 2015 to December 2021 (84 months). We employed time series decomposition models (classical additive and multiplicative, X-11, and X-13ARIMA-SEATS) to evaluate monthly seasonal effect and seasonally adjusted trend of SIRs. We developed data visuals to display trends from different models with the original data series. We compared number of daily SIRs by day of the week, and yearly trends by 2-digit NAICS and separately by 1-digit OIICS injury event. Results: There were a total of 70,241 SIRs in this 7 year period; ranging from 8,704 to 11,156 per year, and 600 to 1,100 per month. Seasonally adjusted trend indicated a gradual increase of SIRs over time until October 2018, then a steeper decrease until August 2020, and staying somewhat flat for the rest of the months. Seasonality indicated more SIRs were reported in the summer months (June, July, August). Daily SIRs indicated a weekday average of 34 (SD = 9) and weekend average of 11 (SD = 5). The Manufacturing and Construction industries reported the highest yearly SIRs. Contact with objects and equipment, and falls, slips, trips were the most numerous injury events associated with SIRs. Discussion: Although Federal OSHA SIR data do not include SIRs from state-plan jurisdictions, the data provide a timely national trend of SIR. This is the first known time series analysis of SIRs. Practical Applications: The findings of this study highlight the ability of researchers to use the SIRs as a timely indicator to understand occupational injury trends by specific industries and injury events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction safety regulations and standards contain a massive number of fall protection requirements with respect to different equipment, facilities, and operations. Automated field compliance checking aims to detect field violations of construction safety regulations for improved compliance and safety. Recent research efforts focused on automated tracking of labor and equipment toward improved violation detection and safety compliance. However, extracting and modeling safety requirements for supporting automated violation detection or safety alert systems remains highly manual. Toward addressing this gap, information extraction provides an opportunity to automatically extract requirements from construction safety regulations for comparisons with field information to detect violations (or predict and prevent violations before they occur). However, existing information extraction methods are limited in terms of their scalability and/or accuracy. To address this need, this paper proposes a deep learning–based information extraction method for automatically extracting named entities describing fall protection requirements [e.g., scaffold, horizontal direction, or 1.82 m (6 ft)] from construction safety regulations and resolving referential ambiguities. The proposed information extraction method consists of three main submethods: (1) a deep learning–based method to recognize entities from the regulations, (2) a deep learning–based method to recognize referential ambiguities in the extracted entities, and (3) a named entity normalization method to resolve these ambiguities. The proposed method was implemented and tested on 20 selected Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sections related to fall protection. An overall information extraction precision, recall, and F-1 measure of 93.2%, 89.6%, and 91.1% were obtained, which indicates good information extraction performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. government ensures that all health and safety regulations, protecting the workers, are enforced. OSHA officers conduct inspections and assess fines for non-compliance and regulatory violations. Literature discussion on the economic impact of OSHA inspections with COVID-19 related citations for the construction sector is lacking. This study aims to investigate the relationships between the number of COVID-19 cases, construction employment and OSHA citations and it further evaluates the total and monthly predicted cost impact of OSHA citations associated with COVID-19 violations. Design/methodology/approach: An application of multiple regression analysis, a supervised machine learning linear regression model, based on K-fold cross validation sampling and a probabilistic risk-based cost estimate Monte Carlo simulation were utilized to evaluate the data. The data were collected from numerous websites including OSHA, Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. Findings: The results show that as the monthly construction employment increased, there was a decrease in OSHA citations. Conversely, the cost impact of OSHA citations had a positive relationship with the number of COVID-19 cases. In addition, the monthly cost impact of OSHA COVID-19 related citations along with the total cost impact of citations were predicted and analyzed. Originality/value: The application of the two models on cost analysis provides a thorough comparison of predicted and overall cost impact, which can assist the contractors to better understand the possible cost ramifications. Based on the findings, it is suggested that the contractors include contingency fees within their contracts, hire safety managers to implement specific safety protocols related to COVID-19 and request a safety action plan when qualifying their subcontractors to avoid potential fines and citations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research has documented occupational health disparities, including higher rates of work‐related injuries, among temporary workers compared with workers in standard employment arrangements. According to guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), both staffing companies and host employers are responsible for protecting the occupational safety and health (OSH) of temporary workers. To date, there has been little qualitative research on temporary worker OSH in the United States and a lack of evidence‐based OSH programs designed to meet the needs of temporary workers. The aim of this study was to better understand the barriers to and facilitators of temporary worker OSH from the perspective of US staffing companies. Methods: In‐depth interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of representatives from 15 US staffing companies. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed through a three‐step process. Results: Commonly mentioned barriers to temporary worker OSH include differential treatment of temporary workers by host employers; lack of understanding among host employers and staffing companies of joint OSH responsibilities; and workers' fear of job loss or other negative repercussions if they report an injury or illness or voice OSH concerns. Commonly mentioned facilitators of temporary worker OSH include conducting client assessments and site visits and fostering strong communication and relationships with both host employers and temporary workers. Conclusions: These findings can help inform the tailoring of OSH programs to promote health equity in temporary workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Administrative law doctrines such as Chevron seek to strike a balance between adequate delegated power and sufficient checks on such power. The major questions doctrine reinforces the latter. Recent decisions finding major questions, however, have shown a departure from textualist principles, which formed the doctrine’s foundation. Justice Gorsuch’s opinion in NFIB v. OSHA is an example of this desertion of textualist principles and should thus be viewed as an improper application of the major questions doctrine. Rather than remodeling the major questions doctrine, textualist judges should acknowledge that this form of antitextual analysis is nothing short of a revival of the nondelegation doctrine. Failing to return the doctrine to textualist principles weakens the reliability of the major questions doctrine as a tool for statutory interpretation and damages the credibility of textualist judges’ opinions that employ the doctrine in administrative law cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]