For the first time, the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has counted how many fatalities occurred among contract workers. In a report issued in late April, BLS calculated that there were 542 deaths of contract workers during 2011, or nearly 12% of the total 4,693 fatal work injuries reported.

For its report, BLS defined a contractor as a worker employed by a company or self-employed but working at the request of another company or agency that exercises overall responsibility for the operations at the site where the worker was killed. For example, the definition would cover a self-employed electrician working at a restaurant or the employee of a security company assigned to work in a bar.

Other BLS findings:

• Nearly 1 in 4 of the fatal work injuries involving contractors occurred when a government entity had contracted the worker, including 50 fatal injuries in state government, 47 in local government, and 11 in federal government.
• Private construction contractors accounted for 21% of contractor fatalities. Another 11% of fatal work injuries occurred in the private financial activities industries, led by 51 fatal injuries among contractors working in real estate.
• Falls to lower level accounted for the highest number of fatal work injuries involving contractors (170, or 31%). Another 72 incidents resulted from pedestrian vehicular incidents, including 44 incidents involving contractors who were struck by a vehicle in a work zone.
• Hispanic or Latino contractors accounted for 28% of the fatal work injuries among contractors, well above their 16% share of the overall fatal work injury total in 2011.
• Texas (56), Florida (51), and California (42) recorded the highest number of fatal occupational injuries among contractors.

Full report >>

The depth of programs offered to its employees and a strong focus on safety and prevention of workplace injuries helped American Express take the top prize in the 2013 Corporate Health Achievement Awards. Presented by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACEOM), the award is based on four categories: leadership and management; the strength of health and safety programs for individual employees; programs to protect the environment; and efforts to create an overall work culture that stresses healthy lifestyles and safety consciousness.

The judges were impressed with AmEx’s overall success in delivering effective tools that foster a safe and healthy environment and encourage employee engagement in the company. The company’s Healthy Living global wellness program was recognized for its best-in-class resources, enhanced access to care, and supportive work environment for all employees and their families.

AmEx was also specifically cited for its strong ergonomics program, which was seen as a model plan because of its extensive free web-based training that is available in five languages, and for its excellent record of compliance with regulatory standards. The judges also noted the company’s integrated data warehouse, which allows for ongoing research and analysis of programs.

Many companies use the CHAA criteria as benchmarks to improve their own safety and health programs, says ACOEM. The awards program requires extensive documentation of programs and practices and an on-site visit by a team of evaluators

More information >>

OSHA has released a new fact sheet that examines some of the hazards workers may encounter while working on stepladders and explains what employers and workers can do to reduce injuries.

Workers who use ladders in construction risk permanent injury or death from falls and electrocution, says OSHA. Common stepladder hazards include:

• Damaged stepladder
• Ladders on slippery or unstable surfaces
•  Unlocked ladder spreaders
• Standing on the top step or top cap
• Loading ladder beyond raised load
• Ladders in high traffic location
• Reaching outside ladder side rails
• Ladders in close proximity to electrical wiring/equipment

These hazards can be eliminated or substantially reduced by following good safety practices, according to OSHA. The fact sheet offers an extensive list of do’s and don’t’s on safe stepladder use.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), OSHA, and The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) have announced the re-launch of the construction fall prevention campaign, the collaborative, national initiative to prevent falls at construction sites. Falls continue to be the leading cause of work-related injury and deaths in construction.

According to data from BLS, an average of two construction workers die each day in the U.S. Deaths and injuries from falls represent a major, persistent, yet preventable public health problem. In 2011, the rate of fatal injuries in construction was the second highest of any U.S. industry. Within the industry itself, falls on construction sites are the leading cause of death, accounting for 35% of deaths among private industry construction workers.

The residential construction industry holds an important role in the economic vitality of our nation and the health of this industry is tied to the health of its workers, says NIOSH. The re-launch of the campaign demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that contractors and workers stay safe on the job by providing the knowledge and tools they need.

Says OSHA, as the nation’s economy grows we are seeing a steady increase in new construction activity and an influx of new, inexperienced workers. Falls are the leading cause of death in construction so it is vitally important for employers to provide the right equipment and properly train their workers in a language they understand so they can do their jobs safely. Falls can be prevented and lives can be saved by planning ahead to get the job done safely.

Over the first year of the campaign, NIOSH and OSHA together developed a number of resources to promote the campaign. These and other materials are available on the NIOSH and  OSHA website.

 More about the campaign >>

In the first recommended exposure limit for nanotechnology set by a government agency, NIOSH says that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nanofibers (CNFs)should be considered a respiratory hazard and worker exposure to those materials should be limited to no more than 1 microgram per cubic meter of air. This is the lowest airborne concentration that can be accurately measured.

