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Tag archives for MSHA
Top notch job by OSHA staff to globally harmonize labels and datasheets for chemicals
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on March 23, 2012 Earlier this week, Lizzie Grossman reported here at The Pump Handle on revisions to OSHA’s Hazard Communication standard which align the agency’s 30 year old rule with a globally harmonized system for classifying and labeling chemical hazards. In “Moving from Right-to-Know to Right-to-Understand,” we learn how the changes stem from a 2002 United Nations resolution…
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…
Coal mining industry insisted on new dust sampling technology, now they don’t want MSHA to use it
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on October 19, 2011 It’s too late for Ronald Martin of Dema, Kentucky. “I’m in last stage of black lung,” he wrote in shaky script, “please help the miners so they won’t suffer like I suffer. I can’t breathe but a little.” Mr. Martin sent his note to the Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to comment…
Occupational Health News Roundup
Posted by Liz Borkowski on July 1, 2011 The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has released additional results from its ongoing investigation into the disaster at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine, which killed 29 miners last year in West Virginia. Like the independent investigation team, MSHA investigators cite poorly controlled coal dust, inadequate ventilation, and a corporate culture that emphasized coal…
The “Failure of Basic Coal Mine Safety Practices” that Killed 29 Miners
Posted by Liz Borkowski on May 19, 2011 On April 5, 2010, an explosion occurred at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The blast rocketed through 2.5 miles of underground chambers and tunnels nearly 1,000 feet beneath the mountains, and it killed 29 miners and severely injured another. The youngest victim was Cory Thomas Davis, age 20, who…
A Year after Upper Big Branch Disaster, Legislators Doing Little while 29 Families Grieve
Posted by Liz Borkowski on April 5, 2011 One year ago, an explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia killed 29 miners. The Charleston Gazette’s Ken Ward Jr., who has covered the disaster and its aftermath extensively, writes today on his Coal Tattoo blog: Stay tuned today to hear a lot of political leaders talking about coal miners…
Occupational Health News Roundup
Posted by Liz Borkowski on March 10, 2011 Celeste wrote last week about how the Charleston Gazette’s Ken Ward Jr. broke the story of how a previously unpublished report sent to Congress by the Mine Safety and Health Administration two weeks before the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster warned about serious enforcement lapses, including incomplete inspections and inadequate enforcement actions. In addition to…