lborkowski | September 13, 2010The World Health Organization has declared that "tobacco taxes are the most effective way to reduce tobacco use, especially among young people and the poor," but Slate's James Ledbetter points out that in the US, there's a portion of the smoking population that keeps on paying them:
Over the last decade or so, several states and jurisdictions have experimented with massive cigarette tax increases, as much as 100 percent or more over the existing rate. California, for example, still has a relatively low state cigarette tax, but in January 1999, it ballooned from 37 cents a pack to 87 cents. In…
lborkowski | September 10, 2010Another oil platform caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico, but this time the crew - 13 workers - was able to escape, and no injuries were reported. No oil spill was detected, either. The Mariner Energy platform was involved in both oil and natural gas production.
A Washington Post article on the fire notes that last year there were 133 fires or explosions on oil rigs in the Gulf. We're just paying attention to them this year because of the BP/Deepwater Horizon disaster.
In other news:
Washington Post: Luis Uriza was the shift foreman in the San Jose mine in Copiapó, Chile when a mine collapse…
cmonforton | September 10, 2010EPA filed a complaint under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) against the world's largest producer of chromium chemicals for failing to inform the agency of findings from an epidemiological study showing a "substantial risk" of injury to health among workers exposed to hexavalent chromium (CrVI). The September 2, 2010 notice alleges that Elementis Chromium failed or refused to submit to EPA a study conducted for an industry trade group that showed evidence of excess lung cancer risk among workers in chromium production facilities. Exposed workers included those employed at Elementis…
cmonforton | September 9, 2010In early August OSHA proposed citations and penalties to 17 employers involved in the explosion at the Kleen Energy plant that killed six workers. (See previous post here.) The deadly blast was caused by ignition of natural gas being used to clean out debris from pipes, a process called a "gas blow." OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels said the practice of using highly flammable methane gas for "gas blows" is inherently dangerous. He stopped short of saying that OSHA would (or could) ban it, a recommendation made earlier this summer to OSHA by the Chemical Safety Board. Instead, Dr…
egrossman | September 8, 2010by Elizabeth Grossman
"What kind of uproar do you think there would be if CEOs were dying at the same rate as workers, whatever the data?" asked Steve Mitchell UAW Local 974 Health & Safety Representative, just before Labor Day in an online discussion about current U.S. occupational health and safety statistics.
As David Michaels, Assistant Secretary for Labor for Safety and Health, pointed out in his July 19th letter to colleagues marking the 40th anniversary of OSHA, "Fourteen workers die on the job each day, far from the headlines... [and] Every year, more than four million workers are…
lborkowski | September 7, 2010Remember the global food crisis of 2008? Disappointing wheat harvests in Europe, the US, and Australia led to a shortfall in global supplies, and poorer countries and consumers couldn't afford grain that had suddenly become much more expensive. In the US, families struggled to stretch their food budgets; in 14 other countries, food-related violence erupted.
Memories of that recent crisis have stirred as Russia (which suffered from drought this summer) has banned exports of its wheat and other countries have faced droughts or flooding. After the cost of bread jumped 30%, riots broke out in…
cmonforton | September 6, 2010Karen Lubanty recounts:"He kissed me goodbye, told me he'd call me at work later. He kissed Jennifer goodbye. That was it, he never came home."
Her husband, Walter Lubanty, was killed in October 2006 while working at a Tilcon NY Inc. plant in Wharton, NJ. He was crushed by 75 tons of steel. The company was assessed a $7,500 penalty by OSHA for three serious safety violations.
The young widow tells part of the story of how her life changed that day in a 5-minute video produced by the Machinists Union (IAM). The piece was filmed at a town hall meeting held in Virginia to discuss much-…
cmonforton | September 3, 2010Public Citizen, the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) and other worker advocates petitioned the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a regulation limiting the number of hours worked by medical residents. The petitioners argue that the excessive hours expected by the employers (hospitals) of these physicians-in-training cause chronic sleep deprivation and stress, which contributes to motor vehicle crashes, depression and mood disorders, needlestick injuries and other health problems. Among the compelling evidence provided are studies demonstrating…
lborkowski | September 3, 2010When I first started to get interested in public health several years ago, I thought of it mostly as dealing with things like vaccines and handwashing. From one of my friends who enrolled in a Master of Public Health program, I learned that it actually covers a whole range of issues that affect the population's health and quality of life - things like workplace and highway safety and smoking cessation, in addition to control of infectious diseases.
The word "population" is key to understanding public health. Healthcare providers focus on individual patients; public health workers focus on…
lborkowski | September 2, 2010Back in March of 2009, President Obama signed a memorandum that laid out six scientific integrity principles and gave the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 120 days to "develop recommendations for Presidential action designed to guarantee scientific integrity throughout the executive branch." My colleagues and I submitted comments and waited eagerly for OSTP to release the recommendations. By July 2010, though, the office had missed the original deadline by an entire year.
