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October 1, 2007
Last week, the U.S. EPA issued a new regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to help reduce the amount of lead contained in consumers' tap water. The new rule amends a 1991 EPA's "Lead and Copper Rule" by requiring improved monitoring and replacement of lead-service lines, and…
September 29, 2007
There are days when I want to stand on the rooftops and scream like Zuska.
I'm no longer in academia, but as those who are longtime readers of my blog know, I became painfully aware of how sexist the culture of Physics is and how amazingly unequal the playing field is for women— not just, or not…
September 28, 2007
If you listened to Science Friday on NPR's Talk of the Nation today, you may have heard Ira Flatow mention a question from "Prospero Linden"— that was me. I was there, live, along with a 30 or 40 other people in the studio audience:
For the last several weeks, Science Friday has been…
September 28, 2007
Before this weekâs climate conference began, Climate Progress predicted, âThe Bush Administration will use every opportunity to create the illusion of action without agreeing to meaningful, binding pollution reductions.â Today, that blog reports that Bush followed âthe Frank Luntz playbook on how…
September 28, 2007
The Senate HELP Committee is holding a hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 2 on "Current Mine Safety Disasters: Issues and Challenges." The witness list includes the same familiar faces from MSHA, NIOSH, the UMWA and National Mining Association, but the Committee has also invited two "newcomers" to…
September 28, 2007
While the House of Representatives was voting Wednesday to approve the Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act (here), OSHA's Assistant Secretary Edwin Foulke had just mailed a letter rejecting a petition from a group of workersâ who'd asked for emergency protection from the respiratory…
September 28, 2007
YT parody of an ad for HeadOn, a homeopathic topical analgesic for headaches that's smeared on the forehead.
The official HeadOn site (I won't link since "the site is for the use of US residents only;" sorry I inadvertently looked and I'm not American, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to) states…
September 27, 2007
Every so often you will come across somebody who has a "killer" list
of "problems" with the Big Bang. While there remain unknowns and
questions about the Big Bang— just as there do with biological
evolution— the basic picture of the Big Bang is rock
solid— just like evolution.
Nearly two…
September 27, 2007
By Kristen PerosinoÂ
Is FDA on the road to recovery? Will public confidence in the agency be restored?
In what is bound to be an interesting policy address (not to mention well-timed, as the recently passed FDA Amendments Act of 2007 awaits Bushâs signature), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) is scheduled…
September 27, 2007
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) explaining his opposition to H.R. 2693, the Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act, which would require OSHA to protect workers from breathing toxic chemicals used in artificial butter flavor:
"If there's something wrong with popcorn, how did Orville Redenbacher…
September 27, 2007
The recent recalls of dangerous toys and defective cribs have received a great deal of press attention, but closer analysis reveals that consumer product recalls are generally ineffective at getting most defective products out of consumersâ homes.
In many cases, the vast majority of the dangerous…
September 26, 2007
The big news is that the House passed the Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act, as David reports below. In other occupational health and safety news:
China Daily: A fire in a coal mine shaft has killed three miners and trapped 15 more.
Occupational Health & Safety: South Carolinaâs OSHA…
September 26, 2007
By David Michaels
Updated Below
By a vote of 260 to 154, the US House of Representatives has passed H.R. 2693, the Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act. This was not a pure party line vote - over the objections of the White House and the Chamber of Congress, 47 Republicans voted with the…
September 26, 2007
By Liz Borkowski
Yesterday, the White House and the OSHA Fairness Coalition (which includes members like the International Food Distributors Association, National Association of Manufacturers, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce) wrote to members of the House of Representatives to express their strong…
September 25, 2007
By David Michaels
Days before the House will vote on legislation to force OSHA to regulate diacetyl (the artificial butter flavor chemical that causes bronchiolitis obliterans), the agency has apparently decided that perhaps it is finally time to begin the rulemaking process for this substance.…
September 25, 2007
By Liz BorkowskiÂ
As David Michaels reported yesterday, the Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act will come up for a vote in the House some time this week. The legislation will force OSHA to issue a standard that will minimize workersâ exposure to diacetyl, the butter flavoring chemical…
September 24, 2007
By David Michaels
Later this week, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 2693 -- The Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act. Now is the moment to let your Member of Congress know how important it is for them to support the legislation.
Popcorn Workers Lung is a case study in…
September 24, 2007
By David Michaels
Most media coverage of Fridayâs announcement by the Consumer Products Safety Commission and a crib manufacturer that one million cribs were being recalled missed the story behind the story. Stung by an avalanche of bad publicity on its failure to protect children from toys with…
September 21, 2007
The FDA bill wasnât the only thing getting health policy types excited this week. Senator Clinton unveiled her healthcare proposal, and provided fodder for bloggers, including: Ezra Klein (here, too) GoozNews, the Numbers Guy, RH Reality Check, and WSJ Health Blog.
Also focusing on the executive…
September 21, 2007
A mere nine months after the National Academy of Science told OMB to junk its junk science proposal, the Bush administration is at it again. On Wednesday, OIRA administrator Susan Dudley and OSTPâs associate director Sharon Hays sent a memorandum to all executive agencies. The memo advised that…
September 21, 2007
The House and Senate have both passed legislation that renews the FDAâs user-fee system and enacts some important reforms. The process has been rushed because FDA is running dangerously low on funds; President Bush will need to sign the legislation today if the FDA is to avoid sending termination…
September 21, 2007
Linguist Steven Pinker visits the Colbert Report.
September 20, 2007
By Dick ClappÂ
Researchers devote a lot of effort to determining what causes cancer, and their findings can help us treat and prevent the disease. Industries that use and manufacture suspected carcinogens have something to fear, though, if research shows their products or processes to be…
September 20, 2007
Like microwave-popcorn manufacturers and toy companies, members of the trade group Grocery Manufacturers of America have recognized that itâs not a good thing to have consumers worried about whether their favorite products might kill them. So, theyâre asking the FDA to do more to ensure the safety…
September 20, 2007
Ok, so this is not my first blog post ever, but it is my first post as a member of Science Blogs. Unlike Groucho Marx, who did not wish to join any club which would accept him as a member, I am very excited to be here and very flattered by that invitation.
So some breif introductory messages...
To…
September 20, 2007
I'm the new mommy blogger here at ScienceBlogs.
I don't write about the latest ground-breaking research in my field. I don't even publicly reveal what my field is.
What I do write about are my experiences as an early career scientist who also happens to be a woman.
I share my life as the mother…
September 19, 2007
By David Michaels
Congratulations to Ron Melnick! Ron is a senior toxicologist and director of special programs in the Environmental Toxicology Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Since coming to NIEHS as a young toxicologist 36+ years ago, Ron has produced made a…
September 19, 2007
Ground Zero workers are still in the news. Last week, a House Panel heard from Dr. Philip Landrigan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine about the illnesses these workers suffer from. Earlier this week, several members of New York's Congressional delegation introduced the James Zadroga 9/11…
September 18, 2007
Yesterday, the University of California at Irvine announced that it was reappointing Erwin Chemerinsky as dean of its new law school. Chemerinsky had been offered the job, but then the University withdrew the offer after the LA Times published a Chemerinsky op-ed critical of the Bush administration…
September 18, 2007
California often takes the lead in responding to public health issues, so itâs not surprising that their state legislature was the first to take up a bill to ban the artificial butter flavoring chemical diacetyl from California workplaces by 2010. California is home to 29 flavoring plants, and…