Legal

In March 2006, a coalition of industry trade groups, led by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), filed suit in federal court challenging OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard.  This rule, issued by OSHA in 1983, (48 Federal Register 53280) provides fundamental right-to-know protections to most U.S. workers.  Among other things, the HazCom rule requires employers to give workers access to material safety data sheets (MSDS) which contain information on chemical substances to which the workers may be exposed on the job.  The MSDS's are required to include health hazard…
A few hours ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts vs. EPA that EPA has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide from auto emissions. (For background on the case, see this post.) David Stout of the New York Times summarizes: In a 5-to-4 decision, the court found that the Clean Air Act expressly authorizes the E.P.A. to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, contrary to the E.P.A.âs contention, and that if the agency still insists that it does not want to regulate those emissions, it must give better reasons than the âlaundry listâ of invalid considerations it has offered so far. Todayâs…
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 committed to levy fines âsufficient to serve as an effective deterrent to violationsââthe punishment rarely fits the crime. According to former OSHA assistant secretary Jerry Scannell, (1989-1992), the current fines are âalmost like chump change with some companies.â Companies pay the finesâoften…
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 Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  Industry attorneys urged the Court to vacate the exposure limits and other provisions of the Mine Safety and Health Administrationâs (MSHA) 2001 DPM rule.  From my vantage point sitting on the public gallery benches, Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsberg, Senior Judge Harry T.…
By Sheldon Krimsky ExxonMobil has already come under scrutiny for funding global warming deniers, but the company has also funded research that raises concerns about conflict of interest in litigation research. The company began funding litigation research after being hit with punitive damages for the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill, and then cited that research in an appeal that ultimately reduced those damages by $2 billion. A brief history of the case is as follows:  On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker left the terminal in Valdez, Alaska heading south through Prince William Sound…
by David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz Mr. Milkey (for the State of Massachusetts): Respectfully, Your Honor. It is not the stratosphere. Itâs the troposphere. Justice Scalia: Troposphere, whatever. I told you before Iâm not a scientist. (Laughter) Justice Scalia: Thatâs why I donât want to deal with global warming, to tell you the truth. [PDF of arguments here] We all know that our children lack basic understanding of science and how it works. The dearth of math and science majors in our universities and the huge percentage of kids who know little or nothing about evolutionary theory are…
By David Michaels In 1993, the US Supreme Court ruled in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. that judges must act as âgatekeepersâ in the courtroom, determining if the scientific evidence introduced is relevant and reliable. The Daubert decision has had tremedous impact on how science is used (and misused) in courts. That judges are not scientists, and are likely to have difficulty evaluating complex scientific evidence, was underscored in last weekâs argument over whether the EPA should regulate the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as a pollutant. When Justice Antonin Scalia was…