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February 7, 2007
By Joel TicknerÂ
The European Union (EU) recently issued new regulations requiring chemical firms to develop health and environmental data on chemicals used to make everyday products and provide reasonable assurances of safety. What a novel concept. The sad truth is that it is.  Despite the…
February 7, 2007
When workers are exposed to hazardous substances on the job, it can take years for symptoms to appear â and even longer to fight for treatment and compensation (a fight that many workers lose). Recently, news stories have highlighted workers from Ground Zero and from nuclear weapons facilities …
February 7, 2007
By David Michaels
The Bush Administration has been unsuccessful in convincing Congress to pass legislation rolling back public health and environmental protection, even when both the Senate and the House were controlled by Republicans. Some notable examples: attempts to gut the Clean Air Act and…
February 6, 2007
In continuation of the tradition begun at Jordan Barab's Confined Space blog, Tammy has posted another edition of the Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace at her Weekly Toll blog. It gives short writeups on 64 workplace deaths, including the following:
Janez Case, a 51-year-old EMT who…
February 5, 2007
By Dick ClappÂ
Late last month, there was a series of news stories about the drop in cancer deaths reported in 2004 as compared to 2003. The Washington Post story ran under the headline âCancer Deaths Decline for Second Straight Year,â and the New York Times headline read âSecond Drop in Cancer…
February 2, 2007
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the policymakersâ summary of its 2007 report today, and it was at once a momentous occasion and nothing new. Nothing new, that is, to the people whoâve been following the science for the past few decades and had already figured out that humans…
February 2, 2007
By David Michaels
The Guardian newspaper reports that The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the think tank/public relations firm, has offered scientists and economists $10,000 to undermine the report on global warming issued today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).…
February 2, 2007
In addition to the blogging related to the IPCC (which will be getting its own post), this past week saw lots of discussion on the issue of open-access science journals, following the news that a group of big publishers opposed to open access had hired âthe pit bull of public relations,â Eric…
February 1, 2007
Friday, February 2, 2007 (3:30 AM EST): Tune in to listen to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) webcast announcing the Working Group I's approval of their Fourth Asssessment Report. There's no doubt the global warming naysayers will critique the IPCC's report with …
February 1, 2007
Congressman George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee says the Secretary of Labor has some explaining to do. Miller asserts that essential provisions of the MINER Act,* signed into law in June 2006 under the watchful and tear-filled eyes of Sago families, have…
February 1, 2007
By Liz BorkowskiÂ
Last week, Revere at Effect Measure used extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) as an example of why the world needs a resilient and robust public health infrastructure (and just a few days later, an article on an XDR outbreak in South Africa made it to the New York…
January 31, 2007
Yesterday, the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on âAllegations of Political interference with the Work of Government Climate Change Scientists.â As committee chair Henry Waxman noted in his opening statement, the committee had been…
January 30, 2007
Les Skramstad was a good, decent man. He died earlier this month at 70-years young, from damage inflicted years earlier by greedy and reckless employers.Â
Les was a miner and laborer at the infamous vermiculite mine at Zonolite Mountain in Libby, Montana. The owners and operators of the mine…
January 29, 2007
When workplace disasters make headlines, worker health and safety advocates have an opportunity to push for better legislation and enforcement. Recent news stories follow up on the response to last yearâs mining disasters and the 2005 explosion at BPâs Texas City refinery. (As always, Jordan…
January 29, 2007
by Les Boden
Yesterdayâs Washington Post has a long story about Mercury Morris, star running back of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated team in modern NFL history. Morrisâ neck was broken in a 1973 game on national television, and he has had significant physical and emotional problems…
January 29, 2007
One of the best ways that mothers, fathers, grandparents, and caregivers can find out about hazardous agents in their homes, communities, and workplaces is by reading the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences…
January 26, 2007
Some of you may recall Mike Caseyâs compelling exposé in the Kansas City Star (Wayback Machine version here) regarding OSHAâs outrageously low fines for safety violations-- even those directly responsible for serious injuries to or even deaths of unsuspecting workers. While OSHA is supposedly…
January 26, 2007
The pharmaceutical industry was a hot topic in the blogosphere this week:
Cervantes at Stayin' Alive advocates for a ban on direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising (as opposed to the proposed legislation likely to come from the pharma industry).
Orac at Respectful Insolence has a different…
January 26, 2007
By David Michaels
Yesterdayâs post by Les Boden on workersâ compensation fraud by employers brings up an important question: How much fraud is there in the comp system and who is responsible?
Insurers and employers have worked diligently to convince the public that the workersâ compensation rolls…
January 25, 2007
Massey Energy, a major US coal mine operator, is boasting that its safety program has won the âhighly covetedâ Golden Pyramid Award. Isnât it a bit peculiar that a mining company where three workers were killed in 2006 would be recognized for its workplace safety and health program? And, we…
January 25, 2007
by Les Boden
Today, The New York Times reports on an important study that shows us the tip of the iceberg of employer workersâ compensation fraud.
The Fiscal Policy Institute compared payroll dollars reported to the New York State Workersâ Compensation Board with payroll reported to the…
January 25, 2007
Yesterday, Jordan Barab mothballed his blog Confined Space, and workers and worker advocates lost a powerful online resource. The good news is that weâve gained a political resource, since Jordanâs departure from the blogosphere is due to his new staff position on the US House of Representatives…
January 24, 2007
Cross-posted at Effect Measure by Revere
Tonight The Reveres are putting on their party clothes and headed for Jordan Barab's place, Confined Space. Truthfully, this party is also a wake, because Jordan is closing up shop tonight and has invited everyone over (that means you, too) to celebrate his…
January 24, 2007
By David Michaels
NIOSH scientist Patricia Sullivan has just published a very important study that reminds us (as if any reminder were needed) that there really is no safe level of asbestos exposure.
The study looked at the causes of death among workers involved in mining, milling and processing…
January 24, 2007
by Revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure
The University of California Regents (their Board of Trustees) is facing a thorny issue: should researchers in the University of California system be banned from taking research support from the tobacco industry? Two conflicting imperatives, one,…
January 22, 2007
The Science Blogging Conference, held this past weekend at UNC-Chapel Hill, wasnât just for bloggers. Many of the attendees, particularly science students and educators, came to learn how they could use blogs, and some of them launched their own blogs over the course of the weekend. The journalists…
January 21, 2007
Mining companies opposed to a health standard to protect underground miners from diesel particulate matter (DPM) finally had their day in court. The morning proceeding featured remarks about tail-wagging dogs and coal-mine canaries, presented before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of…
January 19, 2007
There have been a number of thoughtful and challenging comments on the future of safety and health posted in the past week. I want to acknowledge some of these and also to suggest more discussion about the principles that might help choose which potential actions to increase worker protection…
January 19, 2007
Lisa Stiffler at Dateline Earth reports on the newest research on PBDEs (levels of this flame retardant in household dust correlate to levels in breast milk) and gives an update on Washington stateâs proposed PBDE ban.
Jake Young at Pure Pedantry has an update on Eli Lilly's attempts to block the…
January 18, 2007
By David Michaels
Earlier today, President Bush took another step to limit the ability of regulatory agencies to protect the nationâs health and environment.
The President signed amendments to Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, further centralizing the control the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)…