Ever been frustrated by an industrial hygienist who just didn’t seem to get it? The dude comes in with his air tubes, calibrators, gizmos and gadgets, but barely says a peep to the workers.  I’m not talking about the talented IH’s out there—who understand that talking to the exposed workers is an integral part of their job. No, I’m talking about […]
Updated below ( 6/18/08 ) Earlier this month I wrote in “Crashing Cranes, Deaths and the White House’s Edict” about the inexcusable inaction by the US Department of Labor and OSHA to address the decades-old problem of crane-related deaths. I am not alone in my disgust at this regulatory system, which yet again is failing to protect our nation’s […]
by revere, cross posted at Effect Measure Our post on what is behind the Right Wing attack on science drew a lot of attention and numerous comments. I’d like to emphasize some key points that may have gotten lost in the details (for the details, please see the original post). We’ll use climate change skepticism […]
FDA has been in the spotlight this week, and often not in a good way. Andrew Schneider at Secret Ingredients tracks the ongoing saga of the salmonella-tainted tomatoes. At WSJâs Health Blog, Alicia Mundy reports that Congress has pressed more money on the FDA, and Theo Francis describes Senator Arlen Spectorâs dissatisfaction with the agencyâs […]
by revere (cross posted at Effect Measure) If you want to see what difference environmental protection enforcement makes, just go to eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union. Or China. In the 1970s the US led the world in cleaning its environment and was consolidating its gains with well-staffed, motivated federal and state environment agencies. […]
Todayâs Washington Post includes a great article by Lyndsey Layton that contrasts European Union and U.S. chemical laws and explores how EU actions might affect products on U.S. shelves. Hereâs Laytonâs explanation of EU law and the philosophy that guides it:
by revere Originally posted at Effect Measure You know any post that starts out . . . Gerardo Castillo, 30 years old, had worked at the Blommer Chocolate Co. for 9 years. His family wanted him to quite ever since an explosion in a roaster killed a fellow worker and injured another. He was fearful […]
DuPont was busted a couple of years ago by U.S. EPA for failing to report information about adverse health effects associated with exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA or C8), the chemical used to make Teflon and other non-stick surfaces. Now it seems that DuPont is dutifully submitting information to EPA’s TSCA 8(e) docket and we can […]
Last week James Delayo, New York Cityâs chief crane inspector, was arrested on the charge of taking bribes to let cranes pass inspection. According to officials, these accusations arenât directly related to the two deadly crane accidents that killed a total of nine people during the last three months. William K Rashbaum provides details in […]
Devra Davisâs book The Secret History of the War on Cancer (which we covered favorably here and here) advocates shifting our emphasis from treating cancer to preventing it â and, in particular, focusing on environmental factors implicated in the explosion of certain types of cancer. The book has raised some controversy, and a recent exchange […]