Confined Space @ TPH
sb admin | November 5, 2008In honor of yesterday's historic election, I'm delighted to share this poem by James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938).
Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won.
At last week's annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, the 700-person strong…
sb admin | November 3, 2008Only 14 days after Gloria McInnis died in an explosion at a Goodyear plan in Houston, her husband Raymond McInnis testified before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security. At the June 25, 2008 hearing, Mr. McInnis explained why he was present and sharing his grief and pain in such a public forum:
"It is not easy for me but I came here today to talk about what happened to Gloria, but I don't want this to happen to anyone else. Neither would Gloria."
The McInnis family's nightmare was made particularly unbearable because they were originally told by a Goodyear…
sb admin | October 29, 2008With concerns growing about a nursing shortage, hospitals are looking at ways to improve retention of the nurses they have on staff. Susan Meyers at Nurse.com (via RWJF) reports on an initiative at Los Angelesâs Cedars-Sinai Hospital to improve physician-nurse communication in order to boost morale:
With nearly a nine-year jump on the [MD-RN Collaborative], Cedars-Sinai has seen many positive benefits stem from the collaborative, including safer and more efficient care, a greater focus on patient-centered care, increased nurse retention, improved satisfaction among physicians, nurses and…
sb admin | October 28, 2008The American Public Health Association is holding its annual meeting this week in San Diego (check out their conference blog here), and members of the occupational health section will be gathering today to congratulate the winners of this yearâs awards. (Read about last yearâs awards here.) Here are some of the outstanding individuals who are working tirelessly for safe, healthy workplaces:
David Kotelchuck, PhD, MPH, CIH is the recipient of the Alice Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. Dr. Kotelchuck is professor emeritus at Hunter College School of Health Sciences at the City…
sb admin | October 27, 2008Remember back in early May, when White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten sent a memorandum to all agency heads warning them:
"to resist the historical tendency of administrations to increase regulatory activity in their final months" and
directed, except in extraordinary circumstances, that regulations needed to be proposed by 6/1/08. Well it seems that pretty much everybody in the Administration is ignoring the Bolten memo, with both bad rules (MSHA's mandatory worker drug-testing proposal) and good ones (OSHA's crane safety standard).
Scholars at NYU's Institute for Policy Integrity…
sb admin | October 24, 2008The UKâs Health and Safety Executive reports that 20 tradesmen die from asbestos-related diseases every week, and that number will likely increase. In an effort to reduce asbestos exposure among plumbers, joiners, electricians, and other maintenance workers, HSE has launched the campaign Asbestos: The Hidden Killer. Campaign materials and activities are designed to alert workers to the dangerous effects of asbestos and educate them about where itâs found and how it should be handled.
In France, thousands of workers took to the street to protest âDeath by Canadaâ â asbestos-related diseases…
sb admin | October 20, 2008A long awaited OSHA proposed rule on crane safety was published in the Federal Register on Oct 9. The current OSHA safety standards on cranes and derricks dates back to at least 1971, and these proposed changes have been in the works for 10 years. I've criticized OSHA's Asst. Secretary for the deadly delay in proposing this rule, and it is indeed good news that the proposal is now in the public comment phase of the rulemaking process. The comment period ends on December 8.
I noticed something strange, however, in OSHA's news release about the proposal. There was not a peep …
sb admin | October 16, 2008Itâs open season at many workplaces, the time when employers who offer health benefits let employees choose among different health coverage options for the coming year. The Wall Street Journalâs Anna Wilde Matthews reports that companies are reluctant to raise workersâ share of premiums, given that wages are stagnant, and many are instead increasing deductibles and co-payments. So, read the fine print on your enrollment documents, and plan ahead for these costs.
In other news:
Boston Globe: In an effort to address disproportionately high injury rates among immigrant workers, a coalition in…
sb admin | October 15, 2008The United Steelworkers (USW) and the United Mine Workers (UMWA) have sent letters to Asst. Secretary of Labor Richard Stickler asking for additional hearings and a longer public comment period for its proposed rule on mandatory drug and alcohol testing for workers in the mining industry. In one press account, the public hearings yesterday were called a "Logistical Nightmare."  In the USW's letter, HSE Director Mike Wright wrote:
"...hundreds of witnesses were effectively prevented from testifying in Birmingham and other locations even though they were present on the site -- or more…
sb admin | October 13, 2008Mr. Bill Oxley was working at the Bayer CropScience plant in Institute, WV on August 28. At about 10:25 pm, a massive fireball erupted at the facility, killing his co-worker, Barry Withrow, 45. The dramatic facts surrounding this explosion included that plant officials told the dispatchers that an emergency situation was in progress, but as far as giving the 911 operator further details: "I'm only allowed to tell you we have an emergency."Â
When I originally wrote about this disaster, I only knew this about Mr. Bill Oxley:
"A second worker was seriously injured in the explosion and…
sb admin | October 10, 2008The Mayor of Houston, Texas Bill White wants the Lyondell Chemical Refinery to justify and defend its practice of emitting tons of benzene annually into the air. (In 2007, the refinery reported emissions of 39 tons, which they proudly noted was below their 58 ton annual cap.) The Houston Chronicle's Matthew Tresaugue reports that the Mayor's office send a 96-page letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requesting a public hearing on Lyondell's request for a 10-year extension of its toxic air emissions permit.
