In Italy, tomorrow’s International Workers Memorial Day events will include a MAI PIU’ AMIANTO (No More Asbestos) rally in Rome, promoted by the country’s trade unions.
After securing the necessary federal permits, a company that wants to build a 124-mile gas pipeline found itself blocked at the state level on Friday – Earth Day – when New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) denied water quality permits for the project.
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.
Just as a new report indicates a big jump in e-cigarette use among U.S. teenagers, a conservative think tank is arguing against FDA regulation of the devices, claiming that it will do more harm than good when it comes to public health.
Accurately measuring oil workers’ exposures to potentially toxic materials has long been problematic. Continuous sampling, in particular, was impossible because the equipment necessary for 24-hour sampling was too bulky to be delivered to remote sites in a timely manner.
Public health experts call the Final Rule Governing Workplace Exposure to Crystalline Silica issued by OSHA last week “a lifesaving public health victory.” Roofers say it will increase fall hazards.
Accurately measuring oil workers’ exposures to potentially toxic materials has long been problematic. Continuous sampling, in particular, was impossible because the equipment necessary for 24-hour sampling was too bulky to be delivered to remote sites in a timely manner.
Reactions to the final silica rule issued last week by OSHA have been sharply – and predictably – divided. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said that millions of workers “can literally breathe easier knowing that they will not have to sacrifice their lungs and their lives by working in deadly silica dust. The new OSHA silica rules—nearly 20 years in the making—will save hundreds of workers’ lives a year.”
