NPR and the Center for Public Integrity have teamed up to produce an excellent and chilling series of stories about workers suffocated to death in grain bins — a major and well-known hazard in agriculture.
Today is World Water Day, and this year the celebration focuses on The Year of International Water Cooperation. UN Water reminds us that rivers often flow through multiple countries, and actions by one country or community can affect their neighbors’ ability to meet their water needs.
As the list of US jurisdictions with paid sick leave laws gets longer, members of Congress introduce a bill that would require paid sick leave nationwide.
President Obama nominates Thomas E. Perez for Secretary of Labor; a new study finds that Camp Lejeune water supplies had even more contamination that previously reported; and temp workers in China face worse conditions than permanent employees.
If you’ve followed the link from the New York Times Magazine’s letters page, welcome to The Pump Handle!
CDC Director Tom Frieden held a press briefing to warn about carapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), which are increasing at an alarming rate.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and Alabama Appleseed interviewed 300 Alabama poultry workers, and find that many have musculoskeletal problems linked to fast-moving processing lines. That problem could get even worse if a proposed USDA poultry rule to increase maximum line speeds takes effect.
On March 12, 2003, the World Health Organization issued a global health alert for an atypical pneumonia that was soon dubbed SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome. Ten years later, the International Health Regulations have been revised, but the US isn’t doing enough to maintain its surveillance and response capabilities.
President Obama will likely nominate Thomas Perez, currently assistant US attorney general for civil rights, to head the Department of Labor; a new report describes exploitation of undocumented workers; and children working in India’s coal mines face on-the-job hazards while missing out on education.
Haiti’s cholera epidemic began in late 2010, following the earthquake that devastated the country. Now, the country is requesting international funds for a 10-year-plan that can not only eliminate cholera transmission, but strengthen public health overall.