Page 29 - Occupational Health & Safety, January 2018

■ Watching videos or using cameras You can use your devices if you are:
■ Hands-free (such as using Blue-
tooth) and can start use by a single touch or swipe without holding the phone
■ Parked or out of the flow of traffic
■ Starting your GPS or music before you drive
■ Contacting emergency services
Transit and emergency vehicle drivers are exempt, while drivers of commercial vehicles must follow federal laws. Two-way radio, citizens band radio, or amateur radio equipment are not included in the law.
June 28: No state earns an ‘A’ for preventable death efforts
The National Safety Council says no state does enough to protect its residents from leading causes of preventable deaths and injuries on the road, in homes, and at work. With preventable deaths at an all-time high, none of the 50 states, as well as Wash- ington D.C., earned an “A” for overall safety.
Seven states received a “B” rating, while 11 states received an “F.” The report marks the end of National Safety Month, which draws attention to eliminating pre- ventable deaths.
June 19: AHA cardiac emergencies campaign
The American Heart Association launches a campaign that calls for training U.S. work- ers to respond appropriately to workplace cardiac emergencies and also for public ac- cess to AEDs, automated external defibril- lators. The association releases results from new surveys that indicate most American workers aren’t prepared to handle these emergencies because they lack training in CPR and first aid.
March 16: President proposes to eliminate Chemical Safety Board Five months after the U.S. Chemical Safety Board released its 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, President Donald J. Trump’s first budget proposal proposes to eliminate that agency. The board is an independent agency that investigates serious chemical incidents, such as the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the West, Texas explosion of ammonium nitrate at a fertilizer storage facility, and the Freedom Industries leak near Charleston, W.Va.
The board responds over many months by stressing the importance of its investiga-
tions and solid gains in employee satisfac- tion, according to the 2017 OPM Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.
Feb. 27: WHO lists ‘priority pathogens’
The World Health Organization publishes its first-ever list of antibiotic-resistant “pri- ority pathogens”—12 families of bacte- ria that pose the greatest threat to human health. The list highlights the threat of gram-negative bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics.
Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO’s assis- tant director-general for Health Systems and Innovation, says “antibiotic resistance is growing, and we are fast running out of treatment options. If we leave it to market forces alone, the new antibiotics we most urgently need are not going to be devel- oped in time.”
Feb. 9: Hearing loss report
A new survey from CDC finds that one in four U.S. adults who say their hearing is good or excellent actually have hearing damage, and that much of this damage re- sults from loud sounds that occur at home,
such as using a leaf blower or attending concerts. The study found 20 percent of people who reported no job-related noise exposure had hearing damage in a pattern caused by noise. This damage appeared as early in a person’s life as the age of 20.
Jan. 19: Blankenship
conviction upheld
A federal appeals court upholds the Dec. 3, 2015, conviction of Don Blankenship of conspiring to willfully violate federal mine health and safety standards, following the methane explosion that killed 29 miners in- side the Upper Big Branch South mine near Whitesville, W.Va., on April 5, 2010. Blan- kenship is the former CEO of Massey En- ergy, a subsidiary of which owned the mine.
A 3-0 decision by a panel of judges from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals de- nies Blankenship’s appeal.
On Oct. 10, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to consider Blankenship’s ap- peal.
Jerry Laws is the editor of Occupational Health & Safety.
www.ohsonline.com
Circle 10 on card. 23