On March 17, OSHA will begin the public hearing phase of its rulemaking to improve workplace safety standards for cranes and derricks used in construction.  More than 30 individuals or organizations have notified OSHA of their intent to give testimony at the hearing, including several who also participated in the year-long negotiated rulemaking (NegReg) process used in 2003-2004 to […]
In 2007 and 2008, 12 construction workers were killed on the Las Vegas Strip. The Las Vegas Sunâs Alexandra Berzon wrote an excellent series on the breakneck pace of construction in Las Vegas, which creates deadly conditions, and the disappointing response from the stateâs OSHA. Now, a bill has been introduced in the Nevada Assembly […]
Today, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies regarding scientific integrity. It begins: Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration on a wide range of issues, including improvement of public health, protection of the environment, increased efficiency in the use of energy […]
by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure I’m sure it will be years before we have cleaned up all the garbage — literally and figuratively — from the Bush administration’s Environmental “Protection” Agency. The notoriously conservative DC Appeals Court, in a unanimous decision, did its part recently when it declared the Bush EPA’s standards for air particulates […]
Thereâs been a lot of news about Obama appointees this week: Mike Dunford at The Questionable Authority is furious about the secret holds placed on the nominations of John Holdren (for Science Advisor) and Jane Lubchenco (to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and urges readers to âraise more hell over this issue.â Maggie […]
Last fall, we warned that a Supreme Court decision on medical device companies’ liability would remove a powerful incentive for device manufacturers to ensure their products’ safety. In that case, Riegel v. Medtronic, the Court ruled that as long as devices are FDA-approved, consumers injured by the devices can’t sue the manufacturers for liability in state […]
Or is it: what wouldn’t we know without investigative journalist Andrew Schneider??? Would the town Libby, Montana mean anything? How about the words Zonolite, Diacetyl, or GRAS?  These terms and places are familiar because of Andy Schneider, the Pulitzer Prize (and other) award winning reporter, who’s an integral part of our public health community. Schneider’s worked recently for papers in Seattle, St. Louis, […]
The escalating drug-cartel violence in Mexico is especially dangerous for those trying to govern and enforce the law. Drug traffickers demanded that Ciudad Juarez Police Chief Chief Roberto Orduña Cruz should resign, and promised to kill a police officer every 48 hours. After Orduñaâs deputy, four other police officers, and a prison guard were murdered, […]
As I skimmed through my RSS feeds and Above the Fold this morning, I noticed several stories about fish and the marine environment. Most of itâs bad news, as usual, but thereâs a glimmer of promise mixed in there, too: Researchers from NOAA and Washington State University have found that some combinations of pesticides often […]
New awards for 2008 books are coming out, and we’re proud to announce that David Michaels’ Doubt is Their Product: How Industry’s Assault on Science Threatens Your Health has won recognition from both the Library Journal and the American Association of Publishers. Library Journal’s Gregg Sapp has selected Doubt is Their Product as one of […]