Damn. This stuff introduced me to physics as well as beverages. I still remember my dad explaining how after opening the can, you should punch a small hole in the other end to relieve the vacuum and get the OJ cylinder to slide out faster.

Two cute pups watching intently

Somehow, I get the feeling I'm being watched...

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Protecting the American Stone Slab Industry from Lawfare

Hundreds of workers who fabricate artificial stone countertops have developed silicosis. Dozens have died. Manufacturers of the product have known for years about the risk but have done nothing.

Tomorrow, I will be testifying against legislation prohibiting lawsuits by workers with silicosis. 1/ 🧵

Apparently we're going to bring back not just old-time air pollution from coal, but old-fashioned worker deaths as well. Wind turbines and solar cells just don't kill enough people to satisfy our current rulers.

This Day in Workplace Safety History: The Sago Mine Disaster - Confined Space Today is the 20th anniversary of the Sago mine disaster that killed 12 miners and led to major improvements in mine safety.

20 years ago today, 12 miners died at the Sago mine in West Virginia. All but one died from lack of oxygen in the hours after the explosion. The disaster led to major reforms in mine safety supprted by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress.
jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

Weekly Toll - Confined Space On average, over 100 workers are killed every week in the United States due to traumatic injuries suffered at work. Here are how a few died last week.

How workers died last week: Trench collapse, skid steer, fork lift, coal mining, fall, shootings and vehicle incidents. On average, over 100 workers are killed every week in the United States due to traumatic injuries suffered at work.
jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

There are fields of work where errors cause inconvenience, waste time, or waste money. Then there are fields where the consequence of an error is that someone dies or is maimed. I'm not saying that AI should be used in the first type, but it is, IMO, critical that it is not used in the second.

Worked in occupational safety until recently. Asked an LLM to select respirator cartridges for different toxic vapors. It got it right about 90% of the time - which means it would have poisoned workers 1 time in 10.

In any field where you have to be right every time, LLM/AI is worse than useless.

Comparing the right-wing response to the tragic murders of the Guardsmen in DC, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, one thing stands out.

No one suggested responding to Charlie Kirk's murder by scrutinizing and demonizing all young white males with ties to the LDS church.

Elon Musk Disappeared MASSIVE OSHA FINES, Former OSHA Official Explains How

Jordan Barab (@jbarab), former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor at OSHA, returns to talk about how Elon Musk has been breaking OSHA.

🧵

NASA is sinking its flagship science center during the government shutdown — and may be breaking the law in the process, critics say "There is just a general acknowledgement that a lot of what is happening is illegal…"

More malignant stupidity from sociopaths in the current administration:

"Goddard's arm of NASA's Office of Safety and Mission Assurance was hit particularly hard by position losses..."

Because why worry about safety when you work with explosives and toxic chemicals?

www.space.com/space-explor...

Sadly, any professionals not already fired would be on shutdown furlough. Nobody around to tell the toddler-in-chief and his minions how illegal, stupid, and unhealthy this is. Not that they'd care.

Federal agency overseeing US nuclear stockpile will furlough most of its workforce starting Monday | CNN Politics The federal agency responsible for overseeing and modernizing the US nuclear stockpile will furlough the vast majority of its staff Monday as the government shutdown drags on, according to the Departm...

The people guarding the US nuclear stockpile are being furloughed today.

Meanwhile, Trump deemed those who helped him start trolling accounts on Bluesky and who disseminated his shitpost over the weekend essential.

edition.cnn.com/2025/10/19/p...

Good call. And similar stuff could be in any of the older buildings. UVA buildings built up until the late 1970s used a lot of ACM. Portions of the ventilation ducting in Pinn (then Jordan) Hall had crysotile spray-on insulation that was only removed around 1983-84.

Washington Excavating Company Fined $140K After Inspector Stops Trench Collapse -- Occupational Health & Safety Clark County contractor cited for repeated trench safety violations; quick action prevented potential tragedy.

Who says #OSHA doesn't save lives?
ohsonline.com/articles/202...

