January 25, 2007 The Pump Handle 2Comment

Yesterday, Jordan Barab mothballed his blog Confined Space, and workers and worker advocates lost a powerful online resource. The good news is that we’ve gained a political resource, since Jordan’s departure from the blogosphere is due to his new staff position on the US House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. Still, we’ll all […]

January 24, 2007 The Pump Handle

Cross-posted at Effect Measure by Revere Tonight The Reveres are putting on their party clothes and headed for Jordan Barab’s place, Confined Space. Truthfully, this party is also a wake, because Jordan is closing up shop tonight and has invited everyone over (that means you, too) to celebrate his last post. We’ll be gathering in […]

January 24, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

By David Michaels NIOSH scientist Patricia Sullivan has just published a very important study that reminds us (as if any reminder were needed) that there really is no safe level of asbestos exposure. The study looked at the causes of death among workers involved in mining, milling and processing asbestos-containing vermiculite in WR Grace’s plant […]

January 24, 2007 The Pump Handle

by Revere, cross-posted from Effect Measure The University of California Regents (their Board of Trustees) is facing a thorny issue: should researchers in the University of California system be banned from taking research support from the tobacco industry? Two conflicting imperatives, one, unfettered freedom to pursue research wherever it leads; the other, the need for […]

January 22, 2007 The Pump Handle 4Comment

The Science Blogging Conference, held this past weekend at UNC-Chapel Hill, wasn’t just for bloggers. Many of the attendees, particularly science students and educators, came to learn how they could use blogs, and some of them launched their own blogs over the course of the weekend. The journalists in attendance seemed to be immersed in […]

January 21, 2007 The Pump Handle

Mining companies opposed to a health standard to protect underground miners from diesel particulate matter (DPM) finally had their day in court.  The morning proceeding featured remarks about tail-wagging dogs and coal-mine canaries, presented before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  Industry attorneys urged the Court to vacate […]

January 19, 2007 The Pump Handle 2Comment

There have been a number of thoughtful and challenging comments on the future of safety and health posted in the past week. I want to acknowledge some of these and also to suggest more discussion about the principles that might help choose which potential actions to increase worker protection should get priority attention.

January 19, 2007 The Pump Handle

Lisa Stiffler at Dateline Earth reports on the newest research on PBDEs (levels of this flame retardant in household dust correlate to levels in breast milk) and gives an update on Washington state’s proposed PBDE ban. Jake Young at Pure Pedantry has an update on Eli Lilly’s attempts to block the online distribution of documents […]

January 18, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

By David Michaels Earlier today, President Bush took another step to limit the ability of regulatory agencies to protect the nation’s health and environment. The President signed amendments to Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, further centralizing the control the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has over agency activities, and making it more difficult for public […]

January 18, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

By Liz Borkowski  There’s an article making its way around the internet warning that a lobbying reform law currently in the Senate will require bloggers who criticize Congress and reach audiences of more than 500 to register and file quarterly reports with Congress — or risk jail time. Mike Dunford of The Questionable Authority decided […]