Two 35-year-old workers using floor sanders were killed and two others were seriously burned in a house fire after the lacquer floor sealer they were using ignited.

Failure to recognize a chemical hazard can threaten workers’ lives by risking chemical burns, respiratory problems, fires and explosions.

Canned air is commonly used in offices to clean dust from equipment such as computers and shredders. These products often are used without incident; however, lack of training in proper use can lead to flash fires and injuries, warns the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

Breathing problems. Itchy skin, rashes and burns. Irritated eyes. For some workers, including maintenance workers, janitors and housekeepers, these symptoms may have a common factor: cleaning products.

Washington — An OSHA standard aimed at protecting workers from extreme heat exposure could prevent at least 50,000 injuries and illnesses annually, a watchdog group contends.

Washington — A group of Democratic lawmakers is pressing OSHA for the “fastest possible implementation” of a standard on protecting workers from extreme heat exposure.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed emergency communications?

Washington – Outdoor workers need to get plenty of water, rest and shade this summer, OSHA is reminding employers as part of the agency’s annual heat illness prevention campaign.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has released materials for its annual campaign to address roof and rib (wall) falls in underground coal mines.

Washington – A fall prevention guide recently released by NIOSH aims to help building owners and designers build more safety features into their facilities rather than relying on back-end controls.

Washington – April is National Workplace Violence Prevention Month, and OSHA hopes to raise awareness by releasing updated guidance for health care and social service workers.

The newly improved GD-888 Series of Portable Carbon Dioxide Gas Monitors include a digital display, a built-in air pump, backlighting, alarms and an optional data-logger.

GRP Cameras are designed for use in hazardous-area communications. Corrosion-free and much lighter than their metal counterparts, GRP Cameras offer end users significant improvements in lifetime performance, as well as reduced transportation, operating and maintenance costs. The cameras are ideally suited for remote monitoring of process and security activities in harsh environmental conditions or explosive atmospheres.

Home Automation Inc. (HAI), New Orleans, a manufacturer of integrated security and home automation products since 1985, announced that its wireless energy management suite was certified as a golden unit for ZigBee® Smart Energy Profile 1.1.

Monitronics International's new application, eContract, enables its dealers to fill out contract information electronically. The new application eliminates the hard-copy paperwork that is traditionally filled out for a new customer contract.

Most residential and commercial models from Honeywell’s VISTA series of alarm panels now support lighting, shade and temperature control technology from Lutron Electronics, giving security and home-automation professionals a greater range of options when designing connected-home systems for their customers.

Alarm.com, Vienna, Va., a provider of interactive security and connected home services, announced key enhancements to its Geo-Services offering, including location-based thermostat automation and video recording options.

In 2011, the back was the body part involved in the largest percentage of injuries involving days away from work, according to the 2014 edition of the National Safety Council’s “Injury Facts.”

Washington — OSHA’s proposed standard on protecting workers from excessive heat is undergoing a final review, according to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website.

Washington — OSHA has released a draft of its proposed rule on heat illness prevention.

Toronto – Leading indicators can be used to help prevent an incident, but little research exists on which ones are actually effective, concludes a new report from the Institute for Work & Health.

Washington – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced a detailed plan to update its Safety Measurement System website, which provides ratings of truck and bus carriers.

Washington – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration no longer will publicly display most information involving motor carriers’ safety performances.

Indianapolis — Beginning July 2, anyone seeking the Certified Safety Professional designation must have a bachelor’s degree, the Board of Certified Safety Professionals announced April 2.

Sydney — Need to reset your attention during a complex work task? A five-minute break is all it takes.

All Encon showers can be fitted with automatic freeze or scald protection valves for use during temperature extremes. Automatic Freeze Valves open automatically when the internal water temperature reaches 35° F (2° C) and close at 40° F (4.5° C). Automatic Scald Valves open when the internal water temperature reaches 105° F (41° C) and close at 95° F (35° C).

Encon Safety Products

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has launched its annual campaign intended to promote roof and rib fall hazard awareness among coal miners and mine operators, while also focusing on continuous mining machine operator safety.

