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Showing posts with label exposure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exposure. Show all posts

Friday, July 12, 2013

OSHA Targets Occupational Exposure to Isocyanates

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a new National Emphasis Program to protect workers from the serious health effects from occupational exposure to isocyanates. OSHA develops national emphasis programs to focus outreach efforts and inspections on specific hazards in an industry for a three-year period. Through this NEP, OSHA will focus on workplaces in general, construction and maritime industries that use isocyanate compounds in an effort to reduce occupational illnesses and deaths.

"Workers exposed to isocyanates can suffer debilitating health problems for months or even years after exposure," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "Through this program, OSHA will strengthen protections for workers exposed to isocyanates."

Isocyanates are chemicals that can cause occupational asthma, irritation of the skin, eyes, nose and throat, and cancer. Deaths have occurred due to both asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis from isocyanates exposure. Respiratory illnesses also can be caused by isocyanates exposure to the skin. Isocyanates are used in materials including paints, varnishes, auto body repair, and building insulation. Jobs that involve exposure to isocyanates include spray-on polyurethane manufacturing, products such as mattresses and car seats and protective coatings for truck beds, boats, and decks.

Friday, May 24, 2013

California Study Reveals Occupational Asthma Is A Major Problem

"It is estimated that over 974,000 adults in California have asthma that has been  caused or aggravated by their work, but work-related asthma (WRA) is often not recognized or diagnosed."

Work-related asthma (WRA) is under-recognized and often undiagnosed, but a new report
estimates that nearly a million adults in California have had work-related asthma. “Asthma in California: A Surveillance Report” tracks asthma data for the state of California, and includes a chapter on WRA. The updated chapter includes rates of WRA by industry and occupation, types of exposure, measures of the impact of WRA, and data on the characteristics of people with WRA, such as gender and age.


View WRA chapter: Work-related asthma (PDF)

View entire report: Asthma in California: A Surveillance Report (PDF, 6 MB)

View executive summary: Asthma in California: Executive Summary (PDF)

For more information on OHB work in this area, see Tracking Work-Related Asthma

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For over 4 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 occupational accidents and illnesses.  Click here now to submit a case inquiry.

Read more about "asthma" and workers' compensation
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A recent study of pregnant working women reveals that their exposure to occupational pollution results in their children's development of asthma. The report was presented at the Eastern European Respiratory's annual ...
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However, in some conditions such as occupational asthma, a past history of childhood asthma and/or asthmatic attacks occurring before occupational exposure, does notautomatically rule out the possibility of a workplace ...
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Monday, March 11, 2013

AAJ Responds To WSJ Report About Rising Asbestos Claims

Workers' Compensation claimant's attorneys have lived through decades of denial and delay of asbestos disease claims by the asbestos industry and their suppliers, manufacturers and distributors of asbestos products. Asbestos, a known carcinogen, was marketed throughout the US for decades and still is not banned in the US. 

Click here to read
The energies and economies of the asbestos / insurance industry have been misplaced, for what now seems like generations. Instead of trying to defeat the claims, the asbestos industry, which gained enormous profit from trading in a deadly product, would best serve public health by supporting a total ban on asbestos manufacturing/importation and use in the US and support medical research for a cure for the rare and fatal malignancies it causes, ie. mesothelioma and lung cancer.

The following is a statement from American Association for Justice President Mary Alice McLarty, in response to theWall Street Journal story “As Asbestos Claims Rise, So Do Worries About Fraud:”

“Asbestos has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and 10,000 more will die this year.

“Countless lives could have been saved and lawsuits prevented if Big Asbestos had been transparent and disclosed the dangers of asbestos decades ago.  Instead, as more Americans die, this industry continues to invest massive resources into evading accountability, vilifying the victims and opposing a ban on asbestos. 

“The Wall Street Journal and Congress should not be aiding this campaign to let Big Asbestos off the hook for killing Americans.”
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As the world's largest trial bar, the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) works to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others—even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations. Visit http://www.justice.org/newsroom.