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Editor’s note: The Monthly Weekly is an occasional feature that reviews the previous month’s news coverage from The Synergist Weekly newsletter. 

Just as the remaking of the federal government continues to dominate news coverage in the wider media, stories about NIOSH funding and OSHA regulations were among the most viewed articles published in The Synergist Weekly over the past month. Other topics that received a lot of attention were Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in New York and Ontario, a court ruling in Europe on the carcinogenicity of titanium dioxide, and a new fact sheet on sound level meters. Here, SynergistNOW takes you on a tour of recent news from government agencies and the wider OEHS industry.

NIOSH funding. On balance, 2025 has been a bleak year for NIOSH, but there have been a few small wins recently. First, in May, some agency staff who had previously received reduction-in-force notices were reinstated. Then, right before summer recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee recommended the agency receive $368.8 million in funding for fiscal year 2026. Not only does the amount represent a small increase over FY 2025 funding, the degree of support on the committee appears significant: its recommendations passed by a vote of 26-3. But as far as the budget is concerned, the road ahead is long and full of hurdles, as initial reports indicate the House Appropriations Committee recommended lower funding for NIOSH, though not the severe cut proposed by President Trump.

OSHA deregulation. On July 1, OSHA published 25 proposed rules in the Federal Register as part of what the agency described as “aggressive deregulatory efforts” and set a comment deadline of Sept. 2. At the end of August, OSHA extended the comment deadline for 20 of the proposed rules from Sept. 2 to Nov. 1. Stakeholders now have more time to comment on rules concerning respiratory protection, illumination on construction sites, removal of the COVID-19 emergency temporary standard from the Code of Federal Regulations, and a reinterpretation of the General Duty Clause. AIHA is preparing comments; to share your thoughts, join the government relations community on Catalyst.

Legionnaires’ outbreaks. Central Harlem in New York City and the Middlesex-London region of Ontario were the sites of recent outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease that produced a combined total of 218 cases, including 185 hospitalizations and 11 deaths, according to local public health authorities. Cooling towers have since been identified as the likely sources in both locations. For the latest updates, refer to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Middlesex-London Health Unit.

Titanium dioxide ruling. The Court of Justice of the European Union has upheld a lower court’s ruling that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) “made a manifest error” when it determined that titanium dioxide, a white odorless powder used as a pigment, is a suspected carcinogen. Based on ECHA’s action, the European Commission had adopted a regulation requiring mixtures containing at least one percent of titanium dioxide powder to carry labels indicating it was a suspected carcinogen.

Sound level meter fact sheet. AIHA has published a new fact sheet that discusses the function and use of sound level meters and how to interpret the data they collect. Readers will find explanations of settings for response times, frequency weightings, and octave bands, and a list of questions to consider when purchasing an SLM. To download the fact sheet, submit a short form on the AIHA website.

The latest news from The Synergist is available on AIHA’s website and in The Synergist Weekly e-newsletter, which is delivered to members every Thursday. Please share feedback about our news coverage in the comments here or send an email to The Synergist.