SKAPP Releases Results of Scientists in Government Research
March 3, 2010 - SKAPP's new report Strengthening Science in Government: Advancing Science in the Public’s Interest identifies concrete steps that agencies and the executive branch can take to strengthen federal science. (Read more)
Senate Confirms David Michaels to Head OSHA
December 4, 2009 - The US Senate confirmed David Michaels as the new Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
SKAPP Requests FDA Update on Diacetyl
December 3, 2009 - SKAPP has requested an update from FDA on the status of its 2006 petition to cancel diacetyl's "generally recognized as safe" status. (Read more)
Society for Environmental Journalists Honors Doubt is Their Product
July 22, 2009 - The Society for Environmental Journalists awarded David Michaels' Doubt is Their Product an honorable mention in their annual Rachel Carson Environment Book Award. (Read more)
SKAPP Comments on Presidential Memo on Scientific Integrity
May 13, 2009 - The Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP) submitted comments to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) regarding the implementation of scientific integrity principles that President Barack Obama laid out in a Presidential Memorandum on March 9, 2009. (Read more)
Scholars Consider Conventions in Science and the Law
May 6, 2009 - SKAPP and the Duke University Law School have produced an issue of Law and Contemporary Problems focusing on the often-problematic collision of conventions used in the scientific and legal disciplines. (Read more)
Celeste Monforton Testifies in Senate
April 28, 2009 - Celeste Monforton testified at a hearing about incentives to make workplaces safer held by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions' Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety. (Read her testimony)
Doubt is Their Product Wins Recognition from Library Journal and AAP
March 3, 2009 - Library Journal has selected David Michaels’ Doubt is Their Product as one of its Best Sci-Tech Books of 2008, and the American Association of Publishers named it a finalist in their PROSE Awards.
Sigma Xi Honors David Michaels
January 28 - Sigma Xi, the international honor society of research scientists and engineers, has chosen SKAPP Director David Michaels as the winner of its 2009 John P. McGovern Science and Society Award. (Read more)
APHA Occupational Health & Safety Section Presents Priorities for Federal Action in 2009
January 6 - The American Public Health Association's Occupational Health & Safety Section, co-chaired by Celeste Monforton, has released "Protecting Workers on the Job: Seven Priorities for Federal Action in 2009." (Read more)
GW Launches New MPH Program in Environmental Health Science and Policy
December 3 - The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services is offering a new Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in Environmental Health Science and Policy. (Read more)
Celeste Monforton Testifies in House
September 17 - GWU Assistant Research Professor Celeste Monforton testified at a hearing on the Department of Labor's proposed risk-assessment rule held by the House Education and Labor Committe's Workforce Protections Subcommittee. (Read her testimony or a case study on the rule)
David Michaels Featured in Authors@Google Series
August 27 - David Michaels spoke about Doubt is Their Product to Google employees as part of the company's Authors@Google series; the video is available online.
Scientists Urge Department of Labor to Withdraw Risk-Assessment Rule
August 14 - A group of 80 scientists and occupational health experts sent a letter to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao urging her to withdraw a proposed risk-assessment rule that would create new hurdles for agency efforts to protect workers from harmful substances. (Read more)
Washington Post and Chicago Tribune Publish Pieces by David Michaels
July 15 - SKAPP Director David Michaels wrote about the funding effect for the Washington Post Health section and penned a Chicago Tribune op-ed on the harm done by manufactured uncertainty.
