Manufacturing Uncertainty
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Category archives for Manufacturing Uncertainty
Late lessons from early warnings of risks to health and ecosystems
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on January 28, 2013 A new report by the European Environment Agency offers more than a dozen case studies for us to examine the question: could we have taken action earlier to prevent harm to human health or the environment?
Trying to avoid the “cancer-causing” label, diesel manufacturers join the club
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on June 11, 2012 An expert panel convened by the WHO’s Int’l Agency for Research on Cancer is evaluating the scientific evidence on the carcinogenicity of diesel exhaust. In preparation for the meeting, diesel engine manufacturers, oil companies and mining firms hired consultants to re-analyze and critique the epidemiological studies conducted by others to manufacturer doubt about
Remembering Stephen M. Levin, MD, a clinician, scientist, advocate
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on February 9, 2012 New Yorkers, the nation and the world lost a dedicated physician and worker advocate this week with the passing of Stephen M. Levin, 70, from cancer. Dr. Levin was a professor of preventative medicine at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and most recently, a prominent figure fighting for a long-term program to identify and treat…
No matter what mining industry reps say, MSHA’s proposed rule to address black lung is easily achievable
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on July 19, 2011 Thanks to Ken Ward at Coal Tatto for alerting me to a hearing conducted last week in the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Overight and Government Spending, of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called “EPA’s Appalachian Energy Permitorium: Job Killer or Job Creator?” The majoirity of the witnesses were at the ready…
Does asbestos mean something different in Quebec than it does everywhere else?
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on May 13, 2011 That’s the question posed by Jon Stewart’s Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi in his “Ored to Death” segment broadcast on May 12. Mandvi interviews G. Bernard Coulombe, the general manager of the proposed Jeffrey asbestos mine in Quebec, Canada, who reports the mine will produce 200 TONS annually of chrysotile fibers. In the segment, Mandvi…
Making the case for precautionary action to improve worker health and safety
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on February 1, 2011 The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production (LCSP) is known for challenging the status quo. Its scientists and policy analysts refuse to accept we have to live in a world where parents are worried about toxic toys, or companies feel forced to choose between earning profits and protecting the environment. Leave it to LCSP researchers to…
Posted by I’ve often suspected that some federal agencies apply very broad definitions to the exemptions provided under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Now, thanks to one diligent journalist I can judge for myself whether the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is an offender. Ellen Smith of Mine Safety and Health News requested records from MSHA and the…
Our regular readers are no doubt familiar with the efforts of various industries to protect their particular products from regulation. These industries (and the organizations they fund) often succeed in weakening or delaying regulations intended to protect people from climate change, tobacco, and other hazards. In addition to battling specific regulatory proposals, these same industries…
American News Project has just posted a new video segment about how tactics used to defend tobacco are now staving off action on climate change. In “Smoke and CO2: How to Spin Global Warming,” Danielle Ivory gives an eight-minute overview of how we went from reassurances that tobacco isn’t really harmful to insistence that we don’t…
Hmph! I just read on the OMB/OIRA website that they have completed their review of Labor Secretary Chao’s proposal to change the way that OSHA and MSHA assess workers’ risk of health hazards. The OIRA website notice says their review was completed on August 25, and it was approved “consistent with change.”