Showing posts sorted by relevance for query petroleum. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query petroleum. Sort by date Show all posts
Friday, June 18, 2010
Air Quality Hazards of the Gulf Oil Spill
This video highlights the serious and extensive potential health hazards of the gulf oil spill.
To read more about petroleum exposure and workers' compensation.
Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Gulf Oil Spill Forecast to Involve The US East Coast
"Much of the west coast of Florida has a low probability (1%–20%) for impact, but the Florida Keys, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale areas have a greater probability (61%–80%) due to the potential influence of the Loop Current."
If this senario plays out, the health threat to workers and volunteers will expand.
To read more about petroleum exposure and workers' compensation click here.
Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Compensating Injured Oil Spill Workers-Making the Right Choices is Critical
Workers' Compensation is national in scope and benefits for injured and exposed oil spill workers should be no exception according to the President Obama's oil spill paymaster, Kenneth Feinberg. Feinberg remarked on national television today that he will interpret benefits based on local State law and that the existing limit of $20 Billion for the Fund may be inadequate to pay all claims.
Two specific scenarios apply in workers' compensation actions that will allow the oils spill compensation fund to make benefits. First is the US Supreme Court's interpretation that workers' compensation claims may be allocated among several jurisdictions. In other words, the three basic benefits: temporary, medical and permanent disability may be divided in accordance with three separate jurisdictions to provide the highest possible benefit to the injured worker. Industrial Commission of Wisconsin v. McCartin, 330 U.S. 622, 67 S.Ct. 886, 91 L.Ed. 1140 (1947), U.S.C.A. Const. art. IV, Sec. 1.
Secondly, the oil spill compensation fund will look to the law of the individual State that governs to determine validity. If the claim is valid in that jurisdiction then it will be allowed. Feinberg said, "One thing we learned from the 9/11 fund, you'll recall, Congress passed that law and said that when it comes to whether or not a financial injury was caused by the terrorist attack, look to the local law of the state where you leave." "So if a Boston restaurant says, 'We're losing business in our restaurant because we can't get shrimp from the Gulf,' let's take a look at Massachusetts law. Would Massachusetts law recognize that claim? If it would, I will. If it wouldn't, I won't. That's what Congress suggested and that might work here."
Workers employed and hired through national corporations may have multiple legal options available in choosing the right state law to apply. Those selections will need to be chosen wisely.
To read more about petroleum exposure and workers' compensation click here.
Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.
Two specific scenarios apply in workers' compensation actions that will allow the oils spill compensation fund to make benefits. First is the US Supreme Court's interpretation that workers' compensation claims may be allocated among several jurisdictions. In other words, the three basic benefits: temporary, medical and permanent disability may be divided in accordance with three separate jurisdictions to provide the highest possible benefit to the injured worker. Industrial Commission of Wisconsin v. McCartin, 330 U.S. 622, 67 S.Ct. 886, 91 L.Ed. 1140 (1947), U.S.C.A. Const. art. IV, Sec. 1.
Secondly, the oil spill compensation fund will look to the law of the individual State that governs to determine validity. If the claim is valid in that jurisdiction then it will be allowed. Feinberg said, "One thing we learned from the 9/11 fund, you'll recall, Congress passed that law and said that when it comes to whether or not a financial injury was caused by the terrorist attack, look to the local law of the state where you leave." "So if a Boston restaurant says, 'We're losing business in our restaurant because we can't get shrimp from the Gulf,' let's take a look at Massachusetts law. Would Massachusetts law recognize that claim? If it would, I will. If it wouldn't, I won't. That's what Congress suggested and that might work here."
Workers employed and hired through national corporations may have multiple legal options available in choosing the right state law to apply. Those selections will need to be chosen wisely.
To read more about petroleum exposure and workers' compensation click here.
Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Cancer Alley: NJ Meadowlands to be Tested for Cancer Causing Substances
The area around the NJ Turnpike has long been called "Cancer Alley," the the US EPA is now going to investigate past dumping of cancer causing substances in the New Jersey Meadowlands near the Hackensack River.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a legal agreement with
Apogent Transition Corp., Beazer East, Inc., Cooper Industries, LLC and Occidental Chemical Corporation to conduct a study of the contamination at the Standard Chlorine Chemical Company, Inc. Superfund site in Kearny, New Jersey as part of the cleanup plan for the site. The site, which is in the New Jersey Meadowlands and is next to the Hackensack River, is contaminated with a number of hazardous chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxin. The study of the nature and extent of the contamination and an evaluation of potential cleanup methods are essential steps in the cleanup process. The estimated value of the study work is $750,000. The companies will also pay for the EPA’s costs in overseeing the performance of the study.