SKAPP Authors Expose Beryllium Industry Role in Stalling Stricter Worker Protection Rule
July 1 - In the latest issue of Public Health Reports, authors from SKAPP and the beryllium industry present conflicting views of the industry’s role in stalling OSHA action on beryllium. (Read more)
SKAPP in the Latest Public Health Reports
June 16 - The new issue of Public Health Reports features an article by Susan Wood and Kristen Perosino about the impact of the FDA Amendments Act on FDA transparency, and a response from David Michaels and Celeste Monforton to a letter on their recent beryllium article. (Read more)
SKAPP Examines Government Scientists' Rights and Responsibilities
June 3 - SKAPP's new Scientists in Government project, which promotes public discussion about the rights and responsibilities of government scientists, is recruiting current and former government scientists to participate in this qualitative research. (Read more)
David Michaels Testifies in Senate
May 7 - SKAPP Director David Michaels testified at an oversight hearing on science and environmental regulatory decisions held by the Senate Subcommittee on Public Sector Solutions to Global Warming, Oversight, and Children’s Health Protection. (Read his testimony)
Bisphenol A Case Study Released
April 16 - Just as the NTP has issued a new draft brief expressing concern about health effects of bisphenol A at current levels of human exposure, SKAPP has released a case study by Sarah Vogel on federal agencies’ response to this ubiquitous chemical. (Read more)
Early Reviews Praise Doubt is Their Product
March 31 - Two early reviews of Doubt is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health praise the book for showing how manufactured uncertainty harms health and the environment. (Read more)
Public Health Reports Webcast Features David Michaels on Beryllium
February 4 - Public Health Reports' February webcast featured SKAPP's David Michaels discussing his article (co-authored with Celeste Monforton) about OSHA's failure to update its beryllium standard. (Read more)
Scholars Explore Litigation and Regulatory Science
January 4 - Papers delivered at SKAPP’s third Coronado Conference have just been published in Environmental Health Perspectives, the journal of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. (Read more)
SKAPP Authors Tell Inside Story of Beryllium Regulation
December 18 - In a new article in Public Health Reports, David Michaels and Celeste Monforton explain how the beryllium industry fought efforts to strengthen OSHA's inadequate and outdated beryllium workplace exposure standard. (Read more)
Susan Wood Calls for Restoration of Scientific Integrity at Health Agencies
December 17 - In a Boston Globe op-ed, Susan Wood warns that the Bush administration is neglecting the health needs of millions of Americans by leaving key health-agency leadership positions vacant for too long or filling them with individuals who advance an ideological agenda and show a disregard for scientific integrity.
Congresswoman DeLauro Speaks on FDA's Future
October 3 - Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro delivered a policy address on the future of the FDA in which she announced legislation to prioritize food safety within the federal government. (Read more)
House Passes Diacetyl Legislation
September 26 - By a vote of 260 to 154, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act, which requires OSHA to set a standard to protect workers from diacetyl. (Read more)
Unions & Scientists Renew Call for OSHA Action on Diacetyl
September 7 - More than a year after they first called on OSHA to issue an emergency standard to protect workers from exposure to the butter-flavoring chemical diacetyl, unions and leading occupational health physicians wrote to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao to highlight new scientific information and renew their call for urgent OSHA action to protect workers in the snack food and flavorings industries. (Read the letter)
SKAPP Faults FDA Response to Consumer Diacetyl Case
September 4 - A respected doctor has notified FDA and other agencies of a case of bronchiolitis obliterans in a patient whose only known exposure to diacetyl was through heavy microwave popcorn consumption. The inadequate agency response indicates a disturbing decline in the system that should be protecting public health. (Read more)
Susan Wood and David Michaels Call for Changes at FDA
August 1 - In a Boston Globe op-ed, Susan Wood and David Michaels call on Congress to improve the FDA's transparency and focus on safety.
Legislation Introduced to Force OSHA to Act on Diacetyl
June 13 - Legislation introduced today would require OSHA to issue an interim standard to protect workers from occupational exposure to diacetyl, and to set a permanent standard within two years. (Read more)
David Michaels Urges EPA to Keep Conflicted Nominees off Asbestos Advisory Panel
May 24 – David Michaels submitted comments to the EPA Science Advisory Board, urging it to reject asbestos panel nominees who own or work for “product defense” firms. (Read more)
Lack of OSHA Action Gets National Attention
April 26 – Two Congressional hearings (one featuring SKAPP’s David Michaels as a witness) and a front page New York Times article have focused attention on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s lack of action on several important workplace hazards. (Read more)
Scholars Issue Open Letter on FDA Reform
March 14 - A group of 22 experts on drug safety and regulation has issued an open letter to lawmakers asking them not to reauthorize the user fees system that finances the review of new drugs by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (Read more)
SKAPP Advances Conversation on Strengthening the FDA
February 23 - SKAPP held two events—a panel discussion featuring four former FDA Commissioners and an expert workshop—to advance the conversation about strengthening the FDA. (Read more)
Draft paper on OSHA at 35 Open for Comments
January 9 - Michael Silverstein's draft paper "Getting Home Safe and Sound? OSHA at Thirty-five" proposes ways to improve worker health and safety in the US. SKAPP has posted the document online, and comments are welcome in the online discussion at The Pump Handle blog.
See Also:
News Archive
Writing and testimony by SKAPP Director David Michaels
Articles from SKAPP's Coronado Conference I (published as a special supplement to the American Journal of Public Health)
Additional Articles by SKAPP Authors
Union petition on diacetyl and scientists' supporting letter
