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February 18, 2009
Our regular readers may already be familiar with Susanne Rust and Meg Kissinger, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporters who investigate the stories behind chemicals used in consumer products. Their series âChemical Falloutâ includes articles on bisphenol A and flame retardants, and in-depth looks…
February 17, 2009
The Associated Press reports that Senators Byron Dorgan and Evan Bayh are still not satisfied with what the Department of Defenseâs response to illnesses among National Guard troops who were exposed to hexavalent chromium at the Qarmat Ali water plant near Basra, Iraq. The Senators seek updates on…
February 17, 2009
by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure
The plant in Blakely, Georgia that was the apparent source of the salmonella peanut butter outbreak didn't make peanut butter for retail consumption. It made bulk peanut butter and peanut butter paste which became an ingredient in many other products. The…
February 16, 2009
When the U.S. Senate reconvenes on Tuesday, February 24th, I've learned that they will move ahead with a vote on the nomination of Hilda Solis to serve as 25th Secretary of Labor.  This confirmation vote will take place 35 days following President Obama's inauguration.  If Mrs. Solis can…
February 13, 2009
Bloggers help us stay up to date on the stimulus packageâs latest permutation:
Kate Sheppard at Gristmill gives us the rundown on funding for green priorities
Scientists & Engineers for America Action Fund compiles the numbers on science funding
Jake Young at Pure Pedantry warns of pitfalls…
February 12, 2009
Linda Reinstein is a mother and grandmother.  Linda Reinstein is an asbestos-disease widow. Her husband Alan Reinstein, 67, died on May 22, 2006 from mesothelioma. Like her husband, Linda Reinstein is a fighter, an organizer, an activist.  Following Alan Reinstein's mesothelioma…
February 12, 2009
by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure
My sciblings at Scienceblogs have done a pretty thorough fisking of the Andrew Wakefield affair.To recap breifly, a paper by Wakefield and others in The Lancet in 1998 raised an alarm that the widely used measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine was the cause…
February 11, 2009
Iâve written before about this project; now, we're very close to finishing data collection and are looking for a few more government scientists to interview.
At the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy at George Washington University School of Public Health, weâve launched a multi-…
February 11, 2009
The nonprofit group OMB Watch is a terrific resource for learning about and monitoring the inner workings of the government. Their mission is âto increase government transparency and accountability; to ensure sound, equitable regulatory and budgetary processes and policies; and to protect and…
February 10, 2009
As weâve noted before, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health was the federal entity that responded most appropriately to respiratory problems among workers exposed to the butter-flavoring chemical diacetyl. They evaluated the hazards at workplaces using diacetyl and recommended…
February 10, 2009
Cross-posted from CPR Blog, by Rena Steinzor
Weâve written a great deal about Cass Sunstein, the Harvard law professor who is expected to get the nod to be the âregulatory czarâ for the Obama Administration.  In a nutshell, our concern is that Sunstein will stifle the efforts of health, safety,…
February 9, 2009
February 7th marked the one-year anniversary of the explosion of the Imperial Sugar plant that killed 14 workers in Port Wentworth, Georgia. (This post has links to our coverage of the tragedy.) In the Associated Press, Russ Bynum checks up on explosion survivor Jamie Butler, who still needs…
February 9, 2009
By now, you're probably aware of the Rightful Place Project, which is collecting text, images, audio, and video from scientists, engineers, and others involved in conversations about science in response to the question, What is science's rightful place?
I'm still thinking about my own response to…
February 9, 2009
by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure
The peanut butter with a side of salmonella story just keeps getting worse (other posts here, here, here, here, here, here). The toll so far is 8 dead, 575 confirmed salmonella cases (and undoubtedly many more never reported) and 1550 products recalled,…
February 6, 2009
Bloggers discuss food:
Andrew Schneider at Secret Ingredients points out that FDA can't just shut down the facility responsible for salmonella-tainted peanut paste.
