How the Paint Industry Escapes Responsibility for Lead Poisoning

Today's post was shared by Mother Jones and comes from www.motherjones.com

This story was produced by FairWarning, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit news organization focused on public health and safety issues.

In April, based on new toxicity estimates, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised to 535,000 its estimate of the number of children with potentially dangerous levels of lead in their blood. But the communities trying to tackle the problem may not see another cent from what somepublic officials say is the prime culprit: the manufacturers of lead pigments whose products infuse the flaking paint still found in millions of American dwellings. The lead-paint industry may, in fact, be on the verge of defeating the last major legal assault by municipalities and states seeking damages to pay for lead removal.

Some experts had expected such lawsuits to follow the path of tobacco litigation during the 1990s, when states wrested a $248 billion settlement from cigarette makers to cover smoking-related health costs. "My prediction was that lead would be the next big toxic tort litigation," says Jed Ferdinand III, a Connecticut lawyer who is familiar with the issue. "That really hasn't happened."

Indeed, apart from one settlement,the industry has successfully fended off roughly 50 lawsuits by states, cities, counties, and school districts over the past quarter century. Now, in a trial under way in San Jose, California, industry lawyers are seeking a final victory in a case brought by 10 agencies, including the cities of San Francisco, Oakland...

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Springfield, Mass. Housing Authority Settles Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Case

Today's post was shared by US EPA News and comes from yosemite.epa.gov

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that the Springfield, Mass. Housing Authority will pay an $11,000 penalty for failing to inform tenants their apartments may contain lead-based paint, as required by law. 

In addition, the housing authority agreed to render apartment buildings at four of its properties lead safe at a cost of more than $49,500.According to HUD and EPA, the Springfield Housing Authority violated the federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (Residential Lead Act) by failing to inform people seeking to rent pre-1978 housing that their homes may contain potentially dangerous amounts of lead. 

This action was based on compliance inspections of the Springfield Housing Authority by EPA in 2007 and 2009.“

Today's settlement should remind landlords and property owners that they have a legal responsibility to tell their tenants about known as well as potential lead-based paint hazards in their homes,” said Jon L. Gant, Director of HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. “HUD is committed to working with public housing authorities and other housing providers to make certain we protect...

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The FMLA: 20 Years On and Keeping America’s Families Strong

Today's post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from social.dol.gov

Today we announced that national restaurant chain T.G.I. Fridays has agreed to change its employee leave policy to be in compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act. The move affects thousands of employees at locations across the U.S.

The company has also agreed to pay back wages to an employee in Louisiana after failing to reinstate the employee to the same or equivalent position following FLMA-covered leave, and not allowing the employee to return to work immediately.
Workers should not have to choose between their jobs, and their health or the health and welfare of family members who need their care.

That is the core belief behind the FMLA, which provides America’s workers the right to take unpaid, job-protected leave for up to 12 weeks to care for themselves or a loved one while maintaining full health care coverage. It also guarantees that a worker can return to the job at the same level with the same pay and benefits.

Millions of American workers and their families have benefited since the FMLA’s provisions became effective 20 years ago this week. In the first year-and-a-half after it became available, it’s estimated that between 1.5 and 3 million Americans took FMLA-covered leave to care for themselves or a loved one.

Twenty years later, FMLA leave has been used nearly 100 million times, and research shows that the FMLA has not imposed an undue burden on employers.
But the FMLA must evolve to keep pace with the changing face of the modern family....

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Related articles

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Improving Patient and Worker Safety: Opportunities for Synergy, Collaboration and Innovation

Today's post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from www.osha.gov

What is healthcare?

Healthcare is involved, directly or indirectly, with the provision of health services to individuals. These services can occur in a variety of work settings, including hospitals, clinics, dental offices, out-patient surgery centers, birthing centers, emergency medical care, home healthcare, and nursing homes.

What types of hazards do workers face?

Healthcare workers face a number of serious safety and health hazards. They include bloodborne pathogens and biological hazards, potential chemical and drug exposures, waste anesthetic gas exposures, respiratory hazards, ergonomic hazards from lifting and repetitive tasks, laser hazards, workplace violence, hazards associated with laboratories, and radioactive material and x-ray hazards. Some of the potential chemical exposures include formaldehyde, used for preservation of specimens for pathology; ethylene oxide, glutaraldehyde, and paracetic acid used for sterilization; and numerous other chemicals used in healthcare laboratories.

How many workers get sick or injured?

More workers are injured in the healthcare and social assistance industry sector than any other. This industry has one of the highest rates of work related injuries and illnesses. In 2010, the healthcare and social assistance industry reported more injury and illness cases than any other private industry sector -- 653,900 cases (Table 2 [268 KB PDF, 29 pages]). That is 152,000 more cases than the next industry sector: manufacturing. In 2010, the...

