regulation
sb admin | February 17, 2007By David Michaels
How did the Congress pass legislation that not only cut EPA out of chemical plant safety, but also ensured that the job would be given to the Department of Homeland Security, which has neither the authority nor the commitment to do it right?
The job was done by Philip Perry, general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who is married to Vice President Cheneyâs daughter Elizabeth. The sordid details are Art Levineâs new article in the Washington Monthly, "Dick Cheney's Dangerous Son-in-Law."
Levine describes a meeting in March 2003, at which senior Bush…
sb admin | February 16, 2007By David Michaels
The changes President Bush made last month to Executive Order 13422, requiring, among other things, that certain agency guidance documents be reviewed by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), within the Office of Management and Budget, has caused a great deal of consternation in the public health community. (Weâve written about it here and here and here.)
Fortunately, the new congress has begun to examine the potential impact of the changes in the regulatory process. Earlier this week, the House Science and Judiciary Committees held back to back hearings…
sb admin | February 16, 2007By Dick Clapp
This week, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued preliminary health-based guidance to local water companies on levels of perflurooctanoic acid (PFOA) in drinking water (PDF). Based on current knowledge of cancer and non-cancer effects of this chemical, they recommended a limit of 0.04 parts per billion, and they say this will be re-evaluated as additional data becomes available. This is the latest in what will be an on-going process of research and regulation of this ubiquitous and persistent bioaccumulative toxin. The saga that has been unfolding is…
sb admin | February 16, 2007Matt Madia at Reg Watch and Ian Hart at Integrity of Science report on the two House hearings held last week on how the new executive order will affect regulatory agencies. (See our take on the Science & Technology Committeeâs hearing here.)
In climate change blogging, Jim Hoggan at DeSmogBlog is critical of Canadaâs climate policy, but applauds a new policy statement from British Columbia; Matthew C. Nisbet at Framing Science has some advice on framing the issue; and Gavin at Real Climate invokes the popular TV show CSI to explain how paleo-climate research fits into our understanding of…
sb admin | February 14, 2007By David Michaels
Here at the Pump Handle, weâve been trying to follow up some of the issues that Confined Space covered better than anyone else. One of these is chemical plant security. Many chemical plants are filled with explosive or toxic substances, making them appealing targets for terrorists. Congress considered bills to force chemical companies to take meaningful protective measures, but, as Confined Space readers will remember (see here and here for a refresher), these efforts were blocked by the now-deposed Republican leadership of the House and Senate. Instead, a rider giving the…
sb admin | February 14, 2007by Susan F. WoodÂ
Yesterday's hearing (Feb 13, 2007) before the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee was amazing in several ways. What struck me was the willingness of senior FDA physician-scientists (who have recently left FDA) to speak publicly about their concerns about the ignoring of safety and efficacy data quality when there is an apparent push for approval. The specific product they were talking about is Ketek, an antibiotic that has had much written about it including on the Pumphandle. The specific issues identified have to to with the use of…
sb admin | February 13, 2007By Liz Borkowski
Earlier today, the House of Respresentatives Committee on Science and Technology held a hearing on President Bushâs amendements to Executive Order 12866, and three of the witnesses painted a dismal picture of regulation under these new rules. (The fourth, William Kovacs of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, suggested that small businesses are drowning under regulations and the new requirements are needed to stem the tide.) David Michaels and Celeste Monforton have also written here about why this new order is problematic.
Bushâs amended executive order is the latest version of an…
sb admin | February 12, 2007By David Michaels
âSunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.â - Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis (1914)
According to the Newark Star-Ledger, Lisa B. Jackson, Commissioner of New Jerseyâs Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has just issued a tough new standard for removing chromium 6 (a powerful lung carcinogen) from soil.
