Silica: The "New" Asbestos?

Some of the insurance companies think so.

Insurers watched in horror as a new surge of asbestos injury claims a few years ago pushed their estimated bill to $65 billion or more.

Now, after wrestling with asbestos for more than 20 years, property-casualty insurers are sweating about another mineral that can heavily damage the lungs: silica.

Silica is a mineral found in sand, granite, concrete, and other substances. The silica dust that can cause lung disease becomes airborne in mining, foundry work, construction, and other common activities.

The number of injury claims involving silica dust has soared. At least 30,000 people nationwide have filed such claims - many of them in the past two years, and typically against multiple businesses, industry researchers say.

That's a small fraction of the estimated 730,000 who have filed asbestos claims, according to A.M. Best Co., an insurance research and rating firm.

Immigrant Worker Fatalities: The Facts

Pop Quiz: What is the leading cause of traumatic workplace death for foreign born workers in the United States?

a) Transportation accidents
b) Workplace violence
c) Falls to a lower elevation
d) Caught in machinery

(*Answer is at the bottom)

If you got this wrong, read on. (Read on even if you got it right)

One out of every two new labor market entrants from 1996 to 2001 was a worker born outside the United States, and they are dying in the workplace at a much higher rate than native born workers.

This is no surprise to anyone that follows this issue, but an article entitled Foreign-born workers: trends in fatal occupational injuries, 1996–2001 in the June issue of the Monthly Labor Review, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has a wealth of detail about the problem.

As the share of foreign-born employment has increased, so has the share of fatal occupational injuries to foreign-born workers. Yet, while the share of foreign-born employment increased by 22 percent from 1996 to 20003 the share of fatal occupational injuries for this population increased by 43 percent. This increase in fatal work injuries among foreign-born workers occurred at a time when the overall number of fatal occupational injuries to U.S. workers declined by 5 percent.

As a result, the fatality rate for foreign-born workers has not mirrored the improvement seen in the overall fatality rate over this period. In 2001, the fatality rate for all U.S. workers decreased to a series low of 4.3 per 100,000 workers, but the fatality rate for foreign-born workers recorded a series high of 5.7 per 100,000 workers.

Other interesting facts include:

• Mexican-born-worker fatalities alone accounted for 40 percent (1,915) of all fatalities to foreignborn workers, and fatal work injuries to Mexican-born workers
  were uniquely observed to trend upward over the duration of the 6-year period under analysis, increasing from a low of 241 fatalities in 1996 to 422 in 2001.
  
  
• Overall, foreign-born workers experienced different patterns in fatality rates than native-born workers in certain occupational groups. Foreign-born workers in sales occupations and handler, equipment cleaner, helper, and laborer occupations consistently experienced a higher annual fatality rate than their native-born counterparts, although both groups experienced overall declining fatality rates during the 6-year period.
  
  
• Private construction, retail trade, and transportation and public utilities were the three industries in which fatally injured foreign-born workers were most frequently employed. Nearly one in four fatally-injured foreign-born workers was employed in the construction industry. Another one in three was employed in either retail trade or transportation and public utilities.
  
  
• Overall, the share of fatal work injuries to foreign-born workers grew in those industries in which their share of employment also grew. However, in particular industries, there were notable disparities between foreign-born workers’ share
  of employment and share of fatal work injuries. Whereas foreign-born workers’ share of total agriculture, forestry, and fishing employment varied little around an average of 28 percent, their share of fatal work injuries rose by 60 percent, from one in
  five agriculture, forestry, and fishing fatalities in 1996 to one in three in 2001. In manufacturing, foreign-born workers’ share of employment increased by 22 percent, from 13 percent in 1996 to 16 percent in 2001, but their share of workplace fatalities
  increased by 46 percent over the same period, from 9 percent to 14 percent. In other industries, specifically construction, transportation and public utilities, and retail trade, foreign-born workers’ share of fatalities was consistently higher than their share of employment over the 6-year period.
  
  
• Workplace homicide was the leading manner of traumatic work-place death for foreign-born workers, accounting for one out of every four fatal injuries. The second and third most frequent types of fatal events involving foreign-born workers were falls to a lower level (15 percent) and highway incidents (14 percent).
  
  The 1,166 workplace homicides involving foreign-born workers represented about a quarter of the total recorded for all U.S. workers over the study period. One contributing factor in this high incidence of work-related homicide is the fact that the foreign-born population is overwhelmingly concentrated in metropolitan areas,14 which have three times the violent crime rate of rural areas. Workplace homicide was the primary fatal event for workers born in India, Cuba, Korea, and Vietnam.
  
  
• Gender. The three most frequent fatal events for male foreign-born workers were homicides (23 percent), falls to lower level (16 percent), and highway incidents (14 percent). Among female workers, nearly half of all workplace fatalities were due
  to homicide.

*Correct Answer: Workplace Violence

Bush & Congress: Fiddling While Workers Die

Washington Post and American Prospect columnist Harold Meyerson notes that the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress have given up on trying to attract moderates to their cause and are instead trying to fire up the right wing with votes on red meat issues as single sex marriage, even though "the Senate, as all its members know full well, is no more likely to come up with 67 votes for this bit of campaign-year demagoguery than it is to enact workers' and peasants' soviets."

The zeal and single-mindedness with which the Bush campaign is pursuing this goal is best understood as a consequence of Bush's failure to even win, or much less hold, more moderate voters. Bush has been consistently trailing John Kerry among independent voters, and his level of support among his fellow Republicans has declined from the mid 90s to the low 80s. That's partly a function of the failure of the war in Iraq. It's also a consequence of the president's screwing up his two chief outreach-to-the-middle legislative vehicles. Bush subverted his No Child Left Behind initiative by failing to fund it. He botched his Medicare reform act by turning it chiefly into a giveaway to drug companies at the expense of American seniors.

And what, my many critics are asking, does this have to do with workplace safety?

