Confined Space @ TPH
sb admin | March 1, 2007At today's Senate hearing on Senator Patty Murray's (D-WA) proposal to ban asbestos in the U.S., Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) said some very interesting things. (Audio here) His opening statement began predictably:
There is no debate that certain forms of asbestos are toxic and deadly. (Oh yeah, I know where this is going. It's the same old debate about amphibole v. serpentine fibers.)   We will hear today that there are several types of asbestos.  Different forms of asbestos pose different health risks. (I knew it. I know where he's going now. Another defender of…
sb admin | February 28, 2007As long as the U.S. system has employers bearing the brunt of soaring health insurance costs (or avoiding them by not offering coverage at all), workers, companies, and even charities will be trying out different approaches to affording healthcare. Here are a few approaches that have made the news recently:
The new Farmersâ Health Cooperative of Wisconsin brings a healthcare option to farmworkers, who often have a hard time getting insurance.
Some employers are offering free drugs to treat their employeesâ chronic health conditions, figuring it will pay off in healthcare savings over the long…
sb admin | February 27, 2007Mike Hendricks from the Kansas City Star notes in a recent article that all-too-often, trench collapses happen when "work crews take shortcuts because they're in a hurry or think a trench box interferes with the job they're doing."
While it may be true that workers are "cutting corners" to finish the job they are assigned to do, blaming the workers ignores the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
Instead of blaming the worker for the tragedy that has befallen him, let's blame those responsible for making him cut corners in the first place. Workers hurry because their priority is getting their work…
sb admin | February 27, 2007The House Education and Labor Committee, chaired by George Miller (D-CA), issued a progress report on MSHA's implementation of the MINER Act of 2006. The report says implementation by the agency and mining industry of certain provisions of the new law are "proceeding too slowly," including inadequate application of underground communication and tracking devices.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's blog "The Gavel" quickly linked to the report and provides some politico-historical context. For me, the most promising aspect of the report is the Committee and staff's appreciation for…
sb admin | February 23, 2007Christopher Thomas needed to make some extra money. The 51-year old welderâalso a husband and father of twoâhad begun work in the GMD Shipyard in Brooklyn Navy Yard about a week before. It was mid-morning on a Saturdayâhis day offâbut Thomas had come into work anyway.
He and some colleagues were using a pulley to move a massive steel plate weighing more than 6,000 pounds when the plate came loose and plummeted, hitting Thomas in the head before pinning him beneath. He died not long after.
The president of GMD Shipyard released a statement saying he was âsaddenedâ by the accident and that…
sb admin | February 22, 2007MSHAâs Assistant Secretary Richard Stickler revealed yesterday the agencyâs new procedures for determining whether a work-related death âis to be counted as a reportable death in MSHAâs official statistics.â In my post âCounting (or Not) of Workersâ Deaths,â I pushed Mr. Stickler to share the results of his review of MSHAâs fatality accounting system. After reading the new policy, Iâm having one of those âbe careful what you wish forâ reactions.
In a memorandum entitled âProcess for Determining Chargeability of Fatal Accidents,â Assistant Secretary Stickler provides a âFatal Injury…
sb admin | February 21, 2007The state of Kentucky has been in the spotlight lately as legislation to protect social workers and mineworkers has failed to live up expectations. The stateâs House of Representatives stripped funding from the Boni Bill, named after social worker Boni Frederick, who was killed when she took a child to a final home visit with his mother. The billâs sponsors hope funding will be restored in conference committee. In the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, Representative Jim Gooch has refused to bring a mine safety bill up for a vote; a Louisville Courier-Journal editorial notes…
sb admin | February 20, 2007The Washington Monthlyâs February issue features âShaftedâ by Ken Ward, Jr., an article critiquing the Bush Administrationâs mine safety policies. The Charleston Gazette reporter provides some interesting historical mine safety facts, such as the 1891 federal law prohibiting the employment of workers younger than age 12, and offers something new when he juxtaposes the Clinton-era versus Bush-era policies.Â
He writes:
â[Under Clinton, J. Davitt McAteer] ...ordered sweeping inspections that forced mine operators to repair faulty brakes on coal trucks, shore up the mine roofs, and address…
sb admin | February 17, 2007By David Michaels
How did the Congress pass legislation that not only cut EPA out of chemical plant safety, but also ensured that the job would be given to the Department of Homeland Security, which has neither the authority nor the commitment to do it right?
