Nurses Decrying Workplace Violence

Unions representing nurses and hotel workers are raising awareness at the CAL/OSHA office and trying to get legislation that will reduce workplace violence.

Many people don't realize just how bad the problem is for nurses and other health care workers, as well as those working in housekeeping, but according to this article, "more than 19,000 healthcare workers report being assaulted annually or one every 30 minutes."

Read the full article.

Newest Studies Show Significant Health Risks from Office Photocopiers

Find out more at this health and safety website.

Gouvernor Cuomo Unveils Task Force to Protect Immigrant Workers

Here

E-Waste Recycling Workersat Risk for Take-Home Toxins

Green doesn't always mean safe.  Workers in recycling centers can be exposed to hazardous material in levels that can affect their helath and the health of their family members, if the residue remains on their clothes, when they return home at the end of the day.  Click here for the full article.

Injured on the Job?: An Employee's Guide to Workers' Compensation in New York State

Here is the link to the New York State Guide for workers to navigate the Workers' Comp System.

A Tattered Safety Net for Workers

For many chemicals, legal exposure limits carry high cancer risks

OSHA’s limits for known or likely human carcinogens almost always fall far short of protections the government seeks to give the general public. That’s according to an analysis by Adam M. Finkel — a former OSHA health regulatory divisions director now at the University of Pennsylvania — and the Center for Public Integrity.

The analysis estimates excess risk over time: If 1,000 workers are exposed to a chemical’s legal limit over their entire careers, how many will likely get cancer as a result? OSHA considers a 1-in-1,000 risk to be “clearly significant.” Below, compare estimated risks at OSHA limits to the risks at often-tighter “Threshold Limit Values” recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, a nonprofit supported in part by industry. The method isn’t exact — no risk calculation is — but it shows how much hazards can vary under the law. (Details about how and where such chemicals are used, meanwhile, are partial rather than comprehensive because such information is limited.) Read about our methodology here.

Click Here for the full article.

Keeping Nurses Safe on the Job Is not Only the Right Thing to Do, but it Saves Big Money

A new report released by Public Citizen looks at health providers who use safe patient handling equipment consistently and who have successfully reduced worker injuries, leading to big cost savings.  Click here for the full report.