October 24, 2008 The Pump Handle 4Comment

by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure Everyone knows newspapers are struggling, which means cutting back on everything, including investigative reporting. So it is nice to acknowledge that there is still some wonderful reporting going on. A particular standout has been Susanne Rust and her colleagues at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, whose investigation of FDA’s handling of […]

October 23, 2008 The Pump Handle

By Nathan Fetty This is a slightly different post to the Pump Handle, mixing in some visuals. There’s a route I often drive here in West Virginia that, not surprisingly, takes me through a lot of coal mining territory. Along this route, coal miners are rushing to and from work, and big coal trucks scream […]

October 23, 2008 The Pump Handle

by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure With the advent of flu season the perennial question of the “next pandemic” is again making an appearance, although I think it is more of a cameo appearance than a substantive one. WHO, CDC and numerous state health departments are warning citizens about seasonal flu, still a major public […]

October 22, 2008 The Pump Handle

The FDA, already under fire in the wake of widespread food- and drug-contamination problems, is now facing criticism for its failure to adequately guard against conflicts of interest in its assessment of the safety of bisphenol A. FDA’s draft assessment of the chemical’s safety placed more weight on industry science – Sarah Vogel critiques the […]

October 21, 2008 The Pump Handle

The Union of Concerned Scientists has just released a report on the media policies at federal agencies, in order to assess “the degree of freedom with which science is communicated at federal agencies.” The nonprofit organization analyzed 15 regulatory and science agencies’ policies governing communication with the media and the public, and then surveyed a […]

October 21, 2008 The Pump Handle

By Ruth Long We, in the United States, generally feel safe when it comes to our water.  Most people turn on their faucets at home without so much as a thought to where the water comes from or whether it is safe to use (consume).  It would baffle us to no end if, for whatever […]

October 20, 2008 The Pump Handle

A long awaited OSHA proposed rule on crane safety was published in the Federal Register on Oct 9.  The current OSHA safety standards on cranes and derricks dates back to at least 1971, and these proposed changes have been in the works for 10 years.  I’ve criticized OSHA’s Asst. Secretary for the deadly delay in proposing this rule, and it is […]

October 17, 2008 The Pump Handle

Bloggers have more thoughts on the environmental and human-health impacts of the economic crisis: Sarah Rubenstein at WSJ’s Health Blog explains why a sick economy can make the case for health reform more compelling. Joe Paduda at Managed Care Matters suggests a way to improve the health insurance situation that doesn’t require a huge amount […]

October 17, 2008 The Pump Handle

I’m repeating myself here, but it’s for a good cause. At the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy at George Washington University School of Public Health, we’ve launched a multi-part study to understand the current policies surrounding scientists’ work at government agencies and to create recommendations for policies that support strong science and the […]