The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology meets every two months, and a portion of…
lborkowski | September 1, 2010As we try to figure out how to curb an unhealthy increase in obesity, one of the factors under consideration is the built environment. Those who in live in places where few destinations are within walking/biking distance, public transit is limited, and the environment is unfriendly to pedestrians and cyclists may find it harder to get the recommended amount of physical activity. Studying the built environment's effect on obesity is challenging, though. People who live in pedestrian-friendly areas with good public transit may be more likely to get enough activity and less likely to be obese…
lborkowski | August 31, 2010
New Solutions: The Drawing Board is a monthly feature produced by the journal New Solutions. Read more about it here.
By Anne Fischel and Lin Nelson
We write to you as teachers and researchers concerned about the environmental and occupational health hazards impacting communities living and working in mining sites across North America and the world.
Through our project, "No Borders: Communities Living and Working with Asarco," we have spent the last 5 years looking at those affected by and affecting the work of the Asarco corporation, one of the oldest and largest mining, smelting and…
lborkowski | August 31, 2010by Elizabeth Grossman
The American Public Health Association's (APHA) Occupational Health & Safety Section has announced the winners of its 2010 Occupational Health & Safety Awards. In a year that has been marked by what David Michaels, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, has described as "a series of workplace tragedies" - among them the deaths of 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch Mine and 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico - noting both the honorees, and those in whose honor the awards are given, is a reminder of the enormous work,…
cmonforton | August 30, 2010Just in time for the Labor Day holiday, the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center (NORC) released a study indicating 85 percent of workers rank safety on the job as their top labor standard. NORC's report, Public Attitudes towards and Experiences with Workplace Safety, assembled the results of dozens polls and surveys to assess public opinion about US labor standards and practices, such as minimum wage, maternity leave, paid sick days and overtime pay. Of the 1,461 workers surveyed in 2010, 85% gave "workplace safety regulations" the top rank: very important. Despite…
lborkowski | August 27, 2010Scicurious at Neurotic Physiology is publishing a bunch of "Back to Basics" posts that are well worth a read, and I found her series on depression particularly interesting. In Depression: Part 1, Scicurious explains why we should care about this disease:
Right now, depression is thought to occur in 21% of women and 13% of men worldwide, with 18 million people affected in the US (this is according to the lecture I had in 2006 on it, though other people say it's 8-17% of the total population). It's a big deal for research, depression is second leading cause of disability, and antidepressants…
cmonforton | August 27, 2010A classic tool used in public relations is a news release. Companies and other organizations craft these statements to announce new products, activities or accomplishments. Well-written news releases offer the what, where, when, who and why, and are often used "as-is" in trade publications and other print media. A collection of an organization's news release might also reveal its state-of-mind, its priorities and focus. In a sense, a historical record of the issues the organization's leaders believed were deserving of (or needing) public attention.
My interest in news releases stems…
lborkowski | August 26, 2010Last week, a jury in Chicago awarded $30.4 million to chemical-flavoring plant worker Gerardo Solis, 45, who suffers from the disabling lung disease bronchiolitis obliterans. Solis had worked at the Flavorchem Corp plant from 1998 to 2006 and was exposed to the butter-flavoring chemical diacetyl, which is associated with severe respiratory illnesses. Solis's attorney, Ken McClain, told the jury that Solis is totally disabled, with 25% of normal lung capcity; he will likely need a lung transplant within the next 10 years. The jury awarded the verdict against diacetyl supplier BASF Corp. Jeff…
cmonforton | August 25, 2010My temporary home for the last week has been a hotel just off of I-64 at Exit 44 in Beckley, West Virginia. The immediate exit-ramp neighborhood consists of a Hooters, Dairy Queen, IHOP, McDonalds, and several gas stations. When I'm on the road, I try to keep up my daily walking routine, but the sidewalk that hugs this busy thoroughfare is particularly unappealing. Rather than resigning myself to laps around the hotel parking lot, I decided to take my exercise routine in a new direction: the driveways inside the Sunset Memorial Cemetery.
Over the last seven days, I've logged 30 miles…
lborkowski | August 24, 2010The Iowa-based company Wright County Egg is recalling 380 million eggs, which were sold to distributors and wholesalers in 22 states and Mexico, due to concerns about salmonella contamination. The eggs have been sold under several different brand names, so if you've got eggs in your fridge you can check FDA's page for info. Salmonella-infected eggs traceable to this producer may have caused as many as 1,200 cases of intestinal illness in at least 10 states over the past several weeks. A second producer, Hillandale Farms, has also issued a recall 170 million eggs that have been shipped to 14…
egrossman | August 23, 2010By Elizabeth Grossman
On August 17th the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) held the first public discussion of plans for its Gulf Worker Study - also called the Gulf Long Term Follow-up Study - designed to assess short and long-term health effects associated with BP/Deepwater Horizon oil disaster clean-up work. "Since the spill," said NIEHS director Linda Birnbaum opening the meeting, "NIEHS has assisted with safety training for more than 100,000 workers with courses taught in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. But now it's time to turn our attention to the potential…