Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-b6zl4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-11T22:56:42.622Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Review of the OSHA Framework for Oversight of Occupational Environments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Jae-Young Choi  and
Gurumurthy Ramachandran
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Nanotechnology is a collection of different technologies and approaches dealing with manipulating matter with dimensions on the nanometer scale. The growth of nanotechnology has been rapid in recent years and encompasses a range of industries including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, robotics, medicine, agriculture, electronics, national defense, fiber optics, and energy. Nanoparticles with shapes, morphologies, and chemical compositions engineered for specific functions and applications are now common. While estimates of the numbers of new types of nanoparticles being produced in academic and industrial labs that combine these different characteristics are uncertain, it is likely that they run into the hundreds.

Type
Symposium
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 37 , Issue 4 , Winter 2009 , pp. 633 - 650
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Hullmans, A., “Measuring and Assessing the Development of Nanotechnology,” Scientometrics 70, no. 3 (2007): 739–758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lane, N. and Kalil, T., “The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Present at the Creation,” Issues in Science and Technology, Summer 2005, available at <http://www.issues.org/21.4/lane.html> (last visited September 22, 2009).+(last+visited+September+22,+2009).>Google Scholar
Roco, M. C., “Nanotechnology Initiative: Past, Present, Future,” in Goddard, W. A. et al., eds., Handbook on Nanoscience, Engineering, Technology, 2nd ed. (Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis, 2007): at 19–44.Google Scholar
Lux Research, “The Nanotech Report,” 5th ed. (New York: Lux Research Inc., 2007).Google Scholar
Id.Google Scholar
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, Woodrow Wilson Center, “Nanotechnology Now Used in Nearly 500 Everyday Products,” 2007, available at <http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=237776&topic_id=166192> (last visited September 22, 2009).+(last+visited+September+22,+2009).>Google Scholar
Roco, M. C. and Bainbridge, W. S., eds., Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (New York: Springer, 2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
See Lux Research, supra note 4.Google Scholar
Id.Google Scholar
Roco, M. C., “Broader Societal Issues of Nanotechnology,” Journal of Nanoparticle Research 5, nos. 3–4 (2003): 181–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
See Lux Research, supra note 4.Google Scholar
Monica, J. C. Jr., Heintz, M. E. and Lewis, P. T., “The Perils of Preemptive Regulation,” Nature Nanotechnology 2, no. 2 (2007): 68–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choi, J. Y., Ramachandran, G. and Kandlikar, M., “The Impact of Toxicity Testing Costs on Nanomaterial Regulation,” Environmental Science and Technology 43, no. 9 (2009): 3030–3034.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Personal communication from M. Berger to author (GR) (April 8, 2008).Google Scholar
Ashford, N. A. and Caldart, C. C., Technology, Law and the Working Environment (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1996); Ashford, N. A. and Caldart, C. C., Negotiated Regulation, Implementation and Compliance in the United States, Handbook of Environmental Voluntary Agreement, 5th ed. (New York: Springer, 2005).Google Scholar
Balbus, J. M., Florini, K. and Denison, R. A. et al., “Protecting Workers and the Environment: An Environmental NGO's Perspective on Nanotechnology,” Journal of Nanoparticle Research 9, no. 1 (2007): 11–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kandlikar, M., Ramachandran, G. and Maynard, A. D. et al., “Health Risk Assessment for Nanoparticles: A Case for Using Expert Judgment,” Journal of Nanoparticle Research 9, no. 9 (2007): 137–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wardak, A., Gorman, M. E. and Swami, N. et al., “Environmental Regulation of Nanotechnology and the TSCA,” IEEE Technology and Society Magazine 26, no. 2 (2007): 48–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuzma, J., Paradise, J. and Ramachandran, G. et al., “An Integrated Approach to Oversight Assessment for Emerging Technologies,” Risk Analysis 28, no. 5 (2008): 1179–1195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolff, S. K., Hawkins, N. C. and Kennedy, S. M. et al., “Selecting Experimental Data for Use in Quantitative Risk Assessment: