February 23, 2007 The Pump Handle

Dr. Tony Robbins recent response to my draft on OSHA at 35 makes the important point that economic developments are often more powerful than public health initiatives as determinants of environmental and occupational illness. I agree with his thought that predictive models of exposure might facilitate anticipatory public health strategies rather than our more typical […]

February 23, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

Christopher Thomas needed to make some extra money. The 51-year old welder—also a husband and father of two—had begun work in the GMD Shipyard in Brooklyn Navy Yard about a week before. It was mid-morning on a Saturday—his day off—but Thomas had come into work anyway.

February 22, 2007 The Pump Handle

MSHA’s Assistant Secretary Richard Stickler revealed yesterday the agency’s new procedures for determining whether a work-related death “is to be counted as a reportable death in MSHA’s official statistics.”  In my post “Counting (or Not) of Workers’ Deaths,” I pushed Mr. Stickler to share the results of his review of MSHA’s fatality accounting system.  After […]

February 21, 2007 The Pump Handle

The state of Kentucky has been in the spotlight lately as legislation to protect social workers and mineworkers has failed to live up expectations. The state’s House of Representatives stripped funding from the Boni Bill, named after social worker Boni Frederick, who was killed when she took a child to a final home visit with […]

February 21, 2007 The Pump Handle

By David Michaels Sometimes reviewing records of past exposures to toxic materials can be pretty dangerous itself. AP carried the story: Records buried in a landfill used for radioactive waste may be dug up to determine whether cancer-stricken workers from a defunct nuclear-weapons plant qualify for compensation, a federal official said. At least a dozen […]

February 20, 2007 The Pump Handle

The Washington Monthly’s February issue features “Shafted” by Ken Ward, Jr., an article critiquing the Bush Administration’s mine safety policies.  The Charleston Gazette reporter provides some interesting historical mine safety facts, such as the 1891 federal law prohibiting the employment of workers younger than age 12, and offers something new when he juxtaposes the Clinton-era versus […]

February 14, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

By David Michaels Here at the Pump Handle, we’ve been trying to follow up some of the issues that Confined Space covered better than anyone else. One of these is chemical plant security. Many chemical plants are filled with explosive or toxic substances, making them appealing targets for terrorists. Congress considered bills to force chemical […]

February 14, 2007 The Pump Handle 2Comment

Since today is Valentine’s Day, it’s worth remembering the conditions that floral workers have to deal with. The Associated Press reports on the Colombian flower industry, where workers are exposed to heavy doses of pesticides, and current efforts to reduce those hazards. In other recent occupational health news: