Schoeneck Containers, Inc. (SCI), a plastic container manufacturer in New Berlin, Wis., is featured as a “Small Business Success Story” by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).

The story highlights the collaboration between SCI staffers and expert consultants from Wisconsin’s Onsite Safety and Health Consultation Program (WisCon) to improve SCI’s safety and health culture.

The collaboration resulted in SCI achieving SHARP status a year after they and WisCon began working together.

SHARP stands for Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program and is a recognition program by OSHA and state consultation programs for companies who have excellent health and safety program management systems in place.

SCI has maintained its SHARP status since 2004.

Edstrom Industries, Inc., a producer of laboratory and agricultural animal watering solutions and environmental monitoring in Waterford, Wis., received their fifth SHARP recertification from OSHA and the WSLH Onsite Safety and Health Consultation Program (WisCon).

Edstrom first received SHARP status in 2004 and have recertified that status every three years since. Their current recertification lasts until November 2019.

SHARP is a recognition program for companies who have excellent health and safety program management systems in place.

To achieve SHARP status, a company must:

• Have a history of maintaining an injury and illness rate below the national average for its industry
• Participate in a comprehensive consultation visit for both safety and health
• Participate in a full evaluation of the health and safety management program in place for the company
• Involve employees in the consultation and safety management processes
• Correct all serious, other-than-serious, and regulatory hazards found
• Have all basic elements for managing health and safety in place

You can’t see it, you can’t smell it, you can’t taste it, it could kill you – and it may be a problem in your home. What is it? Radon.

In this January 25, 2017 webinar, WSLH Radiochemistry Supervisor Tracy Hanke talks about this natural (radioactive) breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water that gets into the air you breathe. How do you find it? What are the health effects? What can you do about it?

January is National Radon Action Month and homeowners interested in testing their homes for radon have many options.

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene offers radon testing.

Homeowners can also contact Radon Information Centers or certified radon measurement contractors for testing or buy a test kit at a hardware store.

For more information on radon, health concerns, and a list certified radon reduction contractors, please see the WI Division of Health Services radon website at lowradon.org.

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday.

The table below lists the hours of operations for our Clinical Specimen Receiving departments. We will have staffing to accept clinical specimens at both our 2601 Agriculture Drive and our 465 Henry Mall facilities on Saturday, January 14^th.

As always, if you have an off-hours emergency, please call the WSLH Emergency Pager at 608-263-3280.

 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, there were 104 Wisconsin workers who died due to injury in 2015. This number reflects an increase from 99 fatalities in 2014. Wisconsin’s overall fatality rate also increased from 3.5 to 3.6 deaths per 100,000. The number of workplace deaths in Wisconsin the past decade (2006-2015) range from 77 in 2008 to 114 in 2012, and average 98 fatalities annually.

The final count of occupational fatalities in the U.S. in 2015 was 4,836, according to national figures released last Friday. This was an increase from the revised total of 4,821 in 2014. The overall fatality rate decreased from 3.43 to 3.38 cases per 100,000 full time employees.

 Key findings for Wisconsin in 2015:

• Work-related fatality rates decreased for agriculture, professional business services, and education and health services industries, and increased for construction, transportation, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade.
• Transportation incidents caused the most fatalities, a 21% increase from the prior year.
• Exposures to harmful substances or environments increased from 5 to 11 incidents.
• Fatal injuries to females in 2015 decreased from 12 in 2014 to 4 in 2015.
• Employees age 55 to 64 sustained the highest number of fatalities.

Industry

In 2015, 95 of the 104 work-related deaths in Wisconsin occurred within private industry. Public sector worker deaths increased from 5 deaths in 2014 to 9 in 2015. Agriculture, fishing, forestry, and hunting

fatality count decreased from 27 to 26. Fatalities in the professional and business services industry decreased from 13 to 7, while the trade, transportation, and utilities increased from 17 to 24. Manufacturing industry deaths rose from 11 in 2014 to 14 in 2015, while fatalities in the construction industry remained unchanged at 14.

Event

Transportation incidents comprised the highest number of fatal work injuries with 46 incidents, an increase from 39 incidents in 2014. Falls, slips, and trips increased slightly from 16 in 2014 to 17 last year, while fatal contact injuries decreased from 22 to 18. Violent events decreased from 15 in 2014 to 11 in 2015. Deaths due to exposure to harmful substance or environments increased from 5 to 11 incidents.

Worker Characteristics and Occupation

Of the 104 fatalities, 14 workers were in contractor status, and 39 were self-employed. The highest number of fatal work injuries occurred among age group 55 to 64 with 26 deaths, followed by age 45 to 54 with 22, and age 65 years or older with 19. Management occupations sustained the greatest number of fatal injuries in 2015 at 20 incidents, followed by transportation and material moving occupations with 19 deaths. Construction and extraction occupations sustained 13 fatalities, 11 deaths occurred among production workers and 10 among farming, fishing, and forestry occupations.