Well, allow me to carry his arguments further. Not only are important issues like the budget, health care and minimum wage ignored, education underfunded and prescription drug coverage sold to the highest bidder, but the only thing the Republicans can think to do about workplace safety is to pass bills that will attack the alleged harassment plaguing small businesses by the jack-booted thugs over at George Bush's OSHA. This would be laughable, if it wasn't so tragic. Because while the Republicans and business associations try to convince their constituents that they still have something to fear (and therefore should keep contributing to the R's and paying membership dues to NAM, NFIB and the Chamber), workers continue to die in unshored trenches and unventilated confined spaces. Meanwhile, their employers, who should have (or did) know better, get off with ridiculously low fines and Congress refuses to even consider making it a criminal offense to willfully kill one of your employees.

While health care workers die of tuberculosis and hospitals remain ignorant of the symptoms and basic precautions, OSHA has killed the TB standard and all Congressman Roger Wicker can focus on toothless report language that seeks to reduce the incredible "burden" that OSHA has placed on his contributors hospitals by forcing them to make sure their workers' respirators fit properly.

While OSHA continues to enforce chemical standards based on "science" from the 1950’s and 1960’s, and workers' lungs are destroyed by a popcorn butter flavoring chemical that they didn't know was dangerous, Congress refuses to even consider legislation that might help OSHA to start modernizing standards for the tens of thousands of unregulated chemicals that workers are exposed to every day. Meanwhile, the Bush administration’s only chemical "initiative" consists of fighting a European initiative that would introduce the communistic "precautionary principle" where chemicals must be tested before workers and consumers are exposed.

And while lawsuits seem to be the only way to force companies not to poison workers or the community and behave like the good corporate citizens they claim to be, the Bush Administration and Republican Congress obsess about tort reform, limiting jury awards and attacking John Edwards for being a trial lawyer.

And the Kerry Years?

So will electing John Kerry (and John Edwards) -- or taking back one or even both houses of Congress -- set the workplace safety world right? Not by a long shot. We'll still have to fight Congressional Republicans who will accuse pro-workplace safety Democrats of catering to the anti-free market, anti-small business bias of the "big labor bosses." We'll still have to deal with the sell-out Democrats who take too much corporate money and vote against worker interests like the ergonomic standard (e.g. Senators Baucus, Lincoln, Landrieu, Hollings, Miller, Breaux), still have to deal with overly cautious political operatives who hold out the hope that the business association leopards will change their spots before the next election if only we compromise with them a little more.

On the other hand.... What? What is to be done? Can OSHA be saved? Or, more specifically, will the agency ever be able to issue another significant OSHA standard? If not, what other useful roles can the agency fill? Will funding ever be increased to a point where employers have a reasonable fear of being cited? These are just a few of the questions rolling through my head.

On the optimistic side, there is still much that can be done at OSHA even without major (beneficial) changes in the law. Funding for worker training grants could be substantially increased and targeted where they will have the most benefit to those workers most at risk. Congress can put its "money" where its mouth is and make it a criminal penalty with significant fines and jail time for willfully killing a worker. Some changes in the law could possibly be worked out making it easier to modernize chemical standards. And John Kerry and John Edwards say they favor a new ergonomics standard.

Too optimistic? Who knows? But if we don't do the job on November 2, and then plan to take the offensive starting January 20, we'll never find out.

It's Not Nice To Poison People And Not Tell EPA

Hey, guess what? It turns out that if you're producing a toxic chemical and you find out it's poisoning the environment and people in the neighborhood, you have to report it to the Environmental Protection Agency. Or else you're in trouble. Big time.

The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking fines totaling millions of dollars from DuPont on the grounds that the chemical giant failed for two decades to report possible health and environmental problems linked to a key ingredient used in making Teflon, agency officials said yesterday.

The penalty would dwarf any the agency has assessed for toxic contamination and could become the largest environmental levy in U.S. history. Tom Skinner, head of EPA's Office of Enforcement, said the penalty is "intended to send a message to DuPont and everyone else this type of information must be provided" so officials "can make valid assessments of the risks posed by various substances."

The chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, is a soaplike material used in making stain- and stick-resistant surfaces and materials for a wide array of products, including Gore-Tex and pizza boxes. The substance, also known as C-8 or PFOA, has been linked in industry studies to cancer and birth defects in animals.

Turns out that two women exposed to C-8 had children with birth defects and DuPont transferred them away from the workplace without telling EPA. Industry studies in 1981 suggested that C-8 causes birth defects in animals. But the company later determined that C-8 didn't cause birth defects and transferred the women back again.

Company tests also found that traces of C-8 were found in public drinking water in communities near DuPont facilities, but the company did not tell EPA that it had done the tests.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires a company to report adverse health effects if a chemical they use or produce "is strongly implicated" to have caused the effects. The costs to DuPont, in fines and lawsuits, could be substantial:

The EPA's top enforcement attorney, Thomas Skinner, would not specify how large a penalty the agency wanted to impose on DuPont. He would only say that the EPA was seeking "in the millions" in an administrative enforcement action and would try to negotiate a settlement with the company.

The EPA has the authority to seek a penalty of as much as $25,000 per day for each violation before 1997 and up to $27,500 per day after that — which would amount to about $300 million.

Several residents of the Ohio River Valley, who filed a class-action suit against DuPont after discovering that their drinking water had been contaminated with PFOA, are urging the federal government to fine the corporation $200 million. That is the amount DuPont earns annually in Teflon sales. The residents are joined by the Environmental Working Group, which initially petitioned the EPA to act on the chemical.

"DuPont made 17 years' worth of profit from Teflon while illegally suppressing studies on the health effects of a chemical used in its manufacture," residents Debra Cochran, Callie Lyons and Jim and Della Tennant said in a letter sent Tuesday to EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt. "Faced with overwhelming evidence that it broke the law, shouldn't DuPont lose at least one year's worth of Teflon profits?"

DuPont says the chemical is safe, it's done nothing wrong. This is all about a paperwork reporting requirement.

The EPA action resulted from a petion filed by the Environmental Working Group which had

unearthed company documents showing DuPont's deliberate withholding of the health and toxicity studies as well as evidence of widespread drinking water contamination. The group filed a petition in April, 2003 that prompted the Agency's investigation and action.

