Nanomaterials: NIOSH Publishes Safe Practices Guide

NIOSH (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) has published safety recommendations on engineering controls and safe practices for handling engineered nanomaterials in laboratories and some pilot scale operations. This guidance was designed to be used in tandem with well-established practices and the laboratory’s chemical hygiene plan. The introduction of nanoparticles into the workplace has created a new dimension in workers' compensation occupational exposure claims.

"Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at a nanometer scale to produce new materials, structures, and devices having new properties, may revolutionize life in the future. It has the potential to impact medicine through improved disease diagnosis and treatment technologies and to impact manufacturing by creating smaller, lighter, stronger, and more efficient products. Nanotechnology could potentially decrease the impact of pollution by improving methods for water purification or energy conservation. Although engineered nanomaterials present seemingly limitless possibilities, they bring with them new challenges for identifying and controlling potential safety and health risks to workers. Of particular concern is the growing body of evidence that occupational exposure to some engineered nanomaterials can cause adverse health effects.

"As with any new technology or new material, the earliest exposures will likely occur for those workers conducting discovery research in laboratories or developing production processes in pilot plants. The research community is at the front line of creating new nanomaterials, testing their usefulness in a variety of applications and determining their toxicological and environmental impacts. Researchers handling engineered nanomaterials in laboratories should perform that work in a manner that protects their safety and health. This guidance document provides the best information currently available on engineering controls and safe work practices to be followed when working with engineered nanomaterials in research laboratories.

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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 work related accident and injuries.

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OSHA fines Clifton, NJ, stucco contractor more than $108,000 for exposing workers to fall hazards

The seal of the United States Department of Labor (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited DD Stucco and Renovation LLC for six safety — including two willful — violations related to fall hazards at a Mountain Lakes work site. OSHA opened an inspection in November 2011 as part of its local emphasis program on falls and proposed a total of $108,240 in penalties.


"This company is risking worker injury and possible death by failing to provide proper fall protection," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office, which conducted the inspection. "Employers need to know that falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry, and proper precautions must be taken."


The willful violations carry a $92,400 penalty and are due to a lack of fall protection for employees working on a scaffold that was not fully planked. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.


Four serious violations, which carry a $15,840 penalty, are for a scaffold that was not secured to the structure or supported on an adequate firm foundation, unstable objects used to support the scaffold and employees climbing across braces to access the scaffold. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.


In April, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a new campaign to provide employers and workers with life-saving information and educational materials about working safely from ladders, scaffolds and roofs in an effort to prevent deadly falls in the construction industry. In 2010, more than 10,000 construction workers were injured as a result of falling while working from heights, and more than 250 workers were killed. OSHA's fall prevention campaign was developed in partnership with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda program. More detailed information is available in English and Spanish on fall protection standards at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls.


"Fall hazards involving these and other safety issues can be avoided when an illness and injury prevention program is developed and implemented, and management and workers proactively identify and eliminate hazardous conditions," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.


The citations can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/DDStucco_316089713_0521_12.pdf*.


DD Stucco and Renovation is headquartered in Clifton and had three workers at the Mountain Lakes site. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.


To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Parsippany office at 973-263-1003.


Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA's role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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EPA Encourages the Public to Comment on Plan for Cleanup at Evor Phillips Superfund Site in Old Bridge, New Jersey

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a plan to clean up contaminated ground water at the Evor Phillips Leasing Company Superfund site. The six-acre vacant site is in an industrial area of Old Bridge Township, New Jersey. Past industrial activities contaminated the ground water with volatile organic compounds, which can have serious health effects. The proposed plan calls for the ground water to be treated to break down the contaminants to protect people’s health and the environment.

The EPA will hold a public meeting on June 19, 2012 to explain the proposed plan and is encouraging public comments. The meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. at the Old Bridge Central Library, 1 Old Bridge Plaza, Municipal Center, Old Bridge, New Jersey. Comments will be accepted until July 9, 2012.

Some volatile organic compounds can cause cancer. The extent and nature of potential health effects depend on many factors, including the level and length of exposure to the pollution.

“The chemicals in the ground water at the Evor Phillips Superfund site pose health risks,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “Removing them is the best way to protect the health of people who live and work in the area. The EPA encourages the public to attend the June 19 meeting and share their views on the proposed plan.”

From the early 1970s to 1986, the Evor Phillips site was used for industrial waste treatment and metal recovery operations. Liquid waste was treated on site and two waste disposal areas were used to neutralize acidic and caustic wastewater. The site also contained 19 small furnaces for incinerating photographic film and printed circuit boards to recover silver and other precious metals. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection closed down the liquid waste treatment operations in1975 after the operators failed to comply with state environmental requirements. All operations at the site stopped in 1986 with the shutdown of the metal recovery furnaces.

