[http://www.nycosh.org/Update14_Jul-Sep_2002.html]
NYCOSH Update on Safety
and Health Archive
July - September
2002
The
Update on Safety and Health is published every two weeks by NYCOSH.
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NYCOSH
UPDATE September 26, 2002
Three Reports
Indicate Deep Trouble in the New York State Public Employee Safety
and Health Program
Three new reports
cast a bleak light on the New York State Public Employee Safety
and Health Bureau (PESH), the state agency that oversees and
enforces safety and health conditions for the state's approximately1.3
million state and local government workers.
Two of the reports
are from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA),
which provides 45 percent of the PESH budget and plays and oversight
role in PESH activities. The third report is from the office
of the New York State Comptroller's Division of Management Audit
and State Financial Services.
One of the OSHA
reports is an analysis of 36 fatality inspections conducted by
PESH between 1998 and the middle of 2001. The brief and matter-of-fact
report describes a long list of inspections that were "deficient,"
"non-expeditious," or that "missed enforcement
opportunities."
The report criticizes
PESH for responding very slowly to five of the fatalities, delaying
the start of an investigation in one case for 18 days. The other
tardy responses noted by OSHA were 13 days, ten days and two
investigations that were delayed for a week. "This record
of stalling fatality inspections for a week or two or three is
either indicative of an intolerable shortage of inspectors or
negligent management," said NYCOSH Executive Director Joel
Shufro. "Fortunately there are not so many fatalities or
imminent danger reports that PESH needs to delay some fatality
inspections while other fatalities are investigated, so what
excuse can PESH possibly have for delaying a fatality investigation
for a week, let alone three weeks?"
In addition to
tardy fatality inspections, the OSHA report lists many other
shortcomings in the 36 cases, including 11 instances of PESH
giving the employer advance notice of an inspection, eight investigations
that took "an inordinate amount of time to complete,"
and 25 cases in which PESH did not keep next-of-kin adequately
informed, as required by regulations. The OSHA report notes that
PESH fatality inspections were "deficient in many cases"
concerning the participation of union representatives in the
process of the inspection. OSHA also criticizes PESH for having
"missed enforcement opportunities," in many instances,
listing fatalities in which the investigation did not confirm
that an employer was in compliance with a relevant legal requirement.
Lastly, the report documents a number of cases in which PESH
ordered an employer to abate an identified hazard, but made no
effort to verify that the required abatement took place.
The second OSHA
report is a Federal Annual Monitoring Evaluation (FAME) for the
year ending September 30, 2001. The FAME, which evaluates all
PESH activities, finds that many of the deficiencies found in
fatality investigations are also of concern in other cases. For
example, the FAME notes that "abatement verification"
took place less than 40 percent of the time, even thought PESH
regulations require that all hazard abatements be verified.
Some other shortcomings
noted by the FAME include:
- an average of
70 days between opening an investigation and issuing a citation,
compared to a national average of 48 days
- an average of
more than 90 days to complete investigations of allegations that
a worker was illegally disciplined for having filed a complaint
with PESH, for "a 0% timely completion rate."
The third report
on PESH was issued by the Office of the New York State Comptroller.
It concluded that "PESH investigative efforts do not provide
adequate assurance of a safe and healthy workplace. We found
numerous instances in which complaints were misclassified, investigations
were delayed and case processing was inefficient."
The comptroller's
report echoes some of the criticisms in the OSHA FAME, stating
that "PESH's operational problems are longstanding ones
that have been thoroughly and consistently documented by OSHA."
The report continues, "our audit looked for the underlying
causes of these continuing PESH performance problems.... We found
that inadequate training, as well as staffing problems, were
prominent among the causes of inadequate PESH performance."
Following the
appearance of the three reports, Jonathan Rosen, the safety and
health director of the Public Employees Federation, commented
that he was "hopeful" that the reports could be helpful
"in putting pressure on the [state] Labor Department to
address the deficiencies in PESH staffing, training inspectors,
and investigating fatalities." Rosen noted "there has
been a big decline in PESH inspections so workers forget about
PESH and don't make PESH complaints. Now that OSHA and the comptroller
have highlighted the problem, it is up to the unions to utilize
PESH and it is up to PESH management to fulfill its obligation
to adequately enforce the law."