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Wal-Mart signs corporate-wide settlement with US Labor Department

Today's post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from www.dol.gov

Wal-Mart signs corporate-wide settlement with US Labor Department

Agreement resolves OSHA citations at Rochester, N.Y., store following 2011 inspections

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has entered into a corporate-wide settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to improve safety and health conditions in all 2,857 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores under federal jurisdiction.  The settlement, which resolves two enforcement cases that began in 2011, includes provisions for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer to enhance safety and health practices and training related to trash compactors, cleaning chemicals and hazard communications corporate-wide.

“This settlement will help to keep thousands of exposed Wal-Mart workers safe and healthy on the job,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “We hope this sends a strong message that the law requires employers to provide safe working conditions, and OSHA will use all the tools at our disposal to ensure that all employers follow the law.”

Under the settlement, trash compactors must remain locked while not in use, and may not be operated except under the supervision of a trained manager or other trained, designated monitor.  Wal-Mart will also improve its hazard communications training; and, for...

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Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infections in Health Care Workers

Today's post was shared by NEJM and comes from www.nejm.org

Correspondence

August 7, 2013DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc1308698

Article

To the Editor:

A majority of the 94 cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection that have been reported to date have occurred in Saudi Arabia. Patients with this infection have presented with serious respiratory disease and have required hospitalization.1,2 However, there have been case reports of less severe disease within family3,4 and hospital2 clusters, and the clinical spectrum of MERS-CoV infections may extend to asymptomatic and subclinical cases. Therefore, the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of this infection need further definition. The patterns of the spread of MERs-CoV among family3,4 or hospital2 clusters suggest that transmission occurs through droplets or contact. We previously reported two cases of MERS-CoV infection in health care workers,2 one of which was fatal.

The presence of asymptomatic or subclinical MERS-CoV infections in the community or among health care workers could have important public health implications, since these infections may be sources of transmission to close contacts in the community or to patients with coexisting medical conditions. The close proximity of health care workers to patients and the handling of human biologic material (sputum, respiratory secretions, feces, urine, or blood) may increase the risk of transmission, and health care workers may be particularly at risk for MERS-CoV infections.

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of...

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A 10 Step Guide To Your Independent Medical Examination

Follow these steps to ensure you get the most out of your independent medical examination.

Today's post comes from guest author Paul J. McAndrew, Jr. from Paul McAndrew Law Firm.

You will reach the stage in your worker’s compensation claim where you will be examined by a doctor of your choice. This exam may generate the most important evidence in your claim. I strongly recommend that you do the following:

1. Needless to say, always tell the truth. Never exaggerate or overstate your symptoms. On the other hand, do not understate your symptoms, either. This is your one chance to tell it all.
2. Be sure to write down the time and place of your independent medical examination (IME, for short). It is important that you make it to this appointment on time.
3. Before going to the IME, spend an hour or two writing down the history of your injury, your current complaints based on the injury, what things aggravate your injury, and what care and treatment you have been given for your injury. You will have only a limited amount of time to describe these things to the IME doctor. It is important that you have a well-organized statement to give to the doctor. Therefore, you should take your written statement to the IME and use it to make sure that you tell the doctor a complete statement of these things. Then, save the written statement and return it to me. If the things in your statement do not end up in the IME doctor’s record, this may be useful in the future.
4. Remember, although this is a doctor of our choosing who will be fair and impartial. The doctor is not in our pocket. He (or she) will be using the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment which has certain “tests” to determine if a patient is faking or exaggerating their symptoms.
5. The best way to go into the IME is to be alert, relaxed and polite. The IME is a fairly routine process. You are not being singled out. Don’t be defensive.
6. A major part of the IME will consist of you answering<!--more--> written or oral questions or giving a statement to the doctor. Answer all questions politely and truthfully. Don’t try to fake anything or unreasonably exaggerate any problem. Any experienced doctor will quickly discover this and it could ruin your case. Take your time in answering questions to make sure that you answer each question clearly and truthfully. Answer only the questions that are asked and don’t ramble on.
7. You will probably be asked to describe your pain. Paint is often difficult to describe. You might find it easiest to explain activities that worsen your pain. You should have a list of everyday activities that increase your pain.
8. When talking to the physician try to be as accurate as possible. Explain when and how you were hurt. Tell him your current symptoms in as neutral a way as possible.
9. Do not complain bitterly about your previous treatment. Don’t say things about the company doctor being in cahoots with the employer. The IME doctor’s evaluation won’t be made better by complaints.
10. After the IME, I am interested in knowing just what went on in the examination. Therefore, after the examination, take at least one half-hour to write down as much as you can remember of what the doctor said, what you answered, what the doctor did, and what, if anything, was dictated into a recorder. Note as accurately as possible the time that you arrived at the office, the time that you were placed in the examining room, when the doctor entered the room, and when the doctor left the room. It may be important to have an exact record of the time the doctor spent with you in the examination room.

If you follow these directions, you will provide the IME doctor with an accurate description of your work-injury condition. This will lead to a clear and reliable IME report that can held your claim. Of course, check with your attorney for more suggestions.