NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard blogged on the NIOSH website about the health prevention aspects of the recently enacted healthcare reform legislation. Here’s what he had to say:
EPA is proposing to add 16 chemicals to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list of reportable chemicals, the first expansion of the program in more than a decade.
Rescue workers continued the extremely risky job early today of removing explosive methane gas from the Upper Big Branch Mine coal mine in West Virginia where at least 25 miners died two days ago; four miners are still missing as of this posting.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the death of 25 miners yesterday at the Upper Big Branch South Mine in Whitesville, W.Va.:
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis used the historic setting of Chicago’s famed Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, on the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois, to unveil the U.S. Department of Labor’s “We Can Help” campaign, according to a recent press release. Solis committed to helping the nation’s low-wage and vulnerable workers, and reminded them that her agency’s personnel will not waver in protecting the rights guaranteed by law to every worker in America.
Eighty-five percent of Americans characterize their lifestyle as somewhat or very healthy, according to a survey released by the American Public Health Association (APHA).
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) unveiled results from its compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) safety study that found consumers may be able to use CFLs more broadly and safely than previously believed or understood, according to a recent press release. UL’s CFL Safety Study found no fire or shock hazards in CFLs when used in light fixtures, lighting controllers, and switches traditionally used with incandescent light bulbs.
Proposed legislation may give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) funding to assess the health and safety implications of nanotechnology in everyday products and develop best practices for companies who employ nanotechnology, according to a post on ORC Worldwide’s web site.
A settlement with Honeywell International Inc. estimated to be worth more than $10 million will ensure that cleanup of the remaining areas of the Allied Chemical and Ironton Coke Superfund Site in Ironton, Ohio, will move forward, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in a recent press statement.
As residents of New England recover from flooding and associated damage from the recent multi-day storms that swamped the region, OSHA urges workers and members of the public engaged in cleanup activities to be aware of the hazards they can encounter and the necessary steps they should take to protect themselves, according to an agency press release.