Background of Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the United States during the calendar year. The program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH), a part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the state’s public, environmental and occupational health laboratory. The WSLH’s Bureau of Labor Statistics/Occupational Safety and Health Statistics Program has a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to conduct the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in Wisconsin.

 

For more about Wisconsin Work-related fatalities, go to www.slh.wisc.edu/bls.

For more about U.S. Work-related fatalities, go to https://www.bls.gov/iif/news.htm

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Forensic Toxicology section provides alcohol and drug testing  for law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin for traffic safety and other motor vehicle matters (boats, ATVs and snowmobiles) in support of Wisconsin’s impaired driving laws.

 

OWI Samples

On Dec. 7, 2016, the toxicology section issued reminder guidance to law enforcement agencies that the WSLH will accept and test OWI blood samples for any OWI offense or crash, felony or otherwise. Memo

 

Dane County Roadside Oral Fluid Project

The WSLH Forensic Toxicology section is working with Dane County law enforcement agencies as part of the Dane County Roadside Oral Fluid Project, which focuses on suspected drugged driving. The WSLH recently published a summary of Phase 1 of the project.  Phase 2 is currently underway.

 

Please note the following changes to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s operations due to the observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

The table below lists the hours of operations for our Clinical Specimen Receiving department. We will have staffing to accept clinical specimens at both our 2601 Agriculture Drive and our 465 Henry Mall facilities.

Testing will be performed in our Newborn Screening laboratory on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. As always, if you have an off-hours emergency, please call the WSLH Emergency Pager at 608-263-3280.

 

 

The situation is terrifying. A seemingly healthy person suddenly collapses – unconscious – and tragically dies from cardiac arrest. Family members in their grief ask “Why?” and maybe even “Can it happen to us too?”

A pilot project between the University of Wisconsin Collaborative Genomics Core (UWCGC) and University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics (UWHC) Autopsy Services hopes to provide some answers.

The pilot project allows family members of people who pass away from suspected sudden cardiac deaths to have genetic testing performed on specimens from their deceased loved one, either as part of an autopsy at UWHC or just the testing alone. The test panel, performed by the UW Collaborative Genomics Core, is free of charge and looks for specific genetic markers related to sudden cardiac death.

Family members will receive the results of the testing from their designated healthcare provider. Genetic testing may identify inherited cardiac disease in 25-30% of these individuals. This provides the family an opportunity for closure, and also allows family members the option to be tested for the identified, and often treatable, genetic condition.

The goal is to identify gene variants related to sudden cardiac death in affected individuals to aid in diagnosis of at-risk family members who can then be connected with appropriate medical management.

“From one person who tragically dies, we can potentially help many people who might also be affected by hidden cardiac conditions,” said Jennifer Laffin, PhD FACMG, director of cytogenetics and molecular genetics within the UWCGC, director of UW Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) and UW associate professor of Pediatrics. “We are hoping to significantly reduce sudden cardiac death in Wisconsin.”

The idea for the pilot project came from Kate Orland, MS CGC, a genetic counselor in the UW Department of Medicine’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. The team worked with Erin Brooks, MD, a UWHC pathologist and UW associate professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and WSLH Genetic Counselor Kimberly Anderson, MS CGC, to develop workflows and patient/provider tools to accomplish the testing.

“Although rare, sudden cardiac death in a young person (<40 years of age) does occur, leaving relatives in shock and eager to find an explanation,” Orland explained. “Genetic testing is sometimes the only tool available to determine the cause of death, particularly in the case of inherited arrhythmia conditions, which have little to no evidence on an autopsy.  Moreover, it is difficult to obtain insurance coverage for postmortem genetic testing.  The opportunity to offer testing to grieving families is not only a tremendous service; it can potentially provide critical risk assessment information for the living relatives, who could have a 50% chance of sharing the genetic variant.”

It’s expected that there will be about five cases of sudden cardiac death per year who will be tested as part of the pilot.

Family members also can have their loved one’s specimens banked at the WSLH DNA Bank for future testing.

“Although this testing won’t bring back their loved one, it can hopefully offer some insight into why they may have passed away and provide information to the surviving family members to help manage their health, if needed,” said Dr. Laffin.

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene will observe the following hours of operation for the Thanksgiving holiday:

 

 

 

Tracing the isotopic signature of lead (Pb) in both an adult who had bullet fragments embedded in his leg for 10 years and his young child who also had elevated blood lead levels (BLL) is the subject of a recent paper in Biological Trace Element Research.

The paper is the first resulting from isotopic analyses performed on the Multicollector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (MC-ICPMS) in the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene Trace Elements Clean Lab. The case is novel in that the MC-ICPMS was used for testing both clinical and environmental samples. The technology has been used for environmental testing for several years, but using it to test clinical specimens is still quite rare.

The article highlights the power of MC-ICPMS technology to determine isotopic signatures for environmental source tracking in public health.

Read the article here — http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12011-016-0872-3