by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure Energy may be the topic du jour but it’s been the 800 lb. gorilla in the room for, oh, a couple of centuries. In a sense it’s responsible for one of the greatest occupational health catastrophes of the 20th century, and a new report from CDC demonstrates once again […]
TO:  All worker health and safety advocates, seekers of justice and protections for working people, and friends of healthy work environments:  The American Public Health Association’s (APHA) OHS Section has not, and will not, forget about the deadly and disabling illnesses caused by workplace exposure to the butter flavoring agent diacetyl. Our solidarity with workers is demonstrated through our scientific research, teaching and policy […]
In Brooklyn, a bus driver refused to give a transfer to a man who hadnât paid â and the man responded by stabbing the bus driver to death. Edwin Thomas, 46, had an 18-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter. He was driving the B46 route when he was killed. In the New York Times, Robert […]
After my post yesterday “More Delays on OSHA’s Overdue Crane Rule,”  I thought more about why OSHA’s decision to extend the comment period really perturbs me.  Some might say “we’re in the middle of the Bush-to-Obama Transition. It’s not like an additional 45 days will make that much difference.” Here’s why it does make a difference:
When OSHA finally published on October 9 a proposed rule to protect workers using cranes and derricks, I thought (maybe) we’d turned a page on at least one inexcusable rulemaking delay.  But no. OSHA’s acting assistant secretary, Thomas M. Stohler, signed off last week to drag out this rulemaking even longer.  In a Dec 2 Federal Register […]
The Charleston Gazette’s Ken Ward amazes me with his tenacious attention to worker safety, his watchdog instincts, and his exceptional commitment to follow-up.  One of Ward’s practices that I especially appreciate is his detailed reporting of worker fatalities in West Virginia. Take for example, the death in March 2008 of Ricky Collins Sr., 44, a truck driver for […]
In most of the worker deaths we cover, itâs clear what could have been done to prevent the tragedy â fall protection, cleanup of combustible dust, better crane inspections â and what kinds of regulations are needed to keep such disasters from occurring again. In the death of Jdimytai Damour, though, I canât summon much […]
From the President who brought you “Clean Skies (cough)” and “Healthy Forests (not)” comes a slashing of the “Buffer Zone” rule which is supposed to prohibit mining companies from dumping waste rock—created by mountaintop removal to extract coal—within 100 feet of streams. As we all know from 3rd grade science class, these small streams flow into larger streams, […]
by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure A story on the wires about a paper in the journal Epidemiology this month (November) confirms what other work has shown: those beautiful flowers we buy in American florist shops have an added price attached to them, paid by the children of Central America. Epidemiology is one of the […]
Nearly 1,300 people have been killed in the Mexican city of Juarez so far this year, and journalists are among those targeted by the mafia. On November 13, Armando Rodriguez, a 40-year-old reporter for El Diaro de Juarez, was gunned down as he sat in his car in his driveway. Two other reporters have received […]