cigarette manufacturer based in Lakewood, with 20 workplace safety and health violations. OSHA's inspection was prompted by a complaint alleging serious safety and health hazards throughout the facility, resulting in $184,500 in proposed penalties.
Copyright
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Employer Fined $185,000 for Exposing Employees to Toxic Substances and Other Safety Isues
cigarette manufacturer based in Lakewood, with 20 workplace safety and health violations. OSHA's inspection was prompted by a complaint alleging serious safety and health hazards throughout the facility, resulting in $184,500 in proposed penalties.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
EPA Issues Annual Report on Chemicals Released Into Land, Air and Water in New Jersey
“Transparency is a powerful tool,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “The Toxics Release Inventory allows the public and policymakers to better understand the pollutants released to our air, water and land each year and gives them the information they need to take action in their communities. The data that was released is a reminder of how important TRI has been in helping us create a healthier environment, and the work still needed to be done to reduce industrial pollution.”
Last year marked the 25th Anniversary of the Toxic Release Inventory. In 1986, New Jersey Senator Frank R. Lautenberg authored the legislation that established TRI, which was signed into law as part of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Since that time, TRI data has been provided to the public annually to inform the public about the chemicals present in their local environment and gauge environmental trends over time. The inventory contains the most comprehensive information about chemicals released into the environment reported annually by certain industries and federal facilities. Many of these facilities are required to install and maintain pollution controls to meet the limits on pollution set forth in their permit.
Facilities must report their toxic chemical releases by July 1 of each year. EPA made a preliminary set of data for 2010 available in July 2011, the month the reported data was collected. Nationally, over 20,000 facilities reported on approximately 650 chemicals for calendar year 2010.
EPA has improved this year’s TRI national analysis report by adding new information on risks, facility efforts to reduce pollution and details about how possible economic impacts could affect TRI data. With this report and EPA’s Web-based TRI tools, the public can access information about the disposals and releases of toxic chemicals into the air, water, and land that occur in their communities.
To view an area fact sheet, visit: http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer/statefactsheet.htm
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Monday, December 18, 2023
TSCA Update
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is beginning the process of prioritizing five additional toxic chemicals for risk evaluation under the nation’s premier chemical safety law. If, during the 12-month-long statutory process, the EPA designates these five chemicals as high-priority substances, the EPA will then begin risk evaluations for these chemicals.
Monday, October 18, 2010
The Toxic Contamination of North Jersey
The manufacturing facilities left a legacy of toxic pollution and a lot of that pollution migrated into the Passaic River and flowed downstream to from Passaic County to Bergen County. Toxic sites proliferate the area and an epidemic of industrially produced disease remains from the occupational exposures and the bystander exposures.
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900jon@
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Thursday, November 20, 2014
Report Finds Toxic Toys In Albany County
Black Friday is just around the corner, but parents are being urged to take care when buying toys this year. Several being sold in Albany County contain toxic chemicals that pose health risks to children, according a new survey. Researchers found a dozen toys on store shelves containing lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and more – toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancers, cognitive impairments and hyperactivity.
The report entitled “Toxic Toys in Albany County” was presented in downtown Albany Monday by Clean and Healthy New York and the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.
The group purchased and tested toys sold locally in October and November, including highly popular brands such as Lego and Hot Wheels, finding 12 different products laden with toxins. There was even a "Breast Cancer Awareness Charm Bracelet" that tested positive for the carcinogen cobalt and the toxic irritant arsenic.
Researchers examining the playthings detected nefarious substances including arsenic, cadmium, cobalt and lead. One product, a fairy bracelet charm, was composed of 25 percent cadmium.