Also on
the Internet:
The
crisis in safety and health enforcement for public-sector workers
in New York State
New York State, Office of the State Comptroller,
Division of Management Audit and State Financial Services. Department
of Labor, Public Employee Safety and Health Program, June 2002
--
From the September 26, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Comings and goings -- Susan McQuade, Beverly Tillery, Carrie
Loewenherz
There are two new faces in the
NYCOSH office, and a familiar face has a new credential.
Two long-time safety and health
and union activists -- Susan McQuade and Beverly Tillery -- have
joined the staff. McQuade, a Safety and Health Specialist, comes
to NYCOSH from Doctors' Council, the union that represents many
hospital staff doctors. Prior to working as a contract administrator
for Doctors' Council, McQuade spent six years as an international
health and safety representative at the Service Employees International
Union (SEIU). McQuade commented "I'm excited to be back
in the field of health and safety again, and at NYCOSH, which
is doing such important work in the field."
Before joining NYCOSH to head
our vulnerable worker program, Tillery worked most recently as
an national organizer for Amnesty International. Prior to that
she was an organizer with SEIU District 1199E-DC. Before working
for SEIU, Tillery was on the staff of the Coalition for New Office
Technology, which focuses on ergonomics issues among office workers.
Tillery, like McQuade, expresses particular pleasure at working
in the occupational safety and health field. "It feels very
good to be returning to both labor and to workplace health and
safety," she said."
NYCOSH Industrial Hygienist Carrie
Loewenherz recently completed all the requirements to be certified
by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene, a certification
program that is accorded great weight in the safety and health
profession. "As a CIH, I'll be able to provide services
that I couldn't before I was certified," she said. "For
example, some OSHA standards require that samples be taken and
interpreted by a CIH. NYCOSH will now be able to perform that
work."
"Our newly hired staff members
and Carrie's certification give NYCOSH a depth of experience
and breadth that is truly exhilarating," said NYCOSH Assistant
Director Susan O'Brien. "It will ensure the success of our
continued efforts to reach wider communities, including immigrant
workers and youth and everyone who was affected by the World
Trade Center collapse."
--
From the September 26, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
NYCOSH UPDATE September 5, 2002
Two Reports Disclose Significant
Health Problems Among Lower Manhattan Workers
Two recently released reports
disclose lingering health effects among groups of workers exposed
to dust and fumes in lower Manhattan after the collapse of the
World Trade Center towers.
Many truck drivers who helped
to clear debris from the site of the World Trade Center attack
of September 11 reported "acute respiratory symptoms,"
according to a health assessment conducted by the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health and released on August 23.
The Johns Hopkins investigators reported that "the respiratory
problems may be associated with exposure to dust and airborne
contaminants at Ground Zero." Because the investigators
only looked at short-term health effects, they said "more
research is needed to determine if there is any long-term health
risk to the workers."
Also in late August the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released
an interim report of findings from a health survey of workers
at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), two blocks
north of the World Trade Center site.
The NIOSH survey, which compared
the health of 374 BMCC workers to a similar group of workers
from York College, located 15 miles away, found that BMCC workers
had greatly elevated rates of respiratory problems and post-traumatic
stress disorder. BMCC workers reported breathing problems, such
as chest tightness, shortness of breath and wheezing, at rates
300 percent greater than York College workers. BMCC workers were
more than four times more likely than York College workers to
have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
"This report shows very
high rates of symptoms that continued to persist long after the
fires were extinguished in December," said Steven Markowitz,
M.D., the director of the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems.
"It's very important to try to correlate this information
with what we know about their environmental exposures, to understand
what made these people sick. It's also very important that we
follow up to see what the long-term effects are."
"We knew that our members
were having both physical and mental problems," said David
Kotelchuck, co-chair safety and health committee of the Professional
Staff Congress, which represents BMCC's faculty. "That's
why we joined with other unions to bring NIOSH in. Now these
results show we were right, and it points out the need to devote
more resources to dealing with the situation."