The Evor Phillips site was listed on the EPA’s Superfund list of the nation’s most hazardous waste sites in 1983. Because of the nature and complexity of the contamination at the site, the cleanup is being conducted in three phases. The first phase, conducted by NJDEP, involved the removal of approximately 40 buried drums and soil contaminated by metals, and the construction of a ground water treatment system to prevent the contaminated ground water from moving off site. In 2002, several companies responsible for the contamination began operating the ground water treatment system, with NJDEP oversight. The companies also demolished office buildings and furnaces, and removed buried drums, contaminated soil and underground storage tanks.

The EPA took the lead in overseeing the cleanup in 2008. The removal of contaminated soil, which will begin this summer, is the second phase of the cleanup. The third phase, which is currently proposed by the EPA, is the long-term treatment of the ground water using a process known as chemical oxidation. Chemical oxidation uses chemicals to destroy pollution in soil and ground water, breaking down the harmful chemicals into water and carbon dioxide. The oxidants are pumped into the ground water at different depths in the polluted area. Each injection is followed by monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. Samples of the ground water would be collected and analyzed to ensure that the technology is effective. The ground water will be monitored for several years after the cleanup goals have been met to demonstrate that the ground water is no longer a source of contamination.

The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. After sites are placed on the Superfund list of the most contaminated waste sites, the EPA searches for parties responsible for the contamination and holds them accountable for the costs of investigations and cleanups. The cleanup of the Evor Phillips site is being conducted and paid for by the responsible parties with oversight by the EPA.

Written comments may be mailed or emailed to:
Rich Puvogel, Remedial Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Region 2
290 Broadway – 19^th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10007-1866
(212) 637-4410
puvogel.rich@epa.gov

For more information on the Evor Phillips Leasing Company Superfund site, go to:http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/evorphillips/.

For a Google Earth aerial view of the Evor Phillips Leasing Company Superfund site, go to:http://www.epa.gov/region02/kml/evor_phillips_leasing.kml. (You must have Google Earth installed on your computer to view the map. To download Google Earth, visithttp://earth.google.com/download-earth.html).

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NJ Suggests Restrictions on Counsel Fees for CMS Claim Reimbursements

The New Jersey Division of Workers' Compensation set forth a policy statement defining the parameters for potential counsel fee recovery where The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid  (CMS) is reimbursed for claims conditional payments by consent versus a judicial Order.

Click here to read the memo.

50 Cancers To Be Covered Under the 9-11 Zadroga Health Claim Fund

The New York Times is reporting this afternoon that The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has approved for compensation payments 50 types of cancers from the $4.3 Billion Zadroga 9-11 Fund. The announcement was made by NIOSH WTC Program Director John Howard MD, whose agency was responsible for reviewing  Petition 001 regarding the addition of cancer, or types of cancer, to the List of World Trade Center-Related Health Conditions.

The Fund was established to provide medical surveillance, treatment and care (WTC Health Program) for first respondents and those who were in close proximity to the 9-11 blast in New York City and who suffered medical conditions and diseases as a result of the tragic event.


The World Trade Center Health Program (WTC Health Program) was established by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. Right now, the program provides services for responders, workers, and volunteers who helped with rescue, recovery, and cleanup at the World Trade Center and related sites in New York City. It also provides services for survivors who lived, worked, or were in school in the area. The WTC Health Program soon will also serve responders to the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon in Arlington, VA, and the Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, PA.


Medical clinics are maintained throughout the New York metropolitan area. For a list of clinics click here.

Next Steps:

Once the Administrator receives the Advisory Committee’s recommendation he has 60 days to publish in the Federal Register either a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the recommendation or a determination not to propose a rule and the basis for that determination. 

If the Administrator publishes a notice of proposed rulemaking to add cancer, or certain types of cancer, to the List of WTC-Related Health Conditions, the WTC Health Program must follow the normal regulatory process, including a minimum 30 day public comment period and review of those comments, before issuing a final rule.

If the Administrator determines not to add a certain type of cancer to the List of WTC-Related Health Conditions at this time there would still be the possibility that the type of cancer could be added to the List of WTC-Related Health Conditions in the future. Such potential future additions could be initiated through new petitions to the Administrator or at the Administrator’s discretion.


