The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced on Oct. 25 that it is extending the public comment period for a 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. OSHA stated that in response to requests for an extension, it will give stakeholders an additional 47 days beyond the original Dec. 11 deadline to submit comments on the proposal.

A recent report from the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future on public health, environmental, and animal welfare concerns in the large-scale livestock industry (sometimes called 'industrial food animal production') provides a distressing picture of the limited progress made in addressing a key public health concern – the use of antibiotics for nontherapeutic uses such as speeding up growth, bulking up livestock weight,

On Oct. 10, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power convened a panel of ambassadors and energy and trade ministers from Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean to discuss the geopolitical implications of the U.S. expanding its export capabilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG).  The delegates primarily highlighted potential economic benefits to receiving nations, such as increased competition in the market and security of supply, and spoke little of the risks that LNG operations pose to human health and the environment.

Because the scope of health and safety protections provided by the federal government is vast, it’s easy to not fully appreciate the impacts of a government shutdown on our daily lives. Early into the current shutdown, I blogged about some of the less obvious potential health and safety impacts that could be affected by lack of government oversight. An Oct.