Citizen Health & Safety

EPA to Overhaul Air Pollution Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will revise existing standards for six major air pollutants, according to top agency officials. The changes could yield major public health benefits.

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OSHA Levies a Record Fine against Oil Giant BP

On Oct. 30, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it was issuing a proposed $87.4 million fine against BP Products North America Inc. (BP) for failure to remedy workplace hazards. The proposed fine is the largest ever issued by the agency and results from a 2005 explosion at an oil refinery that killed 15 workers.

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Will ACUS Be Up and Running Soon?

Nov 5, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The White House announced Nov. 2 that President Obama intends to nominate lawyer and scholar Paul Verkuil to chair the beleaguered Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), according to BNA news service (subscription). Click here for his bio as provided by his current firm.

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Groups Urge Transparency in Health Care Reform Implementation

Nov 4, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Twenty groups, including OMB Watch, have sent a letter calling on Congress to include accountability and transparency provisions in any health care reform legislation. Specifically, the groups focused on federal advisory committees – panels that will provide critical advice on health care issues if legislation is passed. The groups represent a wide variety of public interest issues.

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Slow Pace of Regulation Takes Toll on Health and Environment

Nov 3, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) released a report last week titled, “The Hidden Human and Environmental Costs of Regulatory Delay.” The report looks at three case examples, mercury pollution, ship ballast water discharges, and crane and derrick safety.

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EPA Begins Asking for Data on Chemicals’ Endocrine Effects

Oct 30, 2009 by Matthew Madia

This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began sending out test orders under its Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). EPA is asking chemical manufacturers to screen certain chemicals to determine whether they are endocrine disruptors – a term used to categorize any compound capable of causing certain reproductive and developmental abnormalities.

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Congress Chooses Ignorance on GHG Emissions

Oct 30, 2009 by Brian Turnbaugh*

Congress yesterday passed a FY 2010 appropriations measure for environmental agencies that exempts factory farms from having to track and report their greenhouse gas emissions. The exemption applies to a rule issued in September by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requiring thousands of large facilities economy-wide to monitor and report their emissions.

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OMB Watch Updates Chemical Security Database, Enhancing Public's Right to Know about Potential Risks

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2009—On Oct. 29, OMB Watch posted updated information about the risks of serious public harm posed by thousands of chemical facilities nationwide. The risk management plans of approximately 14,000 facilities that handle more than the threshold amounts of 140 dangerous chemicals are publicly available through the website of the Right-to-Know Network (RTK NET), at www.rtknet.org/db/rmp.

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Rule Allowing Truckers to Spend More Time behind the Wheel Will Be Revised

Oct 28, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Check off another one of the Bush administration’s midnight regulations that will be changed by the Obama administration.

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OMB Role in EPA Chemical Program Questioned

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has repeatedly inserted itself in the development of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program designed to study the effects of chemicals on human and animal endocrine systems.

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