Citizen Health & Safety

For Regulatory Reviews, Too Many Cooks...

Aug 28, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy has launched a new program which will increase the Office's interference in federal agencies' regulatory practices — specifically, in the selection of regulations agencies choose to review after they have already taken effect. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report which describes what it calls retrospective reviews. These reviews are attempts by federal agencies to assess the effectiveness of federal regulations and identify opportunities for improvement.

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Industry Challenges Impede Cancer Research and Information, New Report Says

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2007—Allegations of mismanagement, industry influence, and suppression of whistleblowers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) are being investigated by Congress, and the director has temporarily stepped down. Today, OMB Watch released a report that further documents industry's attempt to restrict access to health and safety information produced by NTP.

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New Report Examines the Decline in Public Safeguards under Bush

Aug 27, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Last week, the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, released a report titled, "Safeguarding the American People: The Progressive Vision vs. the Bush Record."

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Progress on a Standard for Lead Exposure in Jewelry

Aug 23, 2007 by Matthew Madia

A recent spate of recalls involving toys and jewelry contaminated with alarmingly high levels of lead has revived the debate over whether the federal government should tighten standards on lead exposure. The Fashion Jewelry Trade Association is endorsing a tighter standard, according to BNA news service (subscription). Apparently, jewelry manufacturers are already complying with California regulations and would prefer a uniform national standard. Of course, this would have the added bonus of protecting all Americans from jewelry containing dangerous lead levels.

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Administration May Ease Rules on Mountaintop Mining

Aug 23, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) will propose a rule which would make it easier for mining companies to search for coal on mountaintops and dump the waste into nearby valleys and streams, according to The New York Times. Currently, federal regulations prohibit most mountaintop mining activities within 100 feet of streams. The rules are regularly flaunted. According to Earthjustice, a nonprofit group focused on environmental law, "1,208 miles of streams in Appalachia were destroyed from 1992 to 2002."

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Latest Watcher

Aug 22, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Regulatory policy articles this time: Crandall Canyon Mine Collapse Implicates MSHA Procedures Bush Administration Skirts Broad Environmental Law New Report Examines Agency Review of Regulations

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Court to Bush: Pay Attention to Climate Change!

Aug 22, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, a U.S. district court ruled the White House has violated federal law by not preparing and releasing a statutorily-mandated report on climate change. The Global Change Research Act of 1990 requires presidential administrations to assess the latest research and the potential impact of climate change "On a periodic basis (not less frequently than every 4 years)." The last report was released by the Clinton administration in 2000.

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New Report Examines Agency Review of Regulations

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a new report on the process by which federal regulatory agencies review regulations after they take effect. Agencies conduct reviews to comply with existing law, as a matter of agency policy, and in response to White House requests. The report finds the quality of reviews varies widely and determines the major barriers to more useful reviews are gaps in available data and problems with public participation.

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Bush Administration Skirts Broad Environmental Law

The Bush administration has expanded exclusions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The administration will allow private industry to engage in selected land management projects without first assessing the potential impact on the environment. Furthermore, by excluding these activities, the administration has stripped the public of its opportunity to provide input into potentially damaging projects.

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Crandall Canyon Mine Collapse Implicates MSHA Procedures

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.

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