Publications & New Media

American Public Health Association Annual Conference 2010 Nov 6-10, 2010 Denver, CO The APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition is the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in the world, attracting more than 13,000 national and international physicians, administrators, nurses, educators, researchers, epidemiologists, and related health specialists. APHA's meeting program addresses current and emerging health science, policy, and practice issues in an effort to prevent disease and promote health. Get additional meeting details

• CPWR exhibited at the 20th Annual Construction Safety Conference
  
  The 20th Annual Construction Safety Conference, held February 16-17, 2010 in Rosemont, Ill., is America’s largest gathering focused on safety within the construction industry. 
  
  CPWR’s Associate Director of Safety and Health Research, Janie Gittleman, delivered two workshops on Performance Metrics.
  
  Click here to access session proceedings.
  
  

• CPWR attends international symposium on aging and globalization in construction, signs COSH declaration

The XXIXth International Symposium of the of the International Social Security Association (ISSA-C) Construction Section Nov. 23-25, 2009, in Brussels, Belgium, produced a series of resolutions from the participating heads of organizations, safety coordinators, occupational physicians, employers, union representatives and academics. This Declaration of Brussels was signed presidents of European building trades organizations, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and CPWR.

Read the recommendations in the symposium’s Declaration of Brussels.

• DREAM Workshop (Direct-Reading Exposure Assessment Methods)

      

  The Dream Workshop, held Nov. 13-14, 2008 in Washington, D.C., achieved many of its objectives thanks to the 185 attendees.  CPWR was a co-sponsor, along with NIOSH, AIHA and others.
  
  To access workshop proceedings click here.
  
  The site also provides a way for viewers to provide input on the developed research agenda. If interested, feedback should be submitted to the NIOSH Science Blog.

     

        

• CPWR Data Brief: Health Insurance Coverage and Health Care Utilization Among Hispanic Construction Workers.  August 2010.

  Second in a series of three CPWR Data Briefs focusing on Hispanic construction workers, this publication compares health insurance coverage by demographic, insurance and, in some cases, union status. Statistics compiled and analyzed by the CPWR Data Center from data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

• Construction Procurement Policies That Address Health Insurance: A Cost Analysis. May, David C., and C. Jeffrey Waddoups. April 2010.

• New! CPWR’s annual report: Highlights 2009 “Endings and Beginnings”

• CPWR Data Brief: Hispanic Employment in Construction. November 2009.

  A 17-page document that updates and expands information found in CPWR's popular The Construction Chart Book, with an issue explained in minimal text and use of charts. Statistics compiled and analyzed by the CPWR Data Center from data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.       

• Crane-Related Deaths in Construction and Recommendations for Their Prevention. McCann, Michael, Janie Gittleman and Mary Watters. Revised 2009.

• WATE 6 News Highlights the Building Trades National Medical Screening Program

• Healthy Aging for a Sustainable Workforce. Katherine Kirkland and Denny Dobbin. October 2009.
  For videos of conference presentations, please go to the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics' site, http://www.aoecdata.org/AoecVideos.aspx. For presentations, fo to Society of Occupational and Environmental Health's site, http://www.soeh.org/meeting/HealthyAgingWorkers_Agenda_v4.pdf.

• Construction Injury Surveillance in Illinois. Lee Friedman, PhD and Linda Forst, MD, MPH. March 2009.

  
  

• Genetic Testing for Beryllium: Worker Knowledge, Beliefs and Attitudes. Ken Silver. February 2009.

  
  

• Reports from CPWR's Site Safety Assessment of the City Center and Cosmopolitan Construction Sites, Las Vegas:

  
  Fall Hazard and Identification Control Audit of the Aria Building. September 2008.
  
  

  Fall Hazard and Identification Control Audit of the Mandarin Building. September 2008.
  
  

  Worksite Assessment Team Site Safety Report. November 2008.
  
  

  Workplace Safety Climate Surveys for City Center and Cosmopolitan Construction    
  Projects, Las Vegas, Nevada. January 2009.

  View page giving background on the reports.

• CPWR Release: Researchers Identify Incentives and Barriers to Adoption of Back-Saving Best Practices among Masonry Contractors

  Masonry industry has highest rate of back injuries among all trades;

  contractor awareness and use of interventions vary by region
  

• CPWR Release: Journal of Safety Research Produces Issue Devoted to Construction Safety and Health Concerns

Authors from CPWR, NIOSH bookend the issue with a chronicle of NIOSH's history, examination of emerging issues that may threaten worker health



• CPWR Release: Roofers Who Leave the Trade Are Four Times More Likely to Face Economic Hardships Than Those Who Remain

Combination of poor health, musculoskeletal disorders force early retirement; Roofers age 40-50 hit hardest with financial woes



• CPWR Release: Researchers Find a Disconnect Between Safety Perceptions and Actuality; Opportunities Exist for Improvement 

Ladders are #1 cause of injuries from falls among residential carpenter apprentices, but workers think ladders pose minimal fall risk            

• CPWR Release: Researchers Confirm New Drilling Device Significantly Reduces Pain
  and Fatigue During Overhead Drilling

Stress to Hands Reduced 10 Times that of Traditional Method, New Tool Keeps Workers on the Ground, Preventing Ladder Falls, at No Loss of Productivity



• CPWR Release: Welders Exposed to Manganese Above Recommended Levels,
  Researchers Find

Local Exhaust Ventilation Reduces Exposure, Researchers Recommend OSHA Revise
Sampling Procedure for Welding Fumes



• eLCOSH Images has launched!
  A newly developed online library of construction photos. eLCOSH Images is the place for trainers and other professionals to go when seeking good practice, and bad practice, images for use in handouts, PowerPoint presentations, or other communication needs. All the images are free to the public.