Fish consumption advisories have been issued for the Hackensack River due to the PCBs and dioxin contamination, originating in part from the Standard Chlorine site. PCBs are likely cancer causing chemicals and can have serious neurological effects. Exposure to dioxin can also result in serious health effects, including cancer.
“This agreement marks an important step in the cleanup of the Standard Chlorine Chemical site,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “Today’s agreement illustrates how the Superfund law works to make polluters, not taxpayers, pay to clean up sites like this one.”
The 25-acre site was formerly used for chemical manufacturing by various companies from the early 1900s to the 1990s. Operations at the site included the refinement of naphthalene for use in the production of certain industrial products, the processing of liquid petroleum naphthalene and the manufacturing of lead-acid batteries, drain-cleaner products and the packing of dichlorobenzene products. The soil, ground water and two lagoons were contaminated with dioxin, benzene, naphthalene, PCBs and volatile organic compounds. The site was originally littered with tanks and drums containing hazardous substances including dioxin and asbestos. Prior to placement on the Superfund list, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection sampled and studied the site and partially cleaned it up along with instituting measures to contain the pollution in the short-term. At the request of the NJDEP, the EPA added the site to the Superfund list in September 2007.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a legal agreement with
Fish consumption advisories have been issued for the Hackensack River due to the PCBs and dioxin contamination, originating in part from the Standard Chlorine site. PCBs are likely cancer causing chemicals and can have serious neurological effects. Exposure to dioxin can also result in serious health effects, including cancer.
“This agreement marks an important step in the cleanup of the Standard Chlorine Chemical site,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “Today’s agreement illustrates how the Superfund law works to make polluters, not taxpayers, pay to clean up sites like this one.”
The 25-acre site was formerly used for chemical manufacturing by various companies from the early 1900s to the 1990s. Operations at the site included the refinement of naphthalene for use in the production of certain industrial products, the processing of liquid petroleum naphthalene and the manufacturing of lead-acid batteries, drain-cleaner products and the packing of dichlorobenzene products. The soil, ground water and two lagoons were contaminated with dioxin, benzene, naphthalene, PCBs and volatile organic compounds. The site was originally littered with tanks and drums containing hazardous substances including dioxin and asbestos. Prior to placement on the Superfund list, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection sampled and studied the site and partially cleaned it up along with instituting measures to contain the pollution in the short-term. At the request of the NJDEP, the EPA added the site to the Superfund list in September 2007.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
US EPA Reaches Agreement With 70 Companies to Clean Up Passaic River NJ Pollution
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| Passaic River Falls (c) Jon L. Gelman, All rights reserved |
Seventy Companies Reach Agreement with EPA to Remove Highly Contaminated Mud from Lyndhurst Section of the Passaic River; Cleanup work estimated to cost $20 million
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it has reached agreement with 70 companies considered potentially responsible for contamination of the lower Passaic River to remove approximately 16,000 cubic yards of highly contaminated sediment from a half-mile long area of the Passaic River in Lyndhurst, New Jersey at their expense. High levels of contaminants, including PCBs, mercury and dioxin, are present in the sediment and can cause health effects. The work is scheduled to begin in spring 2013.
The agreement calls for the parties to remove contaminated sediment from a mud flat area near the north section of Riverside County Park, install a protective cap over the approximately five-acre excavated area and conduct lab tests of sediment treatment technologies. Based on the results, testing of treatment technologies at a larger scale may also be performed. The cap will monitored and maintained to ensure that it remains protective until a final cleanup plan for the lower 17 miles of the Passaic River is selected by the EPA. The excavated material will be disposed of in a licensed, permitted EPA-approved disposal facility if the sediment treatment technologies do not prove effective during testing.
“This agreement triggers actions that will reduce exposure of people and wildlife to the highly toxic contaminants in the Passaic River sediment and keep it from spreading to other parts of the river,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “Under the Superfund agreement, the companies responsible for the contamination will conduct and pay for the work with EPA oversight, rather than passing the costs on to taxpayers.”
Dioxin can cause cancer and other serious health effects. PCBs are likely cancer-causing substances and mercury can cause serious damage to the nervous system. The highly contaminated sediment was discovered in Lyndhurst during sampling performed by the EPA and the parties in late 2011.