"These two studies are more
troubling evidence that the occupational health hazards created
by the attack were much worse that officials would acknowledge,"
said NYCOSH executive director Joel Shufro. "Workers needed
protection from the dust and the fumes, and instead they got
reassurances," he added. "Those high rates of respiratory
symptoms among Ground Zero workers is a clear indication that
they didn't have adequate respiratory protection. The incidence
of symptoms at BMCC strongly indicates that the decision to re-open
the school on Sept. 26 was premature. It seems clear that the
workers were exposed to both physical conditions and emotional
ones that made them sick."
The study concluded by recommending
that the BMCC administration and unions facilitate the workers'
access to medical care and to free mental health care. It also
recommended that BMCC train its supervisors about responding
to mental and physical health concerns, and that it foster an
atmosphere to minimize stress on campus.
Lee Clarke, safety and health
coordinator for District 37 of AFSCME, which represents non-instructional
workers at BMCC, said that "we are going to pursue the NIOSH
recommendations, especially the call for more mental health services,
and to get our members into a good medical screening program.
We are hopeful that BMCC administration will cooperate in that
effort."
Also on the Internet:
The Interim NIOSH survey - Evaluation
of Physical and Mental Health Symptoms Following the World Trade
Center (WTC) Disaster: Borough of Manhattan Community College
and York College
A summary of the Johns Hopkins
study - Health
Assessment Finds World Trade Center Clean-Up Workers Suffering
from Acute Respiratory Problems
--
From the September 5, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
OSHA Publishes Ergonomics Guidelines for Nursing Homes
OSHA published its first "industry-specific,
voluntary ergonomic guidelines" last week, "Guidelines
for Nursing Homes."
The publication is the first
concrete step in developing a promised "comprehensive approach"
to protect workers from ergonomic injuries that was proposed
by Labor Secretary Elaine Chao when the Bush administration killed
OSHA's ergonomics standard last year.
The guidelines are strictly advisory
and "will not be used for enforcement purposes," according
to OSHA.
"That's exactly the problem
with them, they are guidelines and they can't provide the mandatory
protection that a standard can," said Peg Seminario, Health
and Safety Director of the AFL-CIO. "They have the basic
elements of an ergonomics program, but workers and employers
need specifics or workers won't be protected."
"The guidelines do pretty
well at analyzing hazardous jobs," said Service Employees
International Union Health and Safety Director Bill Borwegen,
"but they are quite vague when they list controls. They
don't give employers the kind of recipe they need for a sound
ergonomics program. Any nursing home employer already knows that
there is a tremendous potential for ergonomic hazards, so I don't
know what purpose it really serves to tell employers they need
to look at an ergo program."
A 30-day comment period on the
Guidelines ends on September 30. For information about submitting
comments or testifying, contact OSHA or see the OSHA website.
Also on the Internet:
OSHA's Draft Guidelines for Nursing Homes
-- Ergonomics for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders
--
From the September 5, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
NYCOSH UPDATE August 22, 2002
EPA Cleanup Gears Up Amid Widespread
Criticism
Next month, for the first time
since the attack on the World Trade Center, the federal government
will launch a controversial program to clean up asbestos and
other toxic materials that contaminated indoor areas as a result
of the Twin Towers collapse. A similar cleanup of outdoor areas
began on September 14, 2001.
The EPA's indoor cleanup program
-- which is limited to residences below Canal Street -- is widely
viewed as being unacceptably incomplete. "The limitations
that the EPA has chosen are completely inexplicable" said
NYCOSH Chairperson William F. Henning.
"World Trade Center contamination
is a public health problem and the EPA is treating it like a
public relations problem," Henning continued. "By what
logic can they agree to clean up a residence but not a workplace
in the same mixed-use building? Do they think that the dust cloud
and smoke that filled lower Manhattan for four months only contaminated
residences? They ought to clean up all Trade Center contamination
wherever it exists, and they ought to do it in accordance with
the EPA's own regulations in the federal National Contingency
Plan, which call for a cleanup that is much more thorough than
the one that EPA now plans."
