Proposed Rule to Protect Workers Released for Public Comment

On Friday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a long-delayed proposed rule to lower worker exposure to crystalline silica. Silica dust can be deadly; it kills hundreds of workers every year and sickens thousands more. Now, after more than a decade and a half in development and over two years of review, the proposal has been released and will soon be ready for public comment.

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A Misleading Report Obscures Sequestration's Impact on Regulators' Budgets

Last month, university-based researchers Susan Dudley and Melinda Warren released a highly misleading report claiming sequestration has not had much impact on the overall budgets of federal regulatory agencies.

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Almost 4,400 Workers Died From Job-Related Injuries in 2012

An estimated 4,383 employees died from injuries sustained while working, according to new preliminary data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. This is a reduction from last year’s tally of 4,693. It is also a decrease in in the fatal work injury rate from 3.5 per 100,000 full time workers in 2011 to 3.2 per 100,000 in 2012. The numbers are often revised upwards, and revisions will be released in spring 2014.

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New Study Shows Workers at Fracking Sites Exposed to Unsafe Levels of Silica Dust

A new study by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that workers at 11 hydraulic fracturing sites in five states were exposed to high levels of crystalline silica dust.

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Senate Subcommittee Hearing to Examine Costs of Regulatory Delay

Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight, Federal Rights, and Agency Action will hold its first hearing on regulatory policy. The hearing, titled "Justice Delayed: The Human Cost of Regulatory Paralysis," will examine the important benefits of public protections and the very real costs of regulatory delay.

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Five Fundamental Facts about Standards and Public Protections

Judd Gregg, a former Republican senator from New Hampshire and current CEO of the Securities Industries and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), recently wrote an opinion piece for The Hill attacking new environmental and public health standards and financial protections.

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Senators Press EPA about Safety Measures at Chemical Plants

In a rare display of bipartisanship, Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and David Vitter (R-LA) sharply questioned staff from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in yesterday's Senate hearing on oversight of federal risk management and emergency planning programs that are designed to prevent incidents at hazardous chemical plants.

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Why Non-Defense Discretionary Spending Keeps Getting Cut

The biggest difference among the three budget plans that official Washington is currently considering is spending for non-defense discretionary programs, which includes education, infrastructure, food safety, environmental protection and other essential public investments the public says it wants government to continue to make. A chart created by the Congressional Budget Office – shows the differences between President Obama and Senate Democrats’ budget plans versus the House Republican spending blueprint.

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A Big Job, on a Tiny Budget

The biggest problem illustrated by the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Tex., is not that OSHA is focusing on the wrong threats, but that its hands are tied and that it does not have the resources or the support to ensure that our nation’s workplaces are safe. The explosion at the West Fertilizer Company illustrates why Congress should act swiftly to strengthen our main workplace safety law so OSHA has the authority and the resources to protect workers.

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We Need Protection from Industrial Hazards in Our Communities

On Wednesday, a fire at the West Fertilizer Co. in West, TX, caused an explosion so powerful it registered 2.1 on the Richter scale and leveled significant parts of this rural community.  As many as 15 people died and around 200 were injured, many gravely.  We still do not know what caused the explosion or whether it could have been prevented with better safety practices and regulatory oversight.

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