Safety, Volume 12, Issue 4 (August 2026) – 19 articles

Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense, with well-established impacts on mortality and heat-related illness. However, their influence on unintentional injuries, including falls, is less understood. This study examined the association between heatwaves and fall-related ambulance attendances in Queensland, Australia. A retrospective population-based study was conducted using Queensland Ambulance Service attendance data from 2010–2019. Attendances were classified as fall-related if a fall was indicated in any of the dispatch, diagnosis, injury-cause, or case-classification fields, regardless of if this was based on caller report or paramedic assessment. Heatwaves were defined using the Bureau of Meteorology’s Excess Heat Factor and classified by severity. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) compared fall-related ambulance attendances on heatwave and non-heatwave days, with stratification by age, sex, rurality, heatwave severity, and warm-season month. Across the study period, 323,254 fall-related ambulance attendances were recorded. Overall incidence did not differ between heatwave and non-heatwave days (IRR = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.99–1.00). Extreme heatwaves were associated with an 11% increase in attendances (IRR = 1.11; 95% CI: 1.06–1.17), with elevated risks observed among adults aged 45–74 years and residents of outer regional areas. Extreme heatwaves contribute to increased fall-related ambulance demand in Queensland. Recognising falls as part of the broader heat-related morbidity burden allows for targeted prevention strategies and enhances preparedness for extreme heat events. Full article

Occupational injuries and work-related diseases remain a major concern in Italy, particularly in high-risk sectors such as construction, agriculture, manufacturing and healthcare. This study retrospectively analyzed a series of breaches of occupational safety regulations and the determining factors that caused them over a seven-year period in a mixed industrial-rural area of Abruzzo, Italy. Inspections were classified by period (pre-pandemic, post-pandemic), economic sector, type of intervention, type of violation, multiple non-compliances, responsible party, age of the responsible party, and restored compliance. Two hundred and seventy-four inspections led to penalties, mainly in the construction sector (65%). Procedural violations were the most frequent, followed by structural, documental, and combined violations. Violations and the violation/inspection ratio decreased after the pandemic. The type of violation was significantly associated with the economic sector, the type of intervention, and the responsible party; moreover, the pandemic period was associated with changes in sectoral inspections, violation patterns, multiple non-compliances, and restoration of compliance. The results highlight sector-specific and context-dependent compliance dynamics, with construction and agriculture presenting complex chains of responsibility. Strengthening an integrated inspection–training supervisory body may improve long-term compliance and safety governance. This study proposes a pilot model for standardized data collection enabling comparative analyses across sectors and institutional contexts. Full article

Despite being classified as low-risk workplaces, museums involve tasks that generate demands, chemical exposure, and management-related stress that accumulate over time. This study assesses the relationship between occupational safety and health conditions in museums and task organization within operations to develop a task-based coordination approach grounded in practice. A mixed-methods design was employed in three museums, encompassing conservation, public interaction, and administrative activities. Data included 30 task observations in each museum, collected through on-site observations, posture assessment, checklist evaluation of chemical handling and ventilation practices, task-focused exchanges, and observation of leadership engagement during activities. Task configurations, defined as the combination of technical and organizational conditions under which a task is performed during routine activities, were compared through task scenarios developed as analytical models using a composite task-level safety index. Results suggested that exposure patterns varied with the technical and organizational conditions of task execution. Task configurations combining adjustable equipment, functional ventilation, coordinated task allocation, and regular leadership presence had lower frequencies of ergonomic, chemical, and organizational non-compliance. The findings indicate that occupational safety and health practice in museums depends on how technical and organizational measures operate at the task level. Full article

