Science Should Trump Politics When Considering Safety Issues

Abstract

The responsibility of worker protection is spread rather diffusely between several agencies of the US government. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) all evaluate data relating to occupational safety and exposures, and OSHA and EPA have regulatory and enforcement authority. The EPA deals with environmental off-site consequences of pollutants. OSHA is a branch of the Department of Labor. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has research and advisory roles. While much interaction takes places between these agencies they ultimately account to very different structures. Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act) encourages states to develop and operate their own safety and health programs in the workplace, which are “at least as effective as” comparable federal standards. OSHA approves and monitors State Plans, which currently exist for public and private employees in 22 states and for public employees only in 5 additional states. OSHA’s lack of consistent guidance for audits of these state-run programs allows enforcement deficiencies to go undetected, increasing the risk of harm to workers. We are left with this rather diffuse collection of agencies for historical reasons and they are likely to remain separate. This complexity can lead to some issues receiving far less attention than others and some issues being totally neglected. While new safety-related regulation always requires funds, it is at least a level playing field as it is applied nationwide. The final arbiter of whether regulation is to be moved along rapidly or put on hold is the Office of Budget and Management (OMB). Since this is a political rather than a scientific division, decisions are ultimately not sciencebased. Thus important Occupational Safety legislation can be held up for years. For example although on average, four construction workers die on the job every day, crane and derrick safety standards have not substantially since 1971. OMB has delayed the EPA’s list of “chemicals of concern” for almost three years and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s rule on crystalline silica for over two years.