Despite the potential size of the fine, EWG fears that EPA will cave in and negotiate the fine down to a significantly lower level.

"This is shaping up as another in a long series of industry-friendly environmental 'enforcement' actions by the Bush EPA," said EWG President Ken Cook. "This time DuPont was caught in three serious violations of federal pollution laws. In the Bush administration, that automatically triggers the 'three strikes and we'll talk' policy."

"There's no message being sent here except the weakness of the Bush Administration and how it succumbed to DuPont's lobbying. It's pathetic," Cook said. "Everyone thought DuPont was in hot water with the Bush EPA, but instead it looks like they're sitting in the Jacuzzi."

Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream.....

2nd Confined Space Worker Dies

I wrote last week about two men who lost consciousness in a manhole due to oxygen deprivation, one of whom, Larry Dunning, died. It turns out that the the second man, Robert Hampton, 43, died the next day. Both men were employees of Employees of the Rittenbaugh Excavating and Paving of Phoenixville, PA.

As in the previous article, there is no mention in this article of OSHA's confined space standard, although the article states that OSHA is investigating. We'll see in about six months what the current price of two lives is.

Shameless Congressman Continues To Oppose TB Protections

We reported recently of the death of a Virginia nurse from tuberculosis. The nurse had exposed co-workers and patients for months while no one noted that her violent coughing was a clear symptom of TB.

Dr. Kenneth G. Castro, director of the tuberculosis elimination division for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, called the death of the nurse "shameful."

That situation may have been "shameful," but I'd call the recent actions of Congressman Roger Wicker (R-MS) "shameless."

For years, Wicker has been the leading foe of OSHA's TB standard. Although OSHA killed the standard at the end of 2003, the agency then decided that health care workers who may be exposed to TB were required to have respirator fit tests just as every other worker who must wear a respirator. The American Hospital Association, the Association of Profesionals in Infection Control (APIC) were aghast that they would be forced to fit test health care workers and appealed to Congressman Wicker for help. Wicker sent a letter to OSHA, protesting the respirator requirements. After considering a six-month delay, OSHA finally decided to start enforcing the reqirement on July 1. In a letter to APIC, Assistant Secretary John Henshaw rebuked APIC for opposing fit testing when it was already required for hospital workers exposed to ethylene oxide or formaldehyde.

Not to be outdone, however, Wicker managed to add the following advisory "report language" to OSHA's budget bill:

The Committee is disappointed by OSHA's decision to proceed with enforcement of the General Industry Respiratory Standard as it applies to occupational exposure to tuberculosis (TB). The Committee strongly urges the agency to delay enforcement of the Respiratory Standard as it applies to TB. Personal respiratory protections have been in place in healthcare facilities for over 10 years, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and as enforced through OSHA's General Duty Clause. Additionally, the Committee strongly advises OSHA to take no further action with regard to TB until such time as the CDC has completed the ongoing revisions of its TB guidelines.

Subsequent actions should only be taken in accordance with the CDC's recommendations."

The language is not a "rider" to the bill, and is therefore not enforceable should OSHA decide to ignore it. So far, no similar language has been added on the Senate side.

SEIU health and safety director Bill Borwegan notes that Wicker

is also from a state that is completely surrounded by states with some of the highest rates of TB in the country, and he is the recipient of thousands of dollars in contributions from the likes of the American Hospital Association, American Dental Association and countless drug companies. God bless the poor people of Tupelo, and the rest of the 1st District of Mississippi.

I wonder how Congressman Wicker would explain his actions to the surviving family members of the nurse you died?

Brian Baird: Smart Person in Congress

I attended the CSPI's "INTEGRITY IN SCIENCE: Corporate and Political Influence On Science-based Policymaking" conference today. A very good review of how the Bush administration and corporate America are politicizing and distorting the scientific process, thereby undermining the basis and support for regulatory protection from workplace chemicals, environmental degredation, food and drug safety, etc.

One of the highlights of the conference was a speech by Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA). But I'm tired and science blogger Chris Mooney, who was also there, does a great job describing Baird's speech. I agree with Chris's statement, "At the end of the talk, I found myself thinking, gee, you almost forget sometimes that there are actually smart people in Congress."

Lives Are Cheap in N.C.

The Asheville Citizen-Times is angry at the state of North Carolina for the puny fine assessed on a company, Maintenance Unlimited, for killing Donald DeHart in an 18-foot deep trench last January:

If all the allegations made by the state Department of Labor are true, a fine of $19,600 is utterly inadequate in the death of Donald DeHart. DeHart, 43, was killed Jan. 18 when the 18-foot-deep ditch in which he was working in Fairview collapsed. It took rescuers eight hours to reach him, then three more to remove his body. The work was slow because digging had to be stopped periodically so the walls of the ditch could be shored up.

"We don't want to lose a person while we're attempting to rescue another one," said David Walker, public information officer for the Garren Creek Fire Department and Fairview Fire and Rescue.

Unfortunately for DeHart, no one had shored up the walls of the ditch in which he died. State Occupational Safety and Health rules require shoring or sloping sides for any ditch deeper than five feet. In addition, according to a Department of Labor report, there was no ladder, ramp or other safe way for workers to get out of the trench.

And that's just for starters. The report also says employees were not instructed in recognizing safety hazards, the dirt removed from the trench was left at the edge instead of at least two feet away so its weight wouldn't make the walls unstable, and the trench had not been inspected by someone with expertise in trench safety before work began and during the shift.

All the violations are classified as serious and Labor has proposed penalties totaling $19,600.

"I think it's so sad that a human life is worth so little," said DeHart's sister, Revonda Johnson. So do we; if everything Labor says is substantiated, the penalties are so inadequate as to be meaningless.

The Citizen-Times has been on this case from the beginning. I complimented the paper last January for writing a rare, well written, educated editorial condemning a company for violating OSHA standards and killing DeHart:

The accident that claimed DeHart's life reminds us that OSHNC regulations are not just another way for a government bureaucracy to harass employers and workers. They are in place because obeying those rules saves lives. If the ditch that collapsed on DeHart had been constructed according to OSHNC standards, DeHart would almost certainly be alive today. Yet, both employers and employees often ignore OSHNC regulations because complying would cost extra money or take additional time. The price for not doing so can be far more dear than an OSHNC fine.

