Will it never end with this administration? Do they have to turn back the clock on science every time? This time the threat of being sacked came from the former OSHA head, former Big Auto friend John Henshaw, who did not like that an OSHA scientist ran studies and then issued an asbestos health warning related to automobile brakes. Big Auto did not like the warning and did not see any reason why such an warning needed to be issued. Many consumers and workers were unaware of the continued asbestos tainted car brakes being imported into the US. It's going to be nice having balance in government again.
It took six years to get federal worker safety officials to issue warnings to auto mechanics that the brakes they're working on could contain lethal asbestos fibers. But it took only three weeks after the warnings were posted before a former top federal official with ties to the auto industry reportedly pushed to have them removed.
John Henshaw, a former head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, called Aug. 15 for the agency to make changes to its warnings, according to documents obtained by The Sun.
But Ira Wainless, an OSHA scientist who wrote the advisory bulletin about asbestos in brakes, refused, according to agency documents. Wainless cited dozens of studies, including work at his own agency, to show that his presentation of the medical risk to mechanics was solid.
Last week, David Ippolito, an official with OSHA's Directorate of Science, Technology and Medicine, told Wainless that he would be suspended without pay for 10 days if the changes weren't made, according to documents.
