Occupational Health News Update
Submitted by Rikon Snow on Tue, 12/20/2016 - 11:41am
Kim Krisberg regularly updates an occupational health news feature over at the Pump Handle (A water cooler for the Public Health crowd) at ScienceBlogs. This is update 236.
- working conditions at the nation’s oil refineries
- the future of mine safety in the context of the incoming Trump administration
- sexual harassment within the National Park Service
- abusive and dangerous working conditions in Bangladesh's apparel industry
- Exponent Inc., “a publicly traded giant in litigation defense and regulatory science” and a “go-to” source for industries with liability problems
Enjoy!
Comments
The National Park Service is one of the worst agencies to
work for according to an ongoing annual federal survey. It is in the bottom 25% - # 262 out of 302 agencies. Retaliation against employees; sexual harassment; managers not being held accountable for allowing the natural and cultural resources to become degraded; too few rangers and maintenance workers, and top heavy regional and DC offices; and poor general supervision with favoritism reported as being rife.
The NPS head, Jarvis, was cited for violating ethical standards by having his book published by a company he had ultimate control over. Still, he's on the job and just issued a plan for the NPS that will be ineffective due to its incoherence. With profit-driven poaching of animals and plants at a too-high level, the NPS has as its goal, getting more African Americans to visit the national parks.
There is a $1Billion backlog of maintenance and safety issues but no plan to remedy this.
The PEER web site is a good source for issues involving land management agencies.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Trump can help here....
Considering the folks Mr. Trump has been choosing to lead the various federal departments in his administration, I believe I can sniff out Trump's solution to the under-funding of the NPS.
First, we sell off the vast federal land holdings in the Western United States. There are plenty of willing buyers for this land ... just ask the Koch brothers. Those funds would be used to prop up the more popular National Parks. And, by the way, aren't there too many of those? Many of these now-protected areas could also be sold to help ensure the viability of the few remaining sites.
Second, who needs NPS employees? This is an area best served by private interests, no? This would be a boon to employment in affected areas, which would already be well supplemented by the thousands of new (minimum wage/no benefits) jobs created to guard the new holdings of the few corporations and banks able to acquire the vast (former) Federal lands.
See! A plan is not so hard!
The kicker behind the western states wanting federal lands
given to them is indeed to sell these lands to the rich. Upon statehood, these states received varying amounts of federal land, gratis, and most of the states have let the lands go to private parties. So the plan is to get our land - the public's land - into the hands of the greedheads. You can't buy this patrimony with money - none should be for sale.
You've done a nice job of analyzing the plans of the Wealthers - more people should care.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"