NIOSH Monitoring Work-Related Cancer

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health through The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) continues to monitor and report data for work-related cancers by industry and States. 

"Past estimates indicate that about 4% of cancer deaths in the U.S. are caused by occupational exposures; currently this is thought to underestimate the true burden of occupational cancer.1 Many of the studies that reported on the health effects of carcinogens were conducted in manufacturing. These assessments have resulted in the monitoring of and reduction in workplace exposures to carcinogens worldwide, in some cases through the development of protective standards. Exposures to carcinogens in the workplace may not result in cancer until 15-40 years later. Prevention of exposure to newly identified carcinogens is critical in order to achieve reductions in workplace attributable cancer. Based on the National Occupational Mortality Surveillance System (NOMS) (www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/surveillance/NOMS/), U.S. manufacturing workers have increased proportionate mortality to cancer before age 65. To reduce cancer in workers, preventive strategies should be used in manufacturing processes where known and potential carcinogens are used."

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Lawsuit Filed for Genetic Discrimination

A lawsuit was filed under the recently enacted Genetic Information Discrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) on behalf of a woman who underwent a prophylactic double mastectomy after testing positive for breast cancer. GINA took effect on November 21, 2009 and made it illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information.


GINA prohibits an employer from using genetic information to make an employment decision. It is enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). 


The use of genetic information and the correlation with occupational illness and disease has been raised in the past as a major issue for employees as to both privacy and discrimination in the workplace. The workers' compensation arena is a fertile ground for conflicting interests over genetic testing and dissemination of genetic information.

A delicate balance exists between, the ethical, moral and legal use of this evidence. The appropriate use of this information by an employers in assessing risks and benefits in the workplace is challenging. Many tasks at work now include risk factors of a  carcinogenic, mutagenic, and/or genotoxic nature.


Click here to read more about occupational illness and genetics.

The Declining Euro and US Workers Compensation

This past week has been hectic on the news front. Internationally, the financial riots in Greece, and the British election results have sounded an alarm that the Euro is going south. The impact on the world’s financial  markets on Thursday reverberated across the globe. On the home front, Saturday night last, a car bomb was parked in Times Square as news media merely focused instead for 3 desperate hours on Presidential humor at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Even the US workers’ compensation system generated gloomy news as the NCCI reported dismal findings and a lack of a positive direction for the patchwork of State systems. NY State has joined the ranks of closing down 20% of its workers’ compensation agency. Unemployment rates in the US continue to grow and the rebound of the past is unlikely and the nation’s workers’ compensation continues to struggle.

One should not loose sight of the fact that the US workers' compensation system had its birth in Europe at the turn of the 1900’s. It was imported into the United States and the program flourished in tandem for decades with the late industrial revolution.

The international economic system now is challenged. The unemployment rate fails to rebound. Thomas L. Friedman  (NY Times)  brings into question, how to adapt the workers' compensation system to fit in the world market. He points out that, under Greek law workers in “hazardous jobs” can retire on full pension at age 50 for women and 55 for men. In Britain everyone over the age of 60 can ride the bus for free.

Everyone knows that a “free ride” just doesn’t exist any longer. Some commentators place doubt even on the $1 Trillion European bailout package as merely “kicking the can down the road,” and not a definitive solution.

The pension and benefit program in Europe is just one element of the failed workers’ compensation system. A larger question will be the adaptation of a medical benefit delivery system that works efficiently and is sustainable. As Friedman points out, "The Tooth Fairy is Dead." New concepts and ideas are desperately needed. Those looking to the past for solutions, now need to look to the future and be prepared to adapt to the future. It is necessary to grasp a vision of the horizon and beyond. The change going forward may be an entirely different approach to a present troubled workers’ compensation system.

To read more about health care and workers' compensation click here.

..........

Jon L. Gelman Wayne NJ author of NJ Workers' Compensation Law and contributory author Modern Workers' Compensation Law.

