Last year, Caitlin O’Dell’s 27 year-old husband was crushed between two pieces of mobile mining equipment. A proximity detection device could have saved his life, but the coal industry insists the devices need more study before mine operators are required to install them.
While OSHA has never been the most robustly funded federal agency, its efforts and regulatory authority have helped prevent countless deaths, injuries and illnesses on the job. However, recent budget cuts and future budget cut proposals threaten those gains, and it’s no stretch to say that worker health and safety hang in the balance.
Houston Fire Captain William Dowling spent seven weeks in intensive care recovering from injuries suffered in one of the deadliest fires in Houston history. Many more months of rehabilitation await him.
The federal government shutdown has put a halt on most workplace safety inspections. It’s another important public health program adversely affected by the spending showdown.
The Labor Department took the first major step this month to protect the health of many U.S. workers who are exposed to respirable crystalline silica. Workers in the mining industry, however, are not addressed by the Department’s action.
This month, a new law took effect in Texas making it a felony to assault healthcare workers and other staff working in an emergency room. Another law prohibits tanning facilities from allowing customers under age 18 from using tanning beds and lamps.
Food Safety & Nutrition
Senator Gillibrand introduces “Safe Meat & Poultry Act,” recognizes hazards for plant workers
Senator Gillibrand’s “Safe Meat & Poultry Act” includes one short provision that really caught my eye. USDA would need to rely on OSHA’s determination on what is an appropriate line speed to ensure the health of plant workers is protected.
A fourth official formerly associated with Massey Energy was sentenced to 3 ½ years in prison for conspiring to thwart federal mine safety laws. Massey Energy was the operator in 2010 of the site where the worst coal mine disaster in 40 years occurred.
The Obama Administration, at the urging of chemical manufacturers, withdrew two EPA actions proposed under the Toxic Substance Control Act. The measures would have provided the public more information about the hazards associated with certain chemical substances.
Construction crews working in a cloud of dust takes place thousands of times every day in the U.S. Here’s just one example from my community.