When I arrived at the Mine Safety and Health Administration in October 2009, one of my top priorities was to educate miners about their rights and responsibilities in the workplace, specifically those rights that pertain to their safety and health. According to Section 105(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, a miner cannot be discharged, discriminated against or interfered with in the exercise of statutory rights because he or she has filed a complaint alleging a health or safety violation.
Some mine operators, however, have disregarded this law, suspending, laying off or taking adverse action against a miner who became too vocal about mining conditions. In fact, issues relating to fears of discrimination and retaliation came to light during congressional hearings held in the wake of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. Statements from miners and family members of the miners who died indicated that mine employees had been reluctant to speak out about safety conditions in existence prior to the April 2010 explosion, fearing retaliation by management.
Thus, the critical need to better educate miners about their rights and to promptly and thoroughly investigate discrimination complaints. Those efforts are working. The number of requests for temporary reinstatements the Labor Department submitted on behalf of miners who filed discrimination complaints more than tripled from the period of fiscal years 2007-2009 to the period of FY 2010-2012 (through July 31, 2012), increasing from 22 to 71. Furthermore, the Labor Department filed 70 complaints alleging mine safety discrimination during the period of FY 2010-2012 (through July 31, 2012), up from 39 from FY 2007-2009.
In June 2011, MSHA released new Web-based training tools to help miners better understand their rights and responsibilities, including “A Guide to Miners’ Rights and Responsibilities“; an electronic form for filing an anonymous hazard complaint; a discrimination complaint packet; information about black lung benefits and resources; and a compendium of online videos addressing miners’ concerns about unsafe working conditions, hiring decisions, how to refuse unsafe work, the role of supervisors and the role of miners’ representatives who travel with federal inspectors.
MSHA has instituted other measures to enhance enforcement of miners’ rights, including a reorganization of the Office of Assessments, Accountability, Special Enforcement and Investigations to provide enhanced efficiency, staffing, oversight and training of special investigators.
A guide for miners’ representatives explaining their rights under the Mine Act is slated for completion this fall. The publication will include information on inspections and investigations, filing a hazardous condition complaint, accessing information using MSHA’s Data Retrieval System and becoming a miners’ representative.
All miners have the right to a safe workplace, and the right to identify hazardous conditions and refuse unsafe work without fear of discrimination or retaliation. We at MSHA take the rights of miners and our responsibility to enforce them very seriously, and will continue to work to ensure they are upheld.
Joseph Main is the assistant secretary for mine safety and health.
This is our opinion and feelings about the the posts added to this blog by ourselves and writers who have asked to write on our blog network and does not necessarily represent our agreement or disagreement with the writers concerned.Tweet at #AceHealthNews and email your " News & Views" to our "Ace News Desk" be published in featured posts.
Thank you, Ian [Editor]
This blog is to provide all our readers and people that visit that we care about the healthcare our environment and the world.we look at providing help and guidance in all forms of healthcare and have related posts for the elderly, disabled and infirm.
Monday, 24 September 2012
Awareness Raising Works
Awareness Raising Works:
A young Beninese girl, approximately 6 years old, carries stones across a quarry.Educating parents and communities can help protect children from the worst forms of child labor – work that threatens their health, thwarts their education and limits their futures. This tale of three villages in Benin, a country in West Africa, shows how effective raising awareness can be.
All three villages are poor, and in all three, people earn their living working in quarries. And in all three, the Department of Labor is funding a project called “ECOWAS II.”
Ask parents in these villages what they think of their children – some as young as three – breaking rocks with pick axes, breathing heavy dust and straining to carry heavy loads of rubble, and you will get three different answers.
In the first village, where awareness raising under the project began just this month, parents say, “They are not in danger. Sure, they should go to school, but we can’t afford that.”
In the second village, where awareness raising efforts have had more time to take root, you hear a different story: “I am so happy my children are in school and not in the quarries where it is dangerous.” Yet, parents still ask, “What am I supposed to do when the project leaves?”
