Helping journalists, staffers stealthily collected dust samples from a busy hallway in an urban elementary school in Philadelphia. When sky-high asbestos results came back from the lab, the journalists, both Pulitzer Prize winners, faced an ethical and moral dilemma unlike any other they had encountered in their long careers.
The comment deadline on the Trump administration’s Title X gag rule is Tuesday, July 31. If implemented, it will severely damage a successful program that used to enjoy bipartisan support and that has helped millions of low-income people access high-quality reproductive healthcare.
Affordable Care Act
ACA Medicaid expansion tied to higher employment rates for Americans with disabilities
Another day and yet another study on the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and what we risk losing if Trump and the Republicans get their way. This time it’s a study on the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, which researchers say is actually working as an employment incentive for people with disabilities.
Last week, EPA held a hearing about its proposed rule to restrict the research it can use in regulating, and scores of public health advocates attended to speak out against it.
It’s not often that epidemiologists file lawsuits. But state epidemiologists who focus on work-related injuries and illnesses have stepped forward into litigation to preserve an OSHA injury reporting rule.
Over the last seven years, in response to high rates of worker deaths and injuries, OSHA launched two localized efforts to improve working conditions on dairy farms. Today, a new study finds the efforts made a positive difference, with farmers describing the intervention as a catalyst for reducing workplace dangers.
Worker Health & Safety
How workers die, five examples this year from quarries in Iowa, Texas, and Utah
Eleven workers employed in the mining industry have suffered fatal injuries this year. Five of the fatalities occurred at stone and sand quarries, including three in Texas.
Under Texas law, if a firefighter develops cancer it is presumed to be work-related. The City of Baytown doesn’t think the law applies to them and has filed a lawsuit to challenge a 22-year veteran firefighter’s claim for workers’ compensation.
A new Kentucky law will likely make it harder for miners to access black lung benefits; hundreds of organizations and individuals petition OSHA to develop a heat exposure standard; one of the world’s largest asbestos sellers starts stamping its products with Donald Trump’s face; and a new study finds corporate tax cuts don’t boost worker wages.
Affordable Care Act
Study: Affordable Care Act increased availability, coverage of mental health care
Another day, another study on the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and what we risk losing as the Trump administration continues its sabotage.