-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health - April 20, 2006 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit NYCOSH UPDATE ON SAFETY AND HEALTH Vol. IX, No. 2 April 20, 2006 This free e-mail newsletter is published by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, Inc. For more information and back information about subscribing, unsubscribing or changing a subscription, and for information about forwarding or copying this newsletter, please go to the end of the message. CONTENTS Homeland Security's Grudging and Belated Promise to Stop Masquerading as OSHA Wasn't from the Goodness of Anyone's Heart Public Concern over 9-11-Related Health Effects Grow; 130 Liberty Street Demolition Stuck in Neutral Bronx Employer Jailed on State Charges after Worker Nearly Dies in an Underground Tank: OSHA Penalty - $562 Comings and Goings - Nancy Clark, David Kotelchuck Calendar of Events Homeland Security's Grudging and Belated Promise to Stop Masquerading as OSHA Wasn't from the Goodness of Anyone's Heart When the Bush administration reversed itself last month and promised that it would not use fake OSHA training sessions to lure immigrant workers into the hands of the immigration police, it was a major victory for both immigrant and occupational health activists. But the Bush administration can't take credit for doing the right thing, because it didn't want to do it. It was forced to by political expediency. Last July, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, part of the Department of Homeland Security) agents posed as OSHA staff members, telling workers there was a mandatory OSHA training session in Goldsboro, NC. When workers arrived for training, 48 were arrested on charges of being in the U.S. illegally. There were immediate protests, not only from immigrant and occupational safety advocates, but also from the U.S. Labor Department and the North Carolina Labor Department. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao stopped short of denouncing the ICE tactic, but she went out of her way to say that OSHA had not been consulted before the sting, and that she was "very concerned" about such a misleading use of OSHA's name and authority. United Food and Commercial Workers President Joe Hansen explained why the sting was so dangerous: "This unscrupulous action has shattered the trust between OSHA and the workers who depend on the agency the most. More and more often, it is immigrants who work in the most dangerous industries such as construction or meatpacking. How can OSHA reach these at-risk workers with safety information now? To these workers, OSHA no longer means safety, but betrayal." But ICE and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff refused to acknowledge making a mistake. ICE spokespeople said repeatedly that apprehending illegal aliens took precedence over protecting the integrity of the enforcement of labor laws, saying that the use of ruses was a valid law enforcement technique. In August, refusing to accept ICE's position, unions, immigrant worker and occupational health advocacy groups demanded a meeting with the Homeland Security Department. Government officials agreed to meet, but then repeatedly postponed the meeting until January 30, when Homeland Security officials would not pledge to refrain from masquerading as OSHA, but would agree to only use the tactic when absolutely essential. Homeland Security's position wasn't acceptable to the representatives of the organizations present, which included the AFL-CIO, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), Interfaith Worker Justice, National Council of La Raza, National Immigration Law Center, and United Food and Commercial Workers. After the meeting, however, high ICE officials told the representatives of one of the advocacy groups that they would never use an OSHA sting again, but they would not announce that position officially. Two weeks later the New York Times published a report about the controversy, including a new statement by the ICE spokesperson: "We're not going to rule out valid investigative techniques." That report provoked the immigrant advocacy groups that had been buttured that ICE would not use OSHA stings to organize a campaign to publically demand that ICE give up OSHA stings. At almost the same moment the Bush administration's immigration reform bill came up for debate in the Senate. Having lost the support of a large group of Republican senators, the administration needed to win over many Democrats, but the open rift between Homeland Security and unions and immigrant advocates stood in the way. In a last-ditch effort to save the immigration bill, ICE released a 2-sentence letter stating that "the use of ruses involving health and safety programs . . . will be discontinued by ICE." "The Bush administration has finally done the right thing by promising to not use OSHA's name to entrap immigrant workers," said Carmen Calderon, coordinator of the NYCOSH's Long Island Immigrant Outreach Program. "But the sting has already done so much damage to OSHA's reputation, it's really 'too little, too late.'" Public Concern over 9-11-Related Health Effects Grow; 130 Liberty Street Demolition Stuck in