Liz Borkowski
lborkowski
Posts by this author
November 15, 2010
Haiti's health ministry has reported that the death toll from the cholera epidemic has reached 917, and 14,642 victims have been hospitalized. The disease has been detected in six of the country's ten provinces, and the World Health Organization predicts that 200,000 Haitians will fall ill with…
November 11, 2010
While Veterans Day is an opportunity to thank veterans for their service, it should also be a time to consider how well we're doing at taking care of veterans who've suffered physical or mental damage as a result of their service.
Our country wasn't sufficiently prepared to handle the toll that…
November 11, 2010
The United Nations humanitarian office reports that 9,971 cases of cholera have been confirmed in Haiti, and 643 people have died from the disease.
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that the epidemic has spread into Port-au-Prince, where close to half of the city's nearly 3 million…
November 10, 2010
Here at George Washington University this morning, Department of Health and Human Services officials unveiled a new strategy aimed at preventing new smoking habits and helping current smokers quit. One major component is the Food and Drug Administration's proposed rule requiring that all cigarette…
November 9, 2010
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, which was passed in response to the problem of healthcare workers being exposed to bloodborne pathogens (HIV, hepatitis, etc.) via sharps injuries. The Act directed OSHA to modify its existing bloodborne pathogen…
November 8, 2010
It's a relief that Hurricane Tomas didn't destroy the camps in and around Port-au-Prince where 1.3 million survivors of Haiti's January earthquake are crowded. The storm hit western Haiti hardest, causing flooding and killing 20 people.
There are still concerns about how flooding will affect Haiti…
November 5, 2010
Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health analyzed data on nursing-home employees from the 2004 National Nursing Assistant Survey and learned the following about on-the-job violence:
Thirty-four percent of nursing assistants surveyed reported experiencing physical…
November 4, 2010
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, is tasked with promoting "socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all." The agency's new executive director, former Barcelona mayor Joan Clos, gave his first formal address…
November 3, 2010
John Perlin has written an interesting Miller-McCune article about how the Pentagon has come to understand some of the problems associated with powering Iraq and Afghanistan operations - and how they're now reducing operations' energy consumption and embracing solar power.
Perlin describes the…
November 2, 2010
The Associated Press article title "Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine" succeeded in getting me to click through to the article. When I did, I wasn't surprised to learn that the study in question didn't actually find alcohol to be more lethal than heroin. What it concluded was that…
November 1, 2010
Because electronics contain hazardous materials like lead and cadmium, workers who recycle e-waste need to be protected from harmful exposures. All too often, we hear of children in developing countries breaking down old computers with little or no protection. Here in the US, concerns also exist…
October 28, 2010
At the Millennium Development Goal summit last month, one of the sessions addressed the issue of the global healthcare workforce. We don't have enough healthcare workers to deliver needed care to the world's population, and until we address this problem it'll be next to impossible to meet the goals…
October 27, 2010
by Elizabeth Grossman
I'm on my way home from Indonesia, where I spent part of the past week attending the annual meeting of the Asian Network for Occupational Accident Victims (ANROAV), an organization that brings together NGOs working on occupational health, safety, and labor issues all across…
October 26, 2010
As you may have noticed if you read other science blogs, several bloggers are highlighting projects that need a little cash to bring science alive for students. DonorsChoose.org lets public school teachers post requests for classroom materials -- from dictionaries to dissection kits -- and collects…
October 25, 2010
The "Brazilian Blowout" is a popular treatment administered by salons to smooth their clients' hair. The Oregonian's Katy Muldoon explores the experience of one hairstylist who worried about the effects of the chemicals contained in the treatment.
After a few months of administering Brazilian…
October 22, 2010
Months after it was hit by a devastating earthquake, Haiti is now battling an outbreak of cholera. So far, more than 1,500 cases have been reported and 142 victims have died of the disease, which causes severe diarrhea. The treatment is straightforward - rehydration therapy to reverse potentially…
October 21, 2010
The New York Times' latest "Room for Debate" discussion is entitled "2025: A Lot of Old People on the Roads," and it introduces the topic this way:
...the number of drivers 70 and over is expected to triple in the next 20 years in the United States. Older drivers are more likely to be injured, and…
October 20, 2010
After last week's triumphant rescue of 33 miners from Chile's San José mine, attention has turned to mine safety in Chile and worldwide.
The Associated Press reports that President Sebastian Piñera fired the top regulators from Chile's mine safety agency and promised to triple its budget. In…
October 18, 2010
Earlier this month, I was able to attend the final day of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas (ASPO) USA conference, and it reminded me how far behind we are in preparing for a future in which oil is less readily available than it is now.
Sharon Astyk, who's an ASPO board member,…
October 15, 2010
Today is Blog Action Day, when bloggers around the world write about an important global topic. This year, the focus is on water.
According to the World Health Organization, each year 3.4 million people - most of them children - die from water-related diseases. That includes 1.4 million children…
October 13, 2010
All 33 of the miners who were trapped in Chile's San José mine have been safely lifted to the surface, as have the six rescuers who descended into the mine during the operation. Shift supervisor Luis Urzua was the last miner lifted to safety in the specially designed capsule that traversed the…
October 13, 2010
Sixty-nine days after an explosion trapped 33 miners 2,000 feet underground in the San José copper and gold mine in Copiapó, Chile, rescuers have begun lifting miners to the surface. As of 6am this morning, eight miners have been pulled to safety: Florencio Avalos, Mario Sepulveda, Juan Illanes,…
October 11, 2010
Several news outlets have reported that the commission appointed by President Obama to study the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill has issued preliminary reports that are sharply critical of the Obama administration's handling of the disaster. I downloaded the commission's draft working paper "The…
October 8, 2010
The Washington Post's Jane Black gives us a heads-up about the forthcoming update to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Every five years, USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion issues new dietary guidelines based on analysis by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a group of…
October 7, 2010
If you feel like you could use an overview of the new healthcare law - the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - head over the the Kaiser Family Foundation's website and watch their nine-minute animated video. Cokie Roberts narrates, explaining the problems the law's designed to address and…
October 6, 2010
After 29 miners were killed by an explosion at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine on April 5, the Mine Safety and Health Administration stepped up inspections at 89 coal mines that had poor safety records. Even so, nine workers have been killed working inside mines, and another four using…
October 5, 2010
Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House roof; Ronald Reagan took them down. Today, at the GreenGov Symposium (taking place here at George Washington University), Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that the Obama administration will install solar panels and a solar hot water heater on…
October 4, 2010
New Solutions: The Drawing Board is a monthly feature produced by the journal New Solutions. Read more about it here.
By Madeline Kangsen Scammell
The following poem was written by Genevieve K. Howe, MPH, a former student and colleague of Professor Richard W. Clapp, DSc, MPH, to honor him upon his…
September 29, 2010
Becoming a mayor or a journalist might not seem like a particularly life-threatening career choice, but in parts of Mexico wracked by drug violence these have become dangerous jobs. Tim Johnson of McClatchy Newspapers reports:
As if Mexicans needed more evidence that criminal groups are trying to…
September 28, 2010
Peter Janiszewski at Obesity Panacea has posted a fascinating series on the issue of people who are obese but metabolically healthy. We worry about rising rates of obesity because obesity increases the risk for health problems like diabetes and cardiovascular disease -- but what if that's not…