The government is asleep once more

The Center for Public Integrity is publishing a series of articles on work-related disease in America. Here is a summary of their initial findings: 

• America’s system for preventing worker illnesses and deaths from chemicals, fumes and dust is so broken that OSHA warns companies not to rely on its legal exposure limits to protect employees.
• One example of the U.S. government’s failure to properly regulate toxic substances in American workplaces: The effort to tighten rules for lung-damaging silica is 40 years old and still hasn’t crossed the finish line.
• U.S. workers face high cancer risks if exposed over their careers to certain chemicals at the legal limit, according to analyses by OSHA and a separate analysis by the Center for Public Integrity and a former OSHA official.
• The vast majority of the tens of thousands of chemicals made or used in the U.S., including some very common and toxic substances, have no workplace exposure limits.
• Even though OSHA’s workforce exposure limits are too loose, companies don’t always comply with them. OSHA samples testing positive for lead, for instance, frequently topped legal levels.

By and large it is not the fault of the companies. They are complying with the rules. The problem is that the vast majority of tens of thousands of chemicals used in workplaces fall under no rules at all.