217 February 2001
DARK SIDE OF HISTORY March 25, 2001 will be the fiftieth anniversary of the 1911 fire on the eighth floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company building in New York that caused the death of 148 employees. This garment sweatshop had locked doors and no fire sprinkler systems and the victims either burned or jumped to their deaths (page 176 of The U.S. Department of Labor Bicentennial History of The American Worker, 1976, SuDoc No. L 1.2:Am3/4). This tragedy was the impetus that ultimately lead Franklin D. Roosevelt to sign the first labor safety regulations now known as the OSHA Safety Standards. Miners have been dying (almost) daily since 1790, as recorded in newspaper articles and Labor Department detailed records of names, dates, and places. The Bureau of Mines Reports contain statistics, layout maps of mines, details, and narratives of the specific accidents for any mine disaster in the United States which claimed three or more lives. The reprints of the Mines reports and newspaper accounts are found in Historical Summary of Mine Disasters in the United States: Volume I - Coal Mines-1810-1958, Volume II - Coal Mines-1959-1998, and Volume III - Metal and Nonmetal Mines- 1885-1998. These three U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration publications were issued in 1998 in microfiche and can be found under L 38.2:H62/SUM/v. 1, 2, 3 in some depository libraries. These 1998 publications are reprints of the Bureau of Mines Information Circulars and Bulletins cited in the Table of Contents of Each volume. Historical Mining Disasters compiled by Jane DeMarchi at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy issued in May 1997 (L 38.2:H62) exemplifies this type of reprint information. At the current Mine Safety and Health Administration (web) Site Map http://www.msha.gov/siteindex/sitein.htm , you will find the latest MSHA "Statistics" on injuries and fatalities in America's mines http://www.msha.gov/STATS/STATINFO.HTM .
FATALGRAMS IN LIVING COLOR Any lack of office skill or attention while working with paper and typewriters presents the hazards of paper cuts, broken finger nails, tangled ribbons, and dirty fingers, but everyone survives. There are many other professions where the occupational slips are life threatening if not fatal. For many years many depository libraries have been receiving Fatalgrams (L 38.15: (Nos.)) issued by the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Fatalgrams are one-sheet analyses of accidents which have taken place in a surface or underground mine setting. Each Fatalgram consists of a brief statement of exactly what occurred and why the worker was fatally injured. Next, there are recommendations as to what the individual should have done, what safety rule(s) was (were) violated, and what should be done to avoid such an accident/fatality. There is also a "color picture or graphic presentation" of the accident. The "Fatal Alert Bulletins" found on the MSHA (web) Site Map at http://www.msha.gov/siteindex/sitein.htm will lead to the Fatalgrams and Fatal Investigation Reports for the Coal Mining and Metal and Nonmetal Mines in the United States.
DIAL-AROUND LONG DISTANCE PHONE SERVICES Have you listened to the various "dial-around (or "10-10") numbers advertisements of the long-distance telephone companies? Each company seems to say they have a better rate than any other company? Do they? Does any the company and its ad really say what it means? Does it mean what it says? Now is the time to gain some insight into these "dial-around" long-distance telephone services and not be deceived by what the advertisement companies are saying. The FCC put a notice into the Federal Register (in) v. 65, no. 137, July 17, 2000 page 44053-44059 "Joint FCC/FTC Policy Statement for the Advertising of Dial-Around and Other Long-Distance Services to Consumers". This Federal Register Notice will lead to the FTC web page ( http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-call.htm ) that has this 17 page policy statement with the title (Joint FCC/FTC Policy Statement for the Advertising of Dial-Around and Other Long-Distance Services to Consumers) as a pdf file. This statement spells out what a long-distance service is allowed to do. This policy will also show the difference between what the "10-10" advertisements are "allowing you to believe" and the circumstances and limitations you will encounter when employing their service. These ads are not revealing all the details the consumer will encounter when paying the bills for the "10-10" services. The FCC's website also provides MS Word version of this policy statement at http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Enforcement/Orders/2000/fcc00072.doc .
COOKIES AND THE COOKIE MONSTER Everyone knows about Oreo, Lorna Doone, and other edible cookies. On Sesame Street, there is the blue furry Cookie Monster who loves cookies. However, computers and the Internet have given new meanings to the terms cookie and cookie monster. The Internet electronic vendors are the new (digital) cookie monsters who send cookies when you type a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) into your Internet Browser and contact a commercial website. The acceptance of a cookie onto your computer’s hard drive is optional, but sometimes rejection can sometimes prevent connection to the web page or lockup your Internet browser. Sometimes a barrage of cookies deters any return to that site. The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Committee's concern about cookies and cookie management resulted in Know the Rules, Use the Tools, Privacy in the Digital Age: A Resource for Internet Users. This 2001 30-page publication discusses cookies and their impact on privacy. This text explains how and why the electronic marketers use cookies and tells how cookies can be controlled through computer browser settings, the manual deletion of cookie files. There is information about Cookie-cutters software. The Judiciary Committee's Staff Report website http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/privacy.htm provides access to Know the Rules in a byte size pdf file.