Maryn McKenna has more bad news about the drug-resistant bacteria MRSA: now it's been found in Belgian chickens.
Tom Philpott at…
February 6, 2009
We often link to Ken Ward Jr.âs excellent coverage of mining issues in the Charleston Gazette. He does a fantastic job exploring the many ways that decisions by mining companies and government bureaucrats affect the lives of mineworkers, their families, and mining communities. Celeste summed up our…
February 5, 2009
Revere points out that the peanut industry (and the food industry as a whole) is learning that poor regulation is bad for business. You might run your business according to the highest standards, thatâs not enough. If one of your competitors cuts too many corners and people die as a result, the…
February 4, 2009
Thereâs a new voice in the public health blogosphere: Target Population, a blog by students from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. The students are enrolled in Blogging Skills for Public Health, a class Celeste and I are teaching this semester.
Although…
February 4, 2009
It doesnât seem to have made the news yet, but President Obama has just taken a very important step for the health of our water, air, and workplaces. An executive order published in todayâs Federal Register revokes EO 13422, by which President Bush gave the White House the power to interfere with…
February 3, 2009
President Obama issued an order on Jan 30 signaling his desire to improve the manner in which the Office of Management and Budget reviews federal agencies' regulatory initiatives. In his Memorandum to Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, the President noted:
"For well over two decades,…
February 3, 2009
The first piece of legislation President Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier for workers to fight pay discrimination. The Washington Postâs Richard Levy explains:
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will give workers alleging pay discrimination more time…
February 2, 2009
I had high hopes that a new Secretary of Labor would hit the ground running on Jan. 20. I had visions of bright beams of light and positive energy radiating from the Department's Frances Perkins building, as an Obama crew under Labor Secretary Hilda Solis' leadership worked to restore DOL…
February 2, 2009
By Myra L. Karstadt, Ph.D
Whether you Twitter, IM, text or use plain old-fashioned English, hereâs an important message for occupational health professionals: material safety data sheets (MSDSs) are deeply flawed, and something has to be done to change that situation. Steps are needed to improve…
January 31, 2009
Thomas Kuhn -- the one philosopher of science that even ignorami like me have heard of -- said that during periods of 'normal science', researchers only take on problems that they know they can solve. 'Paradigm' is an overused word, but it's a measure of the paradigm-shifting nature of the Origin…
January 30, 2009
Bloggers have a lot of thoughts about the stimulus package:
Sarah Rubenstein at WSJ's Health Blog explains plans to divide extra Medicaid funds among states.
Cristina Page at RH Reality Check explains the alleged $200 million for contraceptive coverage.
Mike Dunford at The Questionable Authority…
January 29, 2009
This post is part of a âglobal health blog carnivalâ effort that Christine Gorman at Global Health Report has just launched. The theme for todayâs posts is âprevention vs. treatmentâ â visit this post for links all participating posts.
Although my post focuses largely on the U.S. experience, itâs…
January 29, 2009
by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure
A powerful Editorial in today's Nature (the world's premier science publication) shines a strong light on a tragic violation of human rights in Iran involving two leading AIDS physicians, brothers Arash and Kamiar Alaei. We've posted about it twice (here…
January 29, 2009
In his post-inauguration speech, President Obama spoke of restoring science to it's "rightful place". Seed's new 'Rightful Place' project asks the obvious follow-up: what is the rightful place of science? The fact that Seed's initiative talks of 'reviving science in America' almost takes as a…
January 29, 2009
Perhaps you have noticed our newly redesigned front page, and on that page, a link to the Rightful Place Project. In his inaugural address, President Obama promised to restore science to its "rightful place". Seed Media Group is starting a dialog in response, asking the question "What is science'…
January 29, 2009
The rightful place of science is moving, never staying in one place, ever dancing and watching, on the always shifting sociopolitical landscape.
A team of white coated eggheads can solve any problem with enough science. We need to get rid of the Jews, and we don't have enough bullets, so let's…