The company, of course, is contesting the citation. And why not? They've got nothing to lose but their fine reputation.

Oh, and one more unresolved issue. The company claims that DeHart wasn't eligible for workers compensation because he was an "independent contractor." The Citizen Times is skeptical:

That should be checked out. If DeHart in fact were an employee improperly classified, it wouldn't be the first time an employer has claimed his workers were independent contractors in order to evade responsibility and dodge payments into the worker's compensation fund.

Better Quit This Blogging...

Someone left this on my door:

Thanks Joan

And Three More....

Speaking of confined spaces, our intrepid British correspondent, Rory O'Neil of Hazards sends this:

Three people killed in slurry vat

Three men were killed when they became trapped in a vat of slurry in Norfolk.
It is believed two of the workers had plunged into the 12-feet deep tank to save the other man.

It is unfortunately not uncommon for potential rescuers to outnumber original victims. This comes from lack of training.

But don't worry, "Norfolk Police said they were not treating the deaths as suspicious." Tragic, preventable, pointless and hopefully criminal...but not "suspicious."

Confined Space "Mystery"

Oh yeah, what a mystery! Who has ever heard of oxygen deprivation in a confined space? Quel surprise!

Now look at the title of this blog. I didn't make the term up (although I meant it more figuratively than literally).

Deadly Mystery At Delaware County Construction Site

Jul 9, 2004 1:29 pm US/Eastern

PHILADELPHIA (KYW) One worker is dead and another is clinging to life after losing oxygen at a Newtown Square, Delaware County, construction site.

The workers were inside a nine-foot manhole working on a sewer line just after 8 a.m. Friday when officials say they began to lose oxygen. CBS 3's Natasha Brown reports another worker pulled the unconscious men from the hole but has been told they were already in cardiac arrest.

Both were rushed from the 400 block of Merlin Road to an area hospital where one was pronounced dead upon arrival. The other was admitted.

Neither victim has been identified.

Roman Siletsky of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration says there was a lack of oxygen in the manhole but noted no fumes.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Now, I've got a couple of problems here. First, it is well known that one of the hazards of confined spaces is oxygen deprivation. That's because chemical reactions (such as development of rust) or decaying organic material in the space (e.g. sewage, leaves, etc) consumes the oxygen. Which is why OSHA has a "Permit Required Confined Space" standard requiring, among other things, that spaces be monitored for oxygen deficiency and toxic gases, and that a trained and properly equipped attendant be present to monitor the workers inside the space, and perform a rescue (or call for help), if necessary. Any employer whose employees work on sewer lines should know this.

The other problem I have is with the reporter. Natasha, maybe you could do just a little bit of research here. Just because the hazards of confined spaces are a mystery to you doesn't mean they're a mystery (I hope) for most employers and employees who enter manholes, nor certainly to OSHA or those familiar with workplace safety issues. A couple of questions to a knowledgeable person or two could have put other employers on notice that their deadly negligence won't be overlooked by the media, and it could have educated some workers and possibly saved some lives.

Instead, most readers will go away thinking, "Gosh, how mysterious. I wonder what happened? Just one of those things. Too bad. What's for dinner."

Update here.

Summer Fun: Join the Contest

SEIU Health and Safety Director Bill Borwegen has a fun idea to get us through the dog-days of summer. He finds it a bit odd that OSHA's workplace violence conference is being co-sponsored by handgun manufacturer Smith & Wesson.

You probably also know that handguns kill - on average- 12 children a day- and many more adults.

Let's help OSHA meet their partnership and alliance forming goals with other companies and trade associations. For example, OSHA could partner with Johns Manville to plan a conference on asbestos. You get the idea.

Please submit your entries by Friday, July 16th.

The winning entry will be announced in a subsequent e-mail, and will also receive a purple, asbestos free, but not bullet proof, SEIU T-shirt.

Please send your entries to: BorwegeB@SEIU.org

Thanks and good luck!

A Decent Result to A Terrible Event

Alex Harrowell of the Yorkshire Ranter writes with news that occasionally the right thing gets done, even if it's across the big muddy.

Firm whose washing machine cooked worker fined £325,000

This case, which I blogged at the time, has finally been nailed down. To recap, Paul Clegg ventured into a 40ft long industrial washing machine to clear it of sheets tangled in the workings. He was overcome by heat inside the thing, but although people outside knew this, no-one could help. They could not help because none of them knew there was an escape hatch in the side of the machine. Not even the engineer on duty knew that - hardly surprising as he had received no training and had never even read the machine manual. When the fire brigade arrived he assured them there was no access, leaving them to hack through the steel drum by force. By the time they broke in, Mr. Clegg was dead.

Yesterday, Bournemouth Crown Court fined the firm £325,000 and ordered them to pay £16,500 costs.

Who Best Understands the Value of Safety?

Leo Gerard is pissed. Girard, President of the United Steelworkers of America,

today expressed astonishment that OSHA and several steel industry trade associations had formed an "alliance" on safety without any union involvement.

"OSHA and the industry both need help," Gerard said, "but they're not going to find it from each other. The trade associations have opposed every OSHA standard that applies to the steel industry. So far as we know, they have no full-time professional safety staff. And OSHA's only recent activity in the industry was to propose a weakening of the Coke Oven Standard."

"Meanwhile, many steel companies have made deep cuts in their own safety and health staff," Gerard said. "At this point, most large steel plants have more full-time union safety representatives than management safety personnel. And the union has a bigger headquarters safety and health staff than most or all steel companies."

"If they were really interested in safety, they would have turned to the men and women who make these plants run," Gerard said. "Apparently, OSHA's political bosses and the industry trade associations are more anti-union than they are pro-safety."

