Washington – NIOSH has released recommended limits for controlling occupational exposure to flavoring chemicals diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione, both of which have been linked to reduced lung function in food flavoring and production industry workers.

Washington – A group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), is urging Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to reject a renewed call to increase line speeds in poultry-processing plants.

Anchorage, AK – Vessel disasters and falls overboard are the primary hazards experienced by workers in commercial fishing – an industry with a fatality rate 29 times higher than the national average – according to a recent NIOSH analysis of four U.S. regions.

Washington – Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) says lawmakers who cite concerns about worker safety when opposing his call to increase poultry-processing line speeds are willfully ignoring scientific data.

Washington – Poultry workers and officials from 13 nonprofit organizations and unions met with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on Oct. 16 to urge the department to reject an industry petition to allow faster and unrestricted line speeds in production plants, according to the National Employment Law Project.

San Diego — A U.S. Department of Agriculture proposal to remove maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants “will translate into even more illness and injury” among workers, according to the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

Washington — Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) is among four lawmakers calling for Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta to address their concerns over OSHA’s responses to a Government Accountability Office report, issued in November, on the health and safety of meat and poultry industry workers.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service has denied a National Chicken Council petition seeking unrestricted line speeds in poultry-processing plants.

Richmond, VA — The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry has issued a hazard alert warning of the potential dangers of unsafe materials handling and storage in the beverage distribution and retail industry.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will allow poultry-processing plants to increase line speeds if they meet certain criteria, even as critics claim the move will expose workers to injuries and was made without public input.

Morgantown, WV — Two potentially hazardous chemicals are missing from the Safety Data Sheets for bulk liquid flavorings, findings from a recent NIOSH Respiratory Health Division study show.

Richmond, British Columbia — Responding to growth in the craft brewing and distilling industry, WorkSafeBC has released health and safety resources intended to help employers protect workers.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General is investigating the effectiveness and integrity of USDA’s procedures to develop and advance a controversial proposed rule that would remove maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants, according to a letter obtained by multiple media outlets.

Washington — More than 3 out of 5 Americans are against a U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed rule to remove maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants, according to the results of a recent survey.

Washington — A controversial U.S. Department of Agriculture final rule unveiled Sept. 17 removes maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants and transfers certain inspection responsibilities to plant workers.

Minneapolis — A coalition consisting of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, three local affiliate unions and watchdog group Public Citizen is suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture over a controversial final rule that removes maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants and transfers certain inspection responsibilities to plant workers.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service in April approved 15 poultry processing plants’ requests to increase line speeds 25% – despite reported cases of COVID-19 among workers and at least one fatality related to the ongoing pandemic, according to a new policy brief from the National Employment Law Project.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture “did not take adequate steps to determine whether the worker safety data it used … were reliable” when proposing a controversial rule that removes line speeds in pork-processing plants and transfers certain inspection responsibilities to plant workers, the USDA Office of Inspector General concludes in a report released June 25.

Washington — A new online toolkit from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is intended to assist safety professionals and health officials in assessing COVID-19 pandemic-related prevention and control measures at meat and poultry processing facilities.

Washington — OSHA and the Food and Drug Administration have teamed up to develop a checklist intended to help food manufacturers protect worker health and practice food safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seattle — The cannabis industry needs federal regulations and guidance on workplace safety, according to University of Washington professor and researcher Christopher Simpson.

Washington — A controversial U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that would permit line speeds at certain poultry processing plants to increase to 175 birds a minute from the current 140 is under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Washington — President Joe Biden on Jan. 22 signed an Executive Order withdrawing a controversial U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed rule that would have permitted line speeds at certain poultry-processing plants to increase to 175 birds a minute from the current 140.

Washington — Legislation reintroduced March 11 by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) would prohibit line speed increases in meat and poultry-processing plants during the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

Minneapolis — The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota upheld a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 31, ruling that a controversial final rule that removes line speeds in pork-processing plants and transfers certain inspection responsibilities to plant workers compromises worker health and consumer welfare.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has indicated it will accept a March ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota that prohibits the removal of maximum line speeds in pork-processing plants.

Davis, CA — U.S. counties that are home to beef-, pork- and poultry-processing plants experienced accelerated COVID-19 infection rates during the pandemic, according to a recent study led by a researcher at the University at California, Davis.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service, in collaboration with OSHA, will allow select pork-processing facilities – on a trial basis – to operate at increased line speeds for up to one year while gathering data that “measures the impact of line speed on workers.”

Chicago — A new Local Emphasis Program from OSHA is aimed at protecting workers in Wisconsin food manufacturing establishments from machine and amputation hazards.

Washington — Seeking to “best assess” the impact of increased line speeds on worker safety in poultry-processing plants, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service plans to study the effects.

Chicago — OSHA recently launched a launched Local Emphasis Program aimed at protecting food production workers in Illinois and Ohio, who are experiencing “significantly higher” injury rates than other workers in the manufacturing industry.

State College, PA — Workers who play a role in the U.S. food supply chain are at high risk for being hospitalized with severe injuries, results of a recent study show.

Washington — A trial that allows select pork-processing facilities to operate at increased line speeds will continue, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service says.

The ADT+ app and DIY self-setup solution integrates multiple smart devices with professional monitoring and proactive mobile alert capabilities.

The relationship with Native marks Alarm Financial Services’ first venture into financing integrated smart security in the multi-dwelling property space. 

Additionally, Brilliant functions as a whole home lighting system with built-in motion detection, which can be paired with a Resideo Security System.

This enables the ability to integrate Google Nest products with ClareOne empowers its partners to deliver comprehensive home automation and security through an intuitive unified touchscreen with the ability to add automations.

The “U.S. Cyber Trust Mark Program” aims to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions and encourage manufacturers to meet higher cybersecurity standards.

Home management solutions continue to see significant advancements, offering consumers enhanced convenience, security and energy efficiency.

Many employees spend the majority of their days working on computers. That adds up to a lot of screen time, which can result in eyestrain.

Safety+Health looks at some of the common hazards that workers from different types of utilities face on the job.

Washington — OSHA has published a Safety and Health Information Bulletin intended to help underground utility workers and employers avoid hazards associated with horizontal directional drilling.

Oxnard, CA — Workers in the utilities industry are at an increased risk of serious injuries and fatalities (also called SIFs), according to a recent study from safety consulting firm DEKRA Insight.

Boston — Falls to a lower level were the leading a cause of fatal worker injuries in Massachusetts from 2014 to 2015, representing nearly 17 percent of the state’s workplace fatalities, according to a report released Oct. 16 by the state’s Department of Public Health.

Washington — The Department of the Interior – not OSHA – will oversee workplace safety and health at offshore renewable energy facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, according to a policy statement published in the Oct. 18 Federal Register.

Silver Spring, MD — A new hazard alert from CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training highlights ways to recognize and control hazards associated with radiofrequency radiation exposure.

Washington — The American Wind Energy Association is offering free resources in October in conjunction with its annual monthlong worker safety awareness campaign.

Harrisburg, PA — Pennsylvania will explore the possibility of providing OSHA protections to workers in the public sector, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has announced.

Corvallis, OR — When temperatures rise, so do the rates of traumatic injuries among outdoor workers, according to the results of a recent Oregon State University study.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement will govern workplace safety and environmental compliance at offshore renewable energy facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf, according to the Department of the Interior.