Two young Beninese boys work together to move a stone to the appropriate stone pile in a quarry.In Lokossa, a village where the project has been in place for nine months and children regularly attend school, parents are adamant that they want their children in school where they are safe. Even if the project ends, they say, their children will not work in quarries. They are even organizing “neighborhood watch” groups to guard against it.
Like many projects supported by the Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, ECOWAS II uses a variety of strategies to protect vulnerable children. It improves access to school and helps parents increase their incomes so that they no longer need to rely on their children’s earnings. But in Benin, as elsewhere, raising awareness is key. The more parents are informed, the better choices they make for their children.
A project partner discusses the hazards of quarrying with parents and their children in a stone quarry in Zakpota, Benin.Approximately 1 million children work in mines or quarries worldwide. In Benin, as in many other countries, such activity is illegal and underreported. But the problem and its dangers, though often hidden, are very real. In the quarries, children inhale dust from the rocks, which causes a chronic and potentially fatal respiratory illness. Some fall into pits or get injured lifting rocks; others are crushed under falling stones.
Parents may put their children in harm’s way for lack of better alternatives. In Benin, where nearly half the population lives on less than $1.25 a day, stone quarrying is a family affair, employing the father to dislodge the rocks and the mother to sift out the dirt. Leaving small children at home is not an option, and schools are typically too expensive and may be too far away. Many families are so poor that they need the extra hand.
Beninese children and their mothers use grates to sift stones from dirt.Projects like ECOWAS II – which supports children in Benin, Nigeria, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire – aim to break this cycle of poverty. They educate families, businesses and communities about the hidden dangers of quarrying and lasting value of sending children to school. And they bring that education within reach for poor families, by paying for books, uniforms and other expenses. The project has also produced a documentary shown on local television and it will soon begin helping parents raise their incomes without their children’s help.
The Labor Department supports these children in Zakpota, who are able to attend school and have learned the importance of education.As a result, children in Benin are beginning to move from lifting rocks to toting schoolbooks, from a life steeped in hazard to one empowered through awareness.
This is our opinion and feelings about the the posts added to this blog by ourselves and writers who have asked to write on our blog network and does not necessarily represent our agreement or disagreement with the writers concerned.Tweet at #AceHealthNews and email your " News & Views" to our "Ace News Desk" be published in featured posts.
Thank you, Ian [Editor]
A young Beninese girl, approximately 6 years old, carries stones across a quarry.
All three villages are poor, and in all three, people earn their living working in quarries. And in all three, the Department of Labor is funding a project called “ECOWAS II.”
Ask parents in these villages what they think of their children – some as young as three – breaking rocks with pick axes, breathing heavy dust and straining to carry heavy loads of rubble, and you will get three different answers.
In the first village, where awareness raising under the project began just this month, parents say, “They are not in danger. Sure, they should go to school, but we can’t afford that.”
In the second village, where awareness raising efforts have had more time to take root, you hear a different story: “I am so happy my children are in school and not in the quarries where it is dangerous.” Yet, parents still ask, “What am I supposed to do when the project leaves?”
Two young Beninese boys work together to move a stone to the appropriate stone pile in a quarry.
Like many projects supported by the Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, ECOWAS II uses a variety of strategies to protect vulnerable children. It improves access to school and helps parents increase their incomes so that they no longer need to rely on their children’s earnings. But in Benin, as elsewhere, raising awareness is key. The more parents are informed, the better choices they make for their children.
A project partner discusses the hazards of quarrying with parents and their children in a stone quarry in Zakpota, Benin.
Parents may put their children in harm’s way for lack of better alternatives. In Benin, where nearly half the population lives on less than $1.25 a day, stone quarrying is a family affair, employing the father to dislodge the rocks and the mother to sift out the dirt. Leaving small children at home is not an option, and schools are typically too expensive and may be too far away. Many families are so poor that they need the extra hand.
Beninese children and their mothers use grates to sift stones from dirt.
The Labor Department supports these children in Zakpota, who are able to attend school and have learned the importance of education.
