On a Safety Kick

I got up and ran/walked this morning. Came home, did the usual hygiene thing, got a cup of coffee, and then ran into this gem regarding the cleanup around the financial district of 9.11.01. This line kills me:

"But former OSHA administrator John Henshaw, who declared the financial district safe six days after 9/11, said his agency did not have jurisdiction over the firefighters and police officers who swarmed over the 16-acre site in New York.

He said OSHA had done all it could, handing out 40,000 pieces of protective equipment, including more than 7,500 negative-pressure respirators."

No, John, you didn't do "all you could do." Did all of the people you gave respirators to get medical evaluations and fit tests? No. Apparently, you did not, because it would take a very long time to fit test and evaluate 7,500 people. "Here's your respirator. Good luck!" You did the absolute minimum, got the hell out of the way and then let the emotional mob go to work. Don't send one of your "C-" inspectors into my work facility and tell me my programs are not up to par.

But only half of this issue is your fault.

The other people to blame are the rescuers themselves. They got in a hurry and thought they were helping out, only now they find out they were making themselves casualties.

"In contrast, workers at the Pentagon crash site were forced to wear the protective devices and no one has become sick, he said."

Who was in charge of New York at the time? Oh yeah, Rudy Giuliani. And he wants to run our country.

No thanks.

I Got the Popcorn Worker's Lung...

Here's a way you can stick it to Orville Redenbacher and his ilk: Refuse to buy artificially flavored popcorn. Not only will you be sticking it to the man, but you will hopefully be helping out future food-factory workers. From a National Safety Council email I received:

The House Education and Labor Committee approved legislation June 20 to force OSHA to develop a standard governing worker exposure to diacetyl, a chemical used in artificial food flavoring. Diacetyl is commonly used in microwave popcorn and has been linked to bronchiolitis obliterans, an irreversible lung disease also known as "popcorn workers lung."

Yummy, yummy diacetyl!