This document is the June 24, 2012 issue of the Cogeo News web journal, which covers topics related to occupational safety and health (OSHA), corporate social responsibility (CSR), and environmental management systems (EMS). The issue includes several articles on OSHA topics from partner journals, an article on workers' compensation costs being shifted to other payers, and recommendations for improving workplace safety incentives. It also provides updates on CSR software and standards, EMS guidelines from the EPA and CDC, and recommends organizations supporting equal rights and affordable housing. The publication aims to keep readers informed on new developments in occupational health, safety, and environmental issues.
3. Cogeo News
Alain Rothstein
Paintings Sculptures
https://www.facebook.
com/alain.rothstein
Cogeo News
WEB JOURNAL ON OSHA – CSR - EMS
Summary
Wellbeing at Work ?
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4. Cogeo News
This Week
1 .Partners 4. EMS
2. OSHA 5 .We Recommend
3. CSR 6 . Our Core Business
THE WEB JOURNAL OF OSHA – CSR – EMS
COGEO NEWS
The Web Journal of OSHA – CSR - EMS is a peer-reviewed weekly journal of the Publisher
COGEO CONSULTING
COGEO NEWS “in-depth, OSHA – CSR - EMS oriented research articles and technical reports keep
occupational health and safety, CSR and environmental specialists up-to-date on new developments in the
prevention, diagnosis, and rehabilitation of environmentally induced conditions and work-related injuries and
illnesses.” The publication acquired its current name in 2012 because “the health implications of exposures
are not just confined to workers in the occupational environment but extend to everyone in the general
environment.”
www.cogeoconsulting.com
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5. Cogeo News
1 .Partners
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medecine
http://journals.lww.com/joem/pages/default.aspx
MOST OCCUPATIONAL INJURY AND ILLNESS COSTS
ARE PAID BY THE GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE
PAYERS
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6. Cogeo News
UC Davis researchers have found that workers' compensation insurance is not used
nearly as much as it should be to cover the nation's multi-billion dollar price tag for
workplace illnesses and injuries. Instead, almost 80 percent of these costs are paid
by employer-provided health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and
other disability funds, employees and other payers.
Authors of the study, published in the April issue of the Journal of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, said this cost shifting leads to
artificially low workers' compensation premiums that should be used to
cover wage replacement and medical care for employees injured on the
job.
"This is a classic example of what we call a 'negative externality' in
economics -- where prices do not accurately reflect costs that spill over to
others and have negative social outcomes," said Paul Leigh, lead author of
the study and a UC Davis professor of public health sciences affiliated
with the UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy. "Workers' injuries and
illnesses cost much more than what current workers' compensation
payments suggest, and the resulting low premiums provide little incentive
for companies to promote workplace safety."
In a study he published last year, Leigh, an expert in health and labor
economics, found that total annual costs for occupational injuries and
illnesses in 2007 were nearly $250 billion: $67.09 billion related to
medical care and $182.54 billion related to lost productivity.
In the current cost-of-illness study, Leigh showed that just 21 percent -- or
$51.7 billion -- of those costs were covered by workers' compensation. He
also identified who pays for the extra $198 billion -- or 79 percent.
By combining 2007 data from several government and nonprofit
organizations, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics and National
Council on Compensation Insurance, Leigh found that the medical
costs for occupational injuries and illnesses were primarily paid by these
sources:
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7. Cogeo News
Workers' compensation: $29.86 billion
Other non-workers' compensation health insurance: $14.22 billion
Workers and their families: $10.38 billion
Medicare: $7.16 billion
Medicaid: $5.47 billion
He also found that only $21.86 billion in lost productivity costs are paid by
workers' compensation insurers, with the remaining $160.68 billion
covered by other sources, including workers and their families, the Social
Security Disability fund and state disability funds.
"Cost-shifting affects everyone, because we're all paying higher Medicare
and income taxes to help cover that 79 percent," said Leigh.
He suggests three changes in current workers' compensation and
employee health practices to reduce cost shifting and overall costs and to
help ensure workplace safety:
1. Eliminate the stigma often associated with filing workers'
compensation claims by openly acknowledging the legitimacy of
using workers' compensation insurance for occupational injuries.
2. Encourage more states to adopt single-payer government-managed
workers' compensation systems to save administrative costs.
3. Link premiums with company-specific injury experience rather than
industry-wide estimates, which would encourage companies to
lower premiums by reducing workplace hazards.
"The ultimate goals should be to comprehensively address the way
occupational health is managed and establish cultures of safety for
workers," said Leigh.
