Combustible Dust
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Category archives for Combustible Dust
Two years ago today, 29 men died in a West Virginia coal mine
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on April 5, 2012 “When the world came to an end” is how Joshua Williams described being inside the Upper Big Branch coal mine at 3:02 pm on April 5, 2010. He knew several crews of coal miners were much deeper inside the dark tunnels than he. An ominous feeling. Coal dust explosions are powerful and deadly. Eight days…
Moving from the “Right to Know” to the “Right to Understand”: Global harmonization of OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard
Posted by The Pump Handle on March 21, 2012 by Elizabeth Grossman His job, the Metalworkers Alliance of the Philippines union leader told us, was assembling the electronics – the wire- or cable-harnesses – that go into cars. The work involved soldering, using flux, along with epoxies, and various degreasers or solvents. He and his co-workers didn’t know the actual names of the substances…
Slow progress by OSHA to improve worker health and safety regulations
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on January 30, 2012 The Labor Department provided an update on January 20, 2012 to its regulatory agenda, including revised target dates for improved workplace safety and health standards. Several of the rules OSHA now expects to publish in 2012 are regulations the agency previously said would be issued one or two years ago. Missed deadlines, however, are nothing…
$10.8 million penalty by Labor Dept for 29 dead at Upper Big Branch mine
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on December 6, 2011 The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) released today the findings of its 20 month-long investigation into the Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion. The April 5, 2010 disaster killed 29 workers, seriously injured another worker, and left hundreds of grieving family members and friends. MSHA identified 12 violations of safety…
MSHA poised to issue investigation report on Upper Big Branch disaster
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on December 1, 2011 The US Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is preparing to issue next week its investigation report on the April 5, 2010 coal mine disaster at the Upper Big Branch mine that killed 29 workers. Ken Ward, Jr. at Coal Tattoo reports that MSHA will hold a media briefing at 3:00 pm…
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…
Why US coal miners are still developing black lung disease
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on June 3, 2011 In Hawk’s Nest Redux, Ellen Smith reports that an apalling number of the 29 deceased Upper Big Branch coal miners had black lung disease. The autopsy evidence was reported at the end of one chapter of the investigation report prepared by an independent panel of investigators commissioned by the Governor of West Virginia.* Smith compared…
NPR and Charleston Gazette tag team reporting about troubled emergency response at Upper Big Branch mine
Posted by The Pump Handle on May 10, 2011 One reporter from the radio world, Howard Berkes at National Public Radio (NPR), and the other from the print world, Ken Ward, Jr. at The Charleston Gazette have submerged themselves in interview transcripts from witnesses involved in the emergency response on April 5, 2010 at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine. About two dozen transcripts…
OSHA cracks down (sometimes) on worker deaths in grain elevators
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on March 21, 2011 Monique Harper, 41, had a beautiful smile that family and friends will never forget. “Monique was the most hilarious and free-spirited person you will ever meet,” said one of her sisters. “She was a mother that loved her children, family and friends.” Monique Harper’s contagious smile and free spirit are now only memories. She was…
True or false: Vast majority of employers care deeply and passionately about their employees
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on March 18, 2011 Imagine testifying before a congressional committee as the head of the FDIC and you’re asked “do the vast majority of banks care deeply and passionately about their customers?” Or as the head of the FAA and you’re asked “do you think the vast majority of airlines care deeply and passionately about their passengers?” Or the…