Workplace safety

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on GAO Report on the Accuracy of Workplace Injury and Illness Data

November 16, 2009 -- The GAO report released today confirms that employer policies and practices that discourage the reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses are widespread and undermining the safety and health of America's workers.    » read more »

11/16/2009 -- WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its acetylene standard. A final rule replaces references to outdated industry standards with updated references reflecting current industry practices.

"This final rule incorporates current technology that enhances OSHA's acetylene standard for improving industry work practices and providing safer workplaces," said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab. "It exemplifies our mission of providing strong and effective regulations that protect the safety and health of working men and women."    » read more »

New Report Documents Unparalleled Employer Abuse In Underreporting Of Workplace Injury And Illness

November 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – America’s workers suffer more workplace injury and illness than employers report, and medical professionals are under pressure from employers to misdiagnose and under-treat work-related health conditions, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The report confirms what workers and worker advocacy organizations have known for a long time—Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) statistics do not reflect the real risk workers face from workplace hazards.    » read more »

November 13, 2009 -- Corpus Christi—The United Steelworkers Union (USW) is asking why elected officials from Corpus Christi did not appear at a community forum Nov. 11 to discuss the dangers of using hydrogen fluoride (HF) in area refineries and its alternatives.

“Their failure to appear at this forum is especially disheartening since a serious refinery accident in July that involved a fire and HF release left one worker fighting for his life,” said Jim Lefton, sub-director of USW District 13. “Residents around the refineries wondered why city and county officials deserted them.”    » read more »

Expedite Mine Permits Issuance

November 03, 2009 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear today announced that he has approved an increase in the number of mine inspectors and the number of mining permit reviewers in the Energy and Environment Cabinet. Speaking with miners and local officials at three stops in eastern Kentucky today, the Governor said making sure Kentucky coal miners are safe must be a priority.

“The addition of 15 mine inspectors in the Office of Mine Safety and Licensing will not only help with our efforts to complete the number of required inspections, but will also enhance our nationally recognized mine rescue team capabilities and response,” said Gov. Beshear.    » read more »

10/30/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced it is issuing $87,430,000 in proposed penalties to BP Products North America Inc. for the company’s failure to correct potential hazards faced by employees. The fine is the largest in OSHA’s history. The prior largest total penalty, $21 million, was issued in 2005, also against BP.    » read more »

Bill will Prevent Injuries Among Nurses and Health Workers

Washington, D.C. -- Oct 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) introduced the Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009, which would set standards on safe patient handling and injury prevention. Companion legislation has been introduced in the House by Rep. Conyers (D-Mich.).

“Nurses and health care workers shouldn’t have to sacrifice their safety and their livelihood to help others,” said Sen. Franken. “Especially when many of these injuries could be prevented. All of us benefit from the services these professionals provide, and by passing this legislation, we can help ensure they’re able to safely continue in their important careers.”    » read more »

Savannah, Ga—Several international unions representing hundreds of thousands of chemical and food industry workers today again criticized the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) for not recommending strong standards to prevent deadly explosions in factories handling combustible dusts, despite the board’s prior endorsement of such a step.

The unions reacted to the CSB’s new report on the deadly sugar dust explosion on Feb. 7, 2008, at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Ga. The explosion killed fourteen people, injured scores of others and severely damaged the plant.    » read more »

Unveils various initiatives across all sites to encourage smoking cessation

Mumbai, India - May 28, 2009 -- As part of its Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) initiatives and global commitment to support employee health, Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd. (Dow India), announced active support to employees in their effort to quit use of tobacco in recognition of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, 2009. This effort is part of the Dow India vision to make Dow workplaces, as well as its employees, tobacco free.    » read more »

Payments Made Under Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act

05/26/2009 -- WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it has paid more than $500 million in compensation and medical benefits to 4,798 current and former employees of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and their survivors under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).

The EEOICPA was created to assist individuals who became ill as a result of working in the atomic weapons industry. Survivors of such individuals may also be eligible for benefits.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, located in Paducah, Ky., produced more than one million tons of uranium during the plant's Cold War history.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- IRVING, Texas -- ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) today issued its 2008 Corporate Citizenship Report5 detailing actions to improve environmental, economic and social performance, while providing energy to meet the worlds’ growing demand.

The report details how ExxonMobil reduced greenhouse gas emissions, led the industry in worker safety and oil-spill prevention, and contributed more than eight times its earnings -- a record $402 billion -- to economies around the world through taxes and purchases of goods and services.    » read more »

05/11/2009 -- WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it has paid more than $400 million in compensation and medical benefits to Colorado residents under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). The act was created to assist those individuals who became ill as a result of working in the atomic weapons industry.

Survivors of such individuals may also be eligible for benefits. Since the implementation of the act, the Labor Department has paid 50,574 claimants more than $4.7 billion in compensation and medical benefits nationwide.    » read more »

Commemorates Those Lost on Workers Memorial Day

April 28, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The following is a statement from Change to Win Executive Director Chris Chafe on Workers Memorial Day, April 28, 2009.

“Each year, thousands of workers are killed on the job and millions more sustain workplace injuries. According to the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than four million workers were injured on the job and nearly 6,000 were killed by injuries due to job-site hazards in 2007 alone. Thousands more died of job-related diseases.    » read more »

New Data Available in Report Released Today to Mark Workers Memorial Day

April 27, 2009 -- The nation’s workplace safety laws and penalties are too weak to effectively protect workers, according to the new AFL-CIO annual report released today: Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect.

There were a total of 5,657 fatal workplace injuries in 2007, a slight decrease from the year before, according to the AFL-CIO’s analysis of the newly available data. In 2007, employers reported more than 4 million workers having a work-related injury or illness, more than 10,950 each day. Due to the impact of underreporting of injuries and illness, the true toll may be as high as 12 million workers experiencing an injury or illness in 2007.    » read more »

03/16/2009 -- WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced the withdrawal of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for occupational exposure to food flavorings containing diacetyl.

The withdrawal will facilitate the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) timely development of a standard to protect workers from bronchiolitis obliterans, a serious and potentially fatal lung disease associated with such an exposure.    » read more »