Cannabis and work: Need for more research.

Cannabis sativa is one of the oldest and most widely used plants in the world with a variety of industrial, medical, and nonmedical applications. Despite its long history, cannabis-derived products remain a source of controversy across the fields of medicine, law, and occupational safety and health. More favorable public attitudes about cannabis in the US have resulted in greater access to cannabis through legalization by states, leading to more consumption by workers. As more states adopt cannabis access laws, and as more workers choose to consume cannabis products, the implications for existing workplace policies, programs, and practices become more salient. Past workplace practices were grounded in a time when cannabis consumption was always viewed as problematic, considered a moral failing, and was universally illegal. Shifting cultural views and the changing legal status of cannabis indicate a need for research into the implications and challenges relating to cannabis and work. This commentary suggests research needs in the following areas: (a) data about industries and occupations where cannabis consumption among workers is most prevalent; (b) adverse health consequences of cannabis consumption among workers; (c) workplace supported recovery programs; (d) hazards to workers in the emerging cannabis industry; (e) relationship between cannabis consumption and occupational injuries; (f) ways to assess performance deficits and impairment from cannabis consumption; (g) consumption of synthetic cannabinoids to evade detection by drug testing; (h) cannabis consumption and its effect on occupational driving; and (i) ways to craft workplace policies and practices that take into consideration conflicting state and federal laws pertaining to cannabis.

[The harmonized approach to health and safety in Italian ports: the experience of the interregional technical group on ports and ships]. / L'approccio armonizzato alla salute e sicurezza nei porti italiani: l'esperienza del gruppo tecnico interregionale sui porti e le navi.

SUMMARY: This report summarises some of the crucial and critical aspects on the enforcement of the Italian regulations on port and maritime work and fishing, following the activity of the Interregional Coordination Working Group on OHS in Ports and Ships from September 2017 until September 2019. The discussions have been organised in fine main topics. First of all, the complex relationships between the different Institution and Social Partners dealing with the subject at local and national level. Some specific topics are then analysed in depth: the limits of regulations on health surveillance for maritime workers; the difficult management of work interference during loading and unloading ships, the transport of dangerous chemicals and the port road and rail safety; the critical aspects of the enforcement of precautions for hot work in ship repair and asbestos removal. Finally, we describe a complex national training on the field project, organized for the inspectors by the Working Group on OHS in Loading and Unloading ships, Shipyards and Ship Repair, Fishing work.

Throwing the baby out with the bath water? Occupational hygienists' views on the revised dutch system for occupational exposure limits.

In 2007, the Dutch Working Conditions Act was revised with the goal to decrease the regulatory burden, and to open up for company-specific solutions of establishing a safe and healthy work environment. One tool geared towards company-specific solutions is the compilation of the Arbocatalogs, which are company or sector-level collections of safe working methods and guidelines developed both by employers and employees. The revision also introduced a new occupational exposure limit (OEL) system in the Netherlands. This system encompasses two kinds of OELs: private and public. Private OELs are to be derived by the industry, while public OELs are issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. With this change, the majority of the previously set Dutch OELs were removed, as the substances in question now are falling under the private realm. The motivations, expectations, and practical impacts of these revisions have been investigated through interviews with stakeholder organizations and a questionnaire study targeted at occupational hygienists. The questionnaire results show that although the Arbocatalogs seem to be relatively well received, a majority of the Dutch occupational hygienists are still relatively negative to the changes. There is a fear that private OELs will be less scientifically robust than public OELs and that the lack of robustness will have a negative impact on the field of occupational hygiene as a whole.

One size fits all? Australian regulation of nanoparticle exposure in the workplace.

Nanoparticles (NPs) are a relative newcomer to the Australian workplace. Available scientific data suggest that exposure to some NPs may have serious health consequences, in at least one case being similar to the effects of asbestos. This article explains what NPs are and the possible health effects of exposure to them. The adequacy of Australian regulation of NP exposure in the workplace is then examined. It finds that current Australian regulation of workplace dangers from chemical exposure based on size is inappropriate for NPs: in this instance at least, one size does not fit all.

Safety and health of professional drivers who drive on Brazilian highways.

Traffic accidents and resulting injuries and deaths have become a global epidemic. In Brazil, most professional drivers, especially truck drivers, face irregular working hours and can be awake for more than 18 hours/day, which reduces their performance and alertness. In this article, we discuss the laws related to Brazilian professional drivers and their current amendments (No. 12,619/2012 and No. 13,103/2015) in relation to working hours at the wheel and rest breaks, which are vital for the quality of life of drivers and society in general. We note that the new law appears to be less efficient than the previous one as it causes insecurity and concern to the users of the transportation system, drivers, and employers. To restrict and reduce accidents, deaths, and injuries in traffic, appropriate legislation is essential, aiming at the safety of workers and users of highways. The law must also benefit the commercial aspect, strengthening the reduction in production and logistics losses. Additionally, traffic education programs are needed, as well as better supervision in relation to total working hours. RESUMO Acidentes de trânsito com consequentes lesões e mortes têm se tornado uma epidemia em nível mundial. No Brasil, a maioria dos motoristas profissionais, sobretudo motoristas de transporte de cargas, enfrenta jornada de trabalho irregular e permanece acordado por mais de 18 horas/dia, o que reduz seu desempenho e estado de alerta. Neste artigo, discutimos as leis dos motoristas profissionais brasileiros e suas alterações vigentes (nº 12.619/2012 e nº 13.103/2015) em relação às horas de trabalho ao volante e a pausas para descanso, imprescindíveis para a qualidade de vida dos motoristas e para a sociedade em geral. Observamos que a nova legislação se mostra menos eficiente que a anterior por causar insegurança e preocupação aos usuários do sistema de transporte, aos próprios motoristas e aos empregadores. Para restringir e reduzir acidentes, mortes e lesões no trânsito, é fundamental uma legislação adequada, que vise à segurança do trabalhador e dos usuários das rodovias. A legislação deve, também, beneficiar o aspecto comercial, que se fortalece pela redução das perdas de produção e logística. Adicionalmente, são necessários programas de educação no trânsito e melhor fiscalização em relação ao tempo total de jornada de trabalho.

