Judge Orders OSHA to Release Toxic Info
by Jesse 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 Mary L. Cooper, 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.
_http://www.washingthttp://www.http://www.washhttp://www.wahttp://www.washihtt
p://www_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201259\
.html)
or
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___

On the Net:
U.S. District Judge Mary Cooper'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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END Forwarded by Andrew Cutz, CIH (Wednesday, July 4, 2007)