This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality in the U.S. This one occurred on February 6, 2015 in Columbia, SC.
The story was about US immigration policy, but my-oh-my what it said about working conditions in poultry processing plants.
Delayed maintenance, production pressure and fatigue from too much overtime are factors that compromise workplace safety. These are some of the issues Steelworkers have on the bargaining table during the union’s biggest strike in 35 years.
Introduction of a new TSCA reform bill is expected some time this spring. In the meantime, The Pump Handle takes a look at what’s at stake in TSCA reform and why the outcome matters to those who care about protecting and improving occupational and public health.
Pesticide drift from a pear orchard sickened 20 farmworkers laboring in a neighboring cherry orchard. Many sought care, but the state’s health department wasn’t notified by the workers’ clinicians. It was a newspaper reporter who called authorities. Where were the clinician reports and why are they so important?
Exploring the Uberization of work; big retailers fight new OSHA injury reporting rule; Congress members introduce paid leave for federal workers; and John Boehner inadvertently makes the case for a minimum wage increase.
Government
Not an “accident”: Jason Strycharz, 40, suffers fatal work-related injury in Middletown, CT
This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality in the U.S. This one occurred on January 23, 2015 in Middletown, CT.
MSHA fought for 20 year to eliminate the use of an average over multiple shifts to characterize miners’ exposure to respirable coal mine dust. It seems strange now to read MSHA announce the success of a new coal dust regulation by reporting the annual average coal mine dust levels.
Environmental Health
New fracking study finds link between proximity to gas wells, negative health symptoms
As more research is emerging on the potential health effects of fracking, a new study — perhaps the largest to date of its kind — has found that people living near natural gas wells may be at increased risk for adverse health impacts, including skin and respiratory conditions.
In the week before his 2015 State of the Union address, President Obama took modest but important steps toward expanding US workers’ access to paid sick and family leave.