Reply #7: NRDC (national resources defense council) is calling for 5 specific OSHA and DOL actions...

[nashville_brook]

(b/c these things aren't being done already...)

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ahuang/dol_and_osha_must_protect_work.html

In light of these health threats to workers, NRDC and local community groups in the Gulf Coast are demanding by letter that the DOL, OSHA, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH):

-- DOL strongly enforce OSHA’s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response standards requiring personal protective equipment, including respirators as required under Respiratory Protection standards, against BP;
-- DOL/OSHA work with NIEHS to provide medical surveillance for workers;
-- DOL/OSHA publicly release any data that is available on worker exposures;
-- The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) immediately initiate a Health Hazard Evaluation to investigate gulf oil spill worker health concerns; and
-- DOL work with EPA and the Coast Guard to obtain independent air monitoring in places where workers and fisherman could come into contact with oil or may be exposed to fumes from the oil.



Now is the time for swift action to protect these workers and fishermen, before we repeat some of the well-documented physical and mental health issues that affected workers in previous oil disasters.