The Pump Handle - A Water Cooler for the Public Health Crowd

Environmental Health Beware of Congressmen who claim they are cutting red tape, health and safety protections are on the chopping block

September 26, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 1Comment

Funny how a bill touted by Members of Congress as one that will “cut red tape” will actually add a dozen new steps before a rule to protect people’s health or safety is put in place. Last week, several Republican and Democratic Senators and Representatives did just that when they introduced the “Regulatory Accountability Act” […]

Environmental Health Ten years later World Trade Center dust has not yet settled: NYCOSH conference highlights persistent gaps in regulation

September 23, 2011 Elizabeth Grossman 2Comment

by Elizabeth Grossman It’s now ten years since the streets of lower Manhattan roiled with clouds of toxic dust and debris from the horrific events of September 11, 2001, but it was clear from discussions and presentations at the September 16 conference hosted by the New York Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) that […]

Labor Rights No way to treat a guest (worker) or U.S. workers for that matter

September 22, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 2Comment

At a recent congressional hearing called “Workforce challenges facing the agricultural industry,” one Minnesota employer explained why he relies on “guest workers” to fill his seasonal jobs: “…few Americans who are seriously seeking work will apply for, accept, and remain in seasonal and intermittent employment, especially in the agricultural sector. Many who are hired do […]

Infectious Diseases & Vaccines World Rabies Day: Taking notice of a neglected disease

September 21, 2011 The Pump Handle 3Comment

By Kim Krisberg Just a few days ago, an event in the small town of Lilburn, Georgia, may have saved the life of someone living half a world away. It wasn’t a black-tie gala or a celebrity telethon. It wasn’t even about a disease that most of us here in the United States think much […]

US Healthcare System The human face of disability – and one of the doctors assessing it

September 20, 2011 Liz Borkowski, MPH 6Comment

If you hold a job right now, here’s something to think about: If you became disabled and were no longer able to work, how would you pay your bills? If your disability were due to an on-the-job injury or an occupational illness, you might be able to get workers’ compensation benefits. But what if you […]

APHA Annual Meeting Occupational health and safety leaders recognized by American Public Health Association

September 19, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH

The winners of this year’s American Public Health Association’s (APHA) recognition awards for achievement in occupational health and safety illustrate the diversity of talent among those committed to ensuring workers’ rights to a safe workplace. Martin Cherniak, MD is a clinician and researcher at the University of Connecticut; Amy Liebman is with the Migrant Clinicians […]

Injury Control & Violence Teenage workers lose legs at work, their employer didn’t have workers’ comp insurance

September 16, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 13Comment

[Update (10/11/2011) below] Phyllis Zorn of the Enid (OK) News and Eagle reports that the employer of the two teenage workers who lost legs last month in a grain auger failed to maintain workers’ compensation insurance. She writes: “Oklahoma Department of Labor has fined the company $750 for failing to comply with workers’ compensation law, […]

Public Health Practice Worth Reading: Bioterror, rat killers, and probiotic yogurt

September 14, 2011 Liz Borkowski, MPH

A few of the recent pieces I’ve liked: Maryn McKenna at Superbug: Terror and Bioterror: 9/11 to 10/4 (This is the first in a series on the bioterrorism fears – some of which were realized – that followed the 9/11 attacks.) Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times: India’s night rat killers: Hunting shadows that scurry Scicurious […]

Injury Control & Violence A peek at health and safety for temporary workers

September 13, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 3Comment

March 2, 2011 may have seemed like any other workday for David Clark Jr., 51, when he arrived at the Lee Creek potash mine in Aurora, NC at 5:50 am to start his shift. Clark and a small crew would be excavating a large ditch near the R9 roadway and burying a 22-inch diameter polyethylene […]

Environmental Health How much did federal officials know about air quality at Ground Zero?

September 12, 2011 Liz Borkowski, MPH 10Comment

As Jori Lewis notes in the case study about World Trade Center recovery workers’ health and safety, those who showed up at Ground Zero on the days and weeks after 9/11 got some misleading information about the risks they faced. Most notably, the EPA issued reassuring statements about the air quality – when, according to […]