Colorado Cannabis Firms Get OSHA Focus

Colorado’s burgeoning cannabis industry is the focus of a new OSHA Local Emphasis Program aimed at identifying and reducing workplace hazards associated with processing, growing, and cultivating marijuana.
The program applies cannabis operations under the oversight of the agency’s Denver and Englewood offices.
Among the risks facing workers in cannabis businesses are the use of flammable liquids in the extraction and production of concentrates.
READ MORE

Worker well-being is “dramatically lower” than in recent years,according to GuardianLife’s survey of more than 4,000 workers and individuals who make decisions about employee benefits.
Some 36% of respondents rated their emotional health as “excellent” or “very good”, which is down from 49% in 2016.
About a quarter of those surveyed reported an increase in anxiety, depression or other mental health needs in the past two years, while only a third were satisfied with their work-life balance.
The insurer’s 13th annual “Mind, Body, and Wallet” report, encourages “thinking about well-being not in separate silos but considering how they intersect.”
READ MORE

The Mine Safety and Health Administration has published a Health Alert regarding the hazards presented when diesel engine exhaust is not properly controlled.
The agency said exhaust from diesel engines contains a mixture of gases and very small particles that can create a health hazard when not properly controlled.
MSHA advises using engineering and administrative controls described in the Hierarchy of Controls to limit exposure.
READ MORE