Bush Administration Tries To Slow Workplace Toxin Rules

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Bush Administration Tries To Slow Workplace Toxin Rules

by , ProPublica - July 23, 2008 4:18 pm EDT

Tags: Department of Labor, OSHA, Workplace Safety

As the Washington Post reported this morning, the Department of Labor

is trying to push through a rule that, health and safety experts say,

would make it harder to protect workers from exposure to hazardous

chemicals and toxins:

The agency did not disclose the proposal, as required, in public

notices of regulatory plans that it filed in December and May. The

text of the proposed rule has not been made public, but according to

sources briefed on the change and to an early draft obtained by The

Washington Post, it would call for reexamining the methods used to

measure risks posed by workplace exposure to toxins.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao (Credit: Wong/Getty Images)

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao (Credit: Wong/Getty Images)

In response to the Post's article, Congressman (D-CA)

and Senator Kennedy (D-MA) sent a letter to Labor Secretary

Elaine Chao demanding information on the " secret " rule.

As the Post notes, rules are typically done by " agency officials

[consulting] with staff members, lawyers and outside experts. " But in

this case, the Post says, the proposal did not go through the normal

process and instead was drafted by a " political deputy in Labor's

office of the assistant secretary for policy. "

Celeste Monforton, a researcher at the Washington University

School of Public Health and former OSHA and MSHA employee, first

flagged the proposed Department of Labor rule on July 8, in a blog

post. At that time the only indication was a brief nine word

description on the White House Office of Management and Budget's Web

site. (Monforton also offered more commentary, and criticism of the

proposal, in a blog post today.)

The current flap isn't the first time the Bush administration has come

under scrutiny for slowing the safety rulemaking process. In March

2008 the Government Accountability Office released a report blasting

the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to " routinely complete

timely, credible assessments. " At the Department of Labor itself, as

the Post reported, the Bush administration has adopted " only one major

health rule for a chemical in the workplace, and it did so under a

court order. "

The Department of Labor did not respond to requests for comment. If

they do, we'll update the story. We're also trying to get the draft

proposal itself. (The Post said it " obtained " the proposal but hasn't

posted it.)

UPDATE 7/23: We've gotten a copy of the draft. We're looking it over

now, but our source has asked us not to post the full draft for fear

it could identify the person who leaked it.

UPDATE II 7/23: The Department of Labor got back to us.

The Democrats' claim of " secret " rulemaking is " very speculative, "

, the assistant secretary for public affairs said. If the

Office of Managment and Budget approves the draft rule, it will be

submitted to the federal register and opened to the public for

comment.

" If they want to criticize the department over what's in the proposal,

they'll have plenty of opportunity to do so, " said.

He wouldn't comment on any specifics in the draft or confirm details

in the Post's story because of a departmental policy not to discuss

rules under review.

(http://www.propublica.org/article/bush-administration-tries-to-slow-

workplace-toxin-rules-723/)

(http://tinyurl.com/5fs43j)