This is our opinion and feelings about the the posts added to this blog by ourselves and writers who have asked to write on our blog network and does not necessarily represent our agreement or disagreement with the writers concerned.Tweet at #AceHealthNews and email your " News & Views" to our "Ace News Desk" be published in featured posts.
Thank you, Ian [Editor]
The End of a Long, Hot Summer
The End of a Long, Hot Summer:
While my colleagues here at the Labor Department were busy honoring the legacy of America’s working men and women this Labor Day, for many Americans, the holiday meant putting away our summer clothes and writing the last chapter of another summer come and gone.
OSHA’s outreach continued through a grueling July and August with hundreds of events in which OSHA field staff brought the message to their communities by attending worker events and appearing on radio and television. In Texas, OSHA staffed live, Spanish-language phone banks on Univision affiliates to answer questions from the public on heat illness prevention. OSHA also posted more than 100 “Water. Rest. Shade.” billboards across four states to educate employers and workers about the primary ways for outdoor workers to protect themselves in hot weather. The billboards appeared in Arkansas, Florida, Texas and Illinois – the four states with the highest number of occupational heat-related fatalities in 2010.
Since the beginning of the last year’s campaign, OSHA has distributed more than half a million educational posters, fact sheets, tools and other resources through our network of local offices, worker representatives and employer organizations – targeting the workers and industries that need them most. Secretary Solis, along with labor pioneer (and recent Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient) Dolores Huerta, recorded television and radio Public Service Announcements in English and Spanish that were broadcast in the hottest parts of the country, like Texas, Arizona and Nevada.
We were especially concerned about hard-to-reach, vulnerable workers who may have limited English proficiency or may work in remote areas in industries like agriculture or construction. We noted that these workers increasingly rely on mobile communications for information. That’s why OSHA created the OSHA Heat Safety Tool, a mobile smartphone application that provides vital safety information whenever and wherever you need it. As of this week, the app has been downloaded more than 54,000 times in English and Spanish on the iPhone, and Android and some Blackberry devices.
It is difficult – if not impossible – to measure the number of workers who are alive and well this September because employers took common-sense steps to reduce the risk of becoming seriously ill by allowing them to acclimatize to the heat. We can’t count the number of workers who recognized the signs of heat stroke or heat exhaustion in a co-worker and took action to get life-saving medical help. There is no telling what might have happened to the workers whose employers conducted comprehensive heat illness prevention training, and who – as a result – stayed hydrated and took frequent breaks in the shade during the summer’s most unforgiving days.
Sadly, we do know of workers who perished this summer from the effects of heat-related illnesses. Reports of these tragedies make perfectly clear what havoc extreme heat can wreak on the human body without the proper precautions. When word of these fatalities reaches us at OSHA’s national office during our videoconferences with our regional administrators, the room goes silent, and all of us share the sense of loss. We grieve for the loved ones of these workers and resolve to keep fighting. It will be months before we learn the estimated number of heat-related fatalities in 2012 from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, but not one worker’s life should be endangered by these entirely preventable illnesses.
Still, there are parts of the country where the weather will continue to pose a risk of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Even in September and beyond, it is critical to remember three little words: Water. Rest. Shade. The work can’t get done without them.
Dr. David Michaels is the assistant secretary for occupational safety and health.
The posts and articles provided by our news desk are not always representative of our personal views of the story.Tweet at #AceHealthNews or email to News & Views
Thank you, Ian [Editor]
While my colleagues here at the Labor Department were busy honoring the legacy of America’s working men and women this Labor Day, for many Americans, the holiday meant putting away our summer clothes and writing the last chapter of another summer come and gone.This year, for the second year in a row, OSHA conducted a summerlong campaign to educate workers and employers about the risks of working outdoors in extreme heat. Looking back on the summer, there were an astonishing number of heat-related weather emergencies across the country: the hottest month in U.S. history, local temperature records broken by the thousand, wildfires and drought.