An Expert Judgment Approach,” Toxicology and Industrial Health 6, no. 2 (1990): 275–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, J. S., Gray, G. M. and Sielken, R. L. et al., “Use of Probabilistic Expert Judgment in Distributional Analysis of Carcinogenic Potency,” Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 20, no. 1, Pt. 1 (1994): 15–36; Siegel, J. E., Graham, J. D. and Stoto, M. A., “Allocating Resources Among AIDS Research Strategies,” Policy Science 23, no. 1 (1990): 1-23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkins, N. C. and Evans, J. S., “Subjective Estimation of Toluene Exposures: A Calibration Study of Industrial Hygienists,” Applied Industrial Hygiene Journal 4, no. 3 (1989): 61–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
See Kuzma, et al., supra note 19.Google Scholar
Belton, V. and Stewart, T. J., Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis: An Integrated Approach (Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Id.Google Scholar
Linkov, I., Satterstrom, F.K., Kiker, G. A. et al., “From Optimization to Adaptation: Shifting Paradigms in Environmental Management and Their Application to Remedial Decisions,” Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 2, no. 1 (2006): 92–98; Linkov, I., Satterstrom, F. K., Tkachuk, A., Seager, T. P., Figueria, J. R. and Tervonen, T., “A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Approach for Prioritization of Performance Metrics,” in Linkov, I., Kinker, G. and Wenning, R., eds., Environmental Security in Harbors and Coastal Areas (Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer, 2007).Google Scholar
Sharma, S., Applied Multivariate Statistics (New York: Wiley, 1960).Google Scholar
Id.Google Scholar
Kaiser, H. F., “The Application of Electronic Computers to Factor Analysis,” Educational and Psychological Measurement 20, no. 1 (1960): 141–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
See Ashford, and Caldart, , supra note 15.Google Scholar
Perdue, D. K., “OSHA: Employer Liability for Employee Violations,” Duke Law Journal 2, no. 2 (1977): 614–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, W. B. and Scholz, J. T., “Does Regulatory Enforcement Work? A Panel Analysis of OSHA Enforcement,” Law and Society Review 27, no. 1 (1993): 177–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michaels, D. and Monforton, C., “Manufacturing Uncertainty: Contested Science and the Protection of the Public's Health and Environment,” American Journal of Public Health 95, no. S1 (2005): S39–S48CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The list is as follows: Vinyl chloride (1974), dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) (1977), asbestos (1971 & 1983), benezene (1977), commercial diving (1976), pesticides, 14 carcinogens (1973).Google Scholar
Hopkins, J., “Fatality Rates Increase for Hispanic Workers,” USA Today, March 13, 2003, cited in Friedman, L. S. and Forst, L., “The Impact Of OSHA Recordkeeping Regulation Changes on Occupational Injury and Illness Trends in The US: A Time-Series Analysis,” Occupational and Environmental Medicine 64, no. 7 (2007): 454–460.Google Scholar
Shapiro, S. A. and Rabinowitz, R., “Voluntary Regulatory Compliance in Theory and Practice: The Case of OSHA,” available at <http://ssrn.com/abstract=188688> (last visited September 21, 2009).+(last+visited+September+21,+2009).>Google Scholar
Seminario, P., “Is OSHA Working for Working People?” Testimony before the House Committee on Employment and Education, Subcommittee on Employment and Workforce Safety of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Workforce Protection on OSHA's Standard Setting Process, Washington, D.C., April 26, 2007.Google Scholar
Seligman, P. J., Sieber, W. K. and Pederson, D.H. et al., “Compliance with OSHA Record-Keeping Requirements,” American Journal of Public Health 78, no. 9 (1988): 1218–1219.Google Scholar
See Shapiro, and Rabinowitz, , supra note 36, at 33.Google Scholar
Bartel, A. P. and Thomas, L. G., “Direct and Indirect Effects of Regulation: A New Look at OSHA's Impact,” Journal of Law and Economics 28, no. 1 (1985): 1–25; Jones, C. and Gray, W., “Longitudinal Patterns of Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration Health and Safety Regulations in the Manufacturing Sector,” Journal of Human Resources 26, no. 4 (1991a): 623-653; Jones, C. and Gray, W., “Are OSHA Health Inspections Effective? A Longitudinal Study in the Manufacturing Sector,” Review of Economics and Statistics 73 no. 3 (1991): 504-508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Viscusi, W. K., “The Impact of Occupational Safety and Health Regulation 1973–1983,” Rand Journal of Economics 17, no. 4 (1986): 567–580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magat, W. A. and