Occupational health and safety (OHS) malpractices may increase the risk of occupational injuries and are a significant public health problem in the iron and steel industries, often leading to disability and death. Information on OHS practices related to occupational injuries in the iron and steel industries is limited in many countries. This study aimed to assess OHS practices in relation to occupational injuries among workers in the iron and steel industries in Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 321 production line workers. Data were collected through interviews, using a structured OHS questionnaire and the modified International Labour Organization (ILO) injury assessment tool. A total of 209 workers had experienced an occupational injury in the past year. According to univariate regression analyses, the safety practice variables ‘safety inspections’ and ‘use of personal protective equipment’ were significantly associated with occupational injury. However, after adjusting for sociodemographic and organizational factors, including years of work experience, work section, daily working hours, and shift work, these associations were no longer statistically significant. Working in the rolling mill, having less than four years of work experience, working more than 10 h per day, and performing shift work were significant predictors of occupational injuries. These factors attenuated the associations between safety practices and occupational injuries. The severity of injuries was found to be related to the accessibility of PPE. The findings suggest that work experience and organizational characteristics play a critical role in shaping occupational injury risk, highlighting the need for multifaceted interventions that integrate effective safety practices, work experience and organizational measures to improve worker safety in Tanzania’s iron and steel industry. Full article

The increasing deployment of lithium-ion batteries in electromobility, industrial logistics, and stationary energy storage systems has introduced new operational safety challenges associated with thermal runaway, fire development, and the release of hazardous substances. Although significant attention has been devoted to battery design and fire suppression technologies, less emphasis has been placed on the development of integrated monitoring systems capable of identifying abnormal thermal behaviour during routine storage and handling operations. This paper presents an operational framework for the early detection of thermal anomalies in lithium-ion battery storage facilities based on the integration of thermal imaging technology, multi-level alarm logic, automated notification processes, and predefined response procedures. The proposed framework was developed using a risk-based approach and implemented within an industrial environment where lithium-ion batteries and battery modules are routinely stored and handled. The methodology included hazard identification, determination of critical monitoring zones, configuration of thermal detection devices, establishment of alarm thresholds, and integration with existing fire protection infrastructure. Particular attention was devoted to ensuring rapid identification, localization, verification, and escalation of abnormal thermal conditions before the occurrence of visible fire manifestations. The implemented monitoring framework comprised a total of 21 thermal imaging cameras, including four fixed radiometric thermal imaging cameras and seventeen local thermal monitoring cameras, covering five risk-prioritized monitoring zones within an industrial lithium-ion battery storage facility. During operational deployment, the system recorded 21 Yellow Alerts, 6 Red Alerts, and 4 false alarms, with an average response time of 4.2 min. Experimental verification further demonstrated that, although directly exposed battery modules were measured at approximately 60 °C, enclosure within the battery pack significantly attenuated the externally detectable thermal signature, with surface temperatures decreasing to approximately 23–31 °C after prolonged enclosure. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework enables continuous operational monitoring, supports timely identification of abnormal thermal behaviour, and provides a structured basis for rapid decision-making and emergency response in industrial lithium-ion battery storage facilities. The integration of thermal monitoring with structured alarm management and response procedures creates a comprehensive safety chain that contributes to reducing the probability of delayed incident recognition. The presented approach provides practical guidance for industrial operators seeking to improve lithium-ion battery safety and may serve as a foundation for the future development of operational safety requirements for battery storage facilities. The principal contribution of this study is the documented implementation and operational evaluation of an integrated thermal monitoring and response system under routine automotive production conditions. Full article

Air travel is widely regarded as a safe mode of transport, yet the aviation journey remains a significant source of psychological and physiological stress for many passengers. Existing research has largely focused on fear of flying during the flight itself, with limited synthesis of stress experienced across the entire passenger journey. This integrative review aimed to synthesize evidence on stressors affecting commercial airline passengers during the pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight stages of travel. A comprehensive search of Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed identified peer-reviewed studies published between 2013 and 2025. Following screening and quality appraisal using an adaptation of Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) principles, 46 studies met the inclusion criteria. The review identified 12 major categories of passenger stressors across the aviation journey. Pre-flight stress was primarily associated with procedural, socio-psychological, and financial factors, while in-flight stress centered on perceived loss of control, physical cabin constraints, environmental conditions, and disruptive passenger behavior. Post-flight stress was linked to physical fatigue, communication gaps, baggage-related challenges, immigration procedures, and ground transport difficulties. The review also revealed a substantial geographical imbalance, with most evidence originating from high-income countries. By providing a comprehensive temporal synthesis of passenger stressors, this review offers an evidence-based framework to inform passenger wellbeing initiatives, aviation policy, and future cross-cultural research. Full article