An OSHA alliance with union participation? Are you serious? While OSHA states that unions are allowed to participate in alliances, the small print says that one of the goals of alliances is to "build trusting, cooperative relationships with the Agency." No wonder that virtually none of OSHA's alliances include labor unions.

This alliance, made up of American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), and the Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA), apparently don't think much of Gerard's members:

"We are pleased that OSHA is committed to expanding its cooperative approach to improve workplace safety," added David S. Sutherland, Chairman, American Iron and Steel Institute, speaking for the group. "OSHA working with steel producers to help employees understand the value of safety can only serve to enhance benefits for both employees and their employers."[emphasis added]

Hello? The steel producers and OSHA are helping employees understand the value of safety? Anyone read the OSHA act recently? Employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace. And who needs to "understand the value of safety?" The employees who risk their lives, their limbs and their health at work, or the employers who control the working conditions in steel plants.

Alliances are one of the prime tools that OSHA is using to transform itself from an enforcement agency, as Congress created it, to an advisory body that works with industry associations to issue press releases, educational materials and encouragement to workers to "understand the value of safety."

Over the past three years, OSHA has formed over 140 alliances with "organizations committed to workplace safety and health to collaborate with OSHA to prevent injuries and illnesses in the workplace." Last month OSHA even formed an alliance with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), one of the leading opponents of the ergonomics standard which was repealed in March 2001. Following the repeal, NFIB boasted that its members had sent out 70,000 fax alerts against the ergonomics regulation.

OSHA Grants Temporary Stay-of-Execution to PPE Standard

At Least Until After Hispanic Summit

OSHA is on the horns of a dilemma. They've got a "Hispanic Summit" coming up, yet for three and a half years, they've stalled on issuance of the most important standard on the regulatory agenda to Hispanics: the so-called Payment for Personal Protective Equipment standard.

First, a bit of background. Since its inception, it had been OSHA practice to require employers to pay for all Personal Protective Equipment such as gloves, boots, hearing protection and other protective equipment required by OSHA standards, although this requirement was not specifically written into OSHA's 1994 PPE revised standard. The OSHA Review Board ruled in 1997 that OSHA could not require employer payment unless it was written into a standard. So, in 1999, in order to codify OSHA's past practive, the agency proposed the "Payment for PPE Standard," took comments and held hearings.

The hearings were relatively short, the comments relatively few and serious opposition almost non-existent. As the letter from the United Food and Commercial Workers and other unions UFCW petition to OSHA stated:

The rulemaking record overwhelmingly supported OSHA's determination that a rule was needed to clarify this issue and protect workers from the risks posed by their employer's failure to pay for protective equipment.

In addition, the rule was generally supported by a number of employer groups including Shell Offshore Inc., Southwestern Bell Telephone, Heavy Constructors Association of The Greater Kansas City Area, National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. , the Mechanical-Electrical-Sheet Metal Alliance , and the American Trucking Association.

The standard was almost ready for publication when the Bush Administration came into office in January 2001, but has lain dormant for the past three and a half years with the classfication "Next Action Undetermined."

In a rather surprising move, OSHA announced a change today in the status of the proposal. The record will be re-opened for 45 days. The reason:

Due to the significant amount of comments received in the record and after analyzing the issues raised in the comments, OSHA has determined that further information is necessary to fully explore the issues concerning paying for PPE that is considered to be a "tool of the trade. (emphasis added)"

What's the problem? First, there was no "significant amount of comments." There were actually surprisingly few comments. Second, the issue of "tools of the trade" was already fully discussed during the hearing. (This issue refers to equipment, such as boots, that employers are reluctant to pay for if the worker soon moves on to another employer. There are various good arguments on both sides of this issue, but it was not a major issue that threatened the standard.) Third, it's been three and a half years since they've taken office and their just now getting around to analyzing the issues?

As my kids would say, "Give me a break!"

This would all be rather difficult to understand ... until you realize that unless OSHA shows some movement on this issue, the agency will face major embarrassment at the Hispanic Summit scheduled for July 22 in Orlando (every vote counts), Florida. As UFCW wrote in its letter petitioning OSHA to issue the standard, this standard is very important to Hispanic workers:

The situation at a non-union meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska, is a case in point. This plant has primarily a Hispanic workforce. The workers are required to wear rubber boots to reduce the risk of falling on slippery floors, but the employer deducts the cost of the boots from their paychecks. If the safety equipment workers wear to prevent knife cuts is lost or stolen, workers must pay for replacements. For some types of PPE, this company, like many others, furnishes only the first set of PPE, and after that, when the item is worn out, the worker must pay for its replacement. Workers faced with such policies frequently do not replace safety equipment when it wears out, because they cannot afford it or elect not to buy it. As a result, workers end up working with holes in their gloves, such that their hands are not protected from knife cuts, or wearing hearing protection that has lost its protective value due to wear.

Pointing to the Department's rhetoric about committing resources to Hispanic worker outreach and training, the letter states: "Rather than just promising more funding for outreach and education, the Department of Labor and OSHA Immigrant workers need more than outreach and education. They need protection."

It is unclear what the Department of Labor and OSHA hope to accomplish from this conference, aside from window-dressing. It's not clear what the agenda will look like or who will attend. Sponsored exclusively by Hispanic business associations, there has been virtually no outreach to labor unions who represent large numbers of Hispanic workers, nor Hispanic community groups. NIOSH has refused to participate because they were not allowed any meaningful input into the agenda and Inside OSHA reports that

OSHA officials that are experts on the issue of Hispanic workers in the United States were not involved in the planning and clearly are not setting the summit’s agenda. "The experts at OSHA did not know anything about the summit. All the planning came out of the Secretary of Labor’s office."

All indications point to an election-year dog-and-pony show in Florida, while back in Washington they cut worker training grants and give the Payment for PPE standard a stay-of-execution until after the election. And I thought Republicans were opposed to wasting taxpayer money. It's particularly tragic that OSHA has completely botched this summit, especially considering that there are indications that some OSHA field offices may actually be starting to make some progress.

John Edwards

"Two Americas," yadda, yadda, yadda.

