If combustible dust played a role in the January 20 disaster at International Nutrition which killed two workers, will Labor Secretary Tom Perez get the ball rolling on a regulation to address this deadly hazard?
Workers at a Walmart-contracted warehouse walk off the job in sub-zero temperatures and demand heaters, while Walmart faces a federal complaint for retaliating against striking workers; lobbyists mount campaigns against worker centers; and OSHA offers new resources for hospital safety.
In the wake of the WV water contamination, the public dialogue revolves around the need for more information and disclosure about the potential health effects of toxic chemicals. A newish OSHA regulation does just the opposite for workers exposed to chemical hazards.
“There’s a lot we don’t know about preterm birth and we know even less about the disparities in those births.” Those are words from Ondine von Ehrenstein, who recently examined the links between occupational exposures and preterm birth rates among Hispanic women.
In 2012, a Frontline and Pro Publica investigation of the cell (or wireless) tower industry found that between 2003 and 2010 the average fatality rate for the US tower industry was more than 10 times greater than that of the construction industry. A January 6, 2014 story by KUOW reporter John Ryan about the death […]
Environmental Health
Let’s not call it a “spill,” thousands of gallons of MCHM in water supply of 300,000 West Virginians
This is probably too much to hope: the water contamination emergency in WV be recognized as the latest example of the inadequacies in our nation’s policies on toxic chemicals.
ProPublica investigates the hazards of temporary work, while the death of a temp worker at an Amazon warehouse underscores the severity of the problem; three California counties are recognizing nail salons with worker-friendly practices; and Bangladesh charges the owners of Tazreen Fashions factory, where 112 workers died in a fire, with culpable homicide.
It’s time for public institutions to set a high bar in selecting firms to provide them with goods and services. Off limits should be companies with repeat or willful violations of OSHA regulations.
Government
No tsunami of regulations, proposals to improve safety for miners languish in White House review
The Obama Administration continues to let proposals to improve worker safety waste away in internal review.
Flavoring Workers' Lung (Popcorn/Diacetyl)
Flavored java, coffee bean workers, and deadly lung disease
MMWR describes cases of bronchiolitis obliterans diagnosed in two individuals who worked— not at a microwave popcorn plant—-at a Texas coffee bean processing company. (Re-post, by Celeste Monforton)