Occupational Health & Safety
sb admin | March 7, 2007Worker issues were in the spotlight on Capitol Hill this past week.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington state introduced legislation to ban asbestos, and the hearing on the bill featured testimony from John Thayer, head of a crew that works in the tunnels running beneath the U.S. Capitol. He explained that he and his crew members are regularly exposed to asbestos fibers from the aging structures, that respirators were not required until 2006, and that he and his colleagues now suffer from asbestos-related illnesses.
The Senate passed a bill that includes collective bargaining and whistleblower…
sb admin | March 5, 2007An article in yesterday's Financial Times reveals that prior to the deadly explosion at its Texas City refinery, BP successfully lobbied against environmental regulations that could have mitigated-- if not prevented-- the catastrophe from having taken place in the first place.
BP's own report regarding the March 2005 explosion noted that an exhaust system upgrade to a flare system could have "reduced the severity" of the event by containing and burning off emissions before they could catch a spark.
That's funny, because in December 2004, BP was celebrating having gotten out of spending 150…
sb admin | March 5, 2007In continuation of the tradition begun at Jordan Barabâs 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 81 workplace deaths, including the following:
Eric Jones, a 34-year-old Burlington, Wisconsin resident who fell 90 feet from the basket of a utility truck while repairing ice-damaged transmission lines.
Mahendrabhai Gordham Omar Patela, 48, who was shot during a robbery of his Fort Mills, South Carolina store.
Admont J. Znotin, a 43-year-old carpenter from Buzzards Bay,…
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, 2007Dr. Tony Robbins recent response to my draft on OSHA at 35 makes the important point that economic developments are often more powerful than public health initiatives as determinants of environmental and occupational illness. I agree with his thought that predictive models of exposure might facilitate anticipatory public health strategies rather than our more typical efforts to catch up after the fact. It is with this in mind that we need to focus on forward looking ideas rather than dwelling on the frustration that comes from a close look at worker protection in the OSHA years. Here are…
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 21, 2007By David Michaels
Sometimes reviewing records of past exposures to toxic materials can be pretty dangerous itself. AP carried the story:
Records buried in a landfill used for radioactive waste may be dug up to determine whether cancer-stricken workers from a defunct nuclear-weapons plant qualify for compensation, a federal official said.
At least a dozen pallets of cardboard boxes, six 55-gallon drums and 11 safes containing classified records from the Mound weapons plant in Miamisburg, Ohio, were buried in underground shafts of the landfill at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in…
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 20, 2007By Anthony Robbins
It has been many years, 26 in fact, since I left NIOSH, victim of the Reagan landslide of 1980. It is fair to say that I have spent little time engaged in worker health issues since then. Yet Michael Silversteinâs future oriented document offered surprisingly few new or unexpected insights as it forcefully argued for a better and more effective OSHA. His passion is admirable.
Perhaps I should not have been surprised to read about old hazards, old strategies, and old indictments of those in power. It has always been thus. For a view of worker health and environmental…
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 12, 2007By Celeste MonfortonÂ
Last month, David Michaels wrote about a newly amended executive order from President Bush that gives the executive branch (through the Office of Management & Budget) more control over the work of federal agencies. This order seems designed to constrain the regulatory activities of federal agencies like EPA, FDA, and OSHA in fulfilling their Congressionally mandated duties â protecting us from hazards in our air, food, and workplaces. It places additional burdens on agencies attempting to issue new regulations or guidance, and it gives the OMB more authority over…
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 8, 2007By David A. Sonnenfeld
It is rare that public health professionals, labor advocates, community activists, and university scholars come together at one place and time to discuss the past, present, and future of health and environmental challenges of a major industrial sector. It is even rarer that we manage to sustain a years-long collaboration in analyzing, documenting, and discussing such challenges, resulting in the publication of a peer-reviewed handbook for workers and advocates focused on that sector. Yet that is exactly what has been accomplished with last year's publication of…
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…