The 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 issued a request for information âto evaluate what action, if any, the Agency should take to further address emergency response and preparedness.â
Abel Pharmboy at Terra Sigillata has re-posted a moving remembrance of John Michael Griffin, Jr., the Director of Operations at the World Trade Center who died helping dozens of workers escape. If youâve been moved by other blog posts or news stories in memory of workers who died on 9/11, feel free to post links in the comments section.
In other occupational health and safety news:
MedPage Today: Cancer researchers say the Veteransâ Administration has been blocking their access to cancer data, and jeopardizing their surveillance and research efforts (via Effect Measure).
Arizona Daily Star: A growing group of Iraq veterans suspect that depleted uranium is to blame for a surge in cases of aggressive cancers (via Alternet).
Herald News (New Jersey): U.S. child labor laws donât always seem to make sense, and experts say their long and politically laced history is to blame.
Occupational Hazards: The American Industrial Hygiene Association has expressed concern that asbestos legislation introduced by Senator Patty Murray only addresses new uses of asbestos and does not address concerns with the millions of pounds of asbestos already in use that continue to pose a health threat.
International Labour Organization: The ILO has released its fifth edition of âKey Indicators of the Labour Market.â Among its findings: one-third of the worldâs working-age population is âpotentially underutilizedâ â that is, either unemployed or a member of the working poor, and half of all employed men and women are vulnerable to poverty (via AFL-CIO Weblog).
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Thanks for the link, Liz - there are almost 3,000 stories of people like John. I just wanted to honor him for the special part he played in my life and scientific career a long time ago.