David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH
President Obama’s intended nominee to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) crafted a historic initiative in 2000 to compensate nuclear weapons workers who developed occupational illnesses as a result of exposure to hazardous materials on the job.
David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, is an epidemiologist and research professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. He has conducted numerous studies of the health effects of occupational exposure to toxic chemicals, including asbestos, metals and solvents, and he has written extensively on science and regulatory policy, according to the White House web site.
From 1998 to 2001, Michaels served as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health, responsible for protecting the health and safety of workers, neighboring communities and the environment surrounding the nation’s nuclear weapons facilities. In that position, he was the chief architect of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, an initiative to compensate workers in nuclear weapons facilities who developed cancer or lung disease as a result of exposure to radiation, beryllium and other hazards.
If confirmed by the Senate, Michaels would replace Jordan Barab, named acting assistant secretary for OSHA, part of the Department of Labor, in spring 2009.
“Dr. Michaels' expertise and leadership is needed as OSHA continues to restore vital health and safety protections for America’s workers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, in a news release.” I look forward to working with Dr. Michaels and Secretary Solis to ensure the agency has the tools it needs to accomplish this mission.”
“Given the impressive credentials Dr. Michaels will bring as the OSHA administrator, I am confident that the initiatives launched by Secretary Solis to issue long overdue safety standards and bring back more vigorous enforcement of workplace safety and health standards will be realized,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.
In testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Employment & Workplace Safety in April 2007, Michaels called for better methodologies for reporting workplace accidents, testifying that only one-third of occupational illnesses and injuries are reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
He stated that “OSHA enforcement does not appear to be effective in further reducing injury rates.” And though the rate has reportedly dropped, he said most of this is attributable to changes in OSHA recordkeeping rules.
He applauded OSHA for reducing exposures to some chemical hazards and for issuing standards on asbestos, lead and cotton dust. But “there are gaps in OSHA standards and, for the chemical hazards that OSHA does regulate, the permissible exposure limits are distressingly out of date.”
Since joining the School of Public Health and Health Services in 2001, Michaels' work has focused on the use of science in public policy, according to the school’s web site. He is the author of Doubt is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health (Oxford University Press, 2008), as well as articles in Science, JAMA, Scientific American, the International Journal of Epidemiology, the American Journal of Public Health and numerous other scientific publications.
In February 2006, Michaels received the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award for his work on behalf of nuclear weapons workers and for his advocacy for scientific integrity. He is the recipient of the American Public Health Association David P. Rall Award for Advocacy in Public Health and the U.S. Department of Energy Meritorious Service Award.
Beth Mirza is senior editor for HR News. She can be reached at Beth.Mirza@shrm.org.