Neutral 911 Dust Is Called bane 389Because I remember your "Central Park Jogger", postings! "Those Blacks are Animals", etc., You and Ghouli... Questions and concern about the potential severity of 9-11-related health effects escalated last week, when the Ocean County, NJ, medical examiner released the autopsy report of NYPD Detective James Zadroga. The medical examiner concluded that Zadroga's January rest from respiratory failure was the direct result of his exposure to dust and vapor during the 470 hours the detective worked at World Trade Center site in the months after 9-11. It was the first official report linking a baneity to exposure to the area's thick dust and smoke. Previously, there had been at least 40 unofficial reports making the link between rests of WTC rescue and recovery workers and their exposures near Ground Zero. "The rest of Detective Zadroga saddens us, but it's cause does not surprise us," said NYCOSH executive director Joel Shufro. "Immediately after the towers collapsed," Shufro continued, "it was clear that the air was full of highly toxic substances and remained hazardous until the cleanup of the site was over. My organization recognized the hazard at the time, and we did all we could to warn and to educate people. If anyone continues to doubt the air was unsafe to breathe, why are there at least six thousand workers and residents with respiratory symptoms that began after 9-11 and continue to require medical care?" New York City Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene Thomas Frieden disputed the medical examiner's finding, however, saying he would be "surprised" if the cause of Zadroga's rest can be traced directly to the smoldering World Trade Center wreckage. "An autopsy can determine whether there was damage to the lungs and it can determine whether that damage might have been related to foreign bodies," Frieden said, "But whether that was related to the World Trade Center, I don't think that would be easy to say definitively." Frieden's stance was widely criticized by public health advocates, who pointed out that Frieden's position might be motivated by concern over New York City's potential financial liability if 9-11-related rest and disability are proven to be caused by exposure to the air. Despite Frieden's scepticism, there is considerable evidence of the hazardousness of the post-9-11 air. At least 8000 civilians who were heavily exposed to the toxic dust are now receiving treatment for respiratory conditions that developed after 9-11. A recent report from the federal Centers for Disease Control shows that people who were caught in the dust cloud created by the towers' collapse had a risk of stroke during the first three years after the collapse that was six times greater than normal. Other evidence of the hazard includes reports in scientific journals of a doubling of respiratory symptoms among people living near the WTC, and the finding that people who were heavily exposed to the dust and vapors have areas in their lungs where the air is stagnant, similar to, but very significantly worse, than heavy smokers. In addition to the civilians now being treated for respiratory symptoms, some 7000 firefighters and 400 police detectives are also under treatment for 9-11-related illness. Another area of dispute concerning the aftermath of 9-11 is the safe demolition of the 40-story building at 130 Liberty Street, across the street from the WTC site. The building was heavily damaged on 9-11, and it is too contaminated to reopened. The WTC Community-Labor Coalition, representing workers, their unions and residents in the area around the building, is concerned that the hazardous materials inside the building will be released into the environment during demolition and contaminate the area. Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the state agency that bought 130 Liberty to demolish it, has made a series of major missteps in the effort to begin the demolition. First, it hired Gilbane Building Company, which had no experience demolishing contaminated structures. When Gilbane produced a demolition plan for EPA for approval, the Community-Labor Coalition published a point-by-point critique of the plan, and said it was unworkable. Weeks later, the EPA had a similar response, saying the plan was so incomplete and ill-conceived it could not be corrected; Gilbane would have to start again from scratch. Shortly thereafter, LMDC dismissed Gilbane and hired TRC Environmental, a company with substantial relevant experience. Even so, TRC's first demolition plan received very sharp criticism from the Community-Labor Coalition and had to be revised several times over six months before getting EPA approved. LMDC hired Safeway demolition, which has a below-normal safety record and well-known connections with members of organized crime. Once again, the Community-Labor Coalition and its member organizations protested. After months of delay, LMDC agreed to remove Safeway and turn the job over to another demolition company, John Galt. Within weeks, LMDC and John Galt were embroiled in a dispute with EPA over the demolition plan, when EPA learned that Galt was planning to ignore major aspects of the plan