April 13, 2007 The Pump Handle

Revere at Effect Measure updates us on the medical community’s latest plea for Libya to release the six health care workers unjustly sentenced to death for “deliberately infecting” children with HIV, and links to Physicians for Human Rights’ campaign to get the U.S. government to exert more pressure on Libya to free the nurses and […]

April 12, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

By James Celenza Driving a private car is probably a typical citizen’s most “polluting” daily activity, yet in many cases, individuals have few alternatives forms of transportation. Thus urban planning and smart growth are imperative. — American Academy of Pediatrics Ambient Air Pollution: Health Hazards to Children Public Transit is an Environmental Health Issue. The […]

April 11, 2007 The Pump Handle

If you only read one article on the issue of occupational health and safety this week, make it Ray Ring’s “Disposable Workers of the Oil and Gas Fields,” published last week in High Country News. “The core of the story can be classified as straightforward investigative coup,” editor John Mecklin explains in an accompanying piece . “In […]

April 10, 2007 The Pump Handle

By David Michaels Labor health advocates in California are supporting legislation banning diacetyl, the flavoring chemical implicated in numerous cases of bronchiolitis obliterans, a debilitating lung disease, among workers in the food industry. The ban may never occur, but by demanding it we are getting closer to protecting workers and the public from this very […]

April 9, 2007 The Pump Handle

In 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 was posted on April 1; my apologies for not linking to it sooner.) It gives short writeups on 59 workplace deaths, including the following: […]

April 6, 2007 The Pump Handle

The Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. EPA was big news this week; Justin Pidot at Gristmill takes an in-depth look at the ruling’s implications, while Kevin Grandia at DeSmogBlog scrutinizes the stances of the parties opposing it. Then, of course, there was Bush’s recess appointment of Susan Dudley to head the Office of Information […]

April 5, 2007 The Pump Handle 3Comment

When President Bush nominated Susan Dudley to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) last year, her nomination didn’t make it out of the Senate committee. (See Celeste Monforton’s post on Dudley’s underwhelming performance before the committee.) Yesterday, Bush avoided Senate opposition by giving Dudley a recess appointment. As head of OIRA, Dudley will […]

April 4, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

This week, health advocates are drawing attention to some important safety hazards. The Senate just passed a resolution proclaiming the first week in April National Asbestos Awarenss Week and urging the Surgeon General, as a public health issue, to warn and educate people that asbestos exposure may be hazardous to their health. Meanwhile, EPA released a new pamphlet educating mechanics about […]

April 4, 2007 The Pump Handle

By David Michaels The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), through which the FDA collects money from drug makers in exchange for faster reviews of their new products, gets skewered again – this time in a piece by Christopher Moraff in the American Prospect Online. (We’ve been covering the issue here at TPH; more materials […]