Superfund is the federal cleanup program established in 1980 to investigate and clean up the country’s most hazardous waste sites. The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. When sites are placed on the Superfund list, the EPA looks for parties responsible for the pollution and requires them to pay for the cleanups.
Under the agreement announced today, the companies will conduct and pay for the cleanup work and EPA’s costs in overseeing it. The cost of the work to be performed is estimated at $20 million, in addition to the costs of EPA oversight.
The EPA will work closely with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, local officials, river and park users, the Passaic River Community Advisory Group, community organizations and Lyndhurst residents throughout the planning and cleanup process. The agency will provide information on the plans, coordinate the cleanup and minimize possible disruptions to river and park use to the extent possible.
The agreement includes a statement of work that identifies planning and reporting requirements associated with the cleanup. The agreement and additional information on the lower Passaic River restoration project are available athttp://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/diamondalkali/ or http://www.ourpassaic.org.
Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.12-079
Attachment - List of Parties that Signed the Settlement1. Arkema Inc.
2. Ashland Inc.
3. Atlantic Richfield Company
4. BASF Corporation, on its own behalf and on behalf of BASF Catalysts LLC
5. Belleville Industrial Center
6. Benjamin Moore & Co.
7. CBS Corporation, a Delaware corporation, f/k/a Viacom Inc., successor by merger to CBS Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation, f/k/a Westinghouse Electric Corporation
8. Chevron Environmental Management Company, for itself and on behalf of Texaco, Inc. and TRMI-H LLC
9. CNA Holdings LLC
10. Coats & Clark, Inc.
11. Coltec Industries
12. Conopco, Inc. d/b/a Unilever (as successor to CPC/Bestfoods, former parent of the Penick Corporation (facility located at 540 New York Avenue, Lyndhurst, NJ))
13. Cooper Industries, LLC
14. Covanta Essex Company
15. Croda Inc.
16. DII Industries, LLC
17. DiLorenzo Properties Company on behalf of itself and the Goldman /Goldman/DiLorenzo Properties Partnerships
18. E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
19. Eden Wood Corporation
20. Elan Chemical Company
21. EPEC Polymers, Inc. on behalf of itself and EPEC Oil Company Liquidating Trust
22. Essex Chemical Corporation
23. Exelis Inc. for itself and for ITT Corporation
24. Flexon Industries Corp.
25. Franklin-Burlington Plastics, Inc.
26. Garfield Molding Co., Inc.
27. General Electric Company
28. Givaudan Fragrances Corporation (Fragrances North America)
29. Goodrich Corporation on behalf of itself and Kalama Specialty Chemicals, Inc.
30. Hess Corporation, on its own behalf and on behalf of Atlantic Richfield Company
31. Hexcel Corporation
32. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. on its own behalf, and on behalf of its affiliate Roche Diagnostics
33. Honeywell International Inc.
34. ISP Chemicals LLC
35. Kao USA Inc.
36. Leemilt’s Petroleum, Inc. (successor to Power Test of New Jersey, Inc.), on its behalf and on behalf of Power Test Realty Company Limited Partnership and Getty Properties Corp., the General Partner of Power Test Realty Company Limited Partnership
37. Legacy Vulcan Corp.
38. Linde LLC on behalf of The BOC Group, Inc.
39. Lucent Technologies Inc. now known as Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc.
40. Mallinckrodt Inc.
41. National-Standard LLC
42. Newell Rubbermaid Inc., on behalf of itself and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Goody Products, Inc. and Berol Corporation (as successor by merger to Faber-Castell Corporation)
43. News Publishing Australia Ltd. (successor to Chris-Craft Industries)
44. Novelis Corporation (f/k/a Alcan Aluminum Corporation)
45. Otis Elevator Company
46. Pfizer, Inc.
47. Pharmacia Corporation (f/k/a Monsanto Company)
48. PPG Industries, Inc.
49. Public Service Electric and Gas Company
50. Purdue Pharma Technologies, Inc.
51. Quality Carriers, Inc. as successor to Chemical Leaman Tank Lines, Inc. and Quality Carriers, Inc.’s corporate affiliates and parents
52. Reichhold, Inc.
53. Revere Smelting and Refining Corporation
54. Safety-Kleen Envirosystems Company by McKesson, and McKesson Corporation for itself
55. Sequa Corporation
56. Seton Tanning
57. STWB Inc.
58. Sun Chemical Corporation
59. Tate & Lyle Ingredients Americas LLC (f/k/a A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company, including its former division Staley Chemical Company)
60. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. (f/k/a Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.)