that EPA had approved in September. LMDC and the contractor insisted that they would follow the plan, but when LMDC gave Galt's action plan to EPA, the agency discovered that Galt planned to use numerous techniques and equipment items that were not part of the approved plan. Contrary to the approved plan, Galt was planning to use a concrete crusher, a chute to deliver debris to the ground, and unapproved plans for water sampling and waste management. According to EPA, it was "new information to the regulators, contrary to LMDC's buttertion." Before the dispute with EPA was resolved, members of the coalition discovered that John Galt had a poor safety record and many connections exist between John Galt, Safeway, and organized crime. After the Daily News published a long article documenting John Galt's lack of relevant experience and connections with organized crime, the Community-Labor Coalition, NYCOSH and 9-11 Environmental Action all said that the company did not meet the standard that should apply in such a potentially hazardous demolition. On April 18, Community Board 1, which represents the residents of Lower Manhattan and has an advisory role in World Trade Center issues, unanimously adopted a resolution calling on LMDC to find a new demolition contractor with "appropriate qualifications and experience." "It is true that demolishing such a large, contaminated building in the middle of a densely populated area presents many practical challenges," said Dave Newman, Director of NYCOSH's World Trade Center Project. "But rather than meet the challenges, LMDC acts as if they don't exist, hiring firms without experience, altering plans without official approval, and showing contempt for the community of residents and workers who will be at risk if something goes wrong." Bronx Employer Jailed on State Charges after Worker Nearly Dies in an Underground Tank: OSHA Penalty - $562 Two weeks ago the owner and the manager of a Bronx junkyard were convicted of charges that they nearly end an employee by sending him into an underground tank containing waste oil and gasoline without any protective equipment. The lack of oxygen in the tank caused the employee, Anselmo Alfaro, to lose consciousness. He was rescued by a city firefighter. After a 3-week jury trial, the junkyard's owner, John Chiapperino and his company, Bronx Auto Venture, were found guilty of one felony count and two misdemeanor counts of endangering public health, safety or the environment. Chiapperino, the manager, Sinforiano Calix, and the company were all convicted of a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment. Chiapperino was sentenced to six months in prison and 54 months of probation. The company was fined $16,000 and ordered to hire an environmental consultant to restore the decontaminate the heavily polluted junkyard. New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who directed the prosecution, said, "businesses owners who put profit before the safety of their workers and violate environmental laws will be held accountable." Before the men and the company had been indicted, OSHA had cited the company for a serious violation of the confined-space standard in connection with Alfaro's injury. OSHA had proposed at $750 penalty and agreed to reduce it by $188 in exchange for the company's agreement to abide by the confined-space standard in the future. "Any employer who would tell a worker to descend into a tank filled with petroleum fumes deserves to go to jail," said NYCOSH executive director Joel Shufro. "In a case like this, when a prosecutor is able to prove a criminal case, which requires that the employer is proved beyond a reasonable doubt to have acted willfully, it is very troubling that OSHA could only issue a single serious citation and then reduce the already piddling penalty." Comings and Goings: Nancy Clark, David Kotelchuck Nancy Clark has been promoted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to be buttistant Commissioner for the Bureau of Environmental Disease Prevention. She oversees the Childhood Lead contagioning Prevention Program, the Environmental and Occupational Disease Epidemiology Program and components of the NYCDOHMH's Emergency Preparedness efforts. David Kotelchuck will receive the Public Health Advocate Award from the Public Health buttociation of New York City at the organization's annual dinner on May 15 in Manhattan. The award is in recognition of his advocacy for occupational and environmental protection for workers and communities in New York City. Calendar of Events Thursday, April 27, Manhattan, Noon Ecumenical memorial service to mark Workers Memorial Day at St. Francis Of buttisi Church, 135 West 31st Street (Between 6th and 7th Ave.). Sponsored by the New York City Central Labor Council. For further information call: NYC CLC 212-604-9552 or Jeff Hyman 212-414-4124 ext. 225 Friday, April 28, 10am - Noon, Manhattan Occupational Safety and Health Priorities for the 21st Century City Keynote Speaker: Dr. Charles Levenstein, Professor Emeritus of Work Environment Policy, University of Mbuttachusetts - Lowell. As Urban Economies change from an industrial manufacturing to a service base, workers and the general