lung cancer
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A hearing on worker safety rule would open public debate, but White House thwarts it
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on March 20, 2013 Representatives of U.S. foundries met with White House officials behind closed doors to complain about a not-yet-proposed OSHA regulation. It was the group’s second such meeting. But they wouldn’t be necessary if the White House would simply allow OSHA’s public hearing process to take place.
Obama Administration’s silence on silica is deafening, 2 years and counting for OSHA proposal
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on February 14, 2013 Imagine an organization that is given 90 days to complete a task, but after two years still hasn’t finished the job. When you ask them ‘when we’ll you be done?’ they respond with ‘no comment.’ That’s what’s happening with a Labor Dept rule to protect workers from respirable silica.
Diesel exhaust a human carcinogen concludes WHO’s cancer panel
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on June 12, 2012 A panel of scientific experts convened by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded today that diesel engine exhaust is carcinogenic to humans. Previously, the classification for diesel exhaust had been “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
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
Worker safety rule stuck in White House black hole, disease risk persists
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on April 12, 2012 More than 425 days—-that’s 14 months—-have passed since the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sent to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) a draft proposed regulation designed to protect workers who are exposed to respirable crystalline silica. The hazard is one of the oldest known causes of work-related…
Lung cancer risk of diesel-exposed workers reconfirmed, kudos to MSHA for addressing hazard 10 years ago
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on March 5, 2012 The Center for Public integrity’s Jim Morris was the first to report that two long awaited cancer mortality studies of US workers exposed to diesel exhaust finds significantly elevated levels of lung cancer. Researchers with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) proposed the studies two decades…
Scientists urge White House to intervene in stalled worker safety rule
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on January 25, 2012 A group of 300 scientists, physicians and public health experts are urging President Obama to direct his Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to complete its review of a proposed Labor Department health standard on the carcinogen crystallline silica. OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has been reviewing the proposed rule for nearly…
MSHA should scrap any plan to wait for OSHA action on respirable crystalline silica
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on November 25, 2011 Before too long the US Department of Labor (DOL) and other federal agencies should be issuing their annual regulatory plans and semi-annual agendas. These documents serve as official public notice of agencies’ regulatory (and deregulatory) priorities. The Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order (EO) 12866 direct agency heads to release these documents in April (agenda)…
Congressman tells OSHA chief not to use “buzz” words like cancer
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on October 10, 2011 Freshman congressman Larry Bucshon (R-IN) scolded OSHA chief David Michaels for using the term “cancer” as a buzz word. The congressman, who is also a thoracic surgeon, said: “I don’t like it when people use buzz words that try to get people’s attention, and cancer is one of those.” The exchanged occured last week at…
Republican lawmakers interfere (again) in diesel cancer study
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on August 15, 2011 The Republican chairmen of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and its Subcommittee on Workforce Protections are invoking “sound science” and “transparency” in a request to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for data and draft publications of a cancer mortality study of underground miners exposed to diesel exhaust. Congressman John…