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Articles on Occupational health and safety

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Specially trained hospital security guards are only part of the solution to making health-care workers and their patients feel safe. from www.shutterstock.com

Beefing up security isn’t the only way to make hospitals safer

Security guards won’t protect paramedics and community nurses from violent patients. And in hospital, some security guards can unwittingly escalate violence, unless they’re specially trained.
Why welding in a confined space is so dangerous: argon gas, used commonly in welding, is 38% denser than air. It can displace oxygen close to the ground. Being undetectable, this can lead to loss of consciousness and asphyxiation. Shutterstock

Killed in the line of work duties: we need to fix dangerous loopholes in health and safety laws

The death of apprentice Dillon Wu at a Melbourne factory raises questions about employer responsibility when a traditional employment relationship doesn’t exist.
For women who work in education, the risks of workplace violence are especially high. New research shows rates of assaults have more than doubled between 2002 and 2015. (Shutterstock)

Women four times more likely to experience sexual assault at work

Violence-related injuries at work are on the rise in Canada. New research shows that it is women who suffer the most and especially those working in education.
Facebook moderators sift through hundreds of examples of distressing content during their shifts. Shutterstock

We need to talk about the mental health of content moderators

The news that a former moderator is suing Facebook over unsafe work practices suggests it’s time we finally took the mental health of moderators seriously.
Lack of clear evidence on impairment from cannabis use has led to vastly different workplace policies. Police officers in Ottawa and Vancouver face no restrictions on their off-work use of cannabis as long as they are fit for duty, officers in Calgary have been banned from use and in Toronto they face a 28-day abstinence period. (Shutterstock)

Cannabis in the workplace: We need an accurate measure of impairment

Will offices, construction sites and medical clinics become less safe now that marijuana is legal in Canada? Our experts review the evidence, or lack of it.
Drops of marijuana extract are placed on candy in the kitchen of AmeriCanna Edibles in 2017 in Boulder, Colorado. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Joe Mahoney)

Eating weed gummies at work? Marijuana rules may take a decade to sort out

The promised marijuana legalization date of July 2018 is approaching fast. Many outstanding regulatory issues – such as online sales and occupational health and safety – pose urgent challenges.
Staying alert and safe on the night shift not only affects workers’ health, but the health and safety of the people around them. from www.shutterstock.com

Power naps and meals don’t always help shift workers make it through the night

Taking a power nap on a night shift can leave you feeling groggy. And eating a large meal can reduce your alertness. So, what’s a tired shift worker to do to make it through the night?
Time scarcity acts as a barrier to good health, even if you have knowledge. orphanjones/flickr

Time scarcity is a slippery slope to inactivity

Healthy Australians slide into extreme inactivity and poor dietary choices over a just a few years of feeling time poor and rushed in their daily lives.
Debate over potential pollutants calls for better tools to measure air quality. Singapore Spotter/flickr

Explainer: is aircraft cabin air toxic?

Health effects from contamination on planes is controversial, not least because we don’t measure on-board air quality during ‘fume events’.
The economic cost of workplace injury and death equals about 4% of the world’s gross domestic product. Jens Schott Knudsen/Flickr

Dying for work: the changing face of work-related injuries

Work has a very important role in health and well-being but it can also be a major risk factor for poor health, disability, and even death.
People who experience compassion fatigue are taking on the issues they witness without an appropriate outlet. Mr.Nikon/Shutterstock

Compassion fatigue: the cost some workers pay for caring

Health and social workers often choose their profession because they want to help people. But seeing trauma and suffering on a regular basis can have a deep impact on these workers. “Compassion fatigue…
Occupational hazards. Dmitry Kalinovsky via Shutterstock

Hard Evidence: are work-related deaths in decline?

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the regulatory agency with primary responsibility for enforcing health and safety law across British workplaces, has released its latest annual statistics. According…

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