More information: James Marcin, a UC Davis professor of pediatrics
affiliated with the UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy, was the co-
author of "Workers' Compensation Benefits and Shifting Costs for
Occupational Injury and Illness."
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9. Cogeo News
http://www.sys-con.com/node/2296558
Tobii Technology, the global leader in eye-tracking
and interactive gaze technology, announced today
that it has partnered with Cedrus, the leading
provider of stimuli and response hardware for
psychological studies, to introduce the StimTracker for Tobii TX300 Eye
Tracker. The StimTracker is an extremely precise synchronization and
timing solution that enhances the accuracy of data collection and
insights for scientific research in studies involving EEG or other
biometric data.
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10. Cogeo News
3. CSR
ENABLON SD-CSR
http://enablon.com/products/corporate-responsibility-ehs-
management/CSR-
reporting.aspx?gclid=CIaA66Pu07ACFVMetAodrBnZ1w
Enablon SD-CSR is the leading software solution for
collecting, reporting and managing sustainable
development information
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11. Cogeo News
World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/
2012/mental_health_20120615/en/index.html
WHO gives countries tools to help stop abuse of
people with mental health condition
15 June 2012 – GENEVA
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12. Cogeo News
4. EMS
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-168c/?s_cid=3ni7d2TW1011222300
NIOSH POCKET GUIDE TO CHEMICAL HAZARDS CD ROM
The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG) is intended as a
source of general industrial hygiene information on several hundred
chemicals/classes for workers, employers, and occupational health
professionals. The NPG does not contain an analysis of all pertinent data,
rather it presents key information and data in abbreviated or tabular form
for chemicals or substance groupings (e.g. cyanides, fluorides, manganese
compounds) that are found in the work environment. The information
found in the NPG should help users recognize and control occupational
chemical hazards.
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13. Cogeo News
http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2012/06/15/epa-
proposes-stricter-standards-for-soot-pollution/
The move by the Environmental Protection Agency won immediate
support from environmental groups and public health advocates, who
said the EPA was protecting millions of Americans at risk of asthma
attacks, lung cancer, heart disease and premature death.
But congressional Republicans and industry officials called the rules overly
strict and said they could hurt economic growth and cause job losses in
areas where pollution levels are determined to be too high. “EPA’s
proposal could substantially increase costs to states, municipalities,
businesses and ultimately consumers without justified benefits,” said
Howard Feldman, director of regulatory and scientific affairs for the
American Petroleum Institute, the top lobbying group for the oil and gas
industry.
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14. Cogeo News
5 .We Recommend
Equal Rights Org
http://www.equalrights.org/
Equal Rights Advocates is a nonprofit legal
organization dedicated to protecting and
expanding economic and educational access and
opportunities for women and girls
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15. Cogeo News
http://greenopolis.com/goblog/green-groove/recycled-
paper-prefab-home-offers-shelter-refugees-and-homeless
RECYCLED PAPER PREFAB HOME OFFERS SHELTER FOR REFUGEES AND THE HOMELESS
Prefabricated house made from recycled paper
could hold the key to affordable, green housing
It’s called the Universal World House, or the Wall AG, and although it may
not look like much, this eco-friendly, earthquake-proof and easy-to-
assemble home could be the answer for affordable shelter in
impoverished and war-torn countries. It might also be a glimmer of hope
for millions of people in need of shelter in America.
Created by Swiss designer Gerd Niemöller, the Universal World House
comes with built-in plumbing, 8 single and double built-in beds, shelves,
tables and an open veranda. The inside walls are designed with
honeycomb air vacuums that act as insulation and support for the entire
home structure.
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16. Cogeo News
The coolest part: the home is made from a material called Swisscell,
which is composed of recycled paper and cardboard, and altogether it
weighs less than 1,800 pounds (the equivalent to a VW Golf)! Oh, and it’s
also rain resistant.
An article in the UK Times Online says that more than 2000 homes have
been ordered by a Nigerian company, and “development aid agencies are
considering whether the houses could be used to accommodate those
fleeing from the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. South America, too, is
interested.”
The goal of the Universal World House is to get itself manufactured in
Germany, and then shipped to countries around the world that need it
the most. The only problem may be its $5,000 price tag, which is cheaper
than most homes, but still out of reach for many people.
http://www.ecogreen4us.com/stories/green-technology-
stories/amd-apu-processors-support-green/
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18. Cogeo News
6 . Our Core Business
Cogeo Consulting, a little big one competitor on OSHA !
http://www.cogeoconsulting.com
Cogeo Consulting is a trademark of a
French Company on OSHA, EMS, CSR
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