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It’s a tradition for APHA’s Occupational Health & Safety section to invite top officials from OSHA, MSHA, and NIOSH to a “Talking Heads” session at each APHA annual meeting. The session “The Future of Occupational Safety and Health in the Obama Administration” featured Jordan Barab, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA; John Howard, Director of NIOSH; and Gregory Wagner, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy of MSHA. The room was packed with an audience eager to hear how this new leadership plans to address worker health and safety issues that haven’t been getting enough attention in recent years.
John Howard, who was also head of NIOSH for several years during the Bush administration, characterized the change in administrations by saying that “it’s gratifying to be in the position of having your science wanted.” He emphasized that green jobs are not enough, but that “green and safe is what we need.” He also reminded the audience that there are many hurdles that have been put in place over the previous decades by the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the government, so progress will still take lots of time and effort.
Greg Wagner told the crowd that it’s time to put the “H” of “health” back in MSHA, and noted that part of the reason the regulatory process takes so long is that there are many opportunities for public involvement. He called for greater participation from miners and urged the audience members to get involved, too.
Jordan Barab rattled off a list of things OSHA has already done: fined BP a record $87 million, issued several egregious violations (five will be issued by the end of the month, compared to four during all of last year), and ended the quotas for alliances and voluntary protection programs, to allow the agency to focus on enforcement. He said OSHA will be hiring more staff to deal with inspections, standards, and whistleblowing; holding a conference on immigrant workers; and turning attention to the problems of violence, stress, and fatigue.
The audience had a lot of questions and comments about how the agencies should go about rulemaking, enforcement, and recruiting the next generation of occupational health and safety professionals:
Any day now, the leaders at DOL, MSHA and OSHA should be letting us know formally their plans for proposing and issuing worker health and safety protections. This formal notification comes in the form of the Department’s semi-annual regulatory agenda, which pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, is supposed to be published in April and October. Secretary Solis’ first reg agenda was issued (a little late) on May 11, and I’m sure her second agenda is almost ready to hit the streets.
When the Labor Secretary’s first agenda suggested that MSHA didn’t foresee any substantial regulatory action on respirable coal dust until 2011, I griped. I also complained about the OSHA plan, including the absence of a timetable for proposing a rule on combustible dust and offering instead an unnecessary and delay-inducing pre-rule step. OSHA proceeded with that disappointing plan.
I admit it: I have a soft spot for hockey players. It probably stems from my Michigan upbringing, including my family’s winter-time ritual of making an outdoor hockey rink, and the annual trek from Detroit to Nantias Sport Shop on Wyandotte Street in Windsor, Ontario to buy new hockey skates and gear for my male siblings. Brothers Roger and Dave wore (Bobby Orr’s) Boston Bruin jerseys while brother Tony favored Chicago Blackhawks’ (Keith Magnuson’s) colors.*
Last week’s KidsPost—a favorite WashPost section at my house—featured a hockey history lesson that merged worker safety and labor rights. In Masks: saving goalies for 50 years, I was reminded that 50 years ago, hockey goalies (professionals and amateurs) never wore protective face masks. My brothers and their friends in the 1970’s didn’t wear any head protection at all, following the example set by the pros. In fact, you were considered a sissy if you suggested wearing a helmet was a smart thing to do.
OSHA has announced the largest fine ever in its history: $87 million for BP’s safety violations and failure to correct hazards at the Texas City refinery where a 2005 explosion killed 15 workers and injured 170. The New York Times’ Steven Greenhouse explains:
Federal officials said the penalty was the result of BP’s failure to comply in hundreds of instances with a 2005 agreement to fix safety hazards at the refinery, the nation’s third-largest.
According to documents obtained by The New York Times, OSHA issued 271 notifications to BP for failing to correct hazards at the Texas City refinery over the four-year period since the explosion. As a result, OSHA, which is part of the Labor Department, is issuing fines of $56.7 million. In addition, OSHA also identified 439 “willful and egregious” violations of industry-accepted safety controls at the refinery. Those violations will lead to $30.7 million in additional fines. …
A series of investigations attributed the March 23, 2005, explosion to overzealous cost-cutting on safety, undue production pressures, antiquated equipment and fatigued employees — some who worked 12 hours a day for 29 straight days.