61. Teval Corporation
62. Textron Inc.
63. The Hartz Consumer Group, Inc., on behalf of The Hartz Mountain Corporation
64. The Newark Group
65. The Sherwin-Williams Company
66. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.
67. Three County Volkswagen
68. Tiffany and Company
69. Vertellus Specialties Inc. f/k/a Reilly Industries, Inc.
70. Wyeth, on behalf of Shulton, Inc.
The agreement calls for the parties to remove contaminated sediment from a mud flat area near the north section of Riverside County Park, install a protective cap over the approximately five-acre excavated area and conduct lab tests of sediment treatment technologies. Based on the results, testing of treatment technologies at a larger scale may also be performed. The cap will monitored and maintained to ensure that it remains protective until a final cleanup plan for the lower 17 miles of the Passaic River is selected by the EPA. The excavated material will be disposed of in a licensed, permitted EPA-approved disposal facility if the sediment treatment technologies do not prove effective during testing.
“This agreement triggers actions that will reduce exposure of people and wildlife to the highly toxic contaminants in the Passaic River sediment and keep it from spreading to other parts of the river,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “Under the Superfund agreement, the companies responsible for the contamination will conduct and pay for the work with EPA oversight, rather than passing the costs on to taxpayers.”
Dioxin can cause cancer and other serious health effects. PCBs are likely cancer-causing substances and mercury can cause serious damage to the nervous system. The highly contaminated sediment was discovered in Lyndhurst during sampling performed by the EPA and the parties in late 2011.
Superfund is the federal cleanup program established in 1980 to investigate and clean up the country’s most hazardous waste sites. The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. When sites are placed on the Superfund list, the EPA looks for parties responsible for the pollution and requires them to pay for the cleanups.
Under the agreement announced today, the companies will conduct and pay for the cleanup work and EPA’s costs in overseeing it. The cost of the work to be performed is estimated at $20 million, in addition to the costs of EPA oversight.
The EPA will work closely with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, local officials, river and park users, the Passaic River Community Advisory Group, community organizations and Lyndhurst residents throughout the planning and cleanup process. The agency will provide information on the plans, coordinate the cleanup and minimize possible disruptions to river and park use to the extent possible.
The agreement includes a statement of work that identifies planning and reporting requirements associated with the cleanup. The agreement and additional information on the lower Passaic River restoration project are available athttp://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/diamondalkali/ or http://www.ourpassaic.org.
Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.12-079
Attachment - List of Parties that Signed the Settlement1. Arkema Inc.
2. Ashland Inc.
3. Atlantic Richfield Company
4. BASF Corporation, on its own behalf and on behalf of BASF Catalysts LLC
5. Belleville Industrial Center
6. Benjamin Moore & Co.
7. CBS Corporation, a Delaware corporation, f/k/a Viacom Inc., successor by merger to CBS Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation, f/k/a Westinghouse Electric Corporation
8. Chevron Environmental Management Company, for itself and on behalf of Texaco, Inc. and TRMI-H LLC
9. CNA Holdings LLC
10. Coats & Clark, Inc.
11. Coltec Industries
12. Conopco, Inc. d/b/a Unilever (as successor to CPC/Bestfoods, former parent of the Penick Corporation (facility located at 540 New York Avenue, Lyndhurst, NJ))
13. Cooper Industries, LLC
14. Covanta Essex Company
15. Croda Inc.
16. DII Industries, LLC
17. DiLorenzo Properties Company on behalf of itself and the Goldman /Goldman/DiLorenzo Properties Partnerships
18. E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
19. Eden Wood Corporation
20. Elan Chemical Company
21. EPEC Polymers, Inc. on behalf of itself and EPEC Oil Company Liquidating Trust
22. Essex Chemical Corporation
23. Exelis Inc. for itself and for ITT Corporation
24. Flexon Industries Corp.
25. Franklin-Burlington Plastics, Inc.
26. Garfield Molding Co., Inc.
27. General Electric Company
28. Givaudan Fragrances Corporation (Fragrances North America)
29. Goodrich Corporation on behalf of itself and Kalama Specialty Chemicals, Inc.
30. Hess Corporation, on its own behalf and on behalf of Atlantic Richfield Company
31. Hexcel Corporation
32. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. on its own behalf, and on behalf of its affiliate Roche Diagnostics