Bobbie Chase Wilding, deputy director for Clean and Healthy New York, disclosed that just a tiny fraction of the children’s products for sale in Albany County were tested, and the report’s author said that it was not intended to be a comprehensive report on the safety of any product or...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
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Friday, March 8, 2019
BILL INTRODUCED TO BAN ASBESTOS NOW
Monday, October 21, 2013
Exposure to Toxic Environmental Agents
American Society for Reproductive Medicine Practice Committee The University of California, San Francisco Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment This Committee Opinion was developed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Practice Committee with the assistance of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment. The Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment endorses this document. This document reflects emerging clinical and scientific advances as of the date issued and is subject to change. This information should not be construed as dictating an exclusive course of treatment or procedure to be followed. PDF Format ABSTRACT: Reducing exposure to toxic environmental agents is a critical area of intervention for obstetricians, gynecologists, and other reproductive health care professionals. Patient exposure to toxic environmental chemicals and other stressors is ubiquitous, and preconception and prenatal exposure to toxic environmental agents can have a profound and lasting effect on reproductive health across the life course. Prenatal exposure to certain chemicals has been documented to increase the risk of cancer in childhood; adult male exposure to pesticides is linked to altered semen... |
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Friday, July 29, 2022
Republican Senators Block Final Passage of The Bipartisan Toxic Exposure Bill That Would Assist Veterans
In a stunning reversal the much-anticipated legislation that would aid veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, and water contamination at Camp Lejune and other war sites was blocked by a unified group of 25 Republican Senators. The widely bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 previously passed the senate 84-14.
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Senator Boxer Calls for Expedited TSCA Asbestos Evaluation
August 26, 2016
Dear Administrator McCarthy:
I am sure you share my strong interest in maximizing the success of the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and are working to identify positive early actions that demonstrate the Agency’s commitment to bold and effective implementation.
The first important decision EPA must make under the law is to select the initial 10 chemicals that will be evaluated and then regulated if they are shown to present unreasonable risks. This decision must be made by mid-December of this year. The chemicals selected will drive EPA’s agenda for the next several years. To build confidence in the agency’s ability to deliver meaningful results for our children and families, EPA must consider all forms of asbestos in this initial list of chemicals it acts on.
In 1989, EPA issued a comprehensive rule under TSCA banning and phasing out the major uses of asbestos. Despite the extensive record compiled by the agency, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the rule. The court’s decision paralyzed EPA’s existing chemicals program for the next two decades. Asbestos became a poster child for the inadequacy of the law and a major impetus for TSCA reform. As President Obama said when he signed the TSCA reform bill into law, “the system was so complex, it was so burdensome that our country hasn’t even been able to uphold a ban on asbestos….”
During the development of TSCA reform legislation, numerous members of Congress cited asbestos as an example of why the law must be revamped and emphasized that the new TSCA legislation would remove the roadblocks that stymied EPA’s first attempt to regulate asbestos. Congress was also clear in the recently-passed legislation that regulating asbestos should be one of EPA’s top priorities -- the bill directs EPA to give priority to chemicals like asbestos that are known human carcinogens and have high acute and chronic toxicity.
Now that the impediments in the original TSCA law are gone, completing the job started by EPA in 1989 would send a strong signal that the new law can be effective in addressing the most dangerous chemicals in commerce.
The evidence regarding the dangers of asbestos is overwhelming. As EPA found in its 1989 rulemaking, “[it] is well-recognized that asbestos is a human carcinogen and is one of the most hazardous substances to which humans are exposed in both occupational and non-occupational settings.” OSHA has similarly said it is “aware of no instance in which exposure to a toxic substance has more clearly demonstrated detrimental health effects on humans than has asbestos exposure.” OSHA has also emphasized that “[t]here is no "safe" level of asbestos exposure for any type of asbestos fiber [and] [a]sbestos exposures as short in duration as a few days have caused mesothelioma in humans.”
Asbestos continues to exact a high toll in disease and death on Americans. According to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the estimated annual number of asbestos-related disease deaths is nearly 15,000 in the U.S., including nearly 11,000 deaths from lung cancer.
Though asbestos production has ceased in the U.S. and its use has generally declined, significant imports for a range of applications persist and exposures continue to occur with alarming regularity. According to a detailed study by the Environmental Working Group, from 2006 to 2014, 23 ports on the Gulf of Mexico, West Coast and Eastern Seaboard received more than 8.2 million pounds of raw asbestos, as well as hundreds of shipments of hazardous asbestos waste and products made with asbestos.
