Antibiotic-resistant infections kill 23,000 people in the US and sicken two million each year, and the problem is getting worse, warns a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency ranks 18 microorganisms according to their threat to health and the economy, and categorizes three as urgent.
Food Safety & Nutrition
Senator Gillibrand introduces “Safe Meat & Poultry Act,” recognizes hazards for plant workers
Senator Gillibrand’s “Safe Meat & Poultry Act” includes one short provision that really caught my eye. USDA would need to rely on OSHA’s determination on what is an appropriate line speed to ensure the health of plant workers is protected.
Nearly half of 2010 US births were covered by Medicaid, and nearly half of US pregnancies are unplanned. Women’s health prior to conception influences the health of their babies, but it’s been hard for non-pregnant low-income women to qualify for Medicaid in most states. The Medicaid expansion will help more low-income women access healthcare before they become pregnant and can improve the health of their babies in coming years.
The Department of Labor has finalized a rule extending minimum-wage and overtime protections to home care workers.
A fourth official formerly associated with Massey Energy was sentenced to 3 ½ years in prison for conspiring to thwart federal mine safety laws. Massey Energy was the operator in 2010 of the site where the worst coal mine disaster in 40 years occurred.
Respirators have improved since the Ground Zero response and recovery effort exposed workers to airborne contaminants; the Government Accountability Office criticizes the data underlying USDA’s proposed poultry rule; and Jersey City will consider paid-sick-leave legislation.
The Obama Administration, at the urging of chemical manufacturers, withdrew two EPA actions proposed under the Toxic Substance Control Act. The measures would have provided the public more information about the hazards associated with certain chemical substances.
Public Health Practice
Worth reading: 12 years after 9/11, poverty and the brain, and 14 lifesaving ideas
A few recent pieces worth a look
Construction crews working in a cloud of dust takes place thousands of times every day in the U.S. Here’s just one example from my community.
Public Health Practice
Hazards behind a chicken dinner: US poultry workers ask USDA and OSHA to protect their safety
Nearly 50 billion pounds of chicken (about eight billion chickens’ worth, or 37 billion pounds of poultry products) were processed in the United States in 2012 by about half a million workers, many of whom handle more than 100 birds per minute. This labor involves standing in chilled processing plant facilities, cutting, gutting, scalding, defeathering […]