June 16, 2008 The Pump Handle 1Comment

by revere, cross posted at Effect Measure Our post on what is behind the Right Wing attack on science drew a lot of attention and numerous comments. I’d like to emphasize some key points that may have gotten lost in the details (for the details, please see the original post). We’ll use climate change skepticism […]

June 13, 2008 The Pump Handle

FDA has been in the spotlight this week, and often not in a good way. Andrew Schneider at Secret Ingredients tracks the ongoing saga of the salmonella-tainted tomatoes. At WSJ’s Health Blog, Alicia Mundy reports that Congress has pressed more money on the FDA, and Theo Francis describes Senator Arlen Spector’s dissatisfaction with the agency’s […]

June 13, 2008 The Pump Handle 7Comment

by revere (cross posted at Effect Measure) If you want to see what difference environmental protection enforcement makes, just go to eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union. Or China. In the 1970s the US led the world in cleaning its environment and was consolidating its gains with well-staffed, motivated federal and state environment agencies. […]

June 12, 2008 The Pump Handle

Today’s Washington Post includes a great article by Lyndsey Layton that contrasts European Union and U.S. chemical laws and explores how EU actions might affect products on U.S. shelves. Here’s Layton’s explanation of EU law and the philosophy that guides it:

June 11, 2008 The Pump Handle 1Comment

by revere Originally posted at Effect Measure  You know any post that starts out . . . Gerardo Castillo, 30 years old, had worked at the Blommer Chocolate Co. for 9 years. His family wanted him to quite ever since an explosion in a roaster killed a fellow worker and injured another. He was fearful […]

June 11, 2008 The Pump Handle

DuPont was busted a couple of years ago by U.S. EPA for failing to report information about adverse health effects associated with exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA or C8), the chemical used to make Teflon and other non-stick surfaces.  Now it seems that DuPont is dutifully submitting information to EPA’s TSCA 8(e) docket and we can […]

June 11, 2008 The Pump Handle

Last week James Delayo, New York City’s chief crane inspector, was arrested on the charge of taking bribes to let cranes pass inspection. According to officials, these accusations aren’t directly related to the two deadly crane accidents that killed a total of nine people during the last three months. William K Rashbaum provides details in […]

June 10, 2008 The Pump Handle

Devra Davis’s book The Secret History of the War on Cancer (which we covered favorably here and here) advocates shifting our emphasis from treating cancer to preventing it – and, in particular, focusing on environmental factors implicated in the explosion of certain types of cancer. The book has raised some controversy, and a recent exchange […]

June 9, 2008 The Pump Handle

An attorney representing a large group of PFOA-exposed individuals sent a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and ATSDR Director Howard Frumkin, urging them not to delay any further the release of hazard information and risk assessments on the contaminant perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, a.k.a. C8).  Mr. Bilott was writing on behalf of residents who live near DuPont’s Washington […]

June 9, 2008 The Pump Handle 4Comment

OSHA’s Assistant Secretary Edwin Foulke flopped and fumbled during CBS’s 60 Minutes “Is Enough Done to Stop Explosive Dust?” which aired last night.  Correspondent Scott Pelley pressed Foulke to explain how the 50 OSHA inspectors who have been trained to identify combustible dust hazards will be able inspect the estimated 30,000 worksites with this dangerous volatile […]