Occupational Health & Safety
sb admin | September 12, 2007Over the past week, several newspapers and wire services have reported on the story we broke here at The Pump Handle about the first reported case of bronchiolitis obliterans in a microwave popcorn consumer â quickly followed by microwave popcorn manufacturersâ announcements about the removal of diacetyl from their products, and by additional calls from health advocates and members of Congress for federal agencies to address the problem. Itâs interesting to look at the different angles from which the various articles approach the topic, and the details they include.
The Associated Press and…
sb admin | September 12, 2007The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks yesterday highlighted the health problems that many rescue, recovery, and cleanup workers and volunteers are facing. Articles in the New York Times, Newsday, and the New York Sun highlighted workers whoâve developed severe disease over the past six years and lawmakersâ proposals to address the surge in illnesses. Also, if you didnât see it yesterday, David Michaelsâs post here explains how the government has developed special compensation programs in the past and advises how it should proceed in addressing 9/11-related health problems.
On 9/11/07, OSHA…
sb admin | September 7, 2007By David Michaels
Over a year ago, unions petitioned the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to adopt an emergency temporary standard for diacetyl (PDF). More than 40 leading occupational health physicians and scientists sent a supporting letter (PDF) to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao summarizing the strong scientific evidence linking exposure to the artificial butter flavoring chemical diacetyl to the lung disease bronchiolitis obliterans. In the more than 13 months during which OSHA has failed to act on this urgent request, further information been published in the peer-reviewed…
sb admin | September 5, 2007Workers who manufacture microwave popcorn for ConAgra and Pop Weaver will soon be able to breathe easier, since both companies have announced that they will stop using diacetyl to flavor their popcorn. Other workers â including those who make flavorings, baked goods, and other companiesâ microwave popcorn â may still be exposed to the artificial butter flavoring chemical.
Other occupational health and safety news this week includes:
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Salt Lake Tribune: At a Senate Subcommittee hearing, Mine Safety and Health Administration Director Richard Stickler testified that MSHA did not know about a…
sb admin | September 5, 2007With summer vacation over and school back in session, my thoughts naturally turn to homework, term papers and due dates. Perhaps if Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and OSHA's Asst. Secretary Edwin Foulke viewed their responsibilities to the nation's workers like students with homework assignments, they'd take more responsibility for completely their assignments well and on time. Right now, OSHA (and the Secretary) seem to treat deadlines like those students who never show up for class, and then expect the teacher to give them an extension.
A few months ago, Mrs. Chao and…
sb admin | September 3, 2007For those of us fortunate enough to have Labor Day off from work, itâs a good time to remember all the workers who canât take a day off because we rely so heavily on them: hospital staff, police officers, bus drivers, power-company workers, and many others. Then, there are the retail and restaurant workers who clock in on federal holidays because their employers know that many of us will observe Labor Day by going shopping or out to eat.
We owe our current lifestyle not only to the workers who keep us supplied with food, electricity, transportation, healthcare, and other necessities, but to…
sb admin | August 31, 2007by Celeste MonfortonÂ
Yesterday in "MSHA Spokesman Parrots Bob Murray," I wrote about MSHA's rejection of a request by the families of the six trapped Crandall Canyon miners to have the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) serve as the miners' representative during MSHA's investigation of the disaster. As usual for me, about two hours after hitting the "print post" button, I realized I should have said this and I should have said that. Oh the glories of blogging! Here's what came to me after hitting the "print post" button:
I was irked by MSHA's spokesman Dirk Fillpot saying the …
sb admin | August 30, 2007by Celeste MonfortonÂ
Max Follmer of The Huffington Post reports that MSHA has rebuffed a request from the Crandall Canyon families to designate the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) to serve as their representative during MSHA's formal accident investigation.Â
"In a statement e-mailed to The Huffington Post, MSHA spokesman Dirk Fillpot defended the agency's actions, saying federal officials have spent 'untold hours' briefing the families of the missing miners. We are disappointed that the UMWA is trying to use a law enforcement investigation for its own purposes."
Hmmm. Where…
sb admin | August 29, 2007The Mountain Eagle's Tom Bethell recounts a 1986 coal mining disaster in Queensland, Australia which involved an explosion in an abandoned, sealed area which caused the death of 12 miners. Its similarities to the 2006 Sago tragedy end there because, as Bethell writes:
In the wake of that disaster, the Australian government launched an innovative program to spur development of through-the-earth communication and tracking technology. Australian coal producers agreed to assess themselves a per-ton fee, with the revenues used by the government to support companies---mostly small…
sb admin | August 29, 2007More distressing news related to Ground Zero keeps coming out. A probe has been launched into the Deutsche Bank building fire that killed two firefighters on August 18th; community leaders are criticizing the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation for hiring a demolition subcontractor with insufficient experience and numerous city and federal violations listed against it. The building pipe that was supposed to supply the firefighter with water had been turned off.
Also, findings released by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene show that Ground Zero rescue and recovery…
sb admin | August 28, 2007During one of Mr. Bob Murray's endless television appearances, he was asked why his underground coal mine in Illinois had received more than 900 safety and health violations last year. In his "I'm just a humble coal miner" kind-of-way, he tried to explain that the public just doesn't understand that getting written up by a mine inspector is commonplace, and most of those 900 violations were for trivial items like not having toilet paper in the restrooms.