"The EPA cleanup plan is
completely unacceptable for several reasons," said a spokesperson
for Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D - NY) whose district includes the
site of the World Trade Center. "This cleanup does not conform
to the requirements of federal law or federal guidelines and
the EPA knows it. We are going to do everything we can to ensure
that they perform a cleanup to conforms to the law."
Jenna Orkin, spokesperson for
the grassroots organization 911 Environmental Action, agrees.
"EPA tells people that there are no health hazards and then
asks them if they want an asbestos abatement. Why would anyone
want an asbestos abatement if there is no hazard?" she asked.
"By making the cleanup voluntary and misinforming people
about the danger, they are insuring that the cleanup will fail
because it will be so incomplete."
The EPA's toll-free cleanup hotline
is 1-877-796-5471.
--
From the August 22, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
President Bush Vetoes Spending $90 Million for WTC Medical Monitoring
In a move that took many occupational
health activists by surprise, on August 13 President Bush killed
a $5.1 billion congressional appropriation that included $90
million earmarked to greatly expand the effort to track and provide
medical care to people with lingering health effects resulting
from the attack on the World Trade Center.
The President's decision to eliminate
the program, which was to have been administered by the Mt. Sinai-Selikoff
Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, came as a
surprise because it had been reported earlier that Bush has signed
a $29 billion supplemental appropriation that included funds
for the program. Those reports failed to note that a portion
of the funds would not be spent without a presidential declaration
of an "emergency." Bush said that he declined to declare
the necessary emergency because the spending was unnecessary.
To dramatize the need to pay
for the medical care of Ground Zero workers, Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-NY) had offered to visit Bush at his ranch and bring
along New York firefighters who have respiratory diseases as
a result of the rescue work. Instead of accepting her offer,
Bush said that the funding was not "for truly pressing needs
and priorities," so he was opting to "enforce spending
restraint."
--
From the August 22, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Come Join the NYCOSH Contingent at New York City Labor Rally
Labor Day will be marked in New
York City on Tuesday, September 3, with a rally in southwest
corner of Battery Park, near State and Pearl Streets. Unions
and union-based groups are asked to assemble in assigned areas
on the lawn. Entertainment will begin at 3:30 and the main program
will begin at 5:00. The event is sponsored by the New York City
Central Labor Council.
Supporters of NYCOSH are encouraged
to join the NYCOSH staff, board and members, who will be gathering
in the area designated for labor-based committees.
-- From the
August 22, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Comings and goings - Elizabeth Kelleher
Safety and Health Specialist
Elizabeth Kelleher is leaving NYCOSH to pursue a Master's Degree
in Education at Montclair State University. Kelleher, who joined
the staff in 1999, remarked: "It's hard to leave NYCOSH
because I have greatly enjoyed working here with the staff and
all the members of NYCOSH. All of my work with union members
and injured workers has been a tremendous inspiration."
NYCOSH Assistant Director Susan
O'Brien said, "It has been wonderful working with Elizabeth,
who is a natural educator. We wish her the best of luck on the
next step in her career."
--
From the August 22, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
NYCOSH UPDATE July 25, 2002
NYCOSH to receive Lorin Kerr
Award from APHA Occupational Health Section
NYCOSH has been slected to receive
the American Public Health Association Occupational Health Section's
Lorin Kerr Award at the APHA's November convention in Philadelphia.
The annual award, which "recognizes
activists for their sustained, outstanding efforts and dedication
to improving the lives of workers" is named for Lorin Kerr
(1909 -1991), who was a life-long activist and served for over
40 years as a physician for the United Mine Workers. He was dedicated
to preventing black lung disease and obtaining compensation for
its victims and to improving all workers' access to healthcare.
"We, on the Board of Directors
of NYCOSH, are gratified that the Occupational Health Section
of the APHA recognizes the outstanding work of NYCOSH's staff
– especially its contribution since the tragedy at the World
Trade Center," said William Henning, Chairperson of NYCOSH's
Board of Directors. "NYCOSH's staff, under the most trying
conditions, went beyond the call of duty to provide workers and
community with information and training about the health and
safety hazards resulting from the horrific collapse of the World
Trade Center."
