OSHA’s final rule on Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline may not be so final after all. During a hearing yesterday by the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections entitled, “Reviewing Recent Changes to OSHA’s Silica Standards,” its chairman, Republican Congressman Tim Wahlberg (MI-07), hinted that Congress may attempt a legislative end run around the regulation.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a final rule to improve protections for workers exposed to respirable silica dust. The rule will curb lung cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease in America's workers by limiting their exposure to respirable crystalline silica.
Recent research is focusing new attention on an asbestos-like mineral, blamed for staggering rates of a deadly cancer in Turkey, that also is found in the rocks and soil of 13 Western states.
The U.S. Geological Survey has identified 95 sites where the mineral, erionite, exists.
OSHA has scheduled a public hearing on the agency's proposed rule to amend its existing exposure limits for occupational exposure in general industry to beryllium and beryllium compounds. The hearing will be held Feb. 29, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
No one disputes that smoking is the major cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the difficulty breathing that strikes so many Americans in their twilight years. A new study by Duke University and CPWR researchers, however, reminds us that smoking is far from the only cause, and we still have a lot of work to do if we are going to protect construction workers.
OSHA announced on August 6, 2015 a proposed new standard that would lower workplace exposure to beryllium, a heavy metal that can cause lung disease. The proposal would apply to an estimated 35,000 workers covered by OSHA.
Silicosis is a potentially fatal but preventable occupational lung disease caused by inhaling respirable particles containing crystalline silicon dioxide (silica). Quartz, a type of crystalline silica, is the second most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust and workers across a wide range of occupations and industries are exposed to silica-containing dusts.
Greensboro, NC city employees and contractors may have been exposed to asbestos while working toward the demolition of War Memorial Auditorium, according to a recent report in the region’s newspaper, The News & Record.
EPA has announced the funding of eight grants which will be awarded to U.S.-based organizations as a way of promoting public health through the reduction the exposure to indoor pollutants such as radon, as well as other environmental factors in homes, schools, offices and public buildings that may trigger lung diseases like asthma.