The only question that we're all interested in is "Is the choice of John Edwards good for workplace safety and health." Having carefully polled the entire editorial staff of Confined Space, the general consensus is "yes."

Edwards was the first candidate to come out with a detailed response to the New York Times series on Death in the Workplace. You can read my summary of Edwards' positions here, although his entire webpage seems to be in the process of morphing into a new Kerry-Edwards webpage.

But electrons are cheap. I have also had the opportunity of seeing John Edwards in action in Senate oversight hearings. Rarely have I seen anyone better at grasping the issues, asking focused questions and (rare for the U.S. Congress) asking multiple follow-up questions until he either gets the answer or it becomes apparent that the Emperor has no clothes. You get the feeling that Edwards really "gets it," while too many others (in both parties) seem often to be "phoning it in."

And so, after carefully considerating these factors, and after re-reading the last thousand posts, I am finally ready to announce the official Confined Space endorsement for President and Vice President of the United States of America: Senator John F. Kerry and Senator John Edwards.

But as I've said before, their victory, is not the end of the struggle, but the beginning of a new fight: hold them to their promises. Even the good guys won't do what's right unless we hold their feet to the fire.

*Possible Junk Mail*

That was the warning that preceded my monthly copy of the National Association of Manufacturer's "Workplace Watch." And how true it is!

This month's highlight is the realization by NAM that health and safety pays. If not in higher profit margins, then in sales of educational materials:

OSHA Fines Are on the Rise: Are You in Compliance?

It’s a juggling act no one likes performing — trying to stay on top of ever-changing OSHA regulatory developments while running a successful business. Is it possible to stay in compliance, ensure a safe environment for your staff and train them without taking time away from production — which could affect your bottom line?

"OSHA Fines Are On the Rise?" Well, if so, not by much. The AFL-CIO reports that "The average penalty per violation and per willful violations both increased in FY 2003 from the FY 2002 level, while the average penalty per serious violation decreased to its lowest level since 1999." And what is the average penalty? In fiscal year (FY) 2003, serious violations of the OSH Act carried an average penalty of only $871 ($856 for federal OSHA, $885 for state OSHA plans).

"Ever-changing OSHA regulatory developments?" Thanks to NAM, the only thing that's changed is that there are fewer regulations on the books or in process than when the Bush administration came in.

To avoid those massive fines and keep track of the ever-shrinking changing regulatory requirements, you can purchase the NAM Safety Library: You can get the Written Safety Policy Library (CD-ROM) for only $489.97 ea.(List Price $979.95), the Corporate Safety Training Library (CD-ROM)$1,147.50 ea.(List Price $2,295.00), the Corporate Safety Training Library for only $1,495.00 ea. and don't forget the Written Library (CD-ROM)(List Price $3,274.95)

As you can see, these are being sold at half-price, undoubtedly an effort to unload them before OSHA starts giving away grant money to produce these programs for free.

Who Do You Trust? OSHA or DOT?

Interesting Washington Post column on the fight over whether OSHA or the Department of Transportation should have over handling hazardous materials.

The clash involves responsibility for hazmat oversight by the Department of Transportation vis-à-vis the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Business reads the legislation to say that OSHA should supervise only a small section of the law, the "subsection," which has to do mostly with training. Labor reads the same law to say that the DOT cannot preempt OSHA from protecting workers who handle hazardous material, including equipping them with protective gear.

This debate is illustrative of a problem in the OSHA act which gives government agencies the authority to manage their own health and safety if they simply claim that jurisdiction -- no matter how effective their programs are.

Weekly Toll

Port worker killed in Mount Pleasant

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. -- One port worker died and another was hurt in a separate accident, stopping work at the State Ports Authority.

A container checker died Monday morning when a crane operator lowered a shipping container on him at the Wando Welch Terminal.

William Edward Holst, 52, of Mount Pleasant, died at the scene.

A longshoreman at North Charleston's shipping terminal suffered bruises after he was pinned between two containers on a ship.

Baltimore City Police Officer Shot, Killed

BALTIMORE -- A Baltimore police officer was shot and killed Saturday night by a person he had arrested several days earlier, police said.

Brian Winder, 36, a 10-year veteran, was attacked by two men, one of whom Winder had arrested earlier for selling pirated DVDs and CDs, said Police Commissioner Kevin Clark.

Construction fatality

An R.B. Baker Construction Inc., employee has died, and another is in critical condition after an incident on a construction job at the airport Thursday afternoon.

The exact nature of the incident is unknown, and Robert Baker, president of R.B. Baker Construction Inc., said the company did not have any details. He declined to name either employee.

"It's a very tragic incident, and we don't know what happened," Baker said. "Everybody here's just really sad about it."

Man Kills 5 and Himself in Kansas Meat Plant

Elijah Brown's co-workers always had a hard time making sense of him. He paced, he talked to himself, he got bothered over teasing that wouldn't faze other people.

Questions about the 21-year-old meatpacking plant worker grew exponentially Saturday, after he used two handguns to shoot seven co-workers, killing five of them, before killing himself.

Three of those killed were members of an extended family, and a relative said Brown had had an argument with one of them.

Lonnie Ellingburg, 46, was uncle by marriage to Travis Nelson, 23, both of Kansas City, Kan., and nephew to Ardell L. Edwards, 55, of Grandview, Mo., relatives said.

Miller said Brown also shot and killed Leonardo Rodriguez, 49, of Kansas City, Kan.; and a 45-year-old Mexican national whose name was not released pending notification of his family. Four victims died at the plant, and Edwards died hours later at a hospital.

Funeral Services Held For Officer Killed In Helicopter Crash

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Funeral services were held Thursday for former Oklahoma City police Officer Darrell Jameson.

Jameson was at the controls of a helicopter that crashed over the weekend. Jameson and one other passenger, Nicholas Knigge, were killed in the crash.

Investigators think Jameson may have clipped some power lines, sending the helicopter into a spin.

Worker suffers fatal burns inside pipe

A construction worker was killed Wednesday when a welding torch apparently ignited his clothes while he was working inside a steel drainage pipe at a construction site at Highway 29 in Napa.