--
From the July 25, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Downstate meetings with PESH inspectors set
The New York State AFL-CIO and
the New York State Department of Labor are co-sponsoring a series
of three meetings in the New York metropolitan area to discuss
enforcement of the Public Employee Safety and Health Program
(PESH). PESH enforces OSHA standards for public-sector employees
in New York State.
The meetings will provide an
opportunity to discuss such questions as: What are the health
and safety concerns of the public employee unions? -- How can
union officials best work with PESH personnel? -- What are the
rights and responsibilities of employers, employees and PESH?
-- and What issues are appropriate for filing a PESH complaint?
The meetings will be held on
September 10 in New York City at 354 Hudson Street, 7th Floor;
on September 24 in White Plains at 120 Bloomingdale Road, and
on October 1 in Garden City at 400 Oak Street, Suite 101. All
of them will begin at 2pm and end at 4:00.
--
From the July 25, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Washington State Ergonomics standard upheld in court test
In a victory for workers in Washington
State, a judge rejected a challenge to the Washington Department
of Labor and Industries ergonomics rule on July 12. The rule,
which is the most comprehensive regulation to protect workers
from repetitive strain injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders
in the U.S., was challenged by a coalition of employers.
The decision represents a setback
for the employers seeking to repeal the regulations. In their
lawsuit, the group claimed state regulators exceeded their authority,
relied on insufficient evidence and failed to coordinate with
other statutes.
Thurston County Superior Court
Judge Paula Casey ruled against the business community on all
points. It is expected that industry will appeal the ruling.
"We hope a higher, wiser court will see, on appeal, all
the dark ramifications of this regulation," said Carolyn
Logue, director of the 17,000-member Washington Chapter of the
National Federation of Independent Business.
Michael Silverstein, MD, Assistant
Director for Industrial Safety and Health of the Washington Department
of Labor and Industries commented, "We are pleased with
[the] decision to uphold our ergonomics rule. The judge did a
thorough review and rejected every one of the business objections
to the rule. This is very good news for the workers of the state
of Washington who suffer more than 50,000 ergonomic-related injuries
every year. These are painful and costly injuries that can be
prevented. The ruling not only takes us a step closer to preventing
these serious injuries but it will save employers money on the
bottom-line. We will continue our efforts to work with employers
and employees as the regulation is phased in over the next seven
years."
"Many of [each year's 50,000
workplace] injuries are preventable and we just felt that this
is a long time due," Rick Bender, president of the Washington
State Labor Council. "The reality is our [state] constitution
is very, very strong that it's the states responsibility to provide
a safe workplace for our employees."
--
From the July 25, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
ATSDR/NYC Health Department to create a registry
The Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a division of the federal Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS), will assist the New York
City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in creating a registry
of people who may have been exposed to the World Trade Center
site, either from working, living, or cleaning up in the area
affected by the disaster.
The registry is intended to follow
the health of 100,000 - 200,000 people exposed to substances
emanating from the collapse and cleanup of the World Trade Center.
Its objective is to determine whether exposure to dust or vapor
from the collapse has any short-term or long-term health effect.
The registry differs from a screening program in that it does
not provide medical examinations for people who are registered,
at least until there is a determination made that people who
were exposed in a particular way need to be examined.
The Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) is providing $20 million to HHS to establish the
registry.
"We are pleased that a registry
will be created," said NYCOSH Board Chairperson William
Henning. "NYCOSH and other members of the occupational health
medical community have been urging that such a registry be created
since the tragedy at the World Trade Center occurred. Our only
concern is that the delay in establishing the registry will prevent
capturing all those individuals who were at the scene of the
disaster and who have dispersed to other parts of the world."
--
From the July 25, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
World Trade Center worker and volunteer medical screening program
initiated
Congress has appropriated $90
million to support expansion of the medical screening and monitoring
program for workers involved in response and clean-up activities
at the World Trade Center. The funding expands the number of
initial screenings to 18,000 from the current figure of 8,500
workers and volunteers . The $90 million would specifically expand
the number of workers and volunteers eligible for federally-supported
initial screenings by some 9,500 more workers and volunteers.
