Tag Archives: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Grant: Researchers to find ways to prevent injury in the Dungeness crab fishery
The grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, totaling $895,000 over the next three years, will allow OSU professors Jay Kim and Laurel Kincl to build on existing research with the Dungeness crab fishing industry, where workers suffer high rates of both fatal and non-fatal injuries. For their upcoming study, Kim and Kincl will look specifically at the configuration of the “block,” the mechanized winch that pulls up the line of crab pots out of the water and swings them into the boat; and the crab sorting table, where crabs are sorted after being brought up from the water. >click to read< 18:18
NIOSH: Work-Related Deaths in Alaska Remain High After 15 Years
NIOSH investigators reviewed work-related deaths from 2004 to 2018 as recorded in the Alaska Occupational Injury Surveillance System, which tracks workplace deaths and injuries, and found 517 work-related deaths had occurred over the 15-year period. Most deaths were among white men working in the commercial fishing industry, with the average age of 42 for fatally injured workers. Commercial fishing is one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States, with a fatality rate 29 times higher than the national average, according to NIOSH. The leading cause of work-related death over the 15 years studied was water vehicle incidents,,, The institute also announced the availability of commercial fishing safety research and training grants. >click to read< 16:15
NIOSH Announces Availability of $6 Million in Commercial Fishing Safety Research and Training Grants
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), announced the availability of $6 million dollars in grant funding for commercial fishing safety research and training. The grants, which are supported and administered by NIOSH, will provide funding to qualified individuals in academia, members of non-profit organizations, municipalities, and businesses involved in the fishing and maritime industries. The funding will support research on improving the occupational safety of workers in the commercial fishing industry and critical training for this high-risk occupation. >click to read<10:52
Looking into why a winch fail-safe never took off
The emergency stop button on a machine could mean the difference between a lost finger and a lost arm. And when it comes to one machine on fishing vessels – winches – the risk is there. So, why aren’t more fishermen in Alaska buying into an emergency stop button that’s been around since 2007? Vendors gather in a room for Kodiak’s annual commercial fisheries trade show, ComFish. Brad Tibbs is manning the booth for Kolstrand, a fisheries equipment business based out of Seattle. Kolstrand sells their winches with optional emergency stop buttons. But Tibbs says they haven’t taken off.>click to read<20:34
Making the Seas Safer for Fishermen
After Congress passed the 2010 Coast Guard Authorization Act, which updated fishing industry safety standards for the first time since 1988, activists like Bartlett were grateful their concerns were being taken seriously: Life rafts would be improved, safety training would become mandatory for fishing captains, and new boats would be built to standards set and verified by independent third parties called “class societies.” But almost five years after the law’s passage, the Coast Guard has yet to translate many of its requirements into enforceable rules. Read the rest here 17:57
How Bering Sea crab fishing was made safer
The dangers of the Bering Sea crab fishery have been made famous by the reality TV show “Deadliest Catch.” But in the last 15 years, that industry has become much safer, in large part thanks to collaboration between industry, scientists and regulators. Read the rest here 12:29