"The refinery is in the city's cross hairs because…
sb admin | October 9, 2008"American Coal Co. repeatedly demonstrated its failure to comply with basic safety laws over a number of months, and for that it must be held accountable."Â (Asst. Secretary of Labor for MSHA Richard Stickler)
Yesterday, MSHA issued a news release announcing that the operator of the Galatia Mine in Saline County, Illinois was receving $1.46 million in penalties for scores of safety and health violations it's wracked up over the last year. The underground coal mine is owned by American Coal Company, a subsidiary of Murray Energy Corp--the same corporate controller of the Utah Crandall…
sb admin | October 8, 2008By Nathan Fetty
Every so often, my wife and I take our daughter, whoâs now two-and-a-half, on one of our favorite walks in the country here in central West Virginia. To get there, unfortunately, we have to pass by torrents of orange acid mine drainage (photo examples here and here) and through a landscape brutalized by mining. But the woods and streams beyond this devastation are as prime as any in West Virginia. Thatâs why we keep going there. We want our child to know these kinds of special places.
Our daughterâs becoming more and more verbal. She loves to point out things as sheâs…
sb admin | October 7, 2008Today, October 7, is World Day for Decent Work, an initiative led by the International Trade Union Confederation, the Global Progressive Forum, Social Alert and Solidar.  What is "Decent Work"?
"Decent Work is a strategy to achieve sustainable development that is centered on people. Decent Work is a key element to build fair, equitable and inclusive societies being based around the principles of employment creation, workers' rights, equity between men and women, social connection and social dialogue."
The Decent Work Decent Life offers ideas for taking action, as well as a growing…
sb admin | October 6, 2008A report released last week by staff of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee on EPA's handling of the massive asbestos contamination in the mining town of Libby, Montana is laden with words including "failure," "misled," "interference," and "delay." Refering to "EPA's Failure to Declare a Public Health Emergency in Libby, Montana," Senator Baucus said that he and the staff examined more than 14,000 internal documents and found:
"...a pattern of intervention from OMB, the White House, and political appointees at EPA that undermined cleanup efforts at Libby, delayed…
sb admin | October 2, 2008By now, you've probably heard that VP nominee Sarah Palin has been tripped up a few times by tough questions from CBS New's Katie Couric. Real brain twisters like:Â
"what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?â
"[Besides Roe v. Wade] what other Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with?"
Just in case the Supreme Court question is resurrected at tonight's televised VP Debate, I've got a few recommendations for Ms. Palin to consider:
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008): in a 5-4 decision the …
sb admin | October 1, 2008As our population gets older and heavier, healthcare workers are having to lift more and heavier loads as they transfer and position patients. The increased physical demands have translated into alarming rates of musculoskeletal disorders. NIOSH reports:
Direct and indirect costs associated with back injuries in the healthcare industry are estimated to be $20 billion annually. Additionally, nursing aides and orderlies suffer the highest prevalence (18.8%) and report the most annual cases (269,000) of work-related back pain among female workers in the United States. In 2000, 10,983 registered…
sb admin | September 29, 2008Despite a short 30-day comment period, dozens of interested individuals and organizations provided comments to Asst. Secretary Leon Sequeira about his proposed so-called risk assessment policy. I've pulled some of my favorite excerpts for your consideration:
"The proposed rule is a parting gift from an outgoing administration to its supporters in industry and should be withdrawn." (Public Citizen, full comments here)
"The Asst Secretary for Policy has no legal authority to issue this proposal or to finalize it. ...The authorities granted to him all involve performing economic reports and…
sb admin | September 29, 2008The Labor Department has rejected calls from numerous public interest groups and even the chairman of its legislative oversight committee to conduct public hearings and extend the time period to provide feedback on its worker health risk assessment proposal. That means that today, Monday, September 29 is the final day to submit comments on the Assistant Secretary for Policy Leon Sequeira's proposed changes to OSHA's and MSHA's risk assessment practices. He sent identical letters dated September 25 to Congressman George Miller (D-CA) (here), Prof. Rena Steinzor (here), and probably…
sb admin | September 25, 2008Four U.S. Senators have written to Labor Secretary Chao and OSHA Asst. Secretary Foulke expressing serious concern that "OSHA has failed to make significant progress in addressing the continuing hazards" of diacetyl. They asked for a response by October 8 to four simple questions, including a list of inspections conducted as part of OSHA's national emphasis program on diacetyl.
It was nearly 10 years ago when an alert physician in Missouri linked rare cases of the lung disease bronchiolitis obliterans to his patients' workplace exposure at a microwave popcorn manufacturing plant.  …