Similarly, in its annual report on U.S. mineral importation and use, the United States Geological Service states that in 2015:
“Asbestos consumption in the United States was estimated to be 400 tons, based on asbestos imports through July 2014. The chloralkali industry accounted for an estimated 88% of U.S. consumption. The remainder was used in coatings and compounds, plastics, roofing products, and unknown applications.”
The World Health Organization (2006) has called for an end to the use of all types of asbestos as the most effective way to eliminate asbestos-related diseases. From the European Union to the Persian Gulf, from industrial states like Japan to Africa’s developing economies, 56 nations have followed this recommendation and banned asbestos (with limited exceptions), according to the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat.
The combination of well-documented, widespread and serious health effects and ongoing use and exposure provides a strong basis for EPA to act quickly on asbestos. With the new tools provided by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the U.S. now has the ability to be a global leader and join the many other nations that have acted to address the harms posed by asbestos. EPA should seize this opportunity by including asbestos in the first 10 chemicals that it acts on under the new law.
I look forward to learning more about your plans for asbestos.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
Ranking Member
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Friday, July 27, 2007
Workers' Compensation News - July 10, 2007, Vol. 5 Issue 107
FLORIDA EXPANDS INTENTIONAL TORT EXCEPTION Employee's injury was substantial certainty from employer's failure to respond to requests for new ladder did not require proof that employer concealed danger. "Even though case law on the intentional tort exception to workers' compensation immunity is devoid of any defined test that will establish substantial certainty as a matter of law, it is evident that concealment of the dangerous condition is only one of several factors in a nonexclusive list. " Bakerman v The Bombay Company, ___So. 2d____, 2007 WL 1774420 (Fla.), decided June 21, 1007
OSHA ORDERED TO RELEASE TOXIC EXPOSURE DATABASE — More than 25 Years of Workplace Sampling Yields Public Health Research Bonanza Washington, DC — The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has wrongfully withheld data documenting years of toxic exposures to workers and its own inspectors, according to a federal court ruling posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). As a result, the world’s largest compendium of measurements of occupational exposures to toxic substances - more than 2 million analyses conducted during some 75,000 OSHA workplace inspections since 1979 - should now be available to researchers and policymakers. Each year, an estimated 40,000 U.S. workers die prematurely because of exposures to toxic substances on the job. Press Release: http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=882 Decision: http://www.peer.org/docs/dol/07_02_07_finkel_foia_ruling.pdf
ASBESTOS: Travelers Settles AC&S Claims The Travelers Cos. Inc. said today it has settled litigation with ACandS Inc., a former distributor and installer of asbestos products, for $449 million.http://www.courant.com/business/hc-trav-litig,0,1651056.story
ASBESTOS: NO SAFE LEVEL OF EXPOSURE Cong. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) held a hearing on June 25 on the federal government’s response to the hazardous air contaminants that polluted lower Manhattan after the 9/11 attacks. The featured witness was former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman, who was in the hot seat for her claims that the air in NYC was safe to breathe. Much less attention was paid to former OSHA assistant secretary John Henshaw, who sat next to Whitman, but was left largely unscathed by the questioning. At least one Henshaw exchange deserves attention. The former OSHA chief insisted there are “safe levels of exposure to asbestos.” FYI: The WHO’s policy statement on the elimination of asbestos-related disease is here and the Institute of Medicine’s report on Asbestos: Selected Cancers (2007) is here. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/07/06/safe-levels-of-asbestos-by-john-henshaw/
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Friday, August 29, 2014
DuPont Fined $1.275 Million For Hazardous Violations
DuPont will pay a $1.275 million penalty and will take corrective actions to prevent future releases to resolve the alleged violations of the general duty clause and risk management provisions of the Clean Air Act, and the emergency response provisions of Section 103 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, and Section 304 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.
“Producing toxic and hazardous substances can be dangerous, and requires complying with environmental and safety laws,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today's settlement with DuPont will ensure that the proper practices are in place to protect communities and nearby water bodies."
“Failing to follow laws meant to prevent accidents can have fatal consequences – as was tragically the case here,” said Sam Hirsch, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s settlement holds DuPont accountable for its failure to prevent hazardous releases and requires improvements to its risk management operations and emergency response systems that could prevent future tragedies and damage to the environment.”