Emerging from the tragedies in Bangladesh: a challenge to voluntarism in the global economy.

Under the regime of private company or multi-stakeholder voluntary codes of conduct and industry social auditing, workers have absorbed low wages and unsafe and abusive conditions; labor leaders and union members have become the targets of both government and factory harassment and violence; and trade union power has waned. Nowhere have these private systems of codes and audits so clearly failed to protect workers as in Bangladesh's apparel industry. However, international labor groups and Bangladeshi unions have succeeded in mounting a challenge to voluntarism in the global economy, persuading more than 180 companies to make a binding and enforceable commitment to workers' safety in an agreement with 12 unions. The extent to which this Bangladesh Accord will be able to influence the entrenched global regime of voluntary codes and weak trade unions remains an open question. But if the Accord can make progress in Bangladesh, it can help to inspire similar efforts in other countries and in other industries.

A conversation about the work environment.

The author looks at work environment matters from the perspective of public policy-making and the policy instruments used to deal with workplace health and safety: standard setting; joint health and safety committees; compliance, enforcement, and prosecution; workers' compensation as an economic incentive; and collective bargaining. While regarding all as necessary, the author considers them as separately and collectively, fundamentally flawed and therefore insufficient, because liberal public policy-making itself is problematic. He proposes an alternative way of thinking about this subject from the perspective of the "politics of meaning."

Implementation of provisions of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act regarding emergency response employees--CDC. Final notice.

The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act (Pub. L. 101-381) includes provisions for emergency response employees (EREs) who may be exposed to potentially life-threatening disease during the course of an emergency. This notice sets forth the final list of diseases to which these provisions apply; final guidelines describing circumstances under which exposure to listed diseases may occur; and final guidelines for determining whether an exposure to the listed diseases has occurred. The final list of diseases and guidelines incorporate comments received by CDC on a draft list and guidelines (57 FR 54794, November 20, 1992).

[Problems of hygienic assessment in the certification of work sites by the working conditions]. / Voprosy gigienicheskoi otsenki pri attestatsii rabochikh mest po usloviiam truda.

The rating of working places by labour conditions is an important first practical step of introducing state management by an occupational risk. To achieve the goals of rating stipulated in the guidelines requires the correction and specification of some rating provisions.

Safety and health of professional drivers who drive on Brazilian highways / Segurança e saúde dos motoristas profissionais que trafegam nas rodovias do Brasil

ABSTRACT Traffic accidents and resulting injuries and deaths have become a global epidemic. In Brazil, most professional drivers, especially truck drivers, face irregular working hours and can be awake for more than 18 hours/day, which reduces their performance and alertness. In this article, we discuss the laws related to Brazilian professional drivers and their current amendments (No. 12,619/2012 and No. 13,103/2015) in relation to working hours at the wheel and rest breaks, which are vital for the quality of life of drivers and society in general. We note that the new law appears to be less efficient than the previous one as it causes insecurity and concern to the users of the transportation system, drivers, and employers. To restrict and reduce accidents, deaths, and injuries in traffic, appropriate legislation is essential, aiming at the safety of workers and users of highways. The law must also benefit the commercial aspect, strengthening the reduction in production and logistics losses. Additionally, traffic education programs are needed, as well as better supervision in relation to total working hours.

RESUMO Acidentes de trânsito com consequentes lesões e mortes têm se tornado uma epidemia em nível mundial. No Brasil, a maioria dos motoristas profissionais, sobretudo motoristas de transporte de cargas, enfrenta jornada de trabalho irregular e permanece acordado por mais de 18 horas/dia, o que reduz seu desempenho e estado de alerta. Neste artigo, discutimos as leis dos motoristas profissionais brasileiros e suas alterações vigentes (nº 12.619/2012 e nº 13.103/2015) em relação às horas de trabalho ao volante e a pausas para descanso, imprescindíveis para a qualidade de vida dos motoristas e para a sociedade em geral. Observamos que a nova legislação se mostra menos eficiente que a anterior por causar insegurança e preocupação aos usuários do sistema de transporte, aos próprios motoristas e aos empregadores. Para restringir e reduzir acidentes, mortes e lesões no trânsito, é fundamental uma legislação adequada, que vise à segurança do trabalhador e dos usuários das rodovias. A legislação deve, também, beneficiar o aspecto comercial, que se fortalece pela redução das perdas de produção e logística. Adicionalmente, são necessários programas de educação no trânsito e melhor fiscalização em relação ao tempo total de jornada de trabalho.

The development and regulation of occupational exposure limits in Korea.

With the institution of the new chemical regulatory framework in 2003, chemicals at the workplace have been classified into five categories; banned substances, permission-required substances, regulated substances, occupational exposure limit set substances, and other generally controlled substances. Currently, there are 698 substances with OELs. As we have come to gain our own experiences in the study and control of chemical hazards at the workplace such as the 2-bromopropane poisoning, OEL setting process has been streamlined. The OELs in Korea, however, remain merely as a recommendation, which does not require all the substances with OELs to be measured at the workplace. Coordination of whole program for hazardous chemicals including workplace measurement, OEL setting process, and enforcement activities is still needed in Korea.