Occupational Safety and Health Act
The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act was enacted in 1970 to "assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women." The OSH Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at the federal level and provided that states could run their own safety and health programs as long as those programs were at least as effective as the federal program. It also created the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, to review the agency’s regulations, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to research necessary areas of focus.
Cry Wolf Quotes
[M]uch of the scientific data obtained by researchers to date is inconclusive….misplaced reliance on mere suspicions rather than proven data, or precipitous and emotional reaction to such incomplete information…could lead to major economic consequences.
Far more could be accomplished by concentrating on motivation and other human factors than on mechanical or chemical factors. There is only a partial, indirect relationship between the enforcement of standards and the promotion of effective occupational safety and health programs.
Under the proposed bill, industry is held guilty until proven innocent.
It could be read to require the Secretary to ban all occupations in which there remains some risk of injury, impaired health, or life expectancy…the present criteria could, if literally applied, close every business in this nation.