[Robert Saunders, 29] was trapped inside the pipe and burned to death, according to the Napa Fire Department.

The worker had entered the pipe to perform either welding or cutting with an acetylene torch. The pipe was 24 inches in diameter, and the man was about 40 feet inside the pipe when the fire broke out.

The man cried out in pain, and his partner, who also was not identified, attempted to go to his rescue with a fire extinguisher. However, it turned out the second man could not be of help, according to fire Capt. Scott Sedgley. More here.

Freak accident claims life of St. Ignace's favorite builder

ST. IGNACE -- "Chipper" Huskey was doing the same kind of small job he'd done countless times before for generations of local people Tuesday morning, when the chance slip of a front wheel on his construction "cherry picker" ended his life in an instant.

Chipper, whose given name is Michael Arthur Huskey, was killed at 52 when the cherry picker slipped from an unloading ramp with him aboard early Tuesday morning at the Truck Stop on US-2 West.

According to Michigan State Police reports, the ungainly equipment shifted, causing Huskey to strike his head on an upper rail of the equipment's "bucket." Although postmortem medical reports are incomplete, the blow killed the well-known local builder instantly.

The freak accident was the second work fatality in less than a week for the St. Ignace area. On Saturday, a Newago man died in a 160-foot fall from a cell phone tower he was repairing in nearby St. Ignace Township. On June 22, an Engadine man was killed in yet another work-related accident in Garfield Township.

Man dies following Malta blast

ROUND LAKE -- A second man has died following an explosion May 17 during demolition work at the former Malta Rocket site at the end of Hermes Road in Malta.

David R. Wilt, 52, of Round Lake died Friday in the burn unit at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, State Police Lt. Steve James said Tuesday. Stephen J. Comorski, 67, of Mechanicville died June 13.

The four men were demolishing an old steel warehouse at the site when someone used a cutting torch to take apart a stainless-steel pipe. Troopers have said industrial wood alcohol within the pipe exploded, sending a column of smoke 20 feet into the air.

One of the men jumped or fell from the building to escape the flames. All of them suffered severe burns but were conscious when police arrived.

Woodburn man crushed to death at workplace

WILSONVILLE -- A 2,200-pound bag of material used to produce plastic foam killed a Woodburn man when it rolled on top of him about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Abelardo Ybanez, 39, died while working in an industrial space of SCA Packaging North America, according to Kevin Weeks, a spokesman for the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division.

Worker dies, another hurt when trench collapses

A construction crew installing storm drains in Washington County was not using suggested safety precautions when a trench wall collapsed Tuesday, killing one worker and injuring another, rescue workers and township officials said.

William Partin, 39, of Hoffman Drive, North Fayette, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to North Franklin police.

Mystery bug bite kills Indianapolis man

Indianapolis, IN, Jun. 30 (UPI) -- Indiana authorities are investigating the circumstances of an Indianapolis man's death from an apparent spider bite on his neck.

The mystery began June 15, when Timothy McGinnis, 46, told his fiancee, Ruth Ann Kerner, he found a mark on his neck while in the shower. Two days later, Kerner had to call an ambulance for McGinnis because he was in pain and his neck was badly swollen.

McGinnis worked as a truck driver, and because it's possible he was bitten at work, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration has started an investigation.

Woodburn man crushed to death at workplace

WILSONVILLE, OR -- A 2,200-pound bag of material used to produce plastic foam killed a Woodburn man when it rolled on top of him about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Abelardo Ybanez, 39, died while working in an industrial space of SCA Packaging North America, according to Kevin Weeks, a spokesman for the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division.

Abelia Ybanez, the victim's sister, said company managers told her that a bag of pellets used to produce foam packaging was stacked on top of another similar bag when the bottom bag started to leak. Her brother tried to fix it with duct tape, but the bag burst and the top bag fell on him, Ybanez said she was told.

Worker Dies In Fall From USS Constitution

BOSTON -- A maintenance worker died Wednesday after he fell from the USS Constitution as it was docked in the Charlestown Navy Yard.

NewsCenter 5's Jim Boyd reported that the civilian worker was performing routine maintenance on the ship's mast when he fell at about 12:10 p.m. Officials said that the man fell about 70 feet, hitting the deck

3 Killed by Fumes From Texas Train Crash

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The collision of two freight trains released a plume of toxic fumes that killed an engineer and two people who lived nearby, investigators said Tuesday. Two others were left critically ill.

John Bromley, a spokesman for Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific, said 23 of the 74 cars on the UP train derailed. Seventeen Burlington Northern cars derailed, all of them empty.

A tanker car carrying pressurized chlorine broke open in the collision, venting tons of gas into the air. A small amount of ammonium nitrate was also released from three UP cars.

The gas clouds dissipated by late Monday morning, after drifting up to 10 miles to San Antonio's SeaWorld amusement park, where six people were treated for minor respiratory irritation.

Jerry Leyva, an investigator with the Bexar County Medical Examiner's office, said Gene Hale, 85, and Lois Koerber, 59, died from the effects of breathing chlorine gas. Their bodies were found Monday afternoon in their home about a mile from the crash.

Also killed by the gas was Heath Pape, a 23-year-old conductor aboard the Union Pacific train.

Worker Killed in Fall From Cell Phone Tower

ST. IGNACE, Mich. (AP) -- A worker was killed in a 180-foot fall from a cellular telephone tower.

William Edward Knorr III, 32, of Newaygo, was among three people doing maintenance work Saturday on Grant Tower in St. Ignace Township, state police reported.

He and another worker were climbing the tower when the mishap occurred.

ELEVATOR DEATH: Worker struck

An elevator worker was killed yesterday afternoon when he was struck by a descending elevator car as he peered into an open shaft.

David J. Woodrow, 34, of Tucson was working on a renovation of the elevator at the Pima County Health and Welfare Building, 150 W. Congress St., at about noon when he was struck and dragged between the car and the wall of the shaft, authorities said.

Paramedics found Woodrow dead on top of the elevator car, Fire Department Capt. Paul McDonough said.

