Image via WikipediaMy first full-time job was working with Hygienetics which at the time was located in
Jersey City, New Jersey. My boss and my mentor was Mr. Eugene Pinzer, CIH. Mr. Pinzer was a great boss and did an excellant job mentoring me (as far as I am concerned). At times he would train by hands-on practices, other times he would ask me to read some article or book that would help with my education and help me gain valuable experience and knowledge. When I read the
Felix Salmon's blog post "
The case of Paul Brodeur vs the NYPL" and then Paul Brodeur's, a staff writer for
The New Yorker for nearly 40 years, article for The Author's Guild titled "
Paul Brodeur: A Breach of Trust at The New York Public Library" it brought back the some great memories. One of the articles Mr. Pinzer requested that I read was Mr. Brodeur's article "Annals of Law - The Asbestos Industry on Trial". This four part article written for The New Yorker Magazine ran from June 10 - July 1, 1985. At the time I was, are you kidding me. The articles were the equivalent of a 300-400 page book and I really didn't see the importance. However, as Mr. Pinzer was apt to do he cajoled me into reading it. The articles are well written and documents the asbestos industry's fall from grace. I strongly suggest that if you are in the
asbestos industry you read these articles. It details the downfall of the industry, including how the information that exposed the industry of hiding the dangers of asbestos.
As the title indicates the New York Public Library has notified Mr. Brodeur that they intend on breaking up his collection of papers that he donated to the library. Included in this collection of papers is Mr. Paul Brodeur's investigation of the asbestos
health hazard and its cover-up by the asbestos industry. Though I am not a curator or librarian, it seems to be a waste of the research that Mr. Brodeur did to back-up the facts, assertions, and evidence he writes about in his articles. I hope the New York Public Library reconsiders their decision or at least allow the collection to remain together by returning the full documents to Mr. Brodeur.
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeOur prayers go out to Japan in the aftermath of Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami, including the swamped nuclear reactor that has leaked radiation. However, like most disasters the tragedy doesn't end after the disaster. The next phase of the disaster is handling the devastion that has occurred and try to handle this in the most productive and safe manner possible. As the MSNBC report, "Japan Disaster's Other Hidden Danger: Asbestos," indicates activitists have found asbestos, the cancer-causing fibrous mineral, in the air and debris collected from the devastated northeastern coast of Japan. As we clean-up from these disasters it has become more important to ensure the safety of the clean-up workers and those near the area of the disaster from being exposed to the various environmental hazards that occur after a disaster. Asbestos, lead, mercury, silica, volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, and dioxin are just a few of the various chemicals that these workers could be exposed to. Though Japan is overwhelmed with enormity of the task ahead of them and needless to say the nuclear reactor leak is extremely serious. We hope they learn the lessons we seem unable to learn (mistakes made during the World Trade Center, Katrina, and Gulf-oil spill clean-ups) regarding the importance of ensuring the occupational health (illness prevention) of the clean-up workers. The proper use of respirators (including fit testing and training), proper decontamination of workers before they go home to their families, and the proper use of dust control practices during demolition and construction work to reduce dust emissions all should be standard practice for clean-up activities after a disaster. 
