Forest Operations Mechanization Presents New Hazards
- New logging technologies have reduced some risks but present new hazards as logging activities can be conducted in a larger area of the forests, according to a recent NIOSH blog.
- Further, manual operations with the most difficult and hazardous conditions are typically required for areas that can’t be harvested using mechanization.
- Mechanization has increased the occurrence of slips, trips, and falls, primarily as operators are getting into and out of machines, working around the outside of machines, and performing maintenance activities.
- The blog advised that workers may need additional training on operating and maintaining these large pieces of machinery safely.
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Healthy Work Campaign Calls for Regulations to Limit Workplace Stress
- A group of 40 occupational health researchers, practitioners, and labor union activists are calling for NIOSH’s development of a national regulation covering workplace psychosocial stress as an occupational hazard.
- Under the aegis of the Healthy Work Campaign, the letter advocates for the development of a national regulation to address work-related psychosocial stress as an occupational hazard.
- The letter argues that work stress is a major problem in U.S. workplaces, leading to health issues and financial losses.
- The letter calls for NIOSH and other government agencies to work with stakeholders to create a consensus standard for psychosocial hazards, develop a national surveillance program, and launch a public education campaign.
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Florida Program Reorganizes With Interdisciplinary Approach for Worker Health
- The University of South Florida has reorganized its Sunshine Education and Research Center to pursue an interdisciplinary approach to occupational safety, health and wellness.
- Programs now include applied training for safety managers and exposure scientists, alongside clinical programs like occupational health nursing and research-focused initiatives
- The Sunshine ERC will also offer an academic focus area for occupational health and safety as part of its public health concentration.
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Missouri Farm Co-op Cited in ‘Preventable’ Grain Bin Death
- MFA Incorporated, a Missouri-based farm cooperative, could have prevented an accident at a rail facility earlier this year that resulted in one worker’s death, OSHA has determined.
- Three employees operating as MFA Rail Car were removing corn screenings from a bin in Hamilton, Missouri when one of them entered the bin to clean it but was engulfed in the grain when mechanisms shifted and died.
- Another worker tried to save the co-worker, but was surrounded to his waist in grain before being rescued by first responders.
- OSHA cited MFA for six violations, assessing more than $241,000 in proposed penalties for lacking adequate rescue equipment and not following workplace safety requirements.
- The company said it disagreed with certain allegations in OSHA’s citation, especially that any alleged violation could be characterized as willful.
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