Man, 25, killed in accident at mine

HANCOCK, NY — A Hancock Central School graduate was killed Friday morning in an accident at Cobleskill Stone Products. Vaughn A. Houck, 25, was performing maintenance work in a blacktop conveyor when it started, said Craig Watson, company secretary and treasurer.

"Somehow the employee got caught up in the heavy equipment," Watson said Monday.

State police at Deposit said Houck, from East Branch, was crushed by the conveyor belt. Troopers said the cause of death was massive head and neck trauma.

Houck had worked at Cobleskill Stone Products for two months, Watson said.

Hammond man dies at steel plant

EAST CHICAGO, IN -- For the second time this month, a steelworker died while on the job at an area steel plant.

Edward Hall, 62, of Hammond, was killed about 10:30 a.m. Monday morning while he was working in the basic oxygen furnace area at International Steel Group Inc.'s Indiana Harbor plant in East Chicago.

Hall, a member of United Steelworkers of America Local 1011, died after he was run over and crushed by a submarine car which transfers hot metal within the plant, according to a spokesman for United Steelworkers of America Local 1011, which represents the plant's union work force.

Worker dies after entering fuel storage tank

HARPERS FERRY --- One man died Monday while dismantling a former bulk fuel plant.

Bradley Berg of Blair, Wis., was working on the tank at about noon when he was apparently overcome by fumes. Berg was unresponsive when rescue crews found him inside the tank.

He was to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon where he was pronounced dead.

Berg was employed by AFAB of Lansing, a company hired to disassemble the fuel facility. Two coworkers were transported to the same hospital and were treated and released. Their names were not been released.

2 Con Ed workers die from injuries in Yonkers manhole explosion

YONKERS, N.Y. -- Two Consolidated Edison workers who were injured in a manhole explosion last week have died, the company said.

Christopher O'Connor, of Buchanan, died Sunday at New York Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan. Richard Lombardo died Monday at the same hospital, Con Ed spokeswoman D. Joy Faber said.

They were among nine people hurt in the June 23 blast under Central Park Avenue in Yonkers. They were repairing cables damaged in an earlier explosion.

Highway Worker Killed

Des Moines - An Earlham man is the victim of the first fatal accident in one of the I-235 construction zones. 55-year-old Bobby Derrickson died when an end loader ran him over.

An end loader is a large earth-moving machine with a large scoop on the front. The accident happened just off the Interstate at the corner of East 15th and Lyon. The worker operating the machine says he didn't realize he had hit anything, so he kept going.

Boulder crushes Saylorsburg man

A Saylorsburg man was killed when a roughly 3-ton rock fell on him at the construction site of the Cumru Township maintenance building in Berks County, officials said Tuesday.

Joseph M. Costello Jr., 26, Saylorsburg, died Monday afternoon in the industrial accident along Welsh Road opposite the township municipal building, officials said.

Costello was working for Kinsey Construction Inc. of York, the project's general contractor, officials said

Man dies following accident

Dunbar, PA -- A Dunbar man died Friday of injuries received last week when wooden pallets fell on him at Pechin Shopping Village.

Adam Matrunics, 21, of Dunbar, was an employee at the shopping village. He was unloading a truck at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 23, when a skid of pallets let loose and hit him.

Federal agency eyes concrete plant death

WESTFIELD - The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a 53-year-old Monson man fatally injured Monday in an apparent fall at a concrete plant here.

Louis Robichaud Jr., a maintenance worker at Rinker Materials on Neck Road, was discovered inside the plant at the bottom of a ladder at 1:10 p.m., Deputy Fire Chief Thomas F. Kane said yesterday.

OSHA Investigates Construction Workers Death

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a Girard Construction worker. 21 year old Daniel Wild of Girard was trapped in a cave-in while working at a home on East 33rd Street in Erie Tuesday afternoon. Erie Fire fighters dug him out and he was taken to Hamot Medical Center but later died from his injuries. Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook has ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. O.S.H.A. is investigating whether or not there were any work-site safety violations.

Hundreds Mourn Texas Officer Killed In Shooting

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Hundreds gathered Wednesday to remember a decorated police officer whose more than 25-year career was cut short by a gunman holed up in a van in a parking lot.

Sgt. Gregory Hunter, 54, was shot twice Friday morning after responding to a call of a van with the engine idling overnight outside a Wal-Mart in Grand Prairie. He died a few hours later at a hospital in nearby Arlington.

Worker dies at Ford stamping plant in Woodhaven

WOODHAVEN, Mich. (AP) — A worker was killed Tuesday in an accident at Ford Motor Co.'s Woodhaven Stamping Plant, officials said. Police and the company provided few details.

Police Deputy Chief Sandra Andrews of the Woodhaven Police Department said her agency responded to an industrial accident at the plant about 1:15 p.m. and found the body of a 62-year-old man on an elevated catwalk.

"He apparently had been working on a crane," Andrews said.

Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari identified the victim as Gerri Storey but said she did not know his hometown. She said the automaker had "no facts to share at this time" about the accident.

Father of 4 dies after trailer collapse

MESA, AZ - The family of a man who celebrated the birth of a fourth child last week is now planning a burial.

Antonio Sanchez, 43, of Mesa, died Monday of injuries he suffered when a mobile home fell on him and a co-worker. Derek Taylor, 28, of Gilbert was treated at Banner Desert Medical Center and released.

Worker At MidAmerican Energy Plant Killed In Accident

An investigation is under way into a work-related accident that killed a Nebraska man at the MidAmerican Energy Plant near Sioux City, Iowa.

The Woodbury County sheriff's office said Gene Boykin, 53, of South Sioux City, died Sunday. He was found that morning suffering from serious injuries. No other details have been released.

Construction Worker Dies in Fall

OTAY MESA – A San Ysidro man working on the roof of a two-story commercial building on Britannia Boulevard Monday died after he fell through a skylight, the county Medical Examiner's Office reported.

Robert Mata, 39, of Spring Valley's Commercial & Industrial Roofing Co., fell through the skylight at 6:30 a.m. and was pronounced dead at the site at 7:03 a.m., a Medical Examiner's investigator said.