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Harvard, Berkeley researchers prove OSHA regulation works

Harvard, Berkeley researchers prove OSHA regulation works

In a May 30 Harvard Business Review article, researchers Michael Toffel and David Levine emphasize the weight of their recent findings that OSHA inspections benefit both workers and businesses.

"Managers should welcome OSHA inspections," explain the researchers. "Randomly inspected establishments improve worker safety and reduce employers' premiums for workers' compensation insurance. And we found no evidence that these establishments suffer any of the competitiveness problems suggested by political rhetoric — like disruptions leading to lost sales or solvency concerns, or any effects on wages — compared to our control group. The differences are small but telling: OSHA inspections offer substantial value to workers, companies, and society."

Their Science article, "Randomized Government Safety Inspections Reduce Worker Injuries with No Detectable Job Loss," is now available for free through researcher Michael Toffel's publications page. For further details, read the updated blog from Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA and the QuickTakes Special Issue about the results of the study.

Posted on Thu, June 7, 2012 by Kim Bowman

2 comments (Add your own)

1. Yahya wrote:
Tony, my good man. This is not an issue about how much formaldehyde is safe, and/or whtheer it is absorbed into the blood vessels and capillaries of any/either party.This is an issue about false, misleading advertising. Safe levels of formaldehyde being released wouldn't bother any of us, if the bottle didn't say FORMALDEHYDE FREE Further, the line No Harsh Chemicals is a farce. Maybe it's only my opinion, but methylene glycol would be considered a harsh chemical.Most women are fine with using harsh hair care products; i.e. Japanese chemical straightening; however they are told from the get-go that it contains chemicals that may be harmful to one's health.BB has an obligation to tell their customers/clients what is in their product. I hope you understand that if BB would have left the Formaldehyde Free line off their bottle, we wouldn't be here right now.

Tue, July 10, 2012 @ 10:53 PM

2. Monaliza wrote:
Oooh, I can only offer my opinion; I'm celrainty don't have the qualifications to make a judgment about public health concerns. From my limited understanding, I think other formaldehyde-containing hair products are regularly used in some salons. However, it's important to know which products contain formaldehyde so you can take extra special precautions that you wouldn't otherwise.Proper precautions would involve (1) ventilation and (2) protective materials, including gloves, to keep the product off of skin. The quick and dirty test for proper ventilation (for many chemicals) is whether or not you can smell anything. If you can then you can probably do better.For a salon stylist such as yourself, if no product comes in contact with your skin, and the ventilation is good enough that you can't smell the product before, during, or after application, then it is probably reasonably safe for the stylist. As far as for the clients I imagine it's not great for the product to come in contact with their scalp, and they too would be better off if they can't smell it during the application. I do not know about anything beyond that whether formaldehyde slowly leaches out over the next few weeks; if it does, does it remain at safe levels, etc. etc.I do encourage you to look up non-biased sources of information about how to safely use salon products. OSHA, for example, is concerned with occupational safety; they're not turning a profit from selling you a product. Good luck to you, and I hope you stay in good health : )

Tue, July 17, 2012 @ 12:35 AM

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