Washington — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is among five Senate Democrats who have expressed opposition to any rollback to the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s respirable coal dust rule, in a letter sent Dec. 22 to Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta.

Washington — Surface coal miners, especially those who work in drilling, may be exposed to higher concentrations of respirable dust or quartz. This puts them at elevated risk of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis – a deadly but preventable disease known as black lung, results of a recent NIOSH study show.

Washington — Health care workers will be the focus of OSHA’s emergency temporary standard on COVID-19, which will be issued June 10, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told the House Education and Labor Committee during a June 9 hearing.

The Siemens Building Technologies Division’s Beltsville, Md. branch office was recently awarded LEED® for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (EB: OM) certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).

Energy-saving light control manufacturer Lutron Electronics announced that its Washington, D.C. Commercial Experience Center was awarded LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED is the USGBC’s leading rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy-efficient and high-performing buildings.

Approximately 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles, in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, the National Audubon Society’s Starr Ranch Sanctuary rolls across 4,000 acres. SoCal’s sprawling development is not far from the sanctuary borders, reminding everyone of the critical need to balance development with open spaces.

The Johnson Controls headquarters campus at Glendale, Wisconsin has the largest concentration of buildings on one campus to ever receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification.

When a large aerospace manufacturer acquired gas detectors to protect against hazardous leaks, it decided to leverage its Metis Secure Emergency Notification and Communications System.

Atlanta – After 5,400 votes covering more than 100 products, the results are in for the inaugural “Best in Show” New Product Showcase Awards!

Groningen, Netherlands – The experience of being on-call is a major factor in worker fatigue, increasing the need for shift workers to recuperate, indicates a study from the University of Groningen.

Wuhan, China – Male night-shift workers who do not nap during the day or have worked the night shift for more than 20 years – as well as those who average more than 10 hours of sleep per night – may have a greater risk of developing cancer, according to a study from Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Chicago – Medical residents and fellows, including first-year residents, will be allowed to work for up to 28 consecutive hours without sleep as part of revised requirements recently approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Boston – Women who work the night shift as young adults may have an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a study of nurses conducted by the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Spokane, WA — Night shift schedules “throw off the timing of expression of cancer-related genes in a way that reduces the effectiveness of the body’s DNA repair processes when they are most needed,” results of a recent study led by researchers from Washington State University show.

Washington – After a recent visit with workers in tobacco fields and labor camps in North Carolina, members of an international delegation said they were shocked and saddened to see widespread worker abuse.

Santa Fe, NM – The New Mexico Occupational Health & Safety Bureau has teamed up with the Consulate of Mexico to provide the state’s Spanish-speaking employees with workplace safety training.

Washington – United Farm Workers and several community health groups have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately suspend widespread use of chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide already acknowledged to pose poisoning risks to workers.

Houston — Filipino seafarers often delay or completely avoid medical care – despite their rights to it under maritime law – for fear of retaliation from employers, including potentially losing their jobs, results of a recent study show.

“Clear written and verbal communications are essential to health and safety excellence,” says one safety expert. “It’s even more important when different languages are involved.”

Washington – The ruptured steel pipe at the center of the 2012 hydrocarbon release and fire at the Chevron U.S.A. Inc. refinery in Richmond, CA, was corroded and should have been replaced, concludes a report released by the Chemical Safety Board and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Sacramento, CA – Reacting to a Chevron refinery fire last year that resulted in thousands of people seeking medical attention after breathing toxic emissions, a California lawmaker has introduced legislation to require abatement of unsafe conditions during any appeals process.

Richmond, CA – Agencies tasked with overseeing refinery safety in California need better coordination and stronger regulation, concludes a new report from the state’s Interagency Working Group on Refinery Safety.

Washington – A corroded pipe that had not been inspected for years was the source of the hydrogen release and subsequent explosion at the Silver Eagle Refinery in 2009, according to a new analysis from the Chemical Safety Board.