How Trump Broke Corporate America’s Most Valuable Consultant Businesses are begging the White House and RFK Jr. to rethink their massive cuts to Niosh, a workplace research agency that saves the US billions of dollars a year.

Destroying #NIOSH: How Trump Broke Corporate America’s Most Valuable Consultant.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

DOL Issues Spring 2025 Regulatory Agenda - Confined Space As Fall approaches, the Trump administration issues its Spring 2025 Regulatory Agenda. Several OSHA standards have been killed or put into limbo

OSHA kills infectious disease standard after thousands of Frontline healthcare workers died of COVID-19.

Workplace violence standard put on the back burner despite high injury rates among health care workers. jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...

Cow manure just killed 6 workers on a dairy farm. It happens more than you’d think. Dairy farms are among the most dangerous workplaces. Why aren’t they regulated like it?

There is an OSHA Standard requiring Confined Space safety training in General Industry, Construction, Maritime Industry - every kind of work EXCEPT agriculture.

Why isn't there a OSHA Confined Space standard for agriculture? Are farm workers considered expendable?
www.vox.com/future-perfe...
#OSHA

6 people found dead during confined space rescue at Northern Colorado dairy farm Six people were found dead Wednesday evening at a dairy farm in Northern Colorado, officials said.

People don't die in confined spaces if you test the air before entering, and ventilate the space if needed. Air monitors and ventilation blowers cost a few hundred dollars each.

Or, you can just consider your workers to be expendable:

www.cbsnews.com/colorado/new...

No More Snacks, Exercise, Or Visitors at Goddard And Wallops This is really starting to get petty Sean and Brian

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center does an excellent job of supporting science education in an area (Eastern Shore of MD/VA) without many resources. So of course Trump's team of morons wants it dead: nasawatch.com/personnel-ne...

The airman was killed when removing his holstered (issue holster, trigger completely covered) M18 from his belt and setting it on a table still in the holster. Multiple witnesses. Rumor is the manual safety was even on. (Unlike the civilian P320, the M18 has a manual safety.)

YouTube video by Next 9NEWS Loveland Police say ATF agent used their license plate trackers, listed 'ICE' as reason

The city council of Loveland, Colorado installed the Flock surveillance cameras to "fight crime", promising that the system would not be used for immigration enforcement.

Then Loveland PD opens the system to the Federal ATF, who proceed to run queries for ICE:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWE8...

"Trump called for the CSB’s closure during his first term but settled for leaving many investigator and agency leadership positions unfilled."

We can add Denver to the "protesters were peaceful, police were not" list.

Oddly, police in most other locations in Colorado were well behaved, even in "red" areas. But Denver PD, in particular, seems determined to live down to its reputation.

Only way of improving a liverwurst sandwich is to add some chopped up red onion!

SCIMaP - Impacts of Federal Cuts to Science and Medical Research Developed by an interdisciplinary research team, this website shows how funding cuts reduce economic activity and employment nationwide

See national impact of federal health research cuts scienceimpacts.org?CONDITION=TE...

Sure didn't take long for the irritated carbrains to show up. I'll just point out this: errors by cyclists and pedestrians might cost you 30 seconds on your commute; driver anger kills cyclists and pedestrians. Putting most of the responsibility on drivers is appropriate.

The US took in tens of thousands of Afghan refugees *in the 1980s* following the Soviet invasion. They integrated just fine (I worked with one during the 90s, great guy.)

Back then, they were welcomed. Sadly, It isn't the Afghans who've changed in the last 40 years.

Much silica exposure can be prevented by minor modifications to workplace tools and practices - things like applying a small stream of water to the area you are cutting.

It doesn't even cost that much. DOGE wants workers to die to save their employers pennies.

RFK Jr.'s layoffs expected to gut worker safety agency NIOSH, officials say More than 800 employees at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health are expected to be cut.

RFKjr keeps killing.

Almost everything I did at work for 35 years relied on #NIOSH.

- analyzing workplace air for chemicals using NIOSH methods

- responding to chemical spills using NIOSH reference works

- selecting respirators and chemical PPE tested by NIOSH

www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/rfk...