• NPR’s All Things Considered visited The Flynn Center in December and found craftsmanship alive and well, thanks to dedicated instructors like Local 1 MVD’s Melvin Moore. To hear “A Master Bricklayer Preserves His Craft,” click here.

• Asbestos Hazards to Consumers and Workers

NIOSH Recommendations for Limiting Potential Exposures of Workers to Asbestos Associated with Vermiculite from Libby, Montana

EPA Fact Sheet: Protect Your Family from Asbestos-Contaminated Vermiculite Insulation
       



• National Acadamies report on construction research published
  The review of NIOSH's research program and CPWR's work by an independent panel of experts
  has been published. You can order a copy online or view/download the document free of charge.

  Construction Research at NIOSH:
  Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety
  and Health
  National Acadamies Press, 2009
  
  
  
  

• Workers Rate Safety Most Important Workplace Issue in New Labor Day Study

  Fatal Accidents Can Trigger Public Concern – But Follow-Through Lags Too Often,

  Experts Say

• “A single worker hurt or killed on the job is one too many.”

  Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis comments on decline in fatal occupational injuries during 2009.

• OSHA publishes final rule on cranes and derricks in construction

  Construction crane operators require certification by 2014;

  Riggers, other crane-related workers must be “qualified” starting Nov. 8, 2010
  
  
• OSHA's Cranes and Derricks Factsheet

• U.S. Outlines Plans to Curb Violations of Labor Law
  OSHA seeks to create a “culture of compliance” among contractors/businesses, including safety
  and health practices.

• Sec. Solis issues statement after another refinery worker dies of injuries

• Union painter rescues five from Texas IRS building after plane crash

• “OSHA Listens” public meeting with stakeholders to be Feb. 10

  
  

• David Michaels’ First OSHA Presentation at NIOSH Going Green Workshop

• HHS agrees to change cancer compensation to Hanford workers

• GAO Report to Congressional Requestors - WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH:
  Enhancing OSHA’s Records Audit Process Could Improve the Accuracy of Worker Injury and Illness Data

  Report Summary
  

• OSHA revises enforcement policies for fall protection during steel erection
  
  
• WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH: Enhancing OSHA’s Records Audit Process Could Improve the Accuracy of Worker Injury and Illness Data
  

• Good editorial in the Austin Statesman (Texas) on construction:

  Jobs laced with injustice, hazards and death
  

• Reporting on Construction Fatalities Wins Pulitzer
  Alexandra Berzon, a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun¸ won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service Reporting with her series chronicling the construction fatalities, site work and issues surrounding the $9.2 billion CityCenter project and other projects along the Las Vegas Strip. The loss of 12 workers in 18 months fueled a one-day walkout and an agreement between GC Perini and the Southern Nevada Building Trades that included a site safety assessment and training of workers needing OSHA 10-hour certification.

  Read article about Pulitzer win
  
  Get information about CPWR’s site safety assessment
  

• New Hand-Wipe Removes Lead from Skin
  NIOSH scientist's work now available commercially, reports Wall Street Journal

Read an article on lead decontamination and the problem of lead contamination among workers, written by the people who researched and developed this new hand-wipe product to remove lead from the skin.


 

Safety Recalls

 

• ALERT: Scaffolding tubes crush when right angle or swivel clamps were installed and tightened: ThyssenKrupp Safway Inc.

  
  

• Warning: Miller Back Biter Lanyards Possible Integrity Issue
  
  
• NIOSH Revokes Certificate of Approval on Select Respirators Manufactured by Bei Bei Safety Company
  

• Misleading Representation of the Mainstays Projects RSP2MS Respirator as NIOSH-Approved N95

View more tool and equipment recalls. You will be redirected to CPWR's Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety and Health (eLCOSH) at www.elcosh.org.

• NIEHS earthquake emergency response information
  
  
• Protección personal y ayuda a los demás tras un terremoto: consideraciones de salud y seguridad 
  para los participantes en operaciones de auxilio tras un terremoto (Spanish PowerPoint)
  
  
• Protección personal y ayuda a los demás tras un terremoto: consideraciones de salud y seguridad 
  para los participantes en operaciones de auxilio tras un terremoto  (Spanish brochure)

Hurricane

• CDC hurricane information for response + cleanup workers

• Immunization Guidance from CDC

• OSHA's guidance on worker safety during hurricane cleanup

• OSHA Disaster Site Worker Outreach Training Program

• Katrina Responders: Training and other resources from NIEHS and other federal agencies
  
  

• NIOSH web page on storm and flood hazards
  
  
• EPA web page on Katrina Response
  
  
• NIH links to Spanish and English health/environmental information

• NIEHS-OSHA Safety awareness for responders to Hurricane Katrina (PowerPoint)

• Protección personal y ayuda a los demás: consideraciones de seguridad para participantes en operaciones de auxilio del Huracán Katrina
  (Spanish PowerPoint)

• Protección personal y ayuda a los demás: consideraciones de seguridad para participantes en operaciones de auxilio tras el paso de un huracán: Protección personal y ayuda a los demás
  (Spanish brochure)