Chemicals Policy
The Pump Handle
Category archives for Chemicals Policy
Cost of work-related injury and disease higher than cost for heart disease, cancer
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on January 20, 2012 Money talks, as the saying goes, and a recently published paper on the annual cost of work-related injuries and illnesses should get policymakers to listen up. The number is staggering: $250 Billion, and it’s a figure on par with health conditions like cancer, coronary heart disease, and diabetes that attract much more attention and research…
Washington State adopts rule to protect healthcare workers from hazardous medications
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on January 11, 2012 Washington State becomes the first in the nation to adopt specific workplace safety rules to protect healthcare workers who are potentially exposed to anti-neoplastic drugs and other hazardous medications. The new rule, issued earlier this month by the State’s Department of Labor & Industries, stems from legislation passed in April 2011 and signed into law…
Overhauling US Chemical Policy Will Create Jobs, Study Finds
Posted by The Pump Handle on December 29, 2011 While we’re on vacation, we’re re-posting content from earlier in the year. This post was originally published on May 12, 2011. By Liz Borkowski For many years, the public health and environmental communities have been calling for reform of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which governs the use of chemicals in US commerce.…
50 serious safety violations and $917,000 penalty don’t jive with corporate PR about integrity, safety, responsibility
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on September 29, 2011 One Middleton, Massachusetts resident thought it was an earthquake. Others said it sounded like a sonic boom. When Mr. Charlie Veradt heard the explosion, he said “I knew right off the bat that it was down the street,” referring to the Bostik Inc. chemical plant owned by the global giant, petrochemical firm TOTAL. Just before…
No avalanche, hardly even a snow flurry, of worker safety regulations in Labor Dept’s latest regulatory agenda
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on July 12, 2011 If one listens to the speeches of many Republican members of Congress, especially those assigned to the House Education and Workforce Committee, you’d think the U.S. Department of Labor has unleashed an avalanche of new employment-related regulations that business must now meet. I heard one Hill staffer report on inquiries he receives from constituents who…
Investigators probe integrity of OSHA’s safety recognition program
Posted by The Pump Handle on July 7, 2011 Update below (7/8/2011) Just a few months after the Obama Administration took office, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a scathing report on OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). The program is supposed to recognize workplaces with exceptional safety programs, but GAO’s investigators identified participant worksites that had multiple fatalities and gross violations of safety standards.…
Special interest groups and White House stalling worker safety rule
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on July 6, 2011 During his first week in office, President Obama promised an Administration defined by “unprecedented level of openness…to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.” But that’s not been the case when it comes to a draft worker safety rule developed by federal OSHA. Almost all the participation has…
Film “Semper Fi” profiles Marine families’ struggle for justice
Posted by The Pump Handle on June 27, 2011 by Dick Clapp, DSc, MPH The documentary “Semper Fi: Always Faithful” was screened at the Congressional Auditorium in the Capitol Visitors Center on a hot, humid evening in Washington, DC on June 23. Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC) welcomed the audience of Congressional staff, North Carolina Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), and approximately 150 audience members and…
Speaking sensibly (and not) about public health regulations
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on June 23, 2011 Rhetoric has been flying this year, especially in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, about the “burdens” of federal regulations. Many of these members seem to despise EPA rules, CSPS rules, healthcare rules, and OSHA rules. Many of their talking points come from groups like the Heritage Foundation with their reports “Red Tape Rising: Obama’s Torrent…
My prediction on the next worker safety regulatory agenda was way off
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on June 21, 2011 In a post on May 5, I predicted that Labor Secretary Hilda Solis would be publishing within a few days her semi-annual regulatory plan for new worker health and safety rules. I made that projection based on requirements in the Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866, which suggest these plans be published every April…