In other news:
“How can it be safe with this line so fast?” …. “Come to the plant and you will see.” …”when a visitor comes they slow it down and when they leave they speed it up.” “The line is too fast.” “People say their hands hurt a lot.” ….”Many people are injured and then they fire them.”
These are the voices of 455 meatpacking plant workers in Nebraska — not 100 years ago in Sinclair Lewis’ time, but from surveys conducted in 2007 and 2008 by the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest. In their 94-page report, The Speed Kills You, the group set out to “assess the health and safety conditions in the Nebraska meatpacking industry from the perspective of the workers who live it every day.” According to the Nebraska Dept of Agriculture and the Nebraska Cattlemen Association, the State ranks first in red meat production, with red meat exports generating more than $1 Billion.
Following a series of news reports, Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns (now U.S. Senator) and the Legislature passed in 2001 the “Non-English Speaking Workers Protection Act,” reinforcing fundamental labor rights, such as the right to a safe workplace, adequate facilities (restrooms) and the ability to use them, complete and understandable information about terms of employment, etc. The Nebraska Appleseed report, however, found:
Since 1988, at least 58 miners from Minnesota’s Iron Range have died of mesothelioma, reports Jessica Van Berkel in a two-part series in the Minnesota Daily. Workers from these taconite mines also report high rates of silicosis, which is caused by dust from quartz or crystalline silica.
The University of Minnesota has received $4.9 million to study the possible link between mesothelioma and dust from taconite mining. Researchers have found spotty records of exposures in the mines, and miners don’t receive the results of the twice-yearly exposure measurements by the Mine Safety and Health Administration. And MSHA hasn’t updated its exposure limits for respirable dust containing asbestos and silica to make it more protective.
In other news:
by Bill Hoyle
A 1987 New York Times investigation of OSHA’s 17-year performance revealed chronic failures to issue new regulations and enforce existing ones. [See "Is OSHA Falling Down on the Job?" by William Glaberson, Sunday, August 2, 1987] OSHA lacked the staff capacity to issue new rules. The system of chemical regulation was broken. Announced fines grabbed headlines only to be routinely reduced to a small fraction of the original amount.
Fast forward 22 years. Despite the strides taken by Jordan Barab, it is largely déjà vu all over again.
Underground coal mine operators can use conveyor belts, which do not satisfy the requirements set forth for the approval of flame-resistant conveyor belts (30 C.F.R. Part 14) if the conveyor belts have been warehoused, but are not in active use before December 31, 2009, according to an MSHA guidance document. The guidance document, dated Oct. 7, 2009, defines the term, “placed in service.”
Congressman George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, will hold an oversight hearing on Thursday, Oct 29 on the Nevada OSHA State Plan (NV-OSHA). The hearing comes just about one week after federal OSHA released a scathing critique of NV-OSHA and acting asst. secretary Jordan Barab indicated the program was in “urgent need for corrections.” Chairman Miller said the review highlighted:
“dangerous gaps in health and safety protections for workers in Nevada,” and indicated “Workers in Nevada deserve to know that basic health and safety protections are enforced by the agency tasked to protect them.”
In a statement following the release of OSHA’s review of NV-OSHA, Senator Reid said:
I’m supposed to be grading 124 essays written by my students, but in one of my many bouts with Sunday afternoon work avoidance, I happened upon Senator Reid’s webpage. There was a link that said:
“Reid meets with Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth Harris, and John Howard of NIOSH.”
I clicked on the link, and saw this photo and description.
I understand that working for CDC’s Julie Gerberding took its toll on many CDC officials, but never realized such stress caused Dr. Howard to generate a full head of beautiful dark hair! For those of us attending the APHA annual meeting, in particular the OHS Section events, we’ll have to get used to John Howard’s new look.
