Over the next week, two Senate committees will hold confirmation hearings on senior Administration officials who could play key roles in worker health and safety policy. First, the Senate HELP Committee will meet tomorrow (May 7) to consider the nomination of M. Patricia Smith for Solicitor of Labor. I wrote previously about Ms. Smith’s efforts as NY […]
Today, the CDC reports 403 confirmed cases of H1N1 (the flu formerly known as “swine”) in the US, and the WHO reports a total of 1124 cases in 21 countries. There have been 25 deaths in Mexico and two in the US. The increase in numbers is largely due to cases that had already been reported as […]
By Angene Johnson After a recent dinner at my uncleâs house in Virginia, I finally had a chance to look at the March edition of National Geographic on my train ride back to Foggy Bottom (Washington, DC). Â As I flipped through the front of the magazine towards this monthâs cover article, on saving energy in […]
by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure There have been questions in the comments about where the CDC estimate of 36,000 to 40,000 influenza related deaths a year comes from. It’s a figure I’ve used a number of times here to say generally that regular old seasonal influenza may be a mild disease for some but […]
University of Maryland Law Professor Rena Steinzor called for fundamental changes to the role of OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in federal regulatory review, at a House Committee hearing held on April 30. The Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the Committee on Science and Technology has been examining OIRA’s functions and responsibilities, with the chairman stating: “…Though […]
Most of my blog reading this week has involved swine flu; feel free to add non-flu-related links to other worthwhile blog posts in the comments. (More flu links are welcome, too.) First, a few numbers: CDC has confirmed 141 cases in the US; Mexico reports that it has 358 confirmed cases; and the WHO reports […]
by revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure Just a brief note to remind everyone about the case definitions CDC is using for reporting on swine flu (or whatever name we collectively settle on). In order to make sure numbers are comparable from day to day and place to place we have to decide on criteria for […]
Weâve written before about the problem of contaminated water at the Camp Lejeune military base in North Carolina. Between 1957 and 1987, the baseâs water was contaminated with the industrial chemicals TCE and PCE, which are linked to a long list of health problems, including leukemia and neural tube defects in children exposed in the […]
Labor Secretary Solis announced today the next step in OSHA’s effort to propose a rule to protect workers exposed to the butter-flavoring agent diacetyl. The Small Business Administration and OSHA identified 13 “small-entity representatives” (SERs, defined by SBA as companies with 500 or fewer employees nationwide) to serve on the panel which allows them to review the […]
by Kas Joe Biden was on NBC earlier saying, âI would tell members of my family — and I have — I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now.â As examples of confined places, he mentions planes and subways. Mr. Vice President, would you ride the train to Delaware tonight? Say it ainât so, Joe. […]