Occupational Health News and Research

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New research shows mercury levels are higher in some tuna species

New research showing that that mercury levels are higher in some species of tuna could help consumers minimize their consumption of the silvery metal in their sushi and provide a powerful new tool for regulatory organizations.

21 Apr 2010

Sentry Air Systems announces equipment compliance with OSHA's hexavalent chromium regulation

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is enforcing strict regulations regarding worker exposure to hexavalent chromium in several industries. Hexavalent chromium, a volatized and oxidized form of chromium, has been identified as a carcinogen. OSHA has subsequently established stringent regulations for workers who are potentially exposed to it in the general, construction, shipyard, and marine terminal industries.

19 Apr 2010

Study reveals increased risk for cancer among Latino populations

New findings from epidemiology and observational studies show an increased risk for cancer among Latino populations, but unique demographic characteristics suggest the problem may be worse than currently known.

19 Apr 2010

AIM Health Group's net income increased to $1.3M from a loss of $2.9M in 2008

AIM Health Group Inc., a fully integrated health care company, announced today that its net income for the year ended December 31, 2009 ("Fiscal 2009") increased to $1.3 million from a loss of $2.9 million in 2008. At the same time EBITDA increased to $3.0 million from negative $0.3 million on a year-over-year basis.

13 Apr 2010

University of Minnesota offers Hearing Conservation and one-day refresher courses

The University of Minnesota's Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety is offering a Hearing Conservation course on April 21-23, 2010, designed for hearing conservation technicians and occupational health professionals seeking certification as an Occupational Hearing Conservationist.

6 Apr 2010

Occupational exposure to synthetic fibers – a possible link with breast cancer

According to a recent report published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, scientists have found that women during her mid 30's exposed to petrol products and synthetic fibers could treble the risk of developing breast cancer after menopause. According to the report, "Occupational exposure to nylon and acrylic fibers as well as to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has higher risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer."

6 Apr 2010

Free hearing conservation clinics to be held in Chicago

3M, E-A-R and Peltor Hearing Conservation Clinics are being held on April 13, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The clinics offer an extensive education in hearing-loss prevention for industrial settings.

3 Apr 2010

CHS receives AAAHC accreditation for two new HybridHealth onsite health centers

Comprehensive Health Services, Inc. (CHS), a leading national workforce health management company specializing in onsite health care solutions, received a coveted accreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) for two of its new HybridHealthSM onsite health centers. In just thirteen months from the completion of construction to their accreditation, the Choose Health Wellness Center at Hewitt Associates in Lincolnshire, Illinois, as well as an onsite health center at a company in Texas, accomplished top ratings in all AAAHC's core standards.

31 Mar 2010

Renowned experts discuss key statistics of health care reform at 2010 Keenan Summit

Keenan & Associates, the largest privately-held insurance brokerage and consulting firm in California, convened its sixth annual Keenan Summit on March 3, 2010, in Pasadena, Calif., and on March 4, 2010, in Berkeley. The theme for this year's summit was "Navigating Through Unprecedented Times: Today's Challenges. Tomorrow's Solutions."

26 Mar 2010

New global goals in the areas of nutrition, environment and workplace practices

PepsiCo, the world's second-largest food and beverage company, today announced new global goals in the areas of nutrition, the environment, and workplace practices at its investor conference here at the Legends Suite Club in Yankee Stadium.

22 Mar 2010

Organisational justice causes feelings of embitterment and burn-out at work

New findings suggest the role of organisational justice in causing feelings of embitterment and burn-out at work. Professor Tom Sensky (Imperial College, London, UK) analyzes these data in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

9 Mar 2010

Inability to motivate diabetics with poor control to overcome barriers inhibiting healthier lifestyles frustrates physicians

Diabetes affects approximately 8 percent of the people in the United States and adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates two to four times higher than adults without diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. A new study shows that primary care physicians believe the barriers that put patients with uncontrolled diabetes at risk for cardiovascular disease as being patient-related or system-related.

6 Mar 2010

Concentra expands customer base and reach with the acquisition of Health Now

Effective March 1, Concentra, a national provider of urgent care services, has expanded its customer base and reach with the acquisition of the assets of Cherry Hill Health Care Associates, P.A. in Pennsauken, N.J.

3 Mar 2010

Community-wide wellness initiative to deliver preventive health care services to northwest Arkansas

U.S. Preventive Medicine® and Washington Regional Medical Center, together with Arkansas Occupational Health Clinic and Kids for Health, today introduced an initiative to deliver preventive health care services to northwest Arkansas. This community-wide wellness initiative aims to save lives and money by keeping Arkansans healthy and treating chronic illnesses before they progress.

26 Feb 2010

U.S. HealthWorks expands its footprint in Arizona by acquiring three healthcare centers

U.S. HealthWorks, a leading operator of occupational healthcare centers in the nation, today announced the acquisition of all three Tucson Occupational Medicine healthcare centers.

22 Feb 2010

Over 96% of SIDS cases due to known risk factors

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) continues to be the third leading cause of infant death, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), despite a decline in SIDS that is associated with a rise in safe-sleep practices for newborns and infants. A new study by Barbara M. Ostfeld, PhD and Thomas Hegyi, MD, professors in the Department of Pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has identified that more than 96 percent of infants who died of SIDS were exposed to known risk factors, among them sleeping on their side or stomach, or exposure to tobacco smoke, and that 78 percent of SIDS cases contained multiple risk factors.

16 Feb 2010

Rate of seasonal flu vaccination doubles national average at Johns Hopkins East Baltimore medical campus

A campaign that makes seasonal flu vaccinations for hospital staff free, convenient, ubiquitous and hard to ignore succeeds fairly well in moving care providers closer to a state of "herd" immunity and protecting patients from possible infection transmitted by health care workers, according to results of a survey at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

12 Feb 2010

SafeBridge Consultants validates improved hygiene air sampling and analytical method for naproxen sodium

SafeBridge® Consultants, Inc. headquartered in Mountain View, California announced today that its industrial hygiene analytical laboratory has recently validated an industrial hygiene air sampling and analytical method with improved analytical sensitivity for measurement of naproxen sodium on filters. SafeBridge now has a validated method that will detect as low as 20 picograms per filter in an air sample collected on appropriate media. This limit of detection is four (4) to five (5) times lower than methods available from other commercial laboratories.

11 Feb 2010

Children with depressive symptoms may have greater affinity for sweets, says study

New research from the Monell Center reports that children's response to intense sweet taste is related to both a family history of alcoholism and the child's own self-reports of depression.

10 Feb 2010

Mandatory flu shot program increases vaccination rate to more than 98% in BJC HealthCare

Making flu shots mandatory in 2008 dramatically increased the vaccination rate among St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare's nearly 26,000 employees to more than 98 percent, according to a report now online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

4 Feb 2010