Viscusi, W. K., “Effectiveness of the EPA's Regulatory Enforcement: The Case of Industrial Effluent Standards,” Journal of Law and Economics 33, no. 2 (1990): 331–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, W. B. and Deily, M. E., “Compliance and Enforcement: Air Pollution Regulation in the US Steel Industry,” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 31, no. 1 (1996): 96–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laplante, B. and Rilstone, P., “Environmental Inspections and Emissions of the Pulp and Paper Industry in Quebec,” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 31, no. 1 (1996): 19–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deily, M. E. and Gray, W. B., “Agency Structure and Firm Culture: OSHA, EPA, and the Steel Industry,” Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 23, no. 3 (2007): 685–709.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, All About OSHA, 2006, at 5–6, available at <http://www.osha.gov/Publications/all_about_OSHA.pdf> (last visited April 24, 2009). Other ways of enforcement are as follows: “(1) encourages employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and to implement new safety and health management systems or improve existing programs; (2) develops mandatory job safety and health standards and enforces them through worksite inspections, and, sometimes, by imposing citations, penalties, or both; (3) promotes safe and healthful work environments through cooperative programs including the Voluntary Protection Programs, OSHA Strategic Partnerships, and Alliances; (4) establishes responsibility and rights for employers and employees to achieve better safety and health conditions; (5) supports the development of innovative ways of dealing with workplace hazards; (6) establishes training programs to increase the competence of occupational safety and health personnel; (7) provides technical and compliance assistance, and training and education to help employers reduce worker accidents and injuries; (8) works in partnership with states that operate their own occupational safety and health programs; and (9) supports the consultation programs offered by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.”+(last+visited+April+24,+2009).+Other+ways+of+enforcement+are+as+follows:+“(1)+encourages+employers+and+employees+to+reduce+workplace+hazards+and+to+implement+new+safety+and+health+management+systems+or+improve+existing+programs;+(2)+develops+mandatory+job+safety+and+health+standards+and+enforces+them+through+worksite+inspections,+and,+sometimes,+by+imposing+citations,+penalties,+or+both;+(3)+promotes+safe+and+healthful+work+environments+through+cooperative+programs+including+the+Voluntary+Protection+Programs,+OSHA+Strategic+Partnerships,+and+Alliances;+(4)+establishes+responsibility+and+rights+for+employers+and+employees+to+achieve+better+safety+and+health+conditions;+(5)+supports+the+development+of+innovative+ways+of+dealing+with+workplace+hazards;+(6)+establishes+training+programs+to+increase+the+competence+of+occupational+safety+and+health+personnel;+(7)+provides+technical+and+compliance+assistance,+and+training+and+education+to+help+employers+reduce+worker+accidents+and+injuries;+(8)+works+in+partnership+with+states+that+operate+their+own+occupational+safety+and+health+programs;+and+(9)+supports+the+consultation+programs+offered+by+all+50+states,+the+District+of+Columbia,+Puerto+Rico,+the+Virgin+Islands,+Guam+and+the+Northern+Mariana+Islands.”>Google Scholar
Leigh, J. P., Marcin, J. P. and Miller, T. R., “An Estimate of the US Government's Undercount of Nonfatal Occupational Injuries,” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 46, no. 1 (2004): 10–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGarity, T. O., “Some Thoughts on ‘Deossifying’ the Rulemaking Process,” Duke Law Journal 41, no. 6 (1992): 1385–1462.Google Scholar
Glaberson, W., “Is OSHA Falling Down on the Job?” New York Times, August 2, 1987.Google Scholar
Furchtgott-Roth, D., “New Rules for OSHA,” New York Sun, July 18, 2008.Google Scholar
See Seminario, , supra note 37.Google Scholar
Seminario, M., Testimony before the House Committee on Employment and Education, Subcommittee on Workforce Protection on OSHA's Standard Setting Process, Washington, D. C., June 14, 2001. A list of OSHA Health Standards issued and the year each standard was published is as follows: Asbestos, 1972/1986; 13 carcinogens, 1974; vinyl chloride, 1974; coke oven emissions, 1974; benzene, 1978/1987; 1,2-Dibromo-3- chloropropane (DBCP), 1978; arsenic, 1978; cotton dust, 1978; acrylonitrile, 1978; lead, 1978; ethylene oxide, 1984; formaldehyde, 1987; chemical exposure in laboratories, 1990; blood-borne pathogens, 1991; 4,4' methylendianiline, 1992; cadmium, 1992; 1,3 butadiene, 1996; methylene chrolide, 1997; hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), 2006Google Scholar