From the very first day of the summer, the OSHA began getting the word out about the dangers associated with this type of weather. On June 20, I joined Secretary Solis and representatives from the National Weather Service on a teleconference with dozens of television and radio weather broadcasters to discuss just how deadly extreme heat can be for outdoor workers and to urge them to spread the message about heat’s dangers to outdoor worker and their families. NWS meteorologist Eli Jacks previewed the extended heat outlook for the summer, accurately characterizing the scorching months to come.OSHA’s outreach continued through a grueling July and August with hundreds of events in which OSHA field staff brought the message to their communities by attending worker events and appearing on radio and television. In Texas, OSHA staffed live, Spanish-language phone banks on Univision affiliates to answer questions from the public on heat illness prevention. OSHA also posted more than 100 “Water. Rest. Shade.” billboards across four states to educate employers and workers about the primary ways for outdoor workers to protect themselves in hot weather. The billboards appeared in Arkansas, Florida, Texas and Illinois – the four states with the highest number of occupational heat-related fatalities in 2010.
Since the beginning of the last year’s campaign, OSHA has distributed more than half a million educational posters, fact sheets, tools and other resources through our network of local offices, worker representatives and employer organizations – targeting the workers and industries that need them most. Secretary Solis, along with labor pioneer (and recent Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient) Dolores Huerta, recorded television and radio Public Service Announcements in English and Spanish that were broadcast in the hottest parts of the country, like Texas, Arizona and Nevada.We were especially concerned about hard-to-reach, vulnerable workers who may have limited English proficiency or may work in remote areas in industries like agriculture or construction. We noted that these workers increasingly rely on mobile communications for information. That’s why OSHA created the OSHA Heat Safety Tool, a mobile smartphone application that provides vital safety information whenever and wherever you need it. As of this week, the app has been downloaded more than 54,000 times in English and Spanish on the iPhone, and Android and some Blackberry devices.
It is difficult – if not impossible – to measure the number of workers who are alive and well this September because employers took common-sense steps to reduce the risk of becoming seriously ill by allowing them to acclimatize to the heat. We can’t count the number of workers who recognized the signs of heat stroke or heat exhaustion in a co-worker and took action to get life-saving medical help. There is no telling what might have happened to the workers whose employers conducted comprehensive heat illness prevention training, and who – as a result – stayed hydrated and took frequent breaks in the shade during the summer’s most unforgiving days.
Sadly, we do know of workers who perished this summer from the effects of heat-related illnesses. Reports of these tragedies make perfectly clear what havoc extreme heat can wreak on the human body without the proper precautions. When word of these fatalities reaches us at OSHA’s national office during our videoconferences with our regional administrators, the room goes silent, and all of us share the sense of loss. We grieve for the loved ones of these workers and resolve to keep fighting. It will be months before we learn the estimated number of heat-related fatalities in 2012 from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, but not one worker’s life should be endangered by these entirely preventable illnesses.
Still, there are parts of the country where the weather will continue to pose a risk of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Even in September and beyond, it is critical to remember three little words: Water. Rest. Shade. The work can’t get done without them.
Dr. David Michaels is the assistant secretary for occupational safety and health.
The posts and articles provided by our news desk are not always representative of our personal views of the story.Tweet at #AceHealthNews or email to News & Views
Thank you, Ian [Editor]
Monday, 27 August 2012
Fat Britain Is 'Dereliction Of Duty' By Government
Fat Britain Is 'Dereliction Of Duty' By Government:
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has been accused of a "dereliction of duty" in his efforts to tackle Britain's growing obesity problem by one of his former public health advisers.
Professor Simon Capewell, who served on Mr Lansley's Public Health Commission while in opposition, said the minister had "moved Britain back" in terms of public health since the general election two years ago.
He labelled the Government's Responsibility Deal as "a pantomime" and said the plan to work together with manufacturers to introduce voluntary cuts to fat, sugar and salt levels in food was like "putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank".
In an interview with The Independent, Prof Capewell, a member of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges committee on obesity, said: "Andrew Lansley, in my opinion, is guilty of a gross dereliction of duty in relation to public health.
"He has actually moved Britain back in terms of public health from where we were before he was elected.
"He has officiated over a responsibility deal which is a pantomime - and has been a huge public relations coup for the industry."
