US Government | The Pump Handle

Injury Control & Violence Houston, we have a workers’ rights problem: Profile of a worker justice center in Texas’ biggest city

July 9, 2012 The Pump Handle 3Comment

Last month, more than 70 ironworkers walked off an ExxonMobil construction site near Houston, Texas. The workers, known as rodbusters in the industry, weren’t members of a union or backed by powerful organizers; they decided amongst themselves to unite in protest of unsafe working conditions in a state that has the highest construction worker fatality rate in the country.

Environmental Health Investigative reporters team up to expose national disgrace: US coal miners still get black lung

July 9, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 2Comment

Three of my favorite investigative journalists have worked together to expose a national disgrace: coal miners in the U.S. still develop black lung disease.

OIRA Obama’s regulatory czar should pay attention to the uncertainty he creates

July 5, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH

President Obama’s regulatory czar is missing a fundamental component of regulatory uncertainty. It’s pretty simply, make a deadline, stick with it, or explain why it will be missed.

Injury Control & Violence Austin project successfully integrating workers’ rights into larger sustainability goals

June 18, 2012 The Pump Handle 2Comment

When most of us think of sustainability and construction, the usual suspects probably come to mind: efficient cooling and heating, using nontoxic building materials, minimizing environmental degradation — in other words, being green. But in Austin, Texas, a new effort is working to expand the definition of sustainability from the buildings themselves to the hands that put them together.

Environmental Health Frack sand mining boom: silica dust, air quality, and human health

June 14, 2012 Elizabeth Grossman 3Comment

To understand the current boom in frack sand mining, the place to look is Wisconsin. What’s happening in Wisconsin also shows how limited current information is regarding potential air quality and environmental health effects this industrial activity, which is a source of silica dust – a known human health hazard.

Cancer Diesel exhaust a human carcinogen concludes WHO’s cancer panel

June 12, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 3Comment

A panel of scientific experts convened by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded today that diesel engine exhaust is carcinogenic to humans. Previously, the classification for diesel exhaust had been “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

Injury Control & Violence Upper Big Branch Families plead for Congressional action on mine safety

June 11, 2012 The Pump Handle 1Comment

A delegation of family members who lost loved ones in Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine met with senators and representatives of both political parties to urge them to pass legislation for stronger penalties for upper-level officials who violate safety laws.

Injury Control & Violence Government transparency groups ask Labor Dept to restore info scrubbed from website

June 8, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH

Open government groups, like the Sunlight Foundation, wrote to Labor Department officials asking them to re-post on its website documents related to a recently withdrawn proposed regulation on child labor.

Cancer Tony Mazzocchi: a man who hated work and loved labor

June 6, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH

Tony Mazzocchi was a visionary who was in the forefront of the labor movement’s efforts to secure protections for working people, including strong workplace health and safety laws. He was inducted this week in the Labor Department’s Hall of Fame.

Food Safety & Nutrition Public health officials urge USDA to withdraw plan to “modernize” poultry inspection, worker and food safety will suffer

May 31, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 2Comment

The Obama Administration’s quest to appease businesses’ claims about burdensome regulations awoke a giant in the form of the civil rights, public health and workers’ safety communities. From the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Council of LaRaza, to the American Public Health Association, the feedback on USDA’s proposal to “modernize” the poultry inspection process is loud and clear: scrap the idea because faster line speeds will take a grave toll on poultry plant workers.

Liz Borkowski, MPH	Celeste Monforton, DrPH,
Kim Krisberg	Garrett Brown