Three years ago, the same newspaperâs Alexander Lane wrote a series of articles (reprinted here and here) reporting how chromium companies Maxus Energy (formerly Diamond Shamrock), Honeywell (which took…
sb admin | February 12, 2007By Celeste MonfortonÂ
Last month, David Michaels wrote about a newly amended executive order from President Bush that gives the executive branch (through the Office of Management & Budget) more control over the work of federal agencies. This order seems designed to constrain the regulatory activities of federal agencies like EPA, FDA, and OSHA in fulfilling their Congressionally mandated duties â protecting us from hazards in our air, food, and workplaces. It places additional burdens on agencies attempting to issue new regulations or guidance, and it gives the OMB more authority over…
sb admin | February 8, 2007Â by Susan F. Wood, PhD
On Wednesday Feb 21 at 3:00, the project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy at GWU School of Public Health and Health Services is hosting what hopefully will be a very exciting afternoon. Former Commissioners of the FDA will gather to discuss the future of FDA, bringing their experience and priorities together for an unscripted public conversation. FDA faces many challenges - some new, some old - but we need new ideas to help shape the upcoming legislative proposals that Congress will be taking up this year. Hearing from several former commissioners,…
sb admin | February 8, 2007Facing growing public concern about global warming, the US Chamber of Commerce is setting up another yet front group to oppose regulations that will limit greenhouse gases. The Chamber has tentatively named the new group the Institute for Energy Security, Competitiveness and American Jobs. It will be bankrolled by oil companies, electric utilities and automakers, who are expected to pony up about $20 million, according to Jeffrey Birnbaum of the Washington Post. It makes perfect sense, of course. General Motors, Ford, ExxonMobil, and the other corporations that sell products to the public…
sb admin | February 7, 2007By Joel TicknerÂ
The European Union (EU) recently issued new regulations requiring chemical firms to develop health and environmental data on chemicals used to make everyday products and provide reasonable assurances of safety. What a novel concept. The sad truth is that it is.  Despite the fact that most public surveys find that people believe (and expect) industrial chemicals are regulated like drugs (governments would never allow companies to place a dangerous, untested chemical into their products, would they?), most government toxics policies, do not follow this expectation. Until…
sb admin | January 26, 2007Some of you may recall Mike Caseyâs compelling exposé in the Kansas City Star (Wayback Machine version here) regarding OSHAâs outrageously low fines for safety violations-- even those directly responsible for serious injuries to or even deaths of unsuspecting workers. While OSHA is supposedly committed to levy fines âsufficient to serve as an effective deterrent to violationsââthe punishment rarely fits the crime. According to former OSHA assistant secretary Jerry Scannell, (1989-1992), the current fines are âalmost like chump change with some companies.â
Companies pay the finesâoften…
sb admin | January 26, 2007By David Michaels
Yesterdayâs post by Les Boden on workersâ compensation fraud by employers brings up an important question: How much fraud is there in the comp system and who is responsible?
Insurers and employers have worked diligently to convince the public that the workersâ compensation rolls are filled with malingerers, intent on ripping off the system. The evidence is always anecdotal, like surreptitiously filmed clips of the supposedly disabled workers doing the mambo. If injured workers get the message that they will be labeled as âmalingerersâ if they receive apply workers comp…
sb admin | January 24, 2007By David Michaels
NIOSH scientist Patricia Sullivan has just published a very important study that reminds us (as if any reminder were needed) that there really is no safe level of asbestos exposure.
The study looked at the causes of death among workers involved in mining, milling and processing asbestos-containing vermiculite in WR Graceâs plant in Libby, Montana. Dr. Sullivan found increased risk of lung cancer among workers whose lifetime asbestos exposure was only slightly higher than they would receive working a lifetime at the current OSHA standard.
A little background: Vermiculite is…
sb admin | January 21, 2007Mining companies opposed to a health standard to protect underground miners from diesel particulate matter (DPM) finally had their day in court. The morning proceeding featured remarks about tail-wagging dogs and coal-mine canaries, presented before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Industry attorneys urged the Court to vacate the exposure limits and other provisions of the Mine Safety and Health Administrationâs (MSHA) 2001 DPM rule. From my vantage point sitting on the public gallery benches, Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsberg, Senior Judge Harry T.…
sb admin | January 19, 2007There have been a number of thoughtful and challenging comments on the future of safety and health posted in the past week. I want to acknowledge some of these and also to suggest more discussion about the principles that might help choose which potential actions to increase worker protection should get priority attention.
Donald Coit Smith raised legitimate concern about insurance funds being used to fund inspections rather when injured workers receive inadequate benefits to cover their lost wages after injuries. However, I cannot agree with his suggestion that penalty dollars be used to…
sb admin | January 18, 2007By David Michaels
Earlier today, President Bush took another step to limit the ability of regulatory agencies to protect the nationâs health and environment.
The President signed amendments to Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, further centralizing the control the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has over agency activities, and making it more difficult for public health agencies to issue regulations or even guidance documents.
OMB Watch had just posted its preliminary analysis of the amendments. Here's an excerpt:
⢠It shifts the criterion for promulgating regulations from the…
sb admin | January 18, 2007By Liz BorkowskiÂ
Thereâs an article making its way around the internet warning that a lobbying reform law currently in the Senate will require bloggers who criticize Congress and reach audiences of more than 500 to register and file quarterly reports with Congress -- or risk jail time.
Mike Dunford of The Questionable Authority decided to investigate this, and found no such provision in the bill. In fact, he cites passages of the bill stating that it covers paid attempts to stir up the public on behalf of a client. Sums above $25,000 also need to be involved. In fact, this piece of the…
sb admin | January 17, 2007by Liz BorkowskiÂ
Via the Center for Media and Democracy, I've just learned about an article from the journal Tobacco Control that provides insight into yet another instructive facet of the Tobacco Wars: Philip Morrisâs plan to combat the declining social acceptability of smoking. The article authors â P.A. McDaniel, E.A. Smith, and R.E. Malone â examined documents made public through litigation against the tobacco industry for details on the industryâs âProject Sunshineâ plan, which was launched in 1996 to combat the declining social acceptability of smoking. In particular, they focused on…