Marietta, GA — Up to 80% of hazardous chemicals found in classrooms may be linked to emissions from 3D printers, a recent study from the Chemical Insights Research Institute suggests.

Boca Raton, FL — Motor vehicle crashes are the most expensive type of workers’ compensation lost-time claim, costing over 70% more than the average lost-time claim, a new report reveals.

Using National Council on Compensation Insurance’s Statistical Plan data from 2002 to 2022, report author Brian Stein, an assistant actuary at NCCI, found that motor vehicle crashes account for 5% of lost-time workers’ comp claims. The average cost of these claims exceeds $100,000.

“Large losses are one part of the story,” Stein adds. “The share of claims costing over one million dollars due to motor vehicle accidents has more than tripled in the past two decades.”

One reason: Motor vehicle crashes are more than twice as likely as other claims to result in multiple injured body parts. Other reasons include involvement of heavier vehicles for workplace use, higher speeds in crashes, and multiple workers or claimants involved.

“According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost one-third of jobs require some amount of driving, meaning the workforce has significant exposure to motor vehicle accidents,” Stein says.

Transportation incidents were the leading cause of workplace deaths in 2023, accounting for 1,942 deaths, or nearly 37% of total workplace fatalities, according to the most recent BLS data available.

The National Safety Council offers driver safety training.

Watertown, SD — Does your communications tower contractor have a written safety and health program? Does the contractor agree to always keep a competent person at the jobsite?

Washington — The Senate has confirmed David Keeling as the new leader of OSHA. Legislators approved S. Res 412 with a 51-46 vote on Oct. 3.

Washington — The Senate has confirmed Derek Barrs as the new head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

According to the Met Office, a yellow weather warning for wind has been issued for Northern Ireland from 2.00pm Friday 3 October until 12.00pm Saturday 4 October. Employers should assess their work activities and take appropriate precautions.

Washington — Employers of nonagricultural workers operating near farmland can reduce the risk of pesticide exposure by notifying farms about their work, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises.

To mark Manufacturing Month and the company’s 40th anniversary, Sellars Absorbent Materials is conducting its second annual “I Spy” challenge.

Washington — The Department of Labor is providing phone numbers that stakeholders can use instead of agency websites during the federal government shutdown that began on Oct. 1.

Secaucus, NJ — The percentage of U.S. workers who tested positive for fentanyl in random on-the-job drug tests was seven times greater than the percentage of people who tested positive in preemployment testing, according to Quest Diagnostics’ annual Drug Testing Index for 2024.