Agriculture remains one of the most hazardous industries in the United States, yet nonfatal surveillance remains incomplete. Prior studies have shown that trauma registries can support agricultural injury surveillance, but many approaches rely on text review, state-specific indicators, or coding frameworks that are not easily transferable across systems. In this study, Florida Trauma Registry records from 2016 to 2021 were screened using a reproducible case definition based on International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) external cause of injury codes, registry occupation and industry fields, and the work-related indicator. Agricultural injuries were summarized descriptively and mapped to Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) categories. Injury severity scores (ISS) were modeled using generalized additive models (GAMs). The case definition identified 963 agricultural injuries requiring trauma care, including 17 fatalities. Most injuries were minor, and the leading event categories were contact incidents, falls, slips, and trips, and transportation incidents. Body region was the strongest correlate of severity, with head and abdomen/pelvic contents injuries showing the highest adjusted ISS. These findings suggest that the National Trauma Data Standard (NTDS)-aligned trauma registry fields may support reproducible agricultural injury surveillance when narrative text is unavailable. Full article

Personal health and safety are significant concerns across agricultural education, specifically agricultural mechanics. While hearing safety has been discussed for numerous years as a shortcoming in overall safety actions, it has been identified that attitudes and perceptions of sound and noise within agricultural settings are not aligned. This research continues work to focus on students’ understanding of and application of safety culture within an agricultural mechanics environment. Through direct and indirect exposure to noise levels, students reflected on and identified their use and intended use of hearing personal protective equipment (PPE). Pre- and post-instructional data aided in establishing students’ thresholds to use proper personal protective equipment and identify their perceptions of the decibel (dB) outputs for commonly used power tools in an agricultural laboratory setting. Course reflections alarmingly show a disconnect between intention and practice as many students do not utilize hearing PPE. While indicated threshold values and tool-specific PPE use align with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s recommended hearing PPE guidelines, the self-reported hearing PPE use results are concerning. While knowledge and application gaps still need to be addressed, based on this exploratory study, bounded in a single instructional context, continued exposure through direct and indirect instruction leads to increased knowledge of sound levels. Full article

Characterizing the highly complex aero-propulsive interaction in distributed electric propulsion (DEP) aircraft may require automated flight-testing procedures with dedicated maneuvers, which introduce specific safety challenges. This paper investigates an accident involving a distributed electric propulsion research demonstrator, named SwitchMaster, during an automated flight-test mission for aerodynamic model identification. The event occurred during a scheduled pitch excitation maneuver and resulted in a loss of control followed by ground impact. The investigation is based on flight logs, telemetry analysis, and structured accident investigation methods, including the ICAO ADREP taxonomy and the Swiss Cheese Model. The results show that the accident resulted from a combination of open-loop control surface fixation, insufficient real-time safety barriers, ineffective maneuver interruption, and delayed recovery authority. Variable wind speeds and asymmetric trim acquisition are considered possible contributing factors to the aircraft drift from equilibrium conditions. This paper concludes with safety recommendations, software improvements and lessons learnt to enhance the reliability of automated flight testing for DEP aircraft. Full article