The Responsibility Deal, launched in March last year, encourages companies to voluntarily help to improve the health of the nation by labelling food in restaurants with calorie counts and reduce saturated fat, salt and sugar in products.
However consumer group Which? reported earlier this year that only a handful of the top 10 restaurants and pub groups had agreed to provide calorie information on menus.
In its report into the Responsibility Deal, the House of Commons Health Select Committee concluded it was "unconvinced" that it would be "effective in resolving issues such as obesity".
It called on the Department of Health (DoH) to set out clearly how progress will be monitored and tougher regulation applied if necessary.
Prof Capewell told the Independent: "Even a moment of reflection should show that this is a spectacular conflict of interest.
"It is breathtaking that when deciding on public health policy in relation to food you should be sitting around the table with the very people who make large amounts of money from selling this stuff."
But a DoH spokesman said: "In the last decade, Britain had some of the fastest rising obesity rates in Europe and successive attempts have failed to tackle them.
"The Responsibility Deal has delivered far more action, more quickly than before and more than could have been achieved through regulation in that time.
"We have shown real leadership, working in partnership with industry to find an approach that delivers results.
"We are seeing the results in our everyday lives - calories on menus in our high streets, less salt in the food we buy and artificial trans fats are being taken out of food. This is helping people around the country to live healthier lives."
The DoH pointed out that more than 70% of fast food and takeaway meals sold on the high street will have calories clearly labelled by the end of this year.
Every major supermarket chain has committed to removing artificial trans fats and promoting alcohol unit awareness in their stores, it added.
All the posts are provided by me and any comments l provide are my own view of the markets and are not the views of the article writer and or news provider.Please tweet your opinion at #AceHealthNews or email me at News & Views
Thank you, Ian [Editor]
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has been accused of a "dereliction of duty" in his efforts to tackle Britain's growing obesity problem by one of his former public health advisers.
Professor Simon Capewell, who served on Mr Lansley's Public Health Commission while in opposition, said the minister had "moved Britain back" in terms of public health since the general election two years ago.
He labelled the Government's Responsibility Deal as "a pantomime" and said the plan to work together with manufacturers to introduce voluntary cuts to fat, sugar and salt levels in food was like "putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank".
In an interview with The Independent, Prof Capewell, a member of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges committee on obesity, said: "Andrew Lansley, in my opinion, is guilty of a gross dereliction of duty in relation to public health.
"He has actually moved Britain back in terms of public health from where we were before he was elected.
"He has officiated over a responsibility deal which is a pantomime - and has been a huge public relations coup for the industry."
The Responsibility Deal, launched in March last year, encourages companies to voluntarily help to improve the health of the nation by labelling food in restaurants with calorie counts and reduce saturated fat, salt and sugar in products.
However consumer group Which? reported earlier this year that only a handful of the top 10 restaurants and pub groups had agreed to provide calorie information on menus.
In its report into the Responsibility Deal, the House of Commons Health Select Committee concluded it was "unconvinced" that it would be "effective in resolving issues such as obesity".
It called on the Department of Health (DoH) to set out clearly how progress will be monitored and tougher regulation applied if necessary.
Prof Capewell told the Independent: "Even a moment of reflection should show that this is a spectacular conflict of interest.
"It is breathtaking that when deciding on public health policy in relation to food you should be sitting around the table with the very people who make large amounts of money from selling this stuff."
But a DoH spokesman said: "In the last decade, Britain had some of the fastest rising obesity rates in Europe and successive attempts have failed to tackle them.
"The Responsibility Deal has delivered far more action, more quickly than before and more than could have been achieved through regulation in that time.
"We have shown real leadership, working in partnership with industry to find an approach that delivers results.
"We are seeing the results in our everyday lives - calories on menus in our high streets, less salt in the food we buy and artificial trans fats are being taken out of food. This is helping people around the country to live healthier lives."
The DoH pointed out that more than 70% of fast food and takeaway meals sold on the high street will have calories clearly labelled by the end of this year.