In addition, the funding would provide for short and longer term
medical follow-up examinations for the total of 18,000 workers
and volunteers.
The appropriation requires the
approval of the White House. At press time, President Bush had
not made clear whether he would agree to it.
According to Denis Hughes, President
of the New York State AFL-CIO, which lobbied heavily for the
funding, "This is a vital program which will ensure that
workers, who risked their health in responding to the tragedy
at the World Trade Center, will receive appropriate medical screening."
Funding for this program was secured by Senators Hillary Rodham
Clinton and Charles Schumer and the New York State Congressional
Delegation.
The medical screening program
was initiated July 8th for workers and volunteers active at or
near the World Trade Center site or Staten Island landfill in
New York City following the September 11th attack on the World
Trade Center. Conducted by a consortium of occupational medical
providers, under the direction of the Mount Sinai Irving J. Selikoff
Occupational and Environmental Medicine with the support of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, the World Trade Center Worker
and Volunteer Medical Screening Program offers free, confidential
comprehensive medical screening examinations and occupational
health education for eligible participants who were exposed to
a range of hazards, posing possible short and/or long-term risks
to their physical and psychological well-being.
The additional $90 million appropriation
will allow for follow up examinations to be provided to workers
at regular intervals and will allow funding to increase the number
of workers who can participate in the program. As Hughes noted,
"While we were pleased that Congress provided initial funding
to start the program, we were being asked to choose which workers
would eligible to participate. The additional funding will allow
for an expansion of the program so that all workers who were
exposed to the wide range of toxic substances at the World Trade
Center can participate."
"The critical need for a
systematic program of health screening and monitoring for World
Trade Center workers and volunteers, as well as those engaged
in efforts at the Staten Island landfill, has long been clear,"
said Dr. Robin Herbert, Co-Medical Director of the World Trade
Center Worker & Volunteer Medical Screening Program and Mount
Sinai's Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "Establishing
post-exposure baseline health status for these workers, and providing
long-term medical monitoring, is important, particularly in light
of recorded exposures to such agents as asbestos, the effects
of which can exhibit a long latency or delay of 20 years or more
before the onset of clinically detectable illness.
"These federal funds have
been set aside to aid the very people who, in toiling at tremendous
personal risk to help others, were themselves exposed to environmental
contaminants in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks
at the World Trade Center," she said. "We join our
friends in labor, health and all others who lobbied for this
important allocation in offering our thanks to our elected representatives
who recognized the need for medical screening and long-term medical
monitoring services, and are making such provisions possible,
particularly Senator Clinton, Senator Schumer and the entire
New York delegation in the House."
"This is an extremely important
step in assessing the dimensions of the health consequences of
working at the World Trade Center site," said Carrie Loewenherz,
NYCOSH industrial hygienist. "Workers at the site were exposed
to a wide range of contaminants and physical hazards: asbestos,
fiberglass, welding fumes, silica, diesel exhaust, carbon monoxide,
hydrogen sulfide as well as noise, heat/cold and ergonomic risk
factors. The screening program will allow for early detection
of disease as well as provide important data concerning the consequences
of exposure."
Medical screening examinations
are being provided at these locations: In Manhattan at the Mt.
Sinai Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine and
at the Bellevue/NYU Occupational & Environmental Medicine
Clinic; in Queens at the Queens College Center for the Biology
of Natural Systems, in Suffolk County at SUNY Stony Brook/Long
Island Occupational & Environmental Center; in Westchester
at the Mt. Sinai Center for Occupational & Environmental
Medicine Hudson Valley Division at St. John's Riverside Hospital;
in New Jersey at the UMDNJ Environmental & Occupational Health
Sciences Institute. In addition, screening examinations will
be offered elsewhere in the United States through the Association
of Occupational Environmental Clinics.
For additional information concerning
the program and how to register, call 1-888--702-0630.
--
From the July 25, 2002 NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health
http://www.nycosh.org
This page was last
updated on October 1, 2002.