The job was done by Philip Perry, general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who is married to Vice President Cheneyâs daughter Elizabeth. The sordid details are Art Levineâs new article in the Washington Monthly, "Dick Cheney's Dangerous Son-in-Law."
Levine describes a meeting in March 2003, at which senior Bush…
sb admin | February 14, 2007By David Michaels
Here at the Pump Handle, weâve been trying to follow up some of the issues that Confined Space covered better than anyone else. One of these is chemical plant security. Many chemical plants are filled with explosive or toxic substances, making them appealing targets for terrorists. Congress considered bills to force chemical companies to take meaningful protective measures, but, as Confined Space readers will remember (see here and here for a refresher), these efforts were blocked by the now-deposed Republican leadership of the House and Senate. Instead, a rider giving the…
sb admin | February 14, 2007Since today is Valentine's Day, it's worth remembering the conditions that floral workers have to deal with. The Associated Press reports on the Colombian flower industry, where workers are exposed to heavy doses of pesticides, and current efforts to reduce those hazards.
In other recent occupational health news:
The National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) released a study on lower-back muscle fatigue in people whose work requires extensive lifting. They found that breaks alleviate the muscle fatigue that can lead to injuries, and more frequent breaks are needed…
sb admin | February 14, 2007The Charleston Gazetteâs Ken Ward Jr. reports that the State of West Virginia has added another worker's name to the list of 2006 workplace fatality victims.  In the Stateâs coal mining industry alone, 25 workers lost their lives last year.Â
The new addition to West Virginiaâs count is Mr. Jerry Ray May, a delivery driver, who was killed on October 13 when his vehicle was involved in a collision on a haulage road at the Frasure Creek Mine No. 4 in Boone County, WV.  State officials say the fatality occurred "clearly on a bonded, permitted area," in other words, on mine property. …
sb admin | February 9, 2007The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled today in favor of the United Steelworkers and MSHA in their efforts to protect underground miners from diesel particulate matter (DPM). The mining industry plaintiffs have claimed for years that MSHAâs 2001 DPM health standard was neither scientifically valid nor feasible, but the three-judge panel denied the firmsâ request to review MSHAâs rule. In a decision written by Judge David B. Sentelle, the court said âwe can find nothing in the administrative record that would justify second-guessing the agencyâs conclusions.â
The court ruling…
sb admin | February 9, 2007The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) announced today that deceased Montana miner Les Skramstad has been selected as this year's recipient of the Alan Reinstein Memorial Award in honor of his "unwavering commitment to justice and asbestos disease awareness." In spite of his own lengthy battle with asbestosis and mesothelioma, Les remained a true hero-- devoted to protecting others from the hazards of asbestos.
Read more about his life and journey here.
sb admin | February 7, 2007When 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 who are struggling to get help with health problems ranging from respiratory illnesses to cancer.
Ground zero workers
Police officer Cesar Borja worked 14-hour days in the ruins of the World Trade Center in the weeks following September 11, 2001. Last month, he succumbed to lung disease at the age of…
sb admin | February 6, 2007In 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 died when the ambulance she was riding in crashed on an icy road in Clayton, Oklahoma.
Raymond Fenoff, a 38-year-old construction worker from Douglas, Massachusetts, who died when scaffolding collapsed and he fell at least 10 feet.
Ron Emerick, a 29-year-old bouncer at a Hollywood club, was fatally…
sb admin | February 1, 2007Congressman 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 not been implemented promptly or evenly.Â
In his letter to Sec. Elaine Chao, the committee chairman referred to missed statutory deadlines and the real-life consequences for coal miners.
"By this time, all underground coal miners were to have available to them a specific numberâ¦of reliable self-…
sb admin | January 30, 2007Les 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, including W.R. Grace, knew that the pit contained their product of interest, vermiculite, but also tremolite asbestos. They knew the deadly consequences for people exposed to asbestos fibers, yet they intentionally withheld this information from their employees, their customers and government…
sb admin | January 29, 2007When 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 Barabâs Confined Space has comprehensive back stories to these disasters.) Plus, there's news about police officer deaths, prison labor, and a safety fine for Tyson's.
After the Mining Disasters
Last year, 12 mine employers died following an explosion at the Sago mine in West Virginia; two miners died in…
sb admin | January 29, 2007by 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 ever since. He also has been fighting, unsuccessfully, for work-related disability payments for twenty years.
Given his fame, it isnât surprising that Mercury Morrisâs struggle to obtain the benefits he deserves gets newspaper coverage. Most workers with job-related disabilities are quickly forgotten…