Author Archives: Rory
Courts encourage businesses to harm more people
The more people harmed by a corporation’s negligence, the lower the court penalty for environmental and occupational health offences is likely to be, researchers have found. Loran Nordgren and Mary McDonnell, writing in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science discovered the phenomenon held up in both theoretical and real life cases. Their examination of […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged asbestos, lead, mold, penalties, Social Psychology and Personality Science, toxic mould Comments closed
BP safety talk is really about shareholders
The creation by BP of a new global safety unit with “sweeping powers” has the safety of shareholders’ money as its “ultimate goal”, the company’s top boss has admitted. In a 1 October news release from the oil giant’s London HQ announcing the “powerful new organisation”, BP chair Carl-Henric Svanberg said there were “difficult challenges […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Bob Dudley, BP, Carl-Henric Svanberg, Deepwater Horizon Comments closed
Chemical giant denies brain cancer link
A high profile US legal case is to cast doubt on industry evidence claiming that vinyl chloride exposure is not linked to brain cancer. Joanne Branham says she believes environmental exposure to the chemical is the cause of the brain cancer that took the life of her husband, Franklin, six years ago. She blames the […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged brain cancer, Center for Public Integrity, Dow Chemical Company, Rohm and Haas, vinyl chloride Comments closed
BP may emerge unscathed after 11 deaths
The share price of UK oil multinational BP soared this week after the company indicated the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico had been “killed”. The company has spent five months attempting to seal its Macondo well, after a 20 April explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and triggered an environmental […]
Call to stop trade in toxic e-waste
The international system intended to stop illegal hazardous waste exports is not working, the head of a UK watchdog has warned. In a speech last week to INTERPOL, the UK Environment Agency chair Lord Smith called for a European alliance to tackle the toxic trade in electrical waste into Africa. He said better cooperation and […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged E-waste, Electronics TakeBack Coalition, Environment Agency, INTERPOL, UK Comments closed
Post workers get off their bikes
Are cycles a desirable, green alternative to the use of cars at work? Not when you are lugging large quantities of mail, says the UK postal workers’ union. Cycles are great for leisure pursuits, but are neither safe nor suitable when it comes to delivering large quantities of mail, the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) has […]
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
ILO sounds the ‘death knell for asbestos’
A statement from a United Nations body confirming its desire to see the end of asbestos use worldwide is the ‘death knell’ for a substance which claims one life every five minutes around the clock, the global union confederation ITUC has said. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) this week warned in an official position statement […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged asbestos, BWI, IBAS, International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, ITUC, just transition Comments closed
Hey, they were only workers – have an award
Companies scream blue murder about the burden of health and safety regulation and the heavy-hand of regulators. But recent events reveal official workplace safety inspectors in the US and the UK are a rarely seen and seriously threatened breed, who lack the resources and sometimes the will to police rogue employers. Instead, companies give enforcement […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged alliances, awards, Health and Safety Executive, HSE, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA Comments closed
Don’t base policy on deadly lies