Every major supermarket chain has committed to removing artificial trans fats and promoting alcohol unit awareness in their stores, it added.
All the posts are provided by me and any comments l provide are my own view of the markets and are not the views of the article writer and or news provider.Please tweet your opinion at #AceHealthNews or email me at News & Views
Thank you, Ian [Editor]
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Explore How Isaac Storm Surge Could Flood Tampa, RNC
Explore How Isaac Storm Surge Could Flood Tampa, RNC:
By Climate Central
Tropical Storm Isaac is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane over the next few days, just in time for the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday in Tampa.
While it’s still too early to predict if it will directly hit Tampa, even a mere sideswipe of the storm could cause huge problems for people in the Tampa Bay area, conventioneers, included. That’s because Tampa is especially vulnerable to storm surge, the wall of water hurricanes and tropical storms push ahead of them.
This interactive, based on research done by Climate Central, shows how much of the Tampa Bay area lies below storm surges of different heights as measured in feet above high tide (use the slider to select a number and the location of the Republican Convention is marked on the map). The 100-year flood level is 6.5 feet above the high-tide line, which would cause major flooding.
As a comparison, the devastating surge caused by an unnamed hurricane in 1921 — the last direct hit on the bay — reached 10.5 feet. In 1921, however, sea level was, on average, about 8 inches lower than it is today. That means that the same storm striking today would make the surge that much higher.
The risk for Tampa and other coastal cities all over the nation – and all over the world -- will keep growing in the future, as climate change continues to drive up sea level.
All the posts are provided by me and any comments l provide are my own view of the markets and are not the views of the article writer and or news provider.#AceNewsServices
By Climate Central
Click image for interactive
While it’s still too early to predict if it will directly hit Tampa, even a mere sideswipe of the storm could cause huge problems for people in the Tampa Bay area, conventioneers, included. That’s because Tampa is especially vulnerable to storm surge, the wall of water hurricanes and tropical storms push ahead of them.
This interactive, based on research done by Climate Central, shows how much of the Tampa Bay area lies below storm surges of different heights as measured in feet above high tide (use the slider to select a number and the location of the Republican Convention is marked on the map). The 100-year flood level is 6.5 feet above the high-tide line, which would cause major flooding.
As a comparison, the devastating surge caused by an unnamed hurricane in 1921 — the last direct hit on the bay — reached 10.5 feet. In 1921, however, sea level was, on average, about 8 inches lower than it is today. That means that the same storm striking today would make the surge that much higher.
The risk for Tampa and other coastal cities all over the nation – and all over the world -- will keep growing in the future, as climate change continues to drive up sea level.
All the posts are provided by me and any comments l provide are my own view of the markets and are not the views of the article writer and or news provider.#AceNewsServices
Thursday, 16 August 2012
OFT welcomes action by NHS trusts to ensure compliance with competition law
OFT welcomes action by NHS trusts to ensure compliance with competition law: Eight NHS Hospital Trusts have given voluntary assurances to the OFT that they will no longer exchange commercially sensitive information about their Private Patient Unit prices, to ensure they comply with competition law.
Tweet at #AceNewsServices or email to AceNewsDesk your News and Views
Tweet at #AceNewsServices or email to AceNewsDesk your News and Views
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Weekday Vegetarian: Sesame Green Beans
Weekday Vegetarian: Sesame Green Beans: 
An Asian sauce is a simple way to turn leftovers into something delicious.
This is our opinion and feelings about the the posts added to this blog by ourselves and writers who have asked to write on our blog network and does not necessarily represent our agreement or disagreement with the writers concerned.Please add #SpecialOcassion to your tweets and follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/SpecialOcassion for quality food and hospitality Thank you, Chris {Chef}
An Asian sauce is a simple way to turn leftovers into something delicious.
This is our opinion and feelings about the the posts added to this blog by ourselves and writers who have asked to write on our blog network and does not necessarily represent our agreement or disagreement with the writers concerned.Please add #SpecialOcassion to your tweets and follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/SpecialOcassion for quality food and hospitality Thank you, Chris {Chef}
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