TIRE INFLATION This good kind of inflation should be the goal of every motor vehicle owner. Keeping the proper air pressure in your car or truck tires is necessary for easy and safe driving and lengthens the life of the tires. The proper tire inflation level, such as 30 PSI (pounds per square inch) is specified in the vehicle's owner's instruction/operations manual. A tire pressure gauge can be used to check the air pressure in each tire, when the tires are cold. Tires should not be checked after driving, since they are hot and would give an inaccurate PSI reading. Checking tire pressure regularly assures proper inflation and finds slow air leaks. To aid in the task of checking tire pressure regularly, "Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act" Public Law 106-414 (AE 2.110:106-414) has come to the rescue. Section 13. TIRE PRESSURE WARNING requires that "not later than 1 year after the date [i.e. November 11, 2000] of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall complete a rulemaking for a regulation to require a warning system in new motor vehicles to indicate to the operator when a tire is significantly under inflated. Such a requirement shall become effective not later than 2 years after the date of the completion of such rulemaking." The "rulemaking" and "regulation" and a description of the "warning system" will be found in future issues of the Federal Register. Watch for news items in future issues of this Newsletter. It seems likely that the 2004/2005 cars may have monitoring devices that will tell the driver when the tires need some air.
FIRESTONE TIRES, A TREADFUL STORY There were defective Firestone tires on Ford Expedition SUVs, but only after the loss of lives, many damaged cars, and public pressure did the Firestone Company acknowledge that there was a problem with tire design. Firestone acknowledged the problem tire because of a Congressional inquiry and hearings which resulted in new legislation. The "Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act," Public Law 196-414, Section 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS contains clear and explicit wording about automobile equipment defects, tire defects, recalls, warranties, knowledge of defects, reporting of those defects, and the related information which the manufacturer has to provide, and what information the Secretary of Transportation can request and how often. A subsection "(n) SALE OR LEASE OF DEFECTIVE OR NONCOMPLIANT TIRE" relates to the sale or lease of vehicles that have defective tires, and Section 5 PENALTIES is another section worth noting. This law affords better consumer protection and prevents a repeat of the FIRESTONE TIRES, A TREADFUL STORY.
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY, NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. On August 11, 2000, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13166, "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency". To implement this E.O. and assist the federal agencies in carrying out their responsibilities to the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) clients, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a Policy Guidance Document, "Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- National Origin Discrimination Against Persons With Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Guidance, Notices" Federal Register v. 65, no 159, August 16, 2000, pages 50123-50125, (AE 2.106:65/159 and http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/Pubs/lepguide.htm ). Using this DOJ Policy Guidance Document, the Department of the Treasury is publishing its own policy guidance document "to clarify the responsibilities of recipients of federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury ('recipients'), and assist them in fulfilling their responsibilities to limited English proficient (LEP) persons." The Treasury Department's policy which is effective immediately is found at "Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients on the Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons, Notices" Federal Register, V. 66, No. 45, March 7, 2001, pages 13829-13838 (AE 2.106:66/45).
MEDICAL PRIVACY RULE OF 2000 Is it a boone or boondoggle? One of the last Federal Regulations sponsored by the Clinton Administration that appeared as a "Final Rule" on December 28, 2000 was a (circa) 400-page health information privacy standard. "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, Final Rule" Federal Register, v. 65, No. 250, December 28, 2000, pages 82461-82829 (AE2.106: 65/250) is designed to maintain the privacy requirements of the "Administrative Simplification subtitle of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996." Effective February 26, 2001, this Final Rule would go into the next edition of Code of Federal Regulations, Title 45, Parts 160 and 164 (AE 2.106/3:45/P.1-199/YR), and "is to cover the concerns that the electronic technology and changes in the practices of the health care providers, health plans, health care administrative contractors will erode the privacy of the health care information system and the privacy of the individual." To get a copy of this Final Rule, one can photocopy the pages in the Federal Register paper or microfiche that is in many of the (circa) 1300 federal depository libraries (AE 2.106:66/250). Paper copies of this issue of the Federal Register can be obtained by using the order information found on page 82462. The electronic access to this text is found at: http://aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp/ and http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html . The George Bush Administration does not view this costly regulation favorably and only time will tell as to its implementation.
COSTS AND BENEFITS The projected costs of the new medical privacy rule are found in Section V.-D Economic Effects on Small Entities" on pages 82779-82793. How do the benefits compare to the costs? Will the new standards maintain health information privacy? Does this outweigh the costs resulting from the new changes required by this regulation? The costs and (i.e. as compared to) benefits of this and other Federal Regulations has been a concern of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and at the OMB home page http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/index.html under the "Regulatory Policy" section there are (PDF files of) Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations for 1997, 1998, and 2000. These reports present estimated costs and benefits of implemented Federal Regulations from 1987 (with projections) to 2015.
HERSTORY: WOMEN IN THE CIVIL WAR During World War II Rosie the Riveter signified the women's role in America’s industry and industrial production from 1941 to 1945. The Civil War did not have a Rosie the Riveter, but did have 270,000 women in the mills and factories of 11 northern States. Women made up 65 % of the industrial work force in New England in 1860 and 12,000 southern women worked in factories and accounted for 10% of the South's manufacturing work force. There were some women physicians and many nurses. Women fought at the front, and there were women in home-guard units. Famous women of this era include Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, Mary Ann "Mother" Bickerdyke, and Dorothea Dix. "Herstory of the Civil War" by Gloria Stevenson pages 76-82, in 200 Years of American Worklife, issued in 1976, by the U.S. Department of Labor (L 37.2:W89), is a brief, but fact-filled article about the women's role in the Civil War.
June 21, 200l
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