It’s Time for Protection Against Deadly Silica Dust
More than 300 scientists, doctors and workplace safety experts are asking President Obama to step in to speed much-needed protections against worker exposure to crystalline silica.
They signed a letter to the president today, urging him to direct the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to complete its review of a proposed rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on silica dust.
Some 1.7 million workers are exposed to crystalline silica, which kills some 200 workers each year and causes new cases of silicosis in as many as 7,300 workers, mostly in the construction field. Silicosis is incurable but preventable.
Says Leonard Serafin, a former railroad worker from California:
Every day I struggle to do activities because of my condition. I want to see that other people are protected from this dust—it’s not fair to expose people to something this dangerous when they can be protected. Read the rest of this entry »
OSHA, MSHA Move on Bush-Stalled Health and Safety Rules
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is moving forward on several new workplace safety measures that languished for years under the Bush administration. The move follows last week’s unveiling of the Obama administration’s Labor Department budget that boosts OSHA’s funding by $51 million and includes the hiring of 160 new safety inspectors.
According to the Labor Department’s regulatory agenda released yesterday, the safety agency will move on several rules stalled under Bush’s OSHA, including rules to protect workers from exposure to dangerous substances and chemicals such as silica (which can cause serious respiratory disease), diacetyl (a flavoring additive linked to “popcorn lung”) and beryllium (a light metal that can cause lung damage, especially to metal and dental workers).
