Judge Orders OSHA to Release Toxic Info

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Judge Orders OSHA to Release Toxic Info

by J. Holland

The Associated Press

Monday, July 2, 2007; 5:25 PM

A federal judge has ordered the Labor Department to share with the public

the results of years of toxic substance sampling in American workplaces.

Federal officials said Monday they were reviewing the decision. The decision,

by

U.S. District Judge L. , came in a Freedom of Information Act

lawsuit by former Labor Department official Adam Finkel, who now is a

whistleblower.

Finkel was a chief regulator and regional administrator for the Labor

Department's Occupational Health and Safety Administration from 1995-2003. He

sued

the Labor Department in 2005 after they refused to tell him the results of

beryllium tests on OSHA inspectors.

Beryllium is a lightweight metal that is used in aerospace components,

semiconductor chips, jet engine blades, transistors, nuclear reactors and

nuclear

weapons. It often is mixed with other metals to form an alloy.

Scientists have learned that exposure to low levels of beryllium dust,

fumes, metal, metal oxides, ceramics or salts even over a short period of time

can

result in chronic beryllium disease, lung cancer or skin disease.

The Labor Department argued that releasing the information would invade its

inspectors' privacy, put at risk trade secrets of the companies involved and

make it harder to inspect companies in the future.

" The Court finds the public interest in disclosing information that will

increase understanding about beryllium sensitization and OSHA's response,

thereto, is significant, " The Court finds the public i

Finkel also asked for the entire OSHA database on toxic exposures, including

how much was found, the company where it was found and the code number for

the inspector who found it. The database includes more than 2 million analyses

conducted during roughly 75,000 OSHA inspections of workplaces since 1979.

" Ordinary citizens paid to collect these data, and I look forward to

analyzing this public database to help OSHA find its way back to its original

mission, " said Finkel. He is now a professor of environmental and occupational

health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of

Public

Health, and a visiting professor at Princeton University.

The Labor Department said it was still reviewing the decision, since

officials were just notified of the judge's ruling on Monday.

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(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201259\

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or

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___

On the Net:

U.S. District Judge 's decision on Finkel v. Department of Labor:

_http://www.peer.http://wwhttp://wwwhttp://wwwhttp://www.phtt_

(http://www.peer.org/docs/dol/07_02_07_finkel_foia_ruling.pdf)

Department of Labor: _http://www.dol.htt_ (http://www.dol.gov/)

OSHA: _http://www.osha.htt_ (http://www.osha.gov/)

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