In gas-shielded arc welding, selecting the appropriate gas mixture is crucial not only for welding quality but also for reducing harmful UV radiation, which poses an occupational health risk. The aim of this research was to investigate the intensity of UV-A and UV-B radiation (290–390 nm) in the low-current range (10–45 A) using pure argon (Ar), helium (He), nitrogen (N₂), and a 70% Ar/30% He gas mixture. The measurements demonstrated that the composition of the shielding gas drastically affects UV emission. Under identical parameters, pure argon generates around three times higher radiation levels than pure helium. But when 30% helium was added to argon, the UV emission was significantly reduced by approximately 30%. The highest UV values were recorded with pure nitrogen. The tests revealed that the main reason is severe arc instability: the expanding plasma surface area significantly increases radiation. Overall, it can be concluded that in the low-current welding range, arc stability determines the magnitude of UV radiation to a greater extent than the emission characteristics of the gases. However, further measurements are needed to draw conclusions for higher amperages. Full article

Arterial corridors present complex safety challenges because signalized intersections, access points, mixed traffic movements, and speed variation can increase the likelihood of severe crash outcomes. Although Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are becoming increasingly common in modern vehicles, limited evidence exists regarding their safety performance in real-world arterial environments. This study investigates crash injury outcomes involving ADAS-equipped vehicles along the US-98 corridor, in Panama City, Florida. Police-reported crash records from 2022–2024 were integrated with vehicle-level ADAS data derived from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Vehicle Product Information Catalog (vPIC) VIN decoding. Multinomial Logistic Regression (MNL) and Random Forest (RF) models were used to examine factors associated with injury severity. MNL results indicate that crashes involving ADAS-equipped vehicles were associated with an approximately 59% lower relative risk of severe injury, while no statistically significant association was observed for moderate injury outcomes. Speeding, alcohol involvement, intersection-related crashes, dark–not-lighted conditions, and rural roadway context were associated with elevated severe injury risk. These findings suggest that ADAS technologies may contribute to severe injury mitigation, but their safety relevance depends on broader behavioral, environmental, and roadway conditions. Full article

The NIOSH Lifting Equation is widely used to evaluate manual material handling tasks by identifying lifting risk through load reduction multipliers based on task geometry. However, while it provides a means of classifying risk, it does not estimate spinal forces and therefore cannot quantify the biomechanical load experienced at the lumbar spine. In contrast, biomechanical simulations can estimate spinal compression with high fidelity, but they require motion capture systems and specialized software that are not practical for most workplace assessments. This study aimed to bridge these approaches by developing a family of mixed-effect statistical models that predict L4/L5 spinal compression forces using the geometric parameters of the NIOSH framework combined with posture-specific biomechanical descriptors at peak-loading poses extracted from digital simulations. Data were aggregated from multiple experimental lifting studies in which standardized NIOSH parameters and corresponding spinal compression forces were obtained through validated digital human modeling. Mixed-effects regression was used to establish the relationship between task geometry, joint posture, load weight, and spinal compression. The resulting predictive equation demonstrated strong agreement with simulation-derived forces and effectively captured the contributions of subject, task and body positioning to the spinal compression force across diverse lifting tasks. Importantly, the variance structure of the model’s coefficients allows the contribution of risk to be attributed either to task-related factors or to subject-specific movement behaviors, reinforcing the safety relevance of the framework. Horizontal reach, vertical hand height, and load magnitude emerged as dominant predictors, with trunk posture providing additional explanatory power. The model offers ergonomists a practical, biomechanics-informed tool that extends the descriptive capacity of the NIOSH framework by enabling direct estimation of spinal compression forces without the need for full biomechanical simulations. Full article

Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) has emerged as a prominent speed enforcement practice, attracting policy attention as its adoption has increased. Although ASE has been widely studied on residential streets and urban corridors, empirical evidence regarding its effectiveness in school zones is limited, where vulnerable road users and time-specific exposure create distinct safety challenges. This study developed Crash Modification Factors (CMFs) for ASE in school zones that quantify the expected change in crash frequency associated with a safety treatment, using before-and-after studies with Empirical Bayes (EB) and comparison group methods. The before-and-after crash studies yielded CMFs below 1.0 in all scenarios considered in this study, indicating the safety benefits of ASE across multiple crash and school categories. The comparison group before-and-after study indicated that, following ASE implementation, total crashes decreased by 10 percent (CMF = 0.90) and 9 percent (CMF = 0.91), while speeding-induced crashes decreased by 35 percent (CMF = 0.65) and 54 percent (CMF = 0.46) for school zones on state-maintained and locally maintained roads, respectively. Thus, estimated CMFs provide quantitative inputs that agencies may consider, indicating that ASE is an effective speed management strategy for improving safety in school zones and justifying investment. Full article