33. Honeywell International Inc.
34. ISP Chemicals LLC
35. Kao USA Inc.
36. Leemilt’s Petroleum, Inc. (successor to Power Test of New Jersey, Inc.), on its behalf and on behalf of Power Test Realty Company Limited Partnership and Getty Properties Corp., the General Partner of Power Test Realty Company Limited Partnership
37. Legacy Vulcan Corp.
38. Linde LLC on behalf of The BOC Group, Inc.
39. Lucent Technologies Inc. now known as Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc.
40. Mallinckrodt Inc.
41. National-Standard LLC
42. Newell Rubbermaid Inc., on behalf of itself and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Goody Products, Inc. and Berol Corporation (as successor by merger to Faber-Castell Corporation)
43. News Publishing Australia Ltd. (successor to Chris-Craft Industries)
44. Novelis Corporation (f/k/a Alcan Aluminum Corporation)
45. Otis Elevator Company
46. Pfizer, Inc.
47. Pharmacia Corporation (f/k/a Monsanto Company)
48. PPG Industries, Inc.
49. Public Service Electric and Gas Company
50. Purdue Pharma Technologies, Inc.
51. Quality Carriers, Inc. as successor to Chemical Leaman Tank Lines, Inc. and Quality Carriers, Inc.’s corporate affiliates and parents
52. Reichhold, Inc.
53. Revere Smelting and Refining Corporation
54. Safety-Kleen Envirosystems Company by McKesson, and McKesson Corporation for itself
55. Sequa Corporation
56. Seton Tanning
57. STWB Inc.
58. Sun Chemical Corporation
59. Tate & Lyle Ingredients Americas LLC (f/k/a A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company, including its former division Staley Chemical Company)
60. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. (f/k/a Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.)
61. Teval Corporation
62. Textron Inc.
63. The Hartz Consumer Group, Inc., on behalf of The Hartz Mountain Corporation
64. The Newark Group
65. The Sherwin-Williams Company
66. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.
67. Three County Volkswagen
68. Tiffany and Company
69. Vertellus Specialties Inc. f/k/a Reilly Industries, Inc.
70. Wyeth, on behalf of Shulton, Inc.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Throw The Book At 'Em
There seems to be no limit in the amount of fraudulent conduct that transpires within the workers' compensation system. If employer fraud is not enough, the system is constantly undergoing abuse from business interests, ie. medical provo\iders, who abuse the system. The Federal Governments role in enforcement is ever increasing and expansion is trending wider. The gobal expanssion nationally of a universal program for monitoring and enforcement of medical fraud is encouraging. Today's post is shared from David DePaolo http://daviddepaolo.blogspot.com/
It's a shame that hundreds, if not thousands, of injured workers underwent unnecessary spinal fusion surgeries and must live with the debilitating aftermath of significant disability because of people whose greed overrides the well being of fellow humans.
I had learned about Michael Drobot and Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, and their co-conspirators, preying on workers' compensation patients some time ago.
On Friday though, Federal prosecutors announced that Michael D. Drobot faces up to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to paying kickbacks in a $500 million fraud scheme relating to spinal fusions and admitted to bribing state Sen. Ron Calderon to delay legislation to repeal the separate reimbursement for spinal hardware.
Calderon, D-Montebello, was indicted one day earlier on 24 charges, including bribery, money laundering, wire fraud and filing a false tax return. His brother, former...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
Related articles
California state Sen. Ron Calderon accepted $88,000 in bribes, FBI affidavit alleges (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
IMR: DWC Get Out of the Way (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
One Claim Going OTOC (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Work Comp Lost Focus (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
OK's True Cost Control Feature (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
The Conflict Between NAFTA and Comp (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Being Professional (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Read more about "Federalization of Workers' Compensation"
It's a shame that hundreds, if not thousands, of injured workers underwent unnecessary spinal fusion surgeries and must live with the debilitating aftermath of significant disability because of people whose greed overrides the well being of fellow humans.
I had learned about Michael Drobot and Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, and their co-conspirators, preying on workers' compensation patients some time ago.
On Friday though, Federal prosecutors announced that Michael D. Drobot faces up to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to paying kickbacks in a $500 million fraud scheme relating to spinal fusions and admitted to bribing state Sen. Ron Calderon to delay legislation to repeal the separate reimbursement for spinal hardware.
