International workplace health and safety information has become easier to find.
OSHA and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work have established a joint Web site at www.osha.eu.int/eu-us/ to provide wider access to job safety and health information available from each agency.
Created as part of the ongoing partnership between the two safety organizations, the Web site enables those in the European Union (EU) and the United States to obtain information on many safety and health topics of joint interest, such as best practices, statistics and research.
The site links visitors to detailed data from each organization. Links to both agencies'' individual sites focus particularly on construction safety and ergonomics.
At their 1998 conference, the United States and the EU agreed to address these topics first on their joint Web page.
"Both OSHA and its EU counterpart have assembled a wealth of information on successful strategies to prevent occupational injuries and illness," said OSHA Administrator Charles N. Jeffress. "We''re pleased to have a vehicle for sharing information with each other and the workers and employers we serve."
Visitors to the site can view information developed by the EU as well as standards for individual European countries.
They can also link to OSHA standards, compliance documents and other publications.
by Virginia Sutcliffe