Among the victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks are workers who responded to the scene of the disaster and suffered severe – in some cases, fatal – health problems as a result. Those who showed up at the World Trade Center site for rescue, recovery, and cleanup operations were exposed to a range […]
Deriding government bureaucrats seems to be a popular pasttime among certain politicians and talk-radio hosts, so it’s nice every so often to remind ourselves about the important and valuable work our civil servants do. An article by Patricia Sullivan in the Washington Post provides a glimpse into the world of one longtime federal-government employee who’s […]
After two teenagers’ legs were severed while they were working near a grain auger, I wrote last month about the White House’s role in holding up a proposed Labor Department rule to address hazards for young workers. After a 9-month delay by the White House, the Labor Department released the proposed rule last week and […]
American Public Media’s Marketplace program is taking a look at “the economic legacy of 9/11” this week, and this morning’s story focused on security spending in the private sector. Marketplace’s Jeff Horwich highlighted an unexpected example: security for grain elevators.
Last Friday when the White House told Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson to drop her plans to revise the national ambient standard for ozone, it seemed like just another example of President Obama caving to business interests. Others were quick to remind me though that bowing to business is not the half of it: […]
The Department of Labor’s Labor Day 2011 website features some interesting historical info on this holiday, and an address from Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis that focuses on job creation. What I found particularly interesting was an op-ed by Secretary Solis – one of many linked from the site’s News page – published Friday in […]
A study just published in The Lancet compares the incidence rates of cancers in firefighters who worked at the World Trade Center site during and after the 9/11 attacks to the rates in firefighters not exposed to the disaster or its aftermath. Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center and the […]
Pictures of Hurricane Irene’s destruction are circulating and making many of us realize we’re lucky to still have our homes and power lines intact. There’s also one Irene-related problem that’s invisible to the naked eye: raw sewage in waterways. Here’s the Washington Post’s Darryl Fears on local contamination:
In a week that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) rallied his Members with a plan to repeal “job-destroying regulations,” the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) provides strong evidence to debunk the House Republican’s rhetoric. In “Saving Lives, Preserving the Environment, Growing the Economy: The Truth about Regulation,” CPR scholars provide concrete examples of profound […]
by Elizabeth Grossman On Sunday August 21, a cleaning process designed to make tomatoes safe for customers eating marinara sauce, pizza topping, and canned tomatoes resulted in a release of chlorine dioxide gas that sent 43 workers at the Pacific Coast Producers plant in Woodland, California to area hospitals. According to Pacific Coast Producers vice […]