CNTs and CNFs are only two of many types of nanomaterials created through nanotechnology, which is described as the manipulation of matter on a microscopic scale. This matter is smaller than what has been studied for the past 100 years by material scientists; their size gives them new and different properties that have not been seen before. CNTs and CNFs are being incorporated into different products to increase strength, durability, versatility, heat resistance, and other useful properties. These products include plastics and ceramics, paints and coatings, textiles, and electronics. Though it cannot be determined with certainty how many workers are currently potentially exposed to these nanomaterials, demand for CNTs and CNFs is expected to grow over the next decade with increasing use in medical devices, structural materials, consumer goods, and energy-saving products.

Recent results from experimental animal studies with rodents indicate that exposure to CNTs and CNFs may pose a respiratory hazard if inhaled. NIOSH’s recommendations are expected to assist industry in establishing good risk management practices for controlling occupational exposures to free, unbound CNTs and CNFs during their manufacture and industrial use.

Suggestions for companies that manufacture or use carbon CNTs or CNFs:

• Apply strategic approaches for controlling occupational exposures, giving priority to engineering controls that enclose processes where CNTs or CNFs could be released into the air, such as transfer of the dry, fine powders from one container to another.
• Educate and train workers on the safe handling of bulk quantities of CNTs and CNFs or CNT-and CNF- enabled products.
• Train workers on the proper use of engineering controls, administrative controls, and safe work practices. These are standard risk management practices that employers have followed for many decades to reduce worker exposures to dusts and other materials in workplaces.
• Establish health surveillance and medical screening programs to help identify early signs of respiratory disease. Such surveillance programs can assist in determining if additional exposure control measures are needed, and if individual medical attention is needed.

Consumers are unlikely to be exposed to CNTs or CNFs in their free, dry powder form. These materials are almost always bound up or incorporated into a final product as a very small percentage of the final formula. It is the free form of CNTs and CNFs that creates the greatest possibility for inhalation exposure and the greatest concern. The workplace is the most likely place for this type of exposure, says NIOSH.

More information >>

CBIA is offering a train-the trainer session on Wednesday, July 17, in Hartford that will help members and other employers comply with the new training requirement on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification (GHS) and Labeling of Chemicals.

OSHA revised its Hazard Communication Standard HCS) to align with the United Nations’ GHS. Significant changes contained in the revised standard require the use of new labeling elements and a standardized format for Safety Data Sheets (SDSs), formerly known as, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs). The new label elements and SDS requirements will improve worker understanding of the hazards associated with the chemicals in their workplace. To help companies comply with the revised standard, OSHA is phasing in the specific requirements over several years (December 1, 2013 to June 1, 2016).

The first compliance date of the revised HCS is December 1, 2013. By that time employers must have trained their workers on the new label elements and the SDS format. This training is needed early in the transition process since workers are already beginning to see the new labels and SDSs on the chemicals in their workplace. To ensure employees have the information they need to better protect themselves from chemical hazards in the workplace during the transition period, it is critical that employees understand the new label and SDS formats.

Register now for CBIA’s Hazard Communication/GHS Train-the-Trainer program on July 17 in Hartford. Details >>

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a special initiative to protect temporary employees from workplace hazards.

In a memo to regional administrators, OSHA is directing field inspectors to step up efforts to assess whether employers who use temporary workers are complying with their responsibilities under the OSH Act. Inspectors will use newly created codes in their information systems to denote whether temps are exposed to safety and health violations and whether they have received required training in a language and vocabulary they understand.

OSHA is also working with the American Staffing Association and employers that use staffing agencies to promote best practices ensuring that temporary workers are protected from job hazards.

In recent months, OSHA has received a series of reports about temporary workers suffering fatal injuries—many during their first days on the job. Workers must be safe, says the agency, whether they’ve been on the job for one day or for 25 years.

The memorandum follows on the heels of new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics about the number of workers killed on the job in 2011. Fatal work injuries involving contractors accounted for 542—or 12%—of the 4,693 fatal work injuries, while Hispanic/Latino contractors accounted for 28% of fatal work injuries among contractors.

Full memorandum >>

The wellness company Interactive Health has announced the winners of its 2012 Healthiest Companies in America awards. Now in its sixth year, the competition honors companies nationwide that create a culture of health through outcomes-based health management programs.

The 72 honorees attained both low health risk and high employee participation in their wellness program. Among this year’s winners are several colleges and medical centers, nonprofits, manufacturers, and a firefighters’ union.

A small percentage of an insured population can generate a disproportionate share of medical claim costs for an employer, says Interactive Health, but a culture of health can improve the health of at-risk employees while helping healthy employees stay healthy.

More information and list of winners >>