Chajet, H., “Examining the Use of Non-Consensus Standards in Workplace Health and Safety,” Hearing before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the Committee on Education and the Workforce U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., April 27, 2006.Google Scholar
Morriss, A. P., “Examining the Use of Non-Consensus Standards in Workplace Health and Safety,” Hearing before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the Committee on Education and the Workforce U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., April 27, 2006.Google Scholar
Macoubrie, J., Informed Public Perceptions of Nanotechnology and Trust in Government, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, available at <http://www.wilsoncenter.org/events/docs/macoubriereport1.pdf> (last visited September 22, 2009).Google Scholar
Id.Google Scholar
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, “Statement of Secretary of Labor Alex Heran on 1999 Workplace Injury and Illness Rates,” December 12, 2000, available at <http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=1371> (last visited September 22, 2009).+(last+visited+September+22,+2009).>Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, available at <http://www.bls.gov/iif/> (last visited September 22, 2009), cited in L. S. Friedman and Forst, L., “Occupational Injury Surveillance of Traumatic Injuries in Illinois, Using the Illinois Trauma Registry: 1995–2003,” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 49, no. 4 (2007): 401–410.Google Scholar
Friedman, L. S. and Forst, L., “The Impact of OSHA Record-keeping Regulation Changes on Occupational Injury and Illness Trends in the US: A Time-Series Analysis,” Occupational and Environmental Medicine 64, no. 7 (2007): 454–460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, W. B. and Mendeloff, J. M., “The Declining Effects of OSHA Inspections on Manufacturing Injuries, 1979–1998,” Industrial and Labor Relations Review 58, no. 4 (2005): 571–587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baggs, J., Silverstein, B. and Foley, M., “Workplace Health and Safety Regulations: Impact of Enforcement and Consultation on Workers' Compensation Claims Rates in Washington State,” American Journal of Industrial Medicine 43, no. 5 (2003): 483–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mendeloff, J., “An Analysis of OSHA Health Inspection Data,” in Preventing Illness and Injury in the Workplace prepared for the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, Washington, D.C.: 1983.Google Scholar
See Bartel, and Thomas, , supra note 40.Google Scholar
Viscusi, W. K., “The Impact of Occupational Safety and Health Regulation 1973–1983,” Rand Journal of Economics 17, no. 4 (1986): 567–580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, R. S., “The Impact of OSHA Inspections on Manufacturing Injury Rates,” Journal of Human Resources 17, no. 2 (1978): 145–170.Google Scholar
McCaffery, D. P., “An Assessment of OSHA's Recent Effects on Injury Rates,” Journal of Human Resources 18, no. 1 (1983): 131–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruser, J. W. and Smith, R. S., “Reestimating OSHA's Recent Effects on Injury Rates,” Journal of Human Resources 26, no. 2 (1991): 212–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, M. P., Chia, D. A. and Ehlers, B. C., “Green Chemistry in California: A Framework for Leadership in Chemicals Policy and Innovation,” New Solutions 16, no. 4 (2006): 365–372; Michaels, D. and Seminario, P., “Is OSHA Working for Working People?” Testimony Before the House Committee on Employment and Education, Subcommittee on Employment and Workforce Safety of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Workforce Protection on OSHA's Standard Setting Process, Washington, D.C., April 26, 2007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shapiro, S. A. and McGarity, T. O., “Reorienting OSHA: Regulatory Alternatives and Legislative Reform,” Yale Journal on Regulation 6, no. 1 (1989): 1–64.Google Scholar
The Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California, Green Chemistry: Cornerstone to a Sustainable California, available at <http://coeh.berkeley.edu/docs/news/green_chem_brief.pdf> (last visited September 22, 2009).+(last+visited+September+22,+2009).>Google Scholar
See Choi, et al., supra note 13.Google Scholar
Becker, R. A. et al., “Report of an ISRTP Workshop: Progress and Barriers to Incorporating Alternative Toxicological Methods in the U.S.,” Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 46, no. 1 (2006): 18–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
See Choi, et al., supra note 13.Google Scholar