Oh really? I reviewed all 975 violations cited in 2006 at Murray Energy's coal mine in Galatia, Illinois, and only 3 of the 975…
sb admin | August 24, 2007Four months ago, Mr. Dale Jones, 51 and Mr. Michael Wilt, 38 were killed in a massive highwall collapse at a surface coal mine near Barton, Maryland. The two miners were buried under 93,000 tons of rock, and it took rescue crews three days to recover the men's bodies. Â
This week, MSHA assessed a monetary penalty of $180,000 against the mine operator Tri-Star Mining, Inc. (Their accident investigation report was issued six weeks ago.)Â
In a news release announcing the fine, MSHA's Assistant Secretary Richard Stickler said:
"Two miners lost their lives because federal safety…
sb admin | August 22, 2007This time, it's not an Act of God, but instead it just that Big, Bad Mountain. Owner/operator of the Crandall Canyon mine, Mr. Bob Murray said today:
"Had I known that this evil mountain, this alive mountain, would do what it did, I would never have sent the miners in here.  I'll never go near that mountain again."
We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried. No wonder reporters were wondering where Mr. Murray has been over the last few days.  (I had two calls on Monday wondering if I knew where to find him. )Â
They were craving a few more choice quotes from the guy. He …
sb admin | August 22, 2007These three men were killed while trying to rescue six miners trapped at Crandall Canyon in Utah:
Dale Ray Black, 48, of Huntington, Utah (read more about him from the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret Morning News)
Brandon Kimber, 29, of Price, Utah (read more about him from USA Today and the Washington Post)
Gary Jensen, 48, of Redmond, Utah (read more about him from 9NEWS)
In other news:
New York Times: Firefighters Joseph Graffagnino, 33, and Robert Beddia, 53, died battling a blaze in the Deutsche Bank building at Ground Zero.
Associated Press: UFCW president Joseph Hansen has called for…
sb admin | August 22, 2007The Mountain Eagle's Tom Bethell pulls no punches in today's editorial with an in-your-face critique of the coal industry and their investment (not!) in safety technology. He writes:
"Name five U.S. coal companies that have generously supported research to develop a two-way PED, hardened wireless two-way phone systems, and a tracking system capable of instantly locating miners. You canât, because none has."
"Worse yet, the coal industry isnât spending a dime to help undercapitalized entrepreneurs move their promising products from bench-testing to mine-testing and then through the final…
sb admin | August 21, 2007Mr. Eleazar Torres-Gomez, 46, was killed at an Oklahoma Cintas laundry plant on March 6, 2007, when he was dragged into an industrial dryer because of an unguarded conveyor. Federal OSHA investigated the fatality and, this week, proposed a $2.78 million penalty for, among other things, 42 willful violations of its lockout/tagout standard.
OSHA's Asst. Secretary stated:
"Plant management at the Cintas Tulsa laundry facility ignored safety and health rules that could have prevented the death of the employee."
The CEO of Cintas, Scott Farmer, expressed the familiar:
"Any accident is one too…
sb admin | August 20, 2007When MSHA's Gary Jensen, 53, died last week in a rockburst at the Crandall Canyon mine, it had been 26 years since a federal mine inspector had died in the line of duty. Mr. Jensen joined MSHA in 2001 as an inspector. He had worked for nearly 30 years as a coal miner, and was especially skilled in roof control.Â
He is survived by a wife and four children, with one remarking that one of his father's trademarks was putting himself before others. Â
In a 2003 document marking MSHA's 25th anniversary, the agency offered a small tribute to the 16 federal inspectors who lost their…
sb admin | August 19, 2007For the first year on the job, a new underground coal miner wears a red-colored hardhat to signal to everyone on the crew that he (or she) is a rookie. These so-called "red hats" receive 40 hours of safety training before they are allowed to take on any mining duties, on topics ranging roof control, mine gases, evacuation procedures, and their rights provided by the Mine Act (1978). By tradition, after one year on-the-job, "red hats" earn a black hard hat. I've heard stories of some young miners keeping track inside their dinner buckets the number of days until they can shed…
sb admin | August 17, 2007MSHA reports:
"At approximately 8:39 pm (EDT) Thursday night, a significant bounce occurred at the mine. Three rescue workers are confirmed dead, including one MSHA inspector. Six others remain hospitalized. At this time, all rescue efforts have been suspended."
The MSHA inspector who was fatally injured in this latest coal-pillar rockburst was Mr. Gary Jensen, who worked out the MSHA's Price, Utah office. Gary was a member of MSHA's mine rescue team. Before joining MSHA, he worked as a coal miner for SUFCO Coal and had also been part of that company's mine rescue team.
Another…
sb admin | August 16, 2007Join an on-line chat at 1:00 pm today (8/16) on technology to locate trapped miners.
On day 11, the rescue efforts continue for the six trapped miners at a Utah coal mine. A third borehole (2") punctured the mine workings yesterday afternoon to allow a camera to be lowered into the mine to scan for any sign of the miners. With each borehole drilled and each camera-search, the questions being repeated across the nation are "where are the miners?" and "why don't we know more precisely where they are in the mine?"Â
After the Sago disaster, family members, worker advocates and coal…