February 1, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 3Comment

The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production (LCSP) is known for challenging the status quo. Its scientists and policy analysts refuse to accept we have to live in a world where parents are worried about toxic toys, or companies feel forced to choose between earning profits and protecting the environment. Leave it to LCSP researchers to […]

January 25, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 10Comment

OSHA proposed penalties totaling nearly $1.4 million against two Illinois companies for violations of safety standards that led to the deaths of three workers last summer in grain elevators. Haasbach LLC received 24 violations, including 12 classified as willful, for failing to take steps to workers from engulfed 30 feet deep in corn. Alex Pacas, […]

January 20, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 8Comment

The construction trade association Associated Building Contractors (ABC) was one of 150 business groups that received a letter from Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) in December, asking for their ideas about federal regulations “that have negatively impacted job growth.” ABC responded with a list heavy on opposition to labor protections, such as requirements for prevailing wage […]

January 6, 2011 The Pump Handle

Liz and Celeste are on vacation, so we’re re-posting some content from our old site. By Celeste Monforton, originally posted 11/4/09 I admit it: I have a soft spot for hockey players. It probably stems from my Michigan upbringing, including my family’s winter-time ritual of making an outdoor hockey rink, and the annual trek from […]

December 21, 2010 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 1Comment

By the end of 2011, the Labor Department’s worker safety agencies expect to issue six new rules to better protect workers from on-the-job hazards. In the Department’s regulatory plan issued yesterday, OSHA projects it will finalize four rules while MSHA expects to complete two new standards. As I’ve written before, these plans quickly become stale […]

December 20, 2010 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 6Comment

Updated 12/21/2010 Every two weeks, OSHA issues a mini-newsletter called Quick Takes about the agency’s activities and other worker health and safety news. The twice monthly electronic publication highlights 8-12 items and nearly always includes at least one report of a major enforcement action. I looked back at the OSHA Quick Takes from early 2010 […]

November 26, 2010 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 2Comment

Our friend and APHA OHS colleague Mark Catlin has assembled on YouTube an amazing collection of more than 500 environmental health and safety film clips. The video collection contain footage dating back to the 1920’s, with loads WWII-era films produced by the U.S. military, Public Health Service and companies promoting tires, asbestos, oil, steel, tetraethyl […]

November 24, 2010 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 5Comment

A second, more powerful explosion today rocked the Pike River coal mine in Greymouth, New Zealand. This event forced government and company officials to declare that the 29 miners are surely dead. The initial blast occurred on Friday, Nov 19 deep in the mine and rescue attempts had been thwarted by dangerous gas levels. The […]