New Solutions : a Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy : NS

Silicosis in workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica while fabricating engineered stone products is an emerging respiratory health issue. We describe silicosis in engineered stone workers in California and examine clinical features by the source of identification. Cases were identified passively using hospital-based patient discharge data or actively through outreach and medical testing following enforcement investigation. Outcomes were examined based on the source of case identification. We identified 18 cases diagnosed between 2006 and 2020...

Last May 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule to restrict the production and use of a dangerous chemical called methylene chloride pursuant to its authority under the Toxic Substance Control Act-the first such measure since Congress significantly overhauled that law in 2016. Methylene chloride presents a variety of health and safety risks, particularly for workers in industries in which the chemical is still widely used. In support of the proposed rule, the EPA prepared a document called a cost-benefit analysis, which purports to evaluate the rule by calculating its net benefits-that is, the rule's likely benefits over and above its likely costs...

In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), became law, with one component being an investment to clean-up Superfund and Brownfield sites. Through BIL funding, the Environmental Protection Agency announced $3.5 billion to clean-up Superfund sites that have been awaiting funding for years in mostly historically underserved communities. As in many states, the 3 Superfund sites used as examples in this essay are in a metropolitan or surrounding area and in residential communities...

On July 20, 2023 a letter was sent to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requesting the agency's Healthcare Infection Control Practice Advisory Committee seek input from more stakeholders and the public, recognize the importance of infectious disease transmission by inhalation of human-generated aerosols, and ensure the application of interventions from all levels of the control hierarchy.

The inaugural Workers' Voice Summit was held in Washington DC in 2022. Worker advocates from across the country spoke directly with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), part of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) about their concerns and ideas for solutions moving forward. Worker advocates shared their experiences with ineffective OSHA enforcement and a lack of accountability for poor employer behaviors. National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) network members developed priorities in advance of the summit that laid out a path for progress...

Background: This register-based study provides a profile of work-related Covid-19 cases reported by physicians to the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority (NLIA). Methods: All the reports of work-related Covid-19 cases reported by a physician to the NLIAs Registry for Work-Related Diseases (RAS) between February 2020 and February 2022 were included. Descriptive statistics and the incidence rate of reported cases were computed for age, gender, and occupation. Results: Two hundred and seventeen work-related Covid-19 cases were reported to RAS during the study period...

The 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India caused much mortality and morbidity of a multisystemic nature in the exposed population. Heated scientific debates occurred about the spectrum of health effects, toxicology, and treatment. The national and transnational aspects of the disaster impeded scientific public health investigation. Some of them included the lack of accident-related and toxicological information, expertise, and funds to conduct investigations. Government agencies failed to coordinate with each other and use validated methods in epidemiological investigation...

Training can assist in overcoming gaps in disaster response. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Worker Training Program (WTP) funds a network of nonprofit organizations, or grantees, that deliver peer-reviewed safety and health training curricula to workers across a variety of occupational sectors. Grantees' experiences providing training for recovery workers after numerous disasters show the following issues need to be addressed to better protect the safety and health of recovery workers: (1) regulations and guidance documents not sufficient to protect workers; (2) protecting responders' health and safety which is a core value; (3) improving communication between responders and communities to assist in decision-making and guiding safety and health planning; (4) partnerships critical for disaster response; and (5) greater attention to protecting communities disproportionately affected by disasters...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The urgency of dealing with risks associated with climate change and the need for effective response measures to their impacts are increasing daily the world over. Literature abounds regarding the impacts of climate change on physical, psychosocial, and other health outcomes. In contrast, little research exists on the health impacts of response measures to climate change. This critical review seeks to contribute towards closing this gap through a synthesis of current literature on the psychosocial health outcomes of climate adaptation actions...

The definition of Just Transition in recent years has been shaped by the political and ideological leanings of multiple stakeholders. Labor movements look at a Just Transition that secures workers' rights and jobs; environmental justice groups include whole communities impacted by fossil fuel in their description; multilateral institutions, investors, and transnational corporations see it through lenses of economics, financial support, and investment. However, a perspective on health is missing in all these approaches...

Outdoor workers are exposed to many hazards, including solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Identifying, reporting, analyzing and tracking the exposures or health outcomes of outdoor workers have not generally been formally considered. This article aims to summarize the best practices/strategies for creating an occupational sun exposure or skin cancer surveillance system for outdoor workers and to understand the key barriers and facilitators to the development of such a system. For the design of a successful occupational safety and health (OSH) surveillance system five occupational surveillance strategies are summarized: exposure registry, disease registry, disease screening/medical surveillance, sentinel event surveillance, and disease surveillance via data linkage...

This policy promotes decent work as a U.S. public health goal through a comprehensive approach that builds upon existing APHA policy statements and addresses statement gaps. The International Labour Organization defines decent work as work that is "productive, delivers a fair income, provides security in the workplace and social protection for workers and their families, offers prospects for personal development and encourages social interaction, gives people the freedom to express their concerns and organize and participate in the decisions affecting their lives and guarantees equal opportunities and equal treatment for all across the entire lifespan...

Health care waste adversely affects society in ways that have been overlooked for decades, an issue that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated significantly. This policy statement addresses the human impacts that occur as health care waste is processed, transported, landfilled, or incinerated. With limited federal tracking and lack of regulation, patterns of environmental racism persist. Communities of color and low-income communities most often experience the greatest environmental health burdens through the disposal of waste in their communities...

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the need to examine the health and safety of all workers, especially frontline workers, like hospital service workers (HSWs). Given ongoing pandemic-related challenges like healthcare labor shortages, attention to HSWs is essential. This paper draws from 3 waves of in-depth interviews conducted with HSWs from 2017 to 2020 to understand the evolving nature and challenges of their work from their perspectives. By analyzing the interviews, we found their approach to labor consistent with a feminist ethic of care...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

An assessment of occupational disease in New York State was undertaken that partially replicated and expanded earlier work from 1987. Utilizing an expanded conception of occupational disease, the assessment used a variety of data sources and methods to provide estimates of mortality and morbidity of occupational disease; workers exposed to specific workplace hazards; disparities in occupational disease among racial/ethnic groups and gender; costs and distribution of costs of occupational disease; and accessible occupational medical resources...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Few studies have explored mentorship's value in occupational safety and health (OSH) training that focuses on worker empowerment in blue-collar occupations. Through a university and union collaboration, we examined mentorship programs as a promising enhancement to ongoing OSH training to foster worker leadership development in organizations focused on worker empowerment. Union-based worker-trainers from 11 large manufacturing facilities across the United States and worker-trainers affiliated with 11 Latinx Worker Centers in the New York City area were interviewed...