OSHA Is Supposed to Protect Workers From Hazards. Politics Have Consistently ... - Slate Magazine
It was issued under the so-called general duty clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which says that workplaces must be “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. Forty-four years and some 9 million violations later, health hazards such as mercury continue to plague America’s workers. OSHA has issued only 36 health standards and relies on mostly outdated exposure limits for the 470 substances it regulates. It rarely uses the general duty clause to cite alleged health violations, having concluded that the burden of proof is too steep. While OSHA’s overall record on worker health is undistinguished, it has seen periods of productivity. “We were a cadre of people who were really serious,” said Nicholas Ashford, a professor of technology and policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who chaired the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health while... “If we had had four more years, we would have really, really protected the. Source: www.slate.com
