Construction worker falls from roof at Wisconsin worksite

A 59-year-old Green Bay man suffered life-threatening injuries after falling off the roof of a construction site Monday morning in Wrightstown, Wisconsin. Fed-OSHA and local law enforcement are investigating. WBAY

Oregon OSHA proposing new heat and smoke protections

OR-OSHA is proposing new rules to strengthen protections for employees in the state who are exposed to excessive heat and wildfire smoke. The new heat rules would apply to any workplace, outdoor or indoor, where the heat index reaches 80 degrees Fahrenheit and requires access to shade and cool drinking water that is immediately and readily available. Last summer, the state instituted temporary rules after dozens of Oregonians died in a record-breaking heat wave, including a Marion County farmworker and a Washington County construction worker. Forest Grove News Times

Nail salon technicians inhale 10 times more chemicals than e-waste workers

A group of researchers from the University of Toronto found that nail salon employees’ exposure to these chemicals was 30 times higher as compared to to exposure within households from everyday products and 10 times higher than electronic waste facilities’ employees. The researchers found that although flame retardants, which have been shown to cause cancer, hormone disruption, and neurological damage, are not usually used in personal care products, they unexpectedly found high levels of them in Canadian nail salons. Forbes

The risk of silicosis from hydraulic fracturing

The majority of silica levels at hydraulic fracturing sites were over the Fed-OSHA’s permitted threshold, and 84% were above Fed-OSHA’s new recommended standard, according to air sample findings. For a study, researchers sought to examine the regions of the country where healthcare practitioners should be most worried about potential patients in their practice who may be at risk from the newly identified source of silica exposure, as well as the proper medical tests to do. Physician’s Weekly

Employer involved in 2021 double fatality in Boston faces $2M in fines

The head of a Boston-based construction company that employed two men who were killed at a downtown Boston worksite in 2021, when a dump truck at the worksite struck the two men, knocking them into a nine-foot trench, now faces nearly $2 million in total Fed-OSHA fines. The agency cited the owner and his companies for four willful and three serious safety violations for allegedly exposing workers to cave-in and other potentially life-threatening excavation hazards involving foundation work on an East Boston construction site. Fed-OSHA issued citations for 28 different violations related to the fatal accident. ENR New England