There is a need to ensure that the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in increasingly automated operations is safe, human-centric, and trustworthy, and respects ethical principles. To this end, this paper presents an innovative holistic assessment framework to support certification-aware design of AI-based sociotechnical systems with a range of levels of automation along multiple design stages from low to high technology and human readiness levels (TRLs/HRLs). The holistic scope considers a range of relevant key performance areas (KPAs): safety, resilience, security, Human Factors, accountability, responsibility, liability, efficiency, societal sustainability, and environmental sustainability. The core of the framework is a seven-step cycle that assesses the KPAs for critical scenarios and evaluates the combined performance, including uncertainty and trade-offs. This provides feedback to either adapt the design at the same TRL/HRL or refine it at higher TRLs/HRLs. The framework enacted by a toolbox of assessment methods for the KPAs. The framework has been developed in the aviation domain, but it is formulated in a generic manner, enabling application to various AI techniques and operational domains. Its application is illustrated in detail for an air traffic management use case that employs an AI-based system to support air traffic controllers in sequencing aircraft. It is concluded that the framework provides a viable approach for holistic assessment of AI-based sociotechnical systems. Full article

To more effectively address the wide range of safety risks faced by construction workers on job sites, machine learning (ML)–based computer vision and augmented reality (AR) technologies are increasingly being employed to enhance efficiency, safety, and productivity. However, current AR construction safety tools only provide passive information for the user to then decide how to use that information. This study leverages advanced computer vision coupled with AR to work with site managers and on-site workers to make operational safety decisions using real-time, visual information of potential hazards. A YOLOv11 model trained to detect the presence or lack of personal protective equipment was developed and tested by creating a local ML computing environment using camera feeds. The detection results were compiled and displayed in real time on a web-based interface developed with Hypertext Preprocessor and on a Microsoft HoloLens 2 heads-up display. The system was successfully field-tested on a construction site. Full article

Sharps injuries and biological exposures remain a leading occupational safety risk in healthcare training environments. Preventing such injuries requires not only trainees’ declarative knowledge of biological hazards, but their threat appraisal—the cognitive process through which individuals evaluate personal risk and that motivates consistent adherence to standard precautions in practice. This cross-sectional study (N = 581) examined whether biological risk knowledge predicts cognitive threat appraisal in Italian health professions students surveyed prior to their first supervised clinical internship, and whether this relationship varies by gender. Drawing on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), a multiple linear regression showed that biological risk knowledge significantly predicted personalized threat appraisal (β = 0.214, p < 0.001). Gender was also associated with threat appraisal, with female students reporting higher levels than male peers at equivalent knowledge levels (β = 0.184, p = 0.035). The overall model explained 16% of variance in threat appraisal (adjusted R² = 0.150), indicating that mandatory pre-placement occupational safety training is associated with risk appraisal activation, but only partially, and that a causal interpretation requires longitudinal confirmation. These findings suggest that knowledge transmission alone is insufficient to reduce biological risk exposure in clinical settings: appraisal-activating components—including scenario-based learning and near-miss incident review—should be integrated into occupational safety curricula for health professions students, with attention to gender differences in risk perception. Full article

