The Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) confirmed yesterday that it has referred evidence related to the Crandall Canyon disaster to a federal district attorney for a possible criminal investigation. Murray Energy was assessed a $1.34 million civil penalty on July 24 for violations related to the massive ground failure which took […]
by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure McCain wants to go full speed ahead for nuclear power (that’s a maverick’s way of dealing with climate change?) and Obama seems to feel friendly to it, too, as long as the waste disposal issue can be solved, satisfactorily (which it doesn’t seem it can be, but that’s another […]
On Friday, August 29, Carolyn Merritt, 61, the former chair of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (2002-2007) passed away after a valiant battle against metastic breast cancer. Advocates for workers’ safety will remember Ms. Merritt as an outspoken expert who minced no words when she insisted that work-related injuries and fatalities are PREVENTABLE. Tammy Miser […]
Last month, Congress passed and the President signed major legislation strengthening the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Washington Postâs Annys Shin described it this way: The measure ⦠represents the most significant expansion of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) since it was created in 1973. It also marks a fundamental shift in the federal […]
Bloggers give us the dirt on the VP picks announced this week. Thereâs already info on McCainâs running mate, Sarah Palin: Gristmill gives us a snapshot of Palinâs record on energy and environmental issues, and compiles statements from and about her on these topics. Keith Johnson at Environmental Capital focuses on her position on expanding […]
by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure IÂ used to joke that the only plan the Bush administration had for dealing with air pollution was to put all the free radicals in jail. If you don’t know what a free radical is, it is a highly reactive form of a chemical, usually involving an unpaired electron. Radicals […]
Will someone just go and put up a sign “Proudly Screwing Workers: 2,827 Straight Days” on the Labor Department building? Late yesterday I learned that Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Asst. Secretary Leon Sequeira and her other political minions sent a proposed rule to the Federal Register which will change the process by which OSHA and MSHA assess workers’ risk to health-harming […]
Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that as many as 300,000 combat veterans have suffered at least one concussion, according to Pentagon estimates. Victims of these injuries can suffer a range of symptoms, from dizziness and persistent headaches to hearing problems and memory loss. Lizette Alvarez write: These symptoms, which may be subtle […]
by Tom Bethell (Posted with permission from The Mountain Eagle, Whitesburg, KY) Just when you think youâve seen it all, somebody in the Bush administration comes up with another way to compromise somebody elseâs rights. The latest example is Richard Stickler, director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. MSHA has been much in the […]
Hmph!  I just read on the OMB/OIRA website that they have completed their review of Labor Secretary Chao’s proposal to change the way that OSHA and MSHA assess workers’ risk of health hazards. The OIRA website notice says their review was completed on August 25, and it was approved “consistent with change.”Â