The long-time residents of Iron County, Wisconsin who make up the Iron County Joint Impacts Mining Committee say the open-pit iron mine planned for the Penokee Hills of northern Wisconsin – a range that extends into Michigan where it’s known as the Gogebic Range – will bring much needed good jobs and economic development. Such […]
Last year, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights passed by the state’s legislature. Yesterday, he signed a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights that is watered down from its original version but takes the important step of extending overtime protections to nannies and other in-home employees.
Public Health Practice
Worth reading: Lessons from getting shot, the mental strain of poverty, and dengue in Florida
A few recent pieces worth a look
A new Health Wonk Review compiled by Peggy Salvatore is now up at the Healthcare Talent Transformation blog.
The Labor Department took the first major step this month to protect the health of many U.S. workers who are exposed to respirable crystalline silica. Workers in the mining industry, however, are not addressed by the Department’s action.
Agrochemical bans have passed or are under consideration in some countries where young, previously healthy agricultural workers are developing chronic kidney disease at alarming rates; a study of cleanup workers who worked on Gulf of Mexico beaches and marshes following the 2010 BP oil spill finds “significantly altered blood profiles” associated with higher risk of some cancers; and OSHA cites a waste company and its temp labor provider following a workers’ death from heat stress.
This month, a new law took effect in Texas making it a felony to assault healthcare workers and other staff working in an emergency room. Another law prohibits tanning facilities from allowing customers under age 18 from using tanning beds and lamps.
Antibiotic-resistant infections kill 23,000 people in the US and sicken two million each year, and the problem is getting worse, warns a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency ranks 18 microorganisms according to their threat to health and the economy, and categorizes three as urgent.
Food Safety & Nutrition
Senator Gillibrand introduces “Safe Meat & Poultry Act,” recognizes hazards for plant workers
Senator Gillibrand’s “Safe Meat & Poultry Act” includes one short provision that really caught my eye. USDA would need to rely on OSHA’s determination on what is an appropriate line speed to ensure the health of plant workers is protected.
Nearly half of 2010 US births were covered by Medicaid, and nearly half of US pregnancies are unplanned. Women’s health prior to conception influences the health of their babies, but it’s been hard for non-pregnant low-income women to qualify for Medicaid in most states. The Medicaid expansion will help more low-income women access healthcare before they become pregnant and can improve the health of their babies in coming years.