Calderon, D-Montebello, was indicted one day earlier on 24 charges, including bribery, money laundering, wire fraud and filing a false tax return. His brother, former...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
Related articles
California state Sen. Ron Calderon accepted $88,000 in bribes, FBI affidavit alleges (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
IMR: DWC Get Out of the Way (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
One Claim Going OTOC (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Work Comp Lost Focus (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
OK's True Cost Control Feature (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
The Conflict Between NAFTA and Comp (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Being Professional (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Read more about "Federalization of Workers' Compensation"
Jul 05, 2012
United States Supreme Court has taken a giant leap forward to facilitate the Federalization of the entire nation's workers' compensation system. By it's recent decision, upholding the mandate for insurance care under the ...
Dec 23, 2010
Yesterday the US Congress passed and sent to the President, The World Trade Center Health Program, marking yet another advance on the path to federalize the nation's workers' compensation program. The Federally ...
Jul 05, 2010
The trend toward Federalization of workers' compensation benefits took a giant step forward by recent Presidential action creating the British Petroleum Oil Compensation Fund. While the details remain vague, the broad and ...
Jun 14, 2012
Yesterday the US Congress passed and sent to the President, The World Trade Center Health Program, marking yet another advance on the path to federalize the nation's workers' compensation program. The Federally .
Monday, June 28, 2010
Louisiana Health Department Reports 162 Cases of Oil Spill Worker Illness
Louisiana DHH Releases Oil Spill-Related Exposure Information
162 Exposure-Related Cases; Officials Continue to Monitor Health Impacts
162 Exposure-Related Cases; Officials Continue to Monitor Health Impacts
The Department is gathering data reported through its surveillance network of doctors, clinics, emergency care locations and medical facilities, which are reporting illnesses and injuries related to the oil spill for the ongoing database. Each exposure-related complaint is followed up on by DHH Office of Public Health staff.
This week's report also includes summaries of air surveillance and seafood surveillance data generated by state and federal agencies, including the EPA, the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, a private company working with BP, and the Louisiana departments of Wildlife and Fisheries, and Environmental Quality. The seafood data shows that 262 samples of various kinds of seafood have been sampled and tested for chemicals present in hydrocarbons.
Breakdown of Cases by Category:
- Of the workers who reported illnesses, 120 were male, eight were female. Of the general public, 9 were male, while 25 were female. Most of those individuals who reported illnesses were between the ages of 18 and 64.
- Most workers either utilized an emergency room or urgent care center, or a clinic or physician's office (104 and 21, respectively). Nineteen workers and two members of the general public with mild symptoms had short hospitalizations.
Questions about exposure-related illnesses can be directed to the Louisiana Poison Center: 1-800-222-1222. The Poison Center is staffed 24-hours a day and can provide medical management advice. To report an exposure-related illness, call 1-888-293-7020.
The full Oil Spill Surveillance Report is available here. The report will be generated by DHH weekly and posted on www.dhhemergencynews.com.
DHH's Office of Public Health, Section of Environmental Epidemiology & Toxicology gathers and analyzes information provided by surveillance sites, including hospital emergency departments, outpatient clinics, physician's offices and the Louisiana Poison Center.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
BP Oil Spill Compensation Flows to Florida
Oil compensation funds are now flowing along the predictable loop current to the State of Florida. The Palm Beach Post reports that while 90,000 claims have been filed as of July 2, 2010 by individuals totally, in Florida only one in four of the 25,000 have yet to be paid. Most of #22.4 million that BP has paid in Florida has gone to compensate for lost wages.
To read more about petroleum exposure and workers' compensation click here.
Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.
Monday, June 28, 2010
OSHA Issues an Interim Guidance to Protect Health of Oil Spill Workers & Volunteers
OSHA has issued 7 recommendations to protect the health and safety of Deepwater Horizon workers and volunteers. Exposures to toxic chemicals and physical agents, heat, fatigue and psychological stress remain a focal point of concern. The document discusses the serious health effects of crude oil and il dispersant exposure.
To read more about petroleum exposure and workers' compensation click here.
Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Designing the New Federal Workers Compensation Program
The trend toward Federalization of workers’ compensation benefits took a giant step forward by recent Presidential action creating the British Petroleum Oil Compensation Fund. While the details remain vague, the broad and sweeping concept of inclusiveness is more than obvious.
This is not a surprising turn of events. It is entirely consistent with a broad pattern to sweep the ailing and fragmented patch work of state programs into a unified Federal program. In an era of economic depression, national health care reform and major workforce changes this approach is consistent with the underlying bipartisan national philosophy.
Columnist and an expert in the field, Peter Rousemaniere, recently concluded an analysis of system’s failures that have literally pushed workers’ compensation into a federalized program. “The states and workers' compensation insurers have for decades weaseled on the promise to protect workers from occupational illnesses and to honor their claims.”
