The American Public Health Association’s annual meeting is taking place this week in San Francisco, with the theme of “Prevention and Wellness Across the Life Span.”
Workers employed at call centers in Bangalore, India often work in the middle of the night because their callers are largely from the U.S. and 11 time zones away. Their health may be adversely affected by their sleep-interrupting schedule, but also by the job requirements that strip them of their identity.
Earlier this year, federal officials put their foot down: New Hampshire could no longer use federal preparedness money to supports its poison control efforts. The directive sent state lawmakers scrambling to find extra funds. Without new money, New Hampshire callers to the Northern New England Poison Center would get a recording telling them to call 911 or go to the emergency room.
A few recent pieces worth a look.
Workers from 28 Walmart stores go on strike against a notoriously anti-union company; New York City considers requiring employers to provide paid sick leave; and clothing retailer Kik offers $1,930 in compensation per victim of the Karachi factory fire that killed 259 workers.
Environmental Health
Public Health Classics: Collecting children’s baby teeth to identify lead poisoning
The baby teeth of children collected by their teachers, allowed Dr. Herb Needleman to make the link between lead poisoning and lower IQ scores.
Environmental Health
Is coalition bombing behind a 17-fold increase in birth defects in an Iraqi city?
Authors of a new study report a 17-fold increase in the incidence of congenital birth defects at an Iraqi hospital, and draw a link between this increase and lead and mercury contamination from bullets and bombs.
At Palm Beach Groves in Lantana, Fla., a small, seasonal business that ships fresh citrus nationwide, employees have regularly voted between getting a raise or keeping their employer-based health insurance. Health coverage always wins, as many employees’ ages and pre-existing conditions would have made it nearly impossible to get coverage on their own. But a new report finds the Affordable Care Act is on target to help prevent this scenario.
The workers’ compensation system doesn’t always work as intended. The new Workers’ Comp Hub has information for injured workers and for those advocating to improve the system.
Forty years ago today, the Clean Water Act was enacted. Since then, US waterways have gotten cleaner – but some people seem to be forgetting why we need regulation like this in the first place.