CDC SAYS UP TO 40 PERCENT OF DEATHS FROM 5 LEADING CAUSES ARE PREVENTABLE

FROM:  CENTERS OF DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 

Up to 40 percent of annual deaths from each of five leading US causes are preventable

Each year, nearly 900,000 Americans die prematurely from the five leading causes of death – yet 20 percent to 40 percent of the deaths from each cause could be prevented, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The five leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, and unintentional injuries. Together they accounted for 63 percent of all U.S. deaths in 2010, with rates for each cause varying greatly from state to state.  The report, in this week’s issue of CDC’s weekly journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, analyzed premature deaths (before age 80) from each cause for each state from 2008 to 2010. The authors then calculated the number of deaths from each cause that would have been prevented if all states had same death rate as the states with the lowest rates.
The study suggests that, if all states had the lowest death rate observed for each cause, it would be possible to prevent:

34 percent of premature deaths from heart diseases, prolonging about 92,000 lives
21 percent of premature cancer deaths, prolonging about 84,500 lives

39 percent of premature deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases, prolonging about 29,000 lives

33 percent of premature stroke deaths, prolonging about 17,000 lives

39 percent of premature deaths from unintentional injuries, prolonging about 37,000 lives

“As a doctor, it is heartbreaking to lose just one patient to a preventable disease or injury – and it is that much more poignant as the director of the nation’s public health agency to know that far more than a hundred thousand deaths each year are preventable,” said Tom Frieden, MD, MPH. “With programs such as the CDC’s Million Hearts initiative, we are working hard to prevent many of these premature deaths.”

The numbers of preventable deaths from each cause cannot be added together to get an overall total, the authors note. That’s because prevention of some premature deaths may push people to different causes of death. For example, a person who avoids early death from heart disease still may die prematurely from another preventable cause, such as an unintentional injury.
Modifiable risk factors are largely responsible for each of the leading causes of death:
Heart disease risks include tobacco use, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, poor diet, overweight, and lack of physical activity.

Cancer risks include tobacco use, poor diet, lack of physical activity, overweight, sun exposure, certain hormones, alcohol, some viruses and bacteria, ionizing radiation, and certain chemicals and other substances.

Chronic respiratory disease risks include tobacco smoke, second-hand smoke exposure, other indoor air pollutants, outdoor air pollutants, allergens, and exposure to occupational agents.

Stroke risks include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, overweight, previous stroke, tobacco use, alcohol use, and lack of physical activity.

Unintentional injury risks include lack of seatbelt use, lack of motorcycle helmet use, unsafe consumer products, drug and alcohol use (including prescription drug misuse), exposure to occupational hazards, and unsafe home and community environments.

Many of these risks are avoidable by making changes in personal behaviors. Others are due to disparities due to the social, demographic, environmental, economic, and geographic attributes of the neighborhoods in which people live and work. The study authors note that if health disparities were eliminated, as called for in Healthy People 2020External Web Site Icon, all states would be closer to achieving the lowest possible death rates for the leading causes of death.
”We think that this report can help states set goals for preventing premature death from the conditions that account for the majority of deaths in the United States,” said Harold W. Jaffe, MD, the study’s senior author and CDC’s associate director for science. “Achieving these goals could prolong the lives of tens of thousands of Americans.”

Southeastern states had the highest number of preventable deaths for each of the five causes. The study authors suggest that states with higher rates can look to states with similar populations, but better outcomes, to see what they are doing differently to address leading causes of death.

REPUBLIC STEEL SETTLES SAFETY AND HEALTH VIOLATION ISSUES AT FOUR PLANTS

FROM:  U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT 

US Labor Department and Republic Steel reach comprehensive settlement

agreement over safety and health violations at four plants

Company to abate all hazards, implement unprecedented safeguards to prevent future injuries

CANTON, Ohio — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that Republic Steel has agreed to settle alleged health and safety violations at the company's facilities in Lorain, Canton and Massillon, Ohio, as well as Blasdell, N.Y. The comprehensive settlement, in which the company agrees to abate all cited hazards and implement numerous safeguards to prevent future injuries, addresses more than 100 safety and health violations found by OSHA at the company's facilities during inspections conducted in the fall of 2013. The agreement also resolves contested citations from two previous inspections regarding a June 2013 arc flash incident at the Lorain facility and a case alleging numerous fall hazards at the company's Canton facility that OSHA issued in August of 2013.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Republic Steel has agreed to pay $2.4 million, and has further agreed on additional penalty amounts in the event there is a determination of substantial non-compliance with the agreement. The company has agreed to abate all safety and health hazards identified by OSHA, including willful and serious violations for failure to provide required fall protection, failure to implement lockout/tag out procedures to protect workers who service or maintain machines, and failure to provide machine guarding to protect workers from hazardous machinery.

In addition to abating the cited hazards, Republic Steel has agreed to several additional measures to improve compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and better protect its employees. Republic Steel will: hire additional safety and health staff; conduct internal safety and health inspections with representatives of the United Steelworkers; establish and implement a comprehensive safety and health management program to identify and correct hazardous working conditions; hire third-party auditors to assure that hazards are identified and improvements are made; and meet quarterly with OSHA staff to assure implementation of this agreement.

OSHA initiated the inspections last fall in response to a serious injury after an employee fell through the roof of a building at the Lorain plant. OSHA expanded its inspections to all Republic Steel's facilities under the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

"By agreeing to the terms of this settlement, Republic Steel has demonstrated a commitment to change its culture, invest in its employees, and work with OSHA and the United Steelworkers to make significant changes at its facilities that will improve the safety and health of its workers," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "The Labor Department looks forward to working with Republic Steel to ensure that it lives up to its commitment to improve workplace safety."
In addition to improvements noted, Republic Steel has agreed to several key changes in the management of its safety and health program, including:

reviewing and improving plant procedures to ensure OSHA compliance with machine guarding, control of hazardous energy (lockout/tag out), fall protection, personal protective equipment and other critical safety procedures;

implementing an electronic tracking system for identifying hazards/near misses, injuries and illnesses reported by workers;

mailing a letter to workers' families detailing the company's commitment to health and safety;

providing a card to employees informing them of the right to refuse to perform work that they reasonably and in good faith believe is unsafe or unhealthful without fear of being disciplined; and providing supplemental training for all production and maintenance employees, including managers.

"The terms of this agreement to improve conditions and training are unprecedented," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. "The company has committed to supporting extensive worker participation, an important role for the joint health and safety committee, and implementation of a comprehensive safety and health program to better protect Republic Steel employees."