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent a critical global challenge to workforce productivity. In Thailand, these disorders are particularly prevalent in labor-intensive industries such as ice manufacturing, where workers face significant ergonomic hazards. Addressing this gap, the present study aimed to assess the occupational health, safety, and ergonomic risks facing workers in ice production facilities. This cross-sectional descriptive study investigated production workers who were employees in two of eight ice manufacturing plants in Surat Thani, Thailand, using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method. A structured occupational health and safety risk assessment questionnaire and the REBA evaluation form were used to collect data. All participants were male, averaging 30.4 (±8.5) years old. Regular pain areas included the upper/lower back, hips/thighs, shoulders, wrists, and ankles. Ergonomic assessments showed high overall risk due to heavy lifting, repetitive tasks, and cold environments. Based on REBA scores, 13.04% were in the very-high-risk group (score ≥ 11) and 65.22% in the high-risk group (score 8–10). Most production workers in ice plants faced high ergonomic risks, especially from postures affecting the upper and lower back. Training should be provided to promote awareness of risky postures and proper lifting techniques. Mechanical aids and back-support equipment are also recommended to help prevent musculoskeletal injuries. Full article

Cybersecurity relies heavily on warning systems to regulate user behavior under uncertainty. These warnings (ranging from browser security dialogs to phishing alerts and enterprise security notifications) do more than convey information: they may alter the conditions under which users select, avoid, verify, report, or override security-related actions. When combined with feedback, they may also contribute to calibrated reliance and safer behavior over time. However, existing research remains fragmented across usable security, human–computer interaction, and safety-related decision-making, and is largely focused on short-term outcomes. As a result, limited attention has been given to how cybersecurity warnings function as risk-control and learning mechanisms within safety-relevant socio-technical systems. This scoping review maps how empirical studies have examined cybersecurity warning systems in relation to behavioral adaptation, trust calibration, and risk regulation, and whether they assess persistence, transfer, or learning over time, identifying recurring design patterns, critical trade-offs, and structural gaps. Following PRISMA-ScR 2018 guidelines, we searched major multidisciplinary and domain-specific databases, with no time frame limits, for empirical studies that examined cybersecurity warnings in relation to learning-relevant behavioral, cognitive, or performance outcomes. Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria; this number reflects the review’s focused conceptual scope rather than the size of the cybersecurity-warning literature as a whole. Eligible studies included experimental, quasi-experimental, field, and mixed-method designs, but no included study assessed persistence or transfer over time. Data extraction focused on warning characteristics, learning and trust mechanisms, user behavior, and security outcomes. Across the included studies, research primarily evaluates immediate responses, such as clicks, choices, response time, and classification accuracy, whereas comprehension and corrective feedback are infrequently assessed, trust calibration is never formally measured, and persistence or transfer over time is assessed in none of the included studies. On this basis, the review proposes a learning-oriented framework for evaluating cybersecurity warnings beyond short-term compliance, emphasizing feedback, calibrated reliance, risk-regulation responses, and direct tests of maintenance and transfer over time. Full article

Access to safe drinking water remains a global public health concern due to its role in the transmission of infectious diseases. Despite the 20th-century achievement of chlorine-based disinfection, drinking water systems face threats from aging infrastructure, climate-induced stressors, and emerging pathogens that evade traditional treatment. This bibliometric review maps three decades of research on microbial contamination in drinking water systems to explain its historical developments, current knowledge, and important updates. Only original and review articles retrieved on 13 April 2026 were screened for inclusion, requiring a focus on detecting, monitoring, or mitigating microbial contamination in drinking water systems. Analysis of 93 records identified a linear growth pattern, shifting from acute enteric pathogen monitoring to the management of opportunistic pathogens (OPs), antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and disinfection by-products (DBPs). Additionally, traditional fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), such as Escherichia coli, may not fully predict the presence of resilient pathogens protected within biofilms or free-living amoebae (FLA), which serve as environmental reservoirs for infection. To address these limitations, this review presents a conceptualization of waterborne pathogens by proposing formal case definitions and diagnostic criteria for critical contamination events (CCE) and chronic low-level exposure (CLLE). Lastly, knowledge gaps and open research questions relevant to future studies on microbial contamination in drinking water systems were identified and discussed. Full article