Through this settlement, DuPont will implement enhanced risk management operating procedures to improve its process of responding to alarms triggered by releases of hazardous substances.
DuPont will also develop an enhanced operating procedure to improve its management of change process, which is a best practice used to ensure that safety, health and environmental risks are controlled when a company makes changes to their processes.
In addition, DuPont will improve procedures so federal, state, and local responders are notified of emergency releases, and will conduct training exercises to prepare employees to make such notifications.
DuPont estimates that it will spend approximately $2,276,000 to complete the required improvements to its safety and emergency response processes.
Previously, on March 18, 2010 the U.S. EPA issued an administrative order to DuPont to undertake corrective measures related to the releases. DuPont estimates that it has spent approximately $6,828,750 to comply with the administrative order.
On Jan. 22, 2010, at DuPont’s chemical manufacturing plant in Belle, West Virginia operators discovered that more than 2,000 pounds of methyl chloride had leaked into the atmosphere and employees failed to respond to alarms triggered by the release. On the morning of Jan. 23, workers discovered a leak in a pipe containing the toxic gas oleum. Later that day, a hose containing phosgene, a highly toxic gas, ruptured resulting in the fatality of a worker exposed to phosgene.
The alleged risk management violations on Jan. 22 and 23 include failing to:· identify hazards that may result from accidental releases
· design and maintain a safe facility
· minimize consequences of accidental releases that do occur
· follow recognized industry safety practices
· train its employees on how to respond to potential risks
· frequently inspect and test equipment consistent with good engineering practices and manufacturer recommendations.
· follow the company’s own procedures for responding to alarms indicating potential problems and implementing safety protocol for the phosgene process.
In addition, there were five incidents identified through EPA inspections and extensive review of Dupont’s records that do not comply with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.
In these incidents, EPA alleged the company released harmful quantities of hazardous substances and then did not report the releases to the National Response Center, State Emergency Response Commission and Local Emergency Planning Committee in a timely manner. The largest of these was the release of 80 tons of methanol into the Kanawha River on September 21, 2010.
For more information about the Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Program requirements, seehttp://www.epa.gov/compliance/monitoring/programs/caa/112r.html and http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/rmp/.
For information about RMP*eSubmit or to view a Checklist for Submitting Your Risk Management Plan (RMP) for Chemical Accident Prevention and the RMP*eSubmit Users’ Manual, visit http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/rmp).
The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.
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Wednesday, November 13, 2013
The Chemical Safety Improvement Act Falls Short: Open Letter to Congress
To: Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy
I am writing to express serious concerns about the Chemical Safety Improvement Act, in advance of tomorrow's hearing, S. 1009 Chemical Safety Improvement Act. Breast Cancer Action is a national, feminist grassroots education and advocacy organization that works to address and end the breast cancer epidemic. Breast Cancer Action is committed to reducing involuntary exposures to toxins that are linked to increased risk for breast cancer. Breast Cancer Action recognizes that the current congressional interest in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) represents an important opportunity to pass landmark cancer prevention legislation. After years of work, along with our partners, for strong regulation of toxic chemicals we are heartened to see widespread agreement that TSCA is a top priority for the current Congress. However, we recognize that some proposed changes to current law do not adequately protect public health. We believe that the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA) as it is currently written falls short of the reforms that are needed to stop breast cancer before it starts. This bill in its current form not only lacks key requirements to protect people and our planet from toxic chemicals, but if implemented, could actually weaken the few strong toxic chemical regulations that currently exist. In short, Breast Cancer... |
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Friday, November 10, 2017
US Senators Introduce Bill to Ban Asbestos and Protect Public Health
Friday, January 29, 2010
Time to Lab Test Chemicals
The 5 substances that TSCA mandates regulations for are all known carcinogens: Asbestos, Hexavalent Chromium, Vinyl Chloride, Trichloethylene, Methyene Chloride and Dicloromethene.
Since 1976 chronic and terminal diseases have increased: Leukemia +20%; Breast Cancer 40% with a risk factor increase from 1 in 10 women to 1 in 8 women; and asthma +200%. Additionally, major increases in conceiving and making pregnancy, birth defects and autism have been reported.
