A Massachusetts farmworker and California postal worker collapsed while working and died; Manhattan McDonald’s workers and Chicago Dunkin’ Donuts workers walked off the job to protest excessive heat. The Senate confirms Obama’s nominees for Secretary of Labor and EPA Administrator, while advocates call on those two agencies to do more to protect healthcare workers and farmworkers.
Education
Sequestration claims another public health program: The Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance program
When I asked Teresa Schnorr why we should be worried about the loss of a little-known occupational health data gathering program, she quoted a popular saying in the field of surveillance: “What gets counted, gets done.”
The US Chemical Safety Board has been criticized for not doing more to press recipients of its recommendations to implement them. At a public meeting later this month, the Board will consider classifying OSHA’s response to several recommendations as “Open-Unacceptable.”
Injury Control & Violence
Third day on the job a deadly one for 22 year old worker, Texas company has OSHA history
It was only his third day on the job when Christopher Michael Cantu, 22, suffered a fatal work-related injury. The company has a history of violating workplace safety regulations, including ones that may have contributed to the young worker’s death.
Environmental Health
Study: Industrial food-animal workers test positive for livestock-associated MRSA
In a recent study comparing workers at industrial livestock operations and those employed at antibiotic-free livestock operations, researchers found that industrial workers were much more likely to carry livestock-associated strains of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly and scarily known as MRSA.
After a temp worker was killed in August 2012 at Bacardi’s bottling facility in Jacksonville, Florida, OSHA proposed willful violations and a $192,000 penalty. Did the rum producer own up and pay the penalty?
Injury Control & Violence
Ceremonies honor the 19 fallen firefighters, wisdom of battling wildfires questioned
While solemn ceremonies are held to honor the 19 firefighters killed while battling a wildfire, others question the wisdom of trying to save homes built in a tinderbox.
The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee hears about regulatory shortcomings related to the Texas fertilizer plant explosion; 70 clothing retailers agree to a legally binding plan for safety inspections at Bangladesh factories supplying their clothing; and Hyatt and the UNITE HERE union reach a tentative agreement.
The Supreme Court’s decisions on marriage equality and the Voting Rights Act got a lot of media attention last week, but several of the Court’s other decisions also have implications for public health — and they came down on the side of employers, real-estate developers, and drug manufacturers.
Cancer
British Columbia proposes protections for silica-exposed workers, foot dragging in US continues
A construction industry trade association in British Columbia urged the province’s regulatory body to issue a proposed rule to protect silica-exposed workers. The proposal was issued this month. Where’s the U.S. equivalent of a group of high-road construction employers insisting on rules to protect workers’ health and safety?