NCCI Reports Gloomy Outlook for Workers Compensation

Declining workers compensation revenues and increased medical costs were reported by NCCI Holdings, Inc. (NCCI). NCCI is the major national workers' compensation rating agency. The report highlighted that medical costs continued to soar even in a declining economic market.


While claims continued to decline medical costs continued to grow at a fast rate. In 2009 costs increased 5.0% while the medical CPI (Consumer Price Index) rose only 3.2%.


Medical costs and the efficient and delivery of medical benefits continue to be a major issue in the functioning of the workers' compensation system nationally. National Health Care reform may provide an opportunity to address this issue in a meaningful fashion through transfer of occupational disease medical costs to Medicare.


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Exposure to Noise and Lead at Firing Ranges

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) continues to report on safety measures for excessive noise and lead exposure at firing ranges. Exposure to excessive noise in the workplace has been recognized as a major health hazard, one that can impair not only a person's hearing, but also his physical and mental well-being. In general noise in the workplace first affects the ability to hear high-frequency or high-pitched sounds.  Workers suffering from noise-induced hearing loss may also experience continual ringing in the ears, called "tinnitus".  In addition, workers who are exposed to noise sometimes complain of nervousness, sleeplessness and fatigue.

Lead exposure continues to be problematic in the workplace. The worker becomes exposed to lead when dust and fumes are inhaled and when lead is ingested through contamination on hands, water, food and clothing.  When lead enters the respiratory and digestive tracts of the human body it is released to the blood and distributed throughout the system.  More than 90% of the body's lead is accumulated in the bones where it is stored for many years.  The bones then release the lead back into the blood stream and re-expose the system long after the original occupational exposure has ceased.

NIOSH now reports in a new publication,  that "...Workers and users of indoor firing ranges may be exposed to hazardous levels of lead and noise. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends steps for workers and employers to reduce exposures."

"According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 1 million Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers work in the United States [DOJ 2004]. They are required to train regularly in the use of firearms. Indoor firing ranges are often used because of their controlled conditions (see Figure 1). In addition to workers, more than 20 million active target shooters practice at indoor firing ranges. Law enforcement officers may be exposed to high levels of lead and noise at indoor firing ranges. NIOSH estimates that 16,000 to 18,000 firing ranges operate in the United States."

"Several studies of firing ranges have shown that exposure to lead and noise can cause health problems associated with lead exposure and hearing loss, particularly among employees and instructors. Lead exposure occurs mainly through inhalation of lead fumes or ingestion (e.g., eating or drinking with contaminated hands)."

Click here to read more about occupational exposures and claims for workers' compensation benefits. For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered from occupational and bystander exposures.

Workers Comp While Stripping

A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with fraud for collecting temporary workers' compensation benefits while continuing to work as a stripper. The Associated Press reports that the injured worker suffered a back injury allegedly limiting her ability to stand and move about in certain positions. A complaint filed charged her with working as a stripper at C.R. Fanny's Gentlemen's Club and Sports Bar while collecting $22,000 in temporary disability benefits.

$208.8 Million Awarded in California Asbestos Case

A Los Angles jury awarded $208.8 Million in what has been recognized as the largest asbestos verdict ($200 Million punitive damages) in the State of California.  The case involved a household contact exposure to asbestos fiber. The wife of the asbestos worker was exposed to asbestos fiber on the clothes of her husband that he brought home and that she cleaned.

Liability was apportioned 70% against CertainTeed Corp and 30% against the Los Angles Department of Water and Power.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen and knowledge of the relationship of human exposure to asbestos fiber and mesothelioma, a rare malignancy, has been known since the 1920's. Cases for household contact exposure to asbestos fiber are common.

In Paterson NJ the Union Asbestos and Rubber Company Plant (UNARCO) was the subject of a sentinel study by the late Irving J. Selikoff, MD, who found that of the 933 workers who were employed during the war years, over 300 had died by 1976 of asbestos related disease, and that household contact illness and disease was very prevalent.

Click here to read more about asbestos related disease and claims for benefits. For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered asbestos related illnesses.