Chronic conditions now result in 70% of all deaths and 75% of all health costs. Direct health care costs from cancer alone, in 2008, was $93.2 Billion of the total health care costs in the US that amounted to $304 Billion.
A recent report reveals the inadequacies of the TSCA and urges an update. As medical science continues to investigate these medical conditions, it is critically important that Congress updates the TSCA and requires better regulation
Dr. Maryann Donovan, associate director of research services for the University of Pittsburgh's Cancer Institute and director of the Center for Environmental Oncology stated, "It's not a matter of whether we test toxic chemicals. It's a matter of how we test them. Right now we test them in the bodies of our children, our consumers, our workers, ourselves. It's time to start testing chemicals in the lab, and to take action before anyone is harmed."
Click here to read more about toxic exposures and workers' compensation.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Think asbestos is banned in the US?
If there’s one reason we know our federal law governing chemicals doesn’t work, it’s asbestos. Despite popular belief, asbestos, one of the most harmful substances known, still isn’t banned in the United States. This week marks the 37th birthday of our primary federal law governing toxic chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). While most birthdays are a joyous occasion, we’re taking this opportunity to educate the public on just how flawed our federal chemical law is. Take for example asbestos. It’s one of the few substances that has a disease directly named after it (mesothelioma) and is widely regarded as a silent killer for many families. Top five asbestos facts:
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Thursday, October 10, 2013
NJ Work Environment Council Says State at Risk from Chemical Disasters
New Jersey Work Environmental Council representatives say millions in the state are still at risk from major toxic chemical disasters. At a Statehouse press conference today, the New Jersey Work Environment Council released a new 43-page report, entitled “Failure to Act,” which says thousands of New Jersey jobs and millions of residents are still at risk from toxic chemical disasters. These findings come five years after the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection adopted rules to implement the NJ Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act that were supposed to reduce that risk.
Some recommendations include stopping facility management from declaring safer technology reviews as secret, require facility management to better document their claims that adopting safer chemicals and technologies are not feasible, and to withdraw the DEP “waiver rule” that allows the agency to not enforce the IST provisions of the Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act. Other speakers spoke of the potentially dangerous risks workers, first responders, nurses and... |
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Wednesday, March 2, 2022
President Biden Supports Burn Pits Exposure Benefits for Veterans
Veterans who suffer from medical conditions following exposure to toxic burn pit hazards and chemicals received support from President Biden last night. President's State of the Union Address included strong presidential support for health care benefits and wartime disability compensation. A burn pit is used to burn solid waste in open-air without equipment.
Monday, June 24, 2013
OSHA settles with Nebraska-based ConAgra Foods to protect workers from anhydrous ammonia
The agreement protects workers at Idaho, Arkansas, Missouri and Ohio facilities of the Nebraska- based company. It requires ConAgra to implement controls to reduce hazards associated with release of ammonia from low pressures receivers.
"This agreement ensures that ConAgra will protect workers from releases of ammonia by enclosing older LPRs that were not already enclosed, and by providing other controls such as normal and emergency ventilation to prevent exposure," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "OSHA's corporate-wide settlement agreements are highly effective tools for ensuring that companies take a systemic approach to addressing hazards that can injure or kill their workers."
OSHA's Process Safety Management standard requires employers to document that equipment that was designed to meet codes and standards no longer in general use is still safe to operate under OSHA standards. OSHA originally cited ConAgra for failing to determine whether these older LPRs were being operated safely.
Under the agreement, ConAgra will implement administrative and engineering controls at the covered LPRs to control hazards associated with the release of ammonia. This includes building enclosures around equipment that is not already enclosed. Each enclosure must include normal and emergency ventilation that meets specified requirements, automatic switches for both normal and emergency ventilation and ammonia detection alarms. Egress doors for the enclosures will be required to include panic hardware and to swing in the direction of egress.
The agreement is the result of an inspection conducted at the company's American Falls, Idaho, facility, initiated under OSHA's PSM Covered Chemical Facilities National Emphasis Program, established to reduce or eliminate the workplace hazards associated with the catastrophic release of highly hazardous chemicals.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
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