The knee jerk reaction, one would think, would be this could never happen because of interested stakeholders. In reality, they have been silently distracted by more far reaching issues and have been economically drained of resources to the point where they’ll take anything the Federal Government can offer to save them from extinction.
The Federal government is not unfamiliar with the administration and distribution of benefits. Since 1882 the federal government has been providing benefits to injured workers and their widows: in 1900 the postal workers compensation system was established; in 1908 the Federal government established a program for those who work in hazardous environments; and, in 1932 the Social Security Administration was established. However, the Social Security Act did not embrace workers’ compensation in 1932 since the primary goal of the law was to reduce unemployment.
The federal programs have produced a dismal result over the last few years. The Federal Victims Compensation Fund, enacted following the horrific tragedy of September 11th, 2001, has a very strict eligibility criteria and a limited recovery scheme. The Smallpox Emergency Personnel Protection Act of 2003 (SEPPA) was enacted following an aborted vaccination program after the government reluctantly disclosed available medical research concerning potential fatal cardiovascular reactions. A risk analysis demonstrated that this program may not have been needed at all but was merely implemented to sway public opinion. Ultimately, the federal government halted the Smallpox Vaccination Program and funded $100 million for the purpose of cleaning up the legacy of adverse medical reactions and to ease the burden placed upon the victims and their estates that were struggling to obtain benefits under State compensation programs.
The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA) (P.L.106-398) was enacted into law in October, 2000 with strong bipartisan support. EEOICPA established a program to provide compensation to employers of the Department of Energy (DOE), its contractors and subcontractors, companies that provided beryllium to DOE, and atomic weapons employers.
The Federal health care reform is a big Federal deal for workers’ compensation as it establishes the Libby Health Care Plan with far reaching impact by involving Medicare to deliver health care. The ongoing integration of conditional payments (Medicare Secondary Payer Act and mandatory reporting) as well as the review of all compromises concerning the provision of future medical care (Workers Compensation Medical Set-aside Agreements) is already anther Federal foot in the door to prevent what in the past was a tradeoff of medical care to US taxpayer without consideration.
While federalization may not be the panacea, the target remains to limit the cost of medical expenses and provide an efficient and remedial benefit delivery system at minimal cost for administration and to hold the appropriate parties financial responsible. The costs of maintaining duplicate medical delivery systems for workers, major medical and workers’ compensation, continues to represent an unnecessary and costly duplicate expenditures in administration and management.
The BP-Federal Oil Compensation Plan is yet another attempt to find a solution. While it may not be perfect, hopefully it will be guided successfully and will learn from past Federal trials and errors dabbling in workers’ compensation. It is obviously not the perfect solution, but that may only exist as an unattainable goal. The first step is a comprehensive and integrated Federal workers’ compensation program. A step in the right direction would be for the Federal Government to take primary responsibility for all occupational workers’ compensation claims. This would be an innovated initial approach to implement a new Federally administered Workers’ Compensation system.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Canadian Pipeline Incidents Have Doubled In The Past Decade
 Oct 28 (Reuters) - The rate of safety-related incidents on federally regulated pipelines in Canada doubled over the last decade, while the rate of reported spills and leaks was up threefold, according to an investigative report by Canada's national broadcaster. The total number of incidents, which included everything from spills to fires, swelled from 45 in 2000 to 142 in 2011, the CBC reported on Monday, citing data from the National Energy Board (NEB) obtained through access-to-information requests. That translated to a doubling from one incident for every 1,000 km (620 miles) of federally-regulated pipeline in 2000, to two in 2011. The CBC investigation also found that the rate of product reported releases - spills and leaks - rose threefold, from four releases for every 10,000 km in 2000, to 13 in 2011. The NEB regulates all pipelines that cross provincial or international borders, but does not monitor smaller pipelines that are only in a single province. The safety of shipping petroleum products via pipelines has become a hot topic in recent years, with companies like Enbridge Inc and TransCanada Corp developing major new projects to move crude from Canada's oil sands to markets in the United States and Asia. Opponents say a pipeline leak can cause catastrophic environmental damage and often cite a 2010 incident where an Enbridge pipeline carrying crude from Alberta ruptured, spilling huge amounts of oil into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. But pipeline companies say their... |
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Breast Cancer Linked to Occupational Exposures
A recent article in Occupational and Environmental Medicine causally links certain occupational exposures to breast cancer.
