Flavoring Workers' Lung (Popcorn/Diacetyl) Does Orville Redenbacher Know if Popping Popcorn at Home is Dangerous?
May 29, 2007 The Pump Handle

By David Michaels “The cooperation of ConAgra Foods and the EPA has yielded a comprehensive understanding of butter flavor emissions for consumers.” – Patricia Verduin, Senior Vice President Product Quality & Development, ConAgra Foods, Inc. in a November 29, 2004 letter to Paul Gilman, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA […]

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Flavoring Workers' Lung (Popcorn/Diacetyl) Anatomy of a Disaster in One Flavor Factory
May 29, 2007 The Pump Handle 2Comment

By David Michaels We’ve been writing for the past few months about U.S. regulatory agencies’ failure to take meaningful action on diacetyl, a toxic component of artificial butter flavor, despite having been aware of its risks since at least the start of this decade. Now, mounting evidence suggests that some flavor manufacturers have known about […]

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Worker Health & Safety Occupational Health News Roundup
May 23, 2007 The Pump Handle

Two stories in the news this week draw attention to contract workers, who are sometimes overlooked when it comes to workplace health and safety. Legislation proposed by U.S. Representative Al Green would enable federal prosecutors to pursue criminal cases against employers whose willful violations of safety rules are linked to deaths of contract workers (not only of […]

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Environmental Health EPA Asbestos Panel Nominees: 2 Days Left to Comment
May 22, 2007 The Pump Handle

The public (that’s you) have until May 24 to comments on EPA’s list of nominees for its Science Advisory Board panel on asbestos.  David Michaels has weighed in on this issue  and is submitting his comments today to EPA.  Another organization providing input is the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).  Writing on behalf of NRDC, senior scientist Jennifer Sass […]

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Regulation Workers’ Comp Peril for a Double Amputee
May 21, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

The sub-headline in Andrew Wolfson’s story tells it all about the perils of workers’ compensation for injured and ill workers: “It’s either meager benefits or nearly impossible suit.”  The Louisville-Courier Journal reporter’s May 19 article describes both the physical and economic challenges faced by William D. “Billy” Parker, who lost both arms four months ago in a drywall shedding […]

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Regulation Haunting Tale from an MSHA Inspector
May 20, 2007 The Pump Handle

“That mine scared me to death,” is the headline for the Charleston Gazette‘s story by stellar reporter Ken Ward.  He relays the experience of MSHA inspector, Minness Justice, who was responsible for inspecting A.T. Massey’s Aracoma Alma No. 1 mine in the three month’s preceding the coal mine fire on January 19, 2006, which killed miners Don Bragg, 33 and […]

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Mining $60 Penalty for Sago Mine Operator?
May 18, 2007 The Pump Handle

When MSHA issued its 190-page report last week on the January 2006 Sago Mine disaster, most of the press focused on the agency’s conclusion that a lightning strike was the “most likely ignition source” for the explosion.  Readers should not forget however, that 29 coal miners were underground at the time of the explosion.  Only one (Mr. Terry […]

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Regulation YouTube Demo of Mine Refuge Chamber
May 17, 2007 The Pump Handle

Watch a 2-minute video (here) showing one variety of portable chamber designed to provide a safe refuge for underground miners during an emergency.  The equipment was displayed on Capitol Hill on May 16, 2007 as part of the House Committee on Education and Labor’s oversight of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). 

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Worker Health & Safety Occupational Health News Roundup
May 16, 2007 The Pump Handle

Remember the Capitol tunnel workers who’ve been fighting for safer working conditions after years of being exposed to asbestos on the job? (They’ve been featured in previous roundups here, here, and here.) They stirred up Congressional interest in the safety hazards in the Capitol tunnels, and Congress put pressure on the Architect of the Capitol, […]

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