In a national survey by the Emergency Nurses Association, more than half of emergency-department nurses reported that theyâve been physically assaulted on the job. For many nurses, being assaulted is a recurring problem: Approximately one-fourth of the 3,465 respondents reported experiencing physical violence more than 20 times in the past three years. While all hospital […]
In the U.S. Senate last week, between the debate and the vote on judge Sonia Sotomayor to serve as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced S. 1580, on behalf of Senator Edward Kennedy, a bill to amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. As far as I can tell, its […]
Today’s New York Times editorials include a ringing endorsement of President Obama’s choice of David Michaels to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration: David Michaels, a research professor and occupational health expert at the George Washington University School of Public Health, seems just the right man to steer the agency back toward an emphasis […]
Injury Control & Violence
Oil industry fails to get serious on worker fatigue and community right-to-know
Exactly 2-years after the disaster, the five-member U.S. Chemical Safety Board voted unanimously to adopt its final investigation report on the March 2005 catatrophic explosion at the BP Texas City. Fifteen workers were killed and 180 others were injured from the blast. Among the many disturbing findings from the CSB’s investigation, was data showing that equipment operators had […]
More than 1,200 employees at an acrylic yarn factory in Jilin City, China have reported having troubling symptoms â a list that includes nausea, dizziness, numbness, convulsions, breathing difficulties, and temporary paralysis. Workers suspect fumes from a nearby chemical factory of causing their illness, but Chinese health officials claim itâs mass hysteria. The New York […]
by Richard Denison, cross-posted from EDF Blogs Today, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) unveiled its “10 Principles for Modernizing TSCA.”  Also today, the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition – of which EDF is a member – issued a news release and unveiled its 9-point “Platform for Reform of TSCA.” How do they line up? I’ll […]
I’m not one to keep good news under a bushel basket, but in deference to my perception of some Labor Department protocol, I kept waiting for an official announcement.  But, the news is too good to wait any longer: Secretary Solis has appointed Gregory R. Wagner, MD as the senior official at MSHA until an assistant secretary (Joe […]
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will tour the Federal No. 2 mine on Tuesday, Aug 4, one of a couple dozen mines operated by Patriot Coal. DOL’s press announcement said she’d be joined by officials from MSHA, the UMWA, WV Governor Joe Manchin and Congressman Alan B. Mollohan. The event includes the tour, examining a rescue chamber on the surface […]
This morning, I read MSHA’s fatality report for the April 7 electrocution death of Tadd M. Bainum, 36. Mr. Bainum was a supervisor, and was doing electrical-related work, but had NOT received appropriate training in electrical tasks. MSHA’s investigators noted: “Failure to train [him] in performing the task constituted more than ordinary negligence and is […]
It’s long past time to breathe some fresh air into the Department of Labor’s Solicitor’s Office (SOL). I was hopeful when President Obama nominated M. Patricia Smith in April to serve as the Solicitor of Labor, but since her May 7 confirmation hearing, her appointment is languishing in the Senate HELP committee. The Solicitor’s Office has about 600 employees, […]