"Odds ratios (ORs) were increased for the usual risk factors for breast cancer and, adjusting for these, risks increased with occupational exposure to several agents, and were highest for exposures occurring before age 36 years. Increased ORs were found for each 10-year increment in duration of exposure, before age 36 years (OR<36), to acrylic fibres (OR<36=7.69) and to nylon fibres (OR<36=1.99). For oestrogen-positive and progesterone-negative tumours, the OR doubled or more for each 10-year increase in exposure to monoaromatic hydrocarbons, and to acrylic and rayon fibres. The OR<36 also doubled for exposure to organic solvents that metabolise into reactive oxygen species, and to acrylic fibres. A threefold increase was found for oestrogen- and progesterone-positive tumours, with exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum sources.
"Certain occupational exposures appear to increase the risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer, although some findings might be due to chance or to undetected bias. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that breast tissue is more sensitive to adverse effects if exposure occurs when breast cells are still proliferating. More refined analyses, adjusting for hormonal receptor subtypes and studies focusing on certain chemical exposures are required to further our understanding of the role of chemicals in the development of breast cancer.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
NIOSH Targets the Safety and Health of Oil Spill Workers
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) added further resources to its web page on occupational safety and health issues associated with the Deepwater Horizon Response in the Gulf of Mexico. This is an expansion of the Federal government' s plan to design an oil spill compensation fund. The new additions provide NIOSH's updated, science-based interim findings and recommendations to help protect the safety and health of Deepwater Horizon Response workers:
- “Interim Guidance for Protecting Deepwater Horizon Response Workers and Volunteers.”www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/protecting/ This document recommends interim measures under a comprehensive approach for protecting the health and safety of the response workers in the Gulf. Recommendations will be updated as more information about exposures is collected and assessed in relationship to the incidence and prevalence of symptoms, illnesses and injuries. (Added June 25.)
- A table of respiratory protection recommendations for Deepwater Horizon Response workers – at a glance. (Added June 25.)www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/pperecsumm.html
- “Staying Safe and Healthy on the Job” – concise tips for Deepwater Horizon Response workers, in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. (Added June 29.) www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/dwhworkertips.html
- The first of a series of interim reports from the NIOSH health hazard evaluation of response workers. (Added June 25.)www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/gulfspillhhe.html
- A NIOSH report of BP injury and illness data, updated as of June 30. This report is designed to provide a basic overview of illnesses and injuries reported by responders involved in the Deepwater Horizon response. It will be updated on a regular basis as new data becomes available. The data utilized to produce the report was provided to NIOSH by BP safety officials.www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/data.html
- Also added on June 25 was a copy of a NIOSH presentation regarding the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Response health issues, from a June 22-23 workshop by the Institute of Medicine.www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/pdfs/IOMNIOSHPresentation.pdf
NIOSH also updated statistics from its work in developing a voluntary roster of Deepwater Horizon Response workers. With the roster, NIOSH will have a record of those who have participated in cleanup activities, and a mechanism to contact them about possible work-related symptoms of illness or injury, as needed. As of June 30, 2010, NIOSH had rostered 26,289 response workers.www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/workerroster.html
Additional NIOSH information and resources about the Deepwater Horizon Response can be found atwww.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Designing a BP Oil Spill Compensation Fund
As the Obama Administration debates the format for an Gulf Oil Spill Compensation the critical factors of funding, administration and longevity of the program remain unresolved. Tonight The PBS News Hour provided only a limited insight into the major issues involved in such a program.
Essential to the program is the adequacy and efficiency of the delivery of benefits to injured and exposed workers. While comparisons continue to be drawn to the the longest tort in American history, asbestos, and the Victims Compensation Fund of 911, sight continues to be lost of the injured and exposed workers who have been faced with a basic workers' compensation system that for the most part, failed to adequately miss their needs.
Daniel Farber, Director of the environmental law program at the University of California, Berkeley's Law School highlighted some of the design failures of the past in Federal programs when he stated, "Well, I don't know if we need a custom-built scheme for BP, but I think that this has shown a genuine problem, both here, but also with other kinds of environmental disasters, with public health disasters, which is that we have a very long litigation process, and people may need help right away."
Missing from the discussion, yet again, are the injured workers, the employers, the workers' compensation insurance carriers and their advocacy groups discussing the essential issue of compensating oil spill workers. History teaches us that in the past Federal programs have missed the mark in creating adequate programs to meet the needs of compensating injured workers. Hopefully, the opportunity will not be lost this time to create a viable, fair and exemplary program.
To read more about petroleum exposure and workers' compensation.
Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.
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