EPA is accepting grant applications for a total of $3.4 million in funding for environmental education projects and programs. EPA expects to award approximately 100 grants ranging from $5,000 to $200,000 and will accept applications until December 15, 2009.
For the first time in nearly 40 years, EPA is proposing to strengthen the nation’s sulfur dioxide (SO2) air quality standard to protect public health. Power plants and other industrial facilities emit SO2 directly into the air. Exposure to SO2 can aggravate asthma, cause respiratory difficulties, and result in emergency room visits and hospitalization. People with asthma, children, and the elderly are especially vulnerable to SO2’s effects.
“It is time to change the feeble and antiquated rules that fail to protect workers on the job. We, the undersigned, demand that Congress pass the Protecting America's Workers Act now.”
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced Wednesday, November 18 that the committee approved two key Obama administration nominees during the morning’s Executive Session. David Michaels of Maryland to be an Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and Pamela S. Hyde of New Mexico to be Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services were approved and now head to the full Senate for confirmation.
The American Public Health Association (APHA), in a press statement yesterday, applauded the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for approving Dr. David Michaels as the new administrator of OSHA and urged the full Senate to quickly confirm his nomination.
Jeffrey Levi, Ph.D., executive director of Trust for America's Health (TFAH) testified before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health at their hearing entitled, “H1N1 Preparedness: An Update of Vaccine Production and Distribution.” According to a TFAH press release, Levi acknowledged the criticism associated with the current H1N1 vaccination program, but highlighted the progress authorities have made to efficiently distribute vaccine.
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) recently noted that falls in the transportation industry are covered under the American National Standard Institute (ANSI)/ASSE Z359 Fall Protection standards, including rolling stock, which refers to all vehicles, such as trailers, that move on a railway. The response is due to a recent request from a safety product manufacturer for interpretation of rolling stock as it applies to the Z359.0-2009 and ANSI/ASSE Z359.2-2007 Fall Protection standards, according to an ASSE press release.
The Drug Information (DIA) will host its 9th Annual Conference on Contemporary Pharmacovigilance and Risk Management Strategies from January 10-13, 2010, in Washington, DC, according to a DIA press release.
A program incorporating web-based education and other approaches can help reduce the high health and safety risks faced by truck drivers, reports a study in the November Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM), official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), according to an ACOEM press release.
RSS