Under Texas law, if a firefighter develops cancer it is presumed to be work-related. The City of Baytown doesn’t think the law applies to them and has filed a lawsuit to challenge a 22-year veteran firefighter’s claim for workers’ compensation.
Cancer
Houston firefighters demand protection from carcinogens, Trump signs law to establish firefighter cancer registry
Houston firefighters don’t think their city is doing enough to protect them from carcinogens they encounter on the job. A newly authorized national firefighter cancer registry could be a place for firefighters to record data on protections provided (or not) by their municipalities.
U.S. flight attendants experience a higher risk of several forms of cancer, leading researchers to call for more study on how to minimize the occupational exposures and conditions they suspect are contributing to the disparity.
Firefighters report they are more concerned about getting cancer from their job than about the other health dangers they face.
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.
OxyChem imports about 300,000 pounds of asbestos annually. Health groups allege the company failed to report to EPA their significant use of asbestos.
A historical look at the ‘radium girls’ and their legacy of worker justice; OSHA’s website for receiving injury and illness logs not accepting submissions; California farmworkers sickened by pesticide after Trump’s EPA reverses course on a probable ban; and former Walmart employees file class-action lawsuit for pregnancy discrimination.
A commentary by CUNY School of Public Health professor Franklin Mirer describes the ongoing interference by Congress on the science behind the designation of formaldehyde as a carcinogen. His commentary, “What’s Science Got to Do with It?” is timed perfectly for this weekend’s Marches for Science.
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution last night urging Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy to warn the public about risk of asbestos exposure.
For four decades the United Steelworkers had their sight focused on an OSHA rule to protect workers who are exposed to beryllium. The metal can cause a horrible respiratory illness and is a carcinogen. Last week, the union’s persistence paid off.