What Do We Know About the Chemical That Just Spilled in West Virginia?

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

The chemical that leaked yesterday into a West Virginia river "hasn't been studied very well," says Deborah Blum, a New York Times science columnist who specializes in reporting on chemistry. A state of emergency was declared for nine West Virginia counties yesterday after a chemical called 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol spilled into the Elk River. The chemical is "used to wash coal of impurities," according to the Times. The chemical leaked from a holding tank owned by a company called Freedom Industries, according to West Virginia American Water, a water company operating in the region. At present, the nine counties are under a "do not use" advisory from West Virginia American Water, and residents there do not know when they will be able to turn on their taps. A rush on bottled water subsequently ensued, as documented in this tweet from a local news anchor: Undoubtedly much more information will emerge on 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol and how dangerous it is (or isn't) in water. But to start things off we turned to Blum, who was just a guest on our Inquiring Minds podcast. "We know methanol is toxic, we know that methylcyclohexane is moderately toxic, but I haven't seen a full analysis of the entire formula," says Blum....

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With N.F.L. Concussion Deal, Two Tiers of Payouts

Today's post was shared by The New York Times and comes from www.nytimes.com

Court settlements are by nature compromises, and compromises are often messy. The proposed settlement of the lawsuits brought by more than 4,500 former N.F.L. players who contended that the league hid from them the dangers of concussions is no exception. The N.F.L. agreed last summer to pay $765 million for medical monitoring and potential payments to those with significant illnesses, but it wanted all 18,000 or so retired players, not just those who sued, to be included in the deal. By expanding the number of players who could benefit, the N.F.L. would help more former players. But anyone who agrees to the settlement will give up the right to sue the league, so the N.F.L. would also largely inoculate itself from further costly and embarrassing suits. Yet one of the consequences of this structure is that it creates two tiers of retired players: those who sued the league and must pay their lawyers a percentage of any cash awards, and those who never sued the league but are eligible to receive money without paying legal fees. In effect, the players who took the initiative to sue and helped push the league to settle will be penalized. That structure irks some retired players, like Frank Sutton, who played one season as a Giants tackle. “I believe in equity, and I believe in being involved in something and being held to...

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Massachusettes Senator Seeks to Double Payment for Workers Killed on the Job

Following the deaths of two workers last month at Boston construction and shipping sites, Senator Brian A. Joyce and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) are renewing their calls for passage of Joyce’s Bill, "The Families of Fallen Workers Burial Act," which would double the benefit amount paid by workers’ compensation when a loved one is killed at work. “The amount paid out to grieving families has remained stagnant for decades while the cost of a burial has risen steadily,” said Joyce. “These families are going through enough already without the additional stress of coming up with thousands of dollars to put their loved ones to rest.” According to the 2010 funeral price survey by the National Funeral Directors Association, the average funeral cost for an adult funeral is $7,775. With cemetery plot, grave marker, flowers or obituary notices, the “regular adult funeral” cost is at least $9,000. Joyce’s bill would increase the benefits allotment from $4,000 to roughly $8,000 (eight times the average weekly wage in the Commonwealth) and tie future increases to inflation. “The Families of Fallen Workers Burial Act will ensure that no family has to shoulder the financial burden of a burial,” said MassCOSH Executive Director Marcy Goldstein-Gelb. “The increase adds up to very little for the workers’ compensation insurance system and will mean a huge difference...

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New York State is committed to improving outdated workers’ compensation system

Today's post is shared from buffalonews.com and is authored by Jeffrey Fenster, Executive Director of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo inherited a century-old workers’ compensation system in extreme dysfunction, caused by years of neglect and special interest lobbying. Independent research, such as studies by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute, shows that compared to other states, New York’s system is slow to pay injured workers and produces poor medical outcomes. It is undisputed that prompt delivery of benefits is good for injured workers and reduces employer costs. Yet those most in need receive least, our workers wait longer for benefits and our costs to employers are the fifth highest in the nation. Things needed to change. Already, under Cuomo’s administration, the Workers’ Compensation Board has been aggressive in improving the system. We fully implemented and continue improving upon the 2007 reform. That was followed by an increase in the minimum benefit from $100 to $150, protecting New York’s most vulnerable employees. Simultaneously, the board tackled the high and rising cost of workers’ compensation assessments on employers. In March 2013, Cuomo signed the Business Relief Act, which included $800 million in assessment savings to employers in 2014 – a drop from 18.8 percent to 13.8 percent of premium. Ensuing years will see assessment savings of $300...

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The 50-year war on smoking

The 1964 U.S. Surgeon General's report on smoking — the first official acknowledgment by the federal government that smoking kills — was an extraordinarily progressive document for its time. It swiftly led to a federal law that restricted tobacco advertising and required the now-familiar warning label on each pack of cigarettes. Yet there was nothing truly surprising about the conclusion of the report. Throughout the 1950s, scientists had been discovering various ways in which smoking took a toll on people's health. Britain issued its own report, with the same findings, two years before ours. Intense lobbying by the tobacco industry slowed the U.S. attack on smoking. And even when then-Surgeon General Luther Terry convened a panel before the report was issued to make sure its findings were unimpeachable, he felt compelled to allow tobacco companies to rule out any members of whom they disapproved. Saturday marks the report's 50th anniversary. The intervening decades have seen remarkable progress against smoking in the United States, despite the stubborn efforts of the tobacco industry, which lobbied, obfuscated and sometimes lied outright to the public about the dangers of its products. During those years, though, independent research tied smoking and secondhand smoke to an ever-wider range of ailments. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking causes cancer of the lungs, larynx, bladder, bone marrow, blood, esophagus, kidneys and several...

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OSHA will hold live Web chat on its proposed silica rule

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will host a live Web chat to discuss the agency's proposed rule on occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica from 1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST, Tuesday, Jan. 14. Visit http://www.osha.gov/silica/webchat.html to participate.

The Web chat will provide participants the opportunity to ask questions, get clarification from OSHA on the proposed silica rule and learn how to participate in the regulatory process. OSHA staff will be available to clarify the proposed standards related to silica for general industry, maritime and construction. Staff will also answer questions on OSHA's underlying analysis of health risks, potential costs and benefits, and economic impacts associated with the proposed rule and how to submit comments to the rulemaking record.

The deadline to submit written comments and testimony on the proposal is Monday, Jan. 27. Members of the public may submit comments by visiting http://www.regulations.gov.

Additional information on the proposed rule can be found at http://www.osha.gov/silica.

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 www.osha.gov.

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