The second annual Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety report is now online.
Artisanal brick kilns in developing countries burn a lot of fuel and create a lot pollution. Organizations are promoting and arranging financing for alternatives.
Wage theft at is in the news; funding’s getting cut off for a program that can help first responders know what chemicals they might be exposed to while responding to industrial fires; and California’s Occupational Health Branch warns outdoor workers about the risk of Valley Fever.
A few recent pieces worth a look
Affordable Care Act
What happens to the poorest residents in states declining the Medicaid expansion?
What will Obamacare mean for people living below the poverty level? It depends on whether their states have accepted the Medicaid expansion and agreed to run their own exchanges.
After years of hearing about alarming increases in states’ obesity rates, it was nice to get some good news: CDC reports that the percentage of low-income preschool children classified as obese has declined in 19 states.
Fast-food workers hold one-day strikes for better wages; President Obama issues an executive order directing federal agencies to cooperate on chemical-facility risks; and a new study finds the potential for dangerous levels of formaldehyde exposure with a popular hair-straightening treatment.
A few recent pieces worth a look
Throughout a meeting in which it criticized OSHA action on several workplace hazards, the Chemical Safety Board was careful to acknowledge the progress OSHA had made in addressing the hazards, the factors that impede effective OSHA action, and the preventability of explosions and other chemical incidents that kill workers and leave families and communities devastated.
A Massachusetts farmworker and California postal worker collapsed while working and died; Manhattan McDonald’s workers and Chicago Dunkin’ Donuts workers walked off the job to protest excessive heat. The Senate confirms Obama’s nominees for Secretary of Labor and EPA Administrator, while advocates call on those two agencies to do more to protect healthcare workers and farmworkers.