New Solutions : a Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy : NS

New Solutions offers a short memorial statement noting the January 2, 2024, death of Dr Michael Silverstein, an internationally known leader in the field of occupational health and safety. Dr Silverstein spent 53 years specializing in the fields of occupational medicine, public health, and general preventive medicine. He was the Assistant Director for Occupational Health and Safety with the United Automobile Workers Union for 15 years. He served as the Director of Policy for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) during the Clinton Administration...

Racialized immigrants in Canada have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our qualitative, community-based study with South Asian Women and Immigrants' Services examined the impact of the second and third waves of the pandemic on the work and health of precariously employed Bangladeshi immigrant women and men in Toronto. Our study is based on interviews and focus group discussions with 45 workers, all conducted in Bangla, and 11 key informants. Interviews reveal work transitions, an increase in precarity, work in essential sectors, exposures at work, home and in transit, workplace prevention and management gaps, and an inability to take time off, with significant impacts on workers' physical and mental health...

Science can provide accurate information to society to inform decision-making and behavior. One contemporary topic in which the science is very clear, yet behavioral change has lagged, is climate change mitigation. Climate change scientists use evidence-based research to advocate to the public to adopt emission-reducing behaviors in various sectors such as transportation and food. However, scientists themselves often do not change their own behaviors according to the scientific consensus. We present a case study of a group of natural sciences PhD students, who, when presented with evidence and an opportunity for a behavioral change with implications for climate change mitigation, demonstrated defensive reactions that would undoubtedly frustrate these same scientists if they were doing public outreach about their own work...

Background: This study, using a nationally representative dataset of the U.S. workforce, examines how punitive workplace drug policies relate to opioid use/misuse and psychological distress. Methods: The sample included adults aged ≥18 years who participated in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and were employed in 2020. Hierarchical multivariate logistical models were constructed to address the research questions. Results: The weighted, design-based estimates indicate that of 147 831 081 workers, 3...

Electronics Watch travelled to Kolwezi in the province of Lualaba, in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two worlds live side by side here, without ever crossing paths. On the one hand, the world of industrial mines, with their huge machines. On the other, the tens of thousands of "diggers" in small-scale artisanal mines, armed with a simple crowbar to exploit a mineral vein, in extremely dangerous conditions. The DRC alone has 80% of the world's cobalt stocks needed to manufacture batteries to serve the demand for electric vehicles, and no less than 30% of this stock is mined in an artisanal way...

In part one, we reported on some of the shocking working conditions that the Electronics Watch team found on our visit to cobalt mines in the DRC. Now, we look at the vested interests in Congolese politics, the mining industry, the Congolese government's desire to regulate the cobalt supply chain, and what else might be done to improve conditions.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

There is an urgent need for stronger protection from aerosol-transmissible diseases in healthcare settings-for workers, patients, volunteers, and visitors. Concerned that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) lacks diversity in expertise and experience and has not consulted widely with all concerned parties regarding a planned update to the 2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions, a workshop was developed to consider the science and lessons learned before and during the COVID-19 pandemic...

Concerns about chemical exposure in the electronics manufacturing industry have long been recognized, but data are lacking in Southeast Asia. We conducted a study in Batam, Indonesia, to evaluate chemical exposures in electronics facilities, using participatory research and biological monitoring approaches. A convenience sample of 36 workers (28 exposed, 8 controls) was recruited, and urine samples were collected before and after shifts. Five solvents (acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, benzene, and xylenes) were found in 46%-97% of samples, and seven metals (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, tin, antimony, lead, and vanadium) were detected in 60%-100% of samples...

Workers in global supply chains face forced labour, hazardous working conditions, excessive overtime, violence, union busting, and other abuses. They may be cheated of wages and bonuses promised by recruiters or dismissed without due process. They need remedy and, in fact, have a right to an effective remedy, but remedy for business-related harms in global supply chains is rare. The Principles for Worker-Driven Remedy offer a framework for making remedy a reality for workers when their rights are violated and when they are harmed in global supply chains...

Industrial hog operation (IHO) workers face a range of occupational hazards, including exposure to zoonotic pathogens such as livestock-associated antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and swine-origin influenza viruses with epidemic or pandemic potential. To better understand this population's occupational exposure to zoonotic pathogens, we conducted a community-driven qualitative research study in eastern North Carolina. We completed in-depth interviews with ten IHO workers and used thematic analysis to identify and analyze patterns of responses...

California is home to a multibillion-dollar cannabis (marijuana) industry, but little is known about the occupational health and safety hazards faced by cannabis workers and even less of the stress, mental health, and coping mechanisms among these workers. Previous research has been based on long-term workers at legal businesses, but most California cannabis is produced and sold unlawfully. There are many seasonal workers whose experiences have not been studied. A qualitative study based on focus group discussions and key informant interviews was performed to understand cannabis workers' experiences, knowledge, and perceptions of occupational hazards...

Editor's Note: This is a commentary on "Barrier Face Coverings for Workers" by Lisa Brosseau and Jeffrey Stull, which appeared in NEW SOLUTIONS 32(3).

Editor's Note: This is a response to "Why a Workplace Barrier Face Covering is a Bad Idea" by Mark Nicas. DOI: 10.1177/10482911231193771.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Boston Public Schools (BPS) closed for in-person learning in March 2020 due to COVID-19 and didn't fully reopen until the 2021-2022 school year. Due to the age of schools and absent ventilation systems, coupled with decades of disinvestment in the infrastructure, BPS entered the pandemic with serious challenges impacting the health of students and staff. These challenges were magnified by an infectious airborne virus. Instead of using this opportunity to improve ventilation systems, BPS opted to invest in an air quality monitoring system...

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic New York City home health aides continuously provided care, including to patients actively infected or recovering from COVID-19. Analyzing survey data from 1316 aides, we examined factors associated with perceptions of how well their employer prepared them for COVID-19 and their self-reported availability for work (did they "call out" more than usual). Organizational work environment and COVID-19-related supports were predominant predictors of self-reported perceptions of preparedness...