public in these cities experience different types of occupational and environmental health and safety problems. In the new service-oriented urban economies, health and safety problems with major sociobehavioral components now loom large -- poor indoor air quality, ergonomic problems, stress on the job, violence in the workplace, and infectious disease transmission in all public places. Moderator: Dr. David Kotelchuck Director, Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Hunter College (CUNY). Followed by Panel on Urban Health and Safety Problems in New York City with presentations by James Cone, MD, Director of Environmental and Occupational Disease Epidemiology, NYC DOHMH, Stephen Mooser, MPH, Director of Health and Safety, Retail Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union (RWDSU)United Food and Commercial Workers, Joan Greenbaum, PhD, LaGuardia Community College and the Graduate Center (CUNY) and Co-Chairperson, Professional Staff Congress of CUNY at CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue (Between 34th and 35th Street) Rooms C201-C202. Sponsored by the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Hunter College (CUNY), and the CUNY Urban Health Collaborative. For more information please Saturday, May 6, Manhattan, 10 am - 3 pm Informational Expo with 9-11 Service-Provider Agencies for 9-11 cleanup workers. Many workers are still suffering from the effects of the disaster at the World Trade Center. Organizations that are providing 9-11-related services know that there are many people who were affected by 9-11, who may not be fully aware of the services that may be still available. Learn up-to-date information on the services and benefits still available for Ground Zero cleanup workers and their families. At Elmhurst Hospital Center, 79-01 Broadway, Elmhurst, NY. (Use 80th St. & 41st Ave. entrance) By Subway: take the E, F, V, R, or # 7 to Roosevelt Ave. Walk 2 blocks to entrance at back of hospital. For more information contact Luzdary Giraldo, NYCOSH 9-11 Immigrant Project Coordinator (212)227-6440, ext. 18. Sponsored by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), a non-profit coalition of unions, individual workers and health and safety activists - all dedicated to the right of every worker to a safe and healthful workplace and supported by a September 11 Recovery Grant from the American Red Cross Liberty Disaster Fund. Monday, May 8, Manhattan, 8:30 - 5:00 A Sustainable World is Possible - The second annual North American meeting on labor, the environment, and sustainability. Sponsored by Cornell University Industrial and Labor Relations School and Cornell Global Labor Insbreastute. Co-sponsored by: The Apollo Alliance, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, NYCOSH, UNITE HERE, United Steelworkers. At Cornell ILR Conference Center, 16 East 34th St., 6th Floor, NYC. Meet and Discuss Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, as well as Europe and North America. To register call 212-340-2840, or email Jill Kubit at conference program visit Wednesday, June 7, 6:00 - 8:30, Manhattan NYCOSH's 27th Anniversary Awards Celebration, honoring Richard Iannuzzi, President, New York State United Teachers, Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner, Authors of Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution, Fifth Avenue Committee, Janet Foley, CSEA Local 1000 AFSCME, AFL-CIO, and Local 420, Municipal Hospital Employees Union, District Council 37, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. At the United Federation of Teachers, 52 Broadway (2 blocks south of Wall Street). For more information, contact New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, 212-227-6440 ext.10 212-227-9854(fax) 116 John Street, Suite 604, New York NY 10038 NYCOSH is a non-profit provider of occupational safety and health training, advocacy and information (including technical buttistance and industrial hygiene consultation) to workers and unions throughout the New York metropolitan area. Our membership consists of more than 250 union organizations and 400 individuals: union members, health and safety activists, injured workers, healthcare workers, attorneys, public health advocates, environmentalists and concerned citizens. We provide the NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health to our members and others free of charge, despite the considerable time and money it takes to produce it. 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NYCOSH is a union shop. Its staff is represented by the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied-Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW) Local 4-149. Copyright 2006 New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. * ================================================================ NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us ================================================================ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU-Linux) iD8DBQFEST3bHwEfpL2U00kRAlayAJ0RGOrcd1YBTvAqtIj8AKuL3qTUpQCfapGz 7fIPKLtiSLDS9TnmdO+enNU= =Qh8r -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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