Users of asbestos in the chlor-alkali industry do not want EPA to list asbestos as one of its priority chemicals. They claim it can be used safely. The industry’s record of controlling hazards does not support their assertion.
As the EPA begins implementing the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, the chemical industry is already busy pushing the agency to limit scrutiny of various widely used but highly toxic chemicals.
The fatal work-related injuries that killed Harold Felton, 36, could have been prevented had Alki Construction followed worker safety regulations.
As EPA begins work under the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, more striking divisions are emerging between what environmental health advocates and what chemical manufacturing and industry groups want from the law.
The most recent annual Federal OSHA evaluation report of Cal/OSHA highlights progress made in some areas, but continuing failure to meet several minimum federal benchmarks as well as requirements of California law. The underlying causes of these ongoing problems are chronic understaffing of field compliance officers and a lack of political will in the agency’s leadership.
The newly passed Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect those most vulnerable to chemical exposures. Exactly who it will protect and how the EPA will interpret this requirement remains to be seen.
The coal industry made wild claims about its inability to comply with a proposed MSHA regulation to protect miners from developing black lung disease. Two years after the rules took affect, we see the magnitude of the industry’s exaggeration.
Slate investigates a little-used Fair Labor Standards Act provision that could improve conditions for farmworkers; Syrian child refugees face exploitation in Turkey’s textile industry; OSHA cites a Wisconsin shipyard for exposing workers to high levels of lead; and researchers offer new insights into the effects of Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law.
Dallas and Houston have city ordinances in place to reduce the risk of violence perpetrated against convenience store clerks. NIOSH researchers found that few establishments comply with the law.
Three railroad workers were killed on June 29 when two BNSF locomotives crashed head-on into each other. “Positive train control” could have prevented the collision, but regulatory deadlines were delayed by industry lobbying.