SafetyBlog

The majority of us sit at a desk all day long. Before we sit at that desk, we sit in the car on the way to work. Then we sit on the way home from work and then we sit after work until we go to bed at night. I would guess that some of you are actually sitting in excess of 12 hours per day. Many of you may have heard about the new big thing in office furniture - standing desks, some of you may already have one. But are they worthy of all the hype? Are there other options available? Before we tak …

A video depicting a constructing worker narrowly escaping a trench collapse has gone viral. The Oregon division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) posted the video to its YouTube account back in 2009. At the time, however, it only received a handful of views. But thanks to the power of social media networking, the video has now been viewed more than one million times.The video was taken by Tim Marcum, a former inspector for Oregon's OSHA. As Marcum approached the men wor …

No One Knows Who Started Labor DayHistorians generally have a pretty good idea of who was responsible for starting which holidays -- except for Labor Day that is. Some historians credit Peter J. McGuire, secretary for the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, for creating Labor Day. McGuire had allegedly wanted to create a special day to honor the nation's workers. Other historians, however, believe inventor and secretary for the International Association of Machinists Matthew Mcguire (differen …

Washington state has announced plans to sue the federal government for improperly cleaning nuclear waste at one of its facilities.According to a federal lawsuit filed on Wednesday, dozens of state workers were exposed to toxic vapors during the period of January 2014 and April 2015 while working at the now-closed Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Washington state lawmakers allege that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has known about the toxic vapors for decades, dating all the way back to the 1980 …

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published its final rule on working in confined spaces. The new rule covers many concerns that were previously left unaddressed, such as crawlspaces and attics (among other things).You might be wondering why OSHA felt the need to update its rule on confined spaces. After all, how much of a danger do small, narrow environments really pose to workers? Each year dozens of workers lose their lives, either directly or indirectly, while work …