A celebrity chef has joined Harvey Weinstein in news headlines about sexual harassment in the workplace. A work environment that tolerates sexual harassment makes workers ill. It’s worker safety issue in need of much more attention.
News headlines about 9 million deaths in 2015 due to pollution were eye catching. The Lancet Commission’s Report on Pollution and Health goes much deeper than point estimates. The authors argue that governments, foundations, and medical societies pay too little attention to the local and global consequences of pollution.
OSHA
“A gift to the construction industry”: catchy quotes from Court of Appeals argument on OSHA’s silica standard
Appeals Court judges Merrick Garland and David Tatel probed and cajoled a courtroom filled with attorneys who were either challenging or defending OSHA’s 2016 silica standard. I share some of my favorite quotes from the September 26 proceeding.
The Supreme Court is not interested in hearing former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship’s claim that he didn’t get a fair trial.
Injury Control & Violence
Trump’s mine safety nominee defends MSHA inspectors, calls silicosis “unacceptable”
Pres. Trump’s nominee to head the nation’s mine safety agency testified today at a Senate confirmation hearing. David Zatezalo answered questions about an epidemic of lung disease among coal miners and the adequacy of MSHA’s inspection force.
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced this week that he cannot support President Trump’s nominee to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Will Manchin be able to convince any Republican colleagues that Trump’s pick is not right for the job?
Millions of cubic yards of household debris from Hurricane Harvey is piling up in southeastern Texas. An NPR story following Hurricane Katrina paints a picture of what happens when it is carried away to landfills.
The Trump administration’s deregulatory zeal has infiltrated the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Trump’s appointee is insisting that a safety examination performed while miners are working is as protective as one performed before miners begin their work.
Scholars at research institutions and non-profit organizations had a busy year publishing their findings on the impact of work on health. The final section of “The Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety” offers our picks for the best publications from the peer-reviewed and grey literature.
Journalists played an important role last year in bringing attention to the human toll of workplace hazards. One section of “The Year in US Occupational Health & Safety” is devoted to the best reporting from national and regional reporters.