List of Cancers:
▪  Malignant neoplasms of the lip, tongue, salivary 

gland, floor of mouth, gum and other mouth, tonsil, 
oropharynx, hypopharynx, and other oral cavity and 
pharynx 
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the nasopharynx  
▪  Malignant neoplasms of the nose, nasal cavity, 
middle ear, and accessory sinuses 
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the larynx  
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the esophagus 
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the stomach 
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the colon and rectum 
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the liver and intrahepatic 
bile duct 
▪  Malignant neoplasms of the retroperitoneum and 
peritoneum, omentum, and mesentery 
▪  Malignant neoplasms of the trachea; bronchus and 
lung; heart, mediastinum and pleura; and other illdefined sites in the respiratory system and 
intrathoracic organs 
▪  Mesothelioma 
▪  Malignant neoplasms of the soft tissues (sarcomas) 
▪  Malignant neoplasms of the skin (melanoma and nonmelanoma), including scrotal cancer 
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the breast 
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the ovary  
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the urinary bladder 
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the kidney 
▪  Malignant neoplasms of renal pelvis, ureter and 
other urinary organs 
▪  Malignant neoplasms of the eye and orbit 
▪  Malignant neoplasm of the thyroid 
▪  Malignant neoplasms of the blood and lymphoid 
tissues (including, but not limited to, lymphoma, 
leukemia, and myeloma) 
▪  Childhood cancers 
▪  Rare cancers


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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 work related accident and injuries.

Click here to contact us for further information or assistance.

For more information about the 9-11 Zadroga Fund click here.

Congressman Cummings Introduces Legislation to Reform Defense Base Act

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, introduced legislation today that would save taxpayers huge sums of money by transitioning the existing workers’ compensation insurance system for overseas government contractors away from private sector insurance companies to a federal self-insurance program.

“There is absolutely no reason American taxpayers should be lining the pockets of private insurance companies,” said Cummings.  “This bill would save billions of dollars while improving the ability of contractor employees who risk their lives in war zones to obtain the medical care and support they deserve.”

According to a 2009 Pentagon study, Congress could save as much as $250 million a year by transitioning the existing Defense Base Act (DBA) insurance program to a government self-insurance program.  The study found:  “In the long run, the self-insurance alternative may have the greatest potential for minimizing DBA insurance costs, and it has several administrative and compliance advantages as well.”

Cummings’s legislation, H.R. 5891, The Defense Base Act Insurance Improvement Act of 2012, would direct the Departments of Defense and Labor to establish a self-insurance program in which the government would pay directly for medical benefits and disability benefits rather than utilizing private insurance companies.

The existing system has been a boondoggle for private insurance companies, who have reaped enormous profits under the program.  According to an Oversight Committee investigation, insurance companies providing DBA insurance in Iraq and Afghanistan have made enormous underwriting profits that are significantly higher than those of traditional workers’ compensation insurers.

The current DBA system requires contractors to purchase workers’ compensation insurance for employees working overseas from private insurance carriers, and the contractors and insurance companies negotiate their own rates.  Since the costs of the insurance premiums are often built into the price of the contract with the government, there is little incentive for contractors to limit insurance costs.

Cummings’s bill would set a six month deadline for the Departments of Defense and Labor to develop an implementation strategy to transition to a self-insurance program, and it would require the strategy to be executed within a year after the bill is enacted.

The legislation would also require the Departments of Defense and Labor to issue a report one year after the program is implemented to assess its effectiveness in terms of cost-savings and the delivery of benefits.

In addition to cost concerns, the current system has failed to ensure that all injured workers obtain health care services, disability payments, or death benefits they and their families deserve.  An analysis by ProPublica found that private insurance companies had denied about 44% of serious injury claims and about 60% of claims by employees suffering psychological damage such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

At the request of Congressman Cummings, the Domestic Policy Subcommittee held a hearing in 2009 to evaluate these findings, which confirmed that the Defense Base Act is in desperate need of reform.

AIG settles workers compensation insurance complaint with all 50 states, DC for $146.5M

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty today announced that asettlement agreement between the American International Group, Inc. (AIG) and its affiliates with all 50 states and the District of Columbia has become fully effective. The settlement is a result of AIG misreporting $2.12 billion of workers’ compensation premium as other lines of insurance. As part of the settlement agreement, AIG agreed to pay a national penalty of $100 million, and $46.5 million in additional premium taxes and assessments.

The Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) will receive $5.6 million in fines and penalties with an additional $8.7 million split between the Department of Financial Services (DFS) Division of Workers’ Compensation, Department of Revenue (DOR) and the Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association (FWCIGA).

"AIG systematically underreported workers' compensation insurance premium by putting this premium into the general liability or commercial automobile liability categories,” stated Commissioner McCarty. "The practical effect of this misreporting was to report premium in lines of business with lower residual market obligations or premium tax rates and assessments. I am pleased by the collaborative multi-state investigative effort that will yield millions of dollars in unpaid taxes owed to the states."

The lead states issued their multi-state examination report in December 2010 and entered into a related regulatory settlement agreement. The agreement was subject to several conditions, all of which have now been resolved. One of those was a $450 million residual market settlement that was approved by the U.S. District Court in February 2012. The remaining open condition, a settlement with insurance guaranty associations, was satisfied on May 30, 2012 when a $25 million settlement agreement was signed.

Florida was one of the lead states in this multistate examination along with Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. As part of the agreement, AIG entered into a compliance plan concerning the financial reporting of its workers’ compensation premium, and going forward agreed to be monitored and subject to a follow-up examination by the lead states in two years.

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