January 23, 2009 The Pump Handle 1Comment

First, some welcome breaking news from Amie Newman at RH Reality Check: President Obama has rescinded the Global Gag Rule, which banned giving federal funds to internal groups that provide abortions or informations about the procedure. Jacob Goldstein at WSJ’s Health Blog is also on top of the latest health news, reporting that Obama has […]

January 23, 2009 The Pump Handle 1Comment

by Ellen Smith  A supervisor was hurt in a roof fall December 10, 2008 at a six-employee anthracite mine that owes more than $100,000 in delinquent civil penalties, MSHA  records showed.  The foreman at S & M Coal Co.’s Buck Mountain Slope  in Dauphin County, Pa., met loose roof while he was working alone in a heading,  according […]

January 22, 2009 The Pump Handle 1Comment

By David Egilman On September 15, 2008 pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly pleaded guilty to committing the crime of off-label marketing of Zyprexa, an antipsychotic.  Lilly has profited handsomely from the marketing of this drug, making over $30 billion. The Department of Justice (DOJ) claims that the $1.42 billion dollar fine agreed to by Lilly as […]

January 22, 2009 The Pump Handle 1Comment

Last week The Pump Handle featured an article by Carole Bass entitled Why is Black Lung back?  In response, a former coal miner offers his views on why coal miners in the U.S. continue to develop and suffer from this occupational lung disease that is 100% preventable.  He writes: Thank you for your article on […]

January 21, 2009 The Pump Handle 3Comment

I was on the National Mall yesterday when Barack Obama took the oath of office and gave his inaugural address, and the mood was both delighted and solemn. The densely packed crowd alternated between loud cheers and reverent silence as Obama spoke. Our new president was blunt in his description of our current situation, reminding […]

January 19, 2009 The Pump Handle

Tomorrow’s Inauguration events are the main attraction this week, but thousands of people also turned out along train tracks over the past several days to cheer President-Elect Obama as he made his way from Chicago to Washington in a historic rail car. The journey was noteworthy not only because it symbolically repeated the trip Lincoln […]

January 16, 2009 The Pump Handle

There were lots of good posts this week about health challenges around the world: Marjan Siadat at Detroit Receiving provides a grim look at the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe.   Amie Newman at RH Reality Check reminds us that having a child remains one of the biggest health risks for women worldwide. Michael Clemens at Global […]

January 16, 2009 The Pump Handle 1Comment

The Charleston Gazette’s Ken Ward reports: “Less than a week before leaving office, the Bush administration is preparing to issue an emergency health advisory for drinking water polluted with the toxic chemical C8.  …EPA plans to recommend reducing consumption of water that contains more than 0.4 parts per billion of C8, according to a draft […]

January 16, 2009 The Pump Handle 1Comment

In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary-Designee Tom Daschle, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) urged the new administration to emphasize the health of the workforce. Laura Walter writes in EHS Today: ACOEM’s workforce-centered health reform plan is built on four principles that include investing in preventive health programs for […]

January 15, 2009 The Pump Handle

OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) cleared yesterday’s OSHA’s advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on the butter-flavoring agent diacetyl.  The OIRA website indicates the review was completed on 1/14/09, with a recommendation for some change(s) to the document. Diacetyl is associated with serious lung impairment in exposed workers, including the debilitating disease […]