Two months ago, I applauded OSHA for announcing that its SBREFA panel meeting on a draft diacetyl proposed rule would be open to the public. Today, I feel schnookered. OSHA hosted its teleconference-meeting yesterday (5/19) and today (5/20) with specially-selected small employers, but failed to provide meaningful notice to allow the public to participate. Is a […]
Last week, a 44-year-old soldier on his third deployment to Iraq opened fire at his U.S. military base near the Baghdad International Airport, killing five service members and wounding three others. Sgt. John Russell had been sent to the combat-stress clinic at Camp Liberty by his superiors, and two of the five people he killed […]
by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure You probably have never heard of the Chemical Safety Board (unless you are a specialist in that area — or you read The Pump Handle!). The CSB is an independent government agency that has a pretty low profile. Its mission, as its name implies, is to investigate industrial chemical accidents. The […]
Remember when California tried to set tighter limits on vehiclesâ CO2 emissions than what the federal government required? (They petitioned for a waiver to set their own pollution standards, which theyâre allowed to do under the Clean Air Act if they get federal permission.) The Bush administration EPA kept insisting that the Clean Air Act […]
by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure Five more schools in the New York City borough of Queens have closed because of suspected swine flu cases. Eleven schools have now been closed there and hundreds of students are down with a flu-like illness. Parents are understandably concerned, the more so because not many days ago Mayor […]
The number of confirmed swine flu cases continues to rise: 4,298 in the US, 2,446 in Mexico, and a total of 7,520 worldwide in 34 countries. Much of the increase is just because labs are working through the samples that had been sent to them previously, but recent news from New York shows that the […]
Three Indiana men â Stoney Powell, 45 and Roy Mathis, 60 of Wheatfield, and William Decker, 48 of Scottsburg â were killed near Searcy, Arkansas on Wednesday, May 14 in an explosion at a fuel storage facility. The three men worked for the Kentucky-based firm C&C Welding.  Losing a loved one is difficult in any circumstance, but […]
Before the year is out, the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) will have at least one vacancy, and Mark Griffon, a current member of the Federal Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, wants to be appointed to it. Current CSB member Gary L. Visscher‘s term expires in November. Appointment on the CSB requires a […]
In honor of the Washington, DC Area Bicyclist Association and their annual Bike to Work Day (Friday, May 15) by Reut Tenne A couple of days ago, I announced to a few friends that I regret not participating in the District of Columbia’s (DC) bicyclistsâ movement. I am not sure that there is such a thing, but I […]
by Rena Steinzor, cross-posted from CPR Blog With his attractive family and a phalanx of top aides in tow, Professor Cass Sunstein had a cordial, 45-minute hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee yesterday. He was introduced by former student and current Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) who praised Sunstein as a teacher, […]