Environmental, Worker Safety Rules Targeted by Industry Groups
Mar 4, 2008 by Rick Melberth*
The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy has finalized a list of ten rules it will encourage federal agencies to modify. The Office of Advocacy compiled the list after receiving recommendations from small businesses and industry lobbyists.
read in fullCoal Mine Safety Shortchanged by Years of Budget Cuts
Feb 20, 2008 by Matthew Madia
Congress created the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in 1977, placing a new federal focus on miner safety and health. However, the agency's budget and staffing levels have been cut over the past three decades. The budget for MSHA's coal mine safety and health program has been particularly abused. In the past two years, a spike in coal mine fatalities and high-profile coal mine disasters have prompted many Americans and Congress to look to MSHA to improve miner safety, but years of budget cuts and the loss of qualified employees have left the agency struggling to fulfill its mission.
read in fullWorkers Threatened by Decline in OSHA Budget, Enforcement Activity
Jan 23, 2008 by Matthew Madia
The consolidated appropriations bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in December 2007 cuts the budget of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for Fiscal Year 2008. OSHA, like many other federal agencies, already faces budget constraints that make it more difficult for the agency to achieve its mission. Over the past three decades, OSHA's budget, staffing levels, and inspection activity have dropped while the American workforce has grown and new hazards have emerged.
read in full2008 Regulatory Policy Agenda: Congress Debates, States Act
Jan 23, 2008 by Rick Melberth*
In the current political climate, it is unlikely that Congress will succeed in passing legislation that protects the public from the range of regulatory failures we experienced in 2007. The barriers to substantially improving public health, worker safety, and environmental quality seem too high in this election year, especially given President Bush's willingness to use his veto power. What Congress can accomplish in 2008 is establishing legislative and oversight priorities over numerous health, safety, and environmental issues. In many instances, however, we will see states move ahead with a variety of actions designed to improve public protections. The executive branch will also play an increasingly important role as the Bush administration comes to a close.
read in fullMiner Safety Bill Clears House, Bush Veto Looms
Jan 23, 2008 by Rick Melberth*
The House passed the Supplemental Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (S-MINER) on Jan. 16. The bill aims to improve mine safety and the responsiveness of the federal government's chief mine regulator, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), in response to the Crandall Canyon mine collapse and other recent disasters. White House officials have indicated President Bush will veto the bill.
read in fullOSHA Issues Personal Protective Equipment Rule
Nov 20, 2007 by Sam Kim
Eight years after proposing it, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has finalized a worker safety rule. The final rule mandates employers pay for worker personal protective equipment (PPE). OSHA published the rule in the Federal Register on Nov. 15, and it is to take effect Feb. 13, 2008.
read in fullFederal Agencies Knew of Diacetyl Dangers and Kept Silent
Sep 11, 2007 by Sam Kim
Federal regulatory agencies have known for years the dangers that diacetyl exposure creates among workers in factories where bags of microwave popcorn are tested. The only agency to have taken any action, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has kept its study of the chemical's impact on consumers secret except for sharing it with the popcorn industry. Now the first case of potential consumer illness from exposure to diacetyl has been documented.
read in fullCrandall Canyon Mine Collapse Implicates MSHA Procedures
Aug 20, 2007 by Sam Kim
The Aug. 6 mine collapse at the Crandall Canyon coal mine in Utah, which trapped six coal miners and led to the deaths of three rescue workers, again calls into question the effectiveness of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The mine operators were working under a plan approved by MSHA in June, just months after serious structural problems forced the operators to abandon a work area only 900 feet from where the miners are trapped.
read in fullCoal Miners Experience Unusual Occurrences of Black Lung Disease
Jul 10, 2007 by Sam Kim
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released July 6 the results of studies prompted by reports that underground coal miners are still experiencing unusual occurrences of black lung disease despite federal regulations to prevent exposure to coal dust. The "clusters of rapidly progressing and potentially disabling pneumoconiosis," or black lung disease, were found in 2005 and 2006 in some eastern Kentucky and southern Virginia miners, according to CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
read in fullHouse Bills Address Mining Health and Safety Shortfalls
Jun 26, 2007 by Sam Kim
Two House bills introduced June 19 address health and safety issues left out of the MINER Act passed in 2006 after coal miners died in three separate accidents in Kentucky and West Virginia. The bills also include provisions that will allow the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), often criticized for slow implementation of mining laws, to better address new and existing protections.
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