Protect Missouri Workers

10/13/2026

A federal appeals court has thrown out EPA's 2024 rule restricting most uses of methylene chloride. The solvent is linked to cancer, nerve and liver damage, and death. It's still found in degreasers, adhesives and sealants that workers handle on the job.

Families who lost loved ones to this chemical fought for these protections, and now workers are left to protect themselves.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2024 rule restricting most uses of methylene chloride, a highly toxic chemical that can cause cancer, neurological and liver harm, and death.

10/08/2026

Missouri outdoor workers face growing heat risks with federal protections in flux.

Missouri has no state heat protections, so roughly 3 million workers rely on federal oversight carried out by just 19 OSHA inspectors.

Meanwhile, OSHA has pulled the inspection targets from its heat emphasis program, and a federal heat standard is still stalled. Researchers say heat deaths on the job are badly undercounted.

Missouri workers deserve rules that match the risk they face every summer.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services data show 254 people died from heat-related causes between 2014 and 2026. About 6% of those deaths were listed as being related to occupational activities.

10/06/2026

As many as 400,000 people were exposed to toxic dust at Ground Zero, and the dust that settled there contained asbestos.

Mesothelioma cases began showing up 15 to 19 years later. ADAO dedicated its 20th congressional briefing to the first responders, workers and residents who are still getting sick, and urged Congress to pass the bipartisan ARBAN Act.

More than 50 countries have banned asbestos, but the U.S. still has not.

🔗 https://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/newsroom/blogs/2026-staff-briefing-resources/

09/29/2026

Researchers have now documented 592 cases of silicosis among California workers who cut and polish quartz countertops, including 31 deaths and 65 workers who needed lung transplants. These are relatively young workers, diagnosed at a median age of 46, sickened after breathing dust from stone that is more than 90 percent crystalline silica.

The researchers say these numbers likely capture only a fraction of cases nationwide and are calling for stronger workplace protections and surveillance.

Countertop and stone workers in Missouri breathe the same silica dust, and protections here should not wait for the death toll to climb before they catch up.

https://mediarelations.gwu.edu/new-research-documents-growing-silicosis-epidemic-among-quartz-countertop-workers

09/26/2026

September 26 is Mesothelioma Awareness Day, marking a rare cancer caused almost entirely by asbestos exposure. The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, which started the day in 2004, says it is now seeing younger patients, proof this risk is not just history.

Missouri workers in older buildings and plants still breathe that same asbestos. Awareness only matters if it leads to real protections on the job.

September 26 is Mesothelioma Awareness Day! Mesothelioma Awareness Day (Meso Awareness Day) takes place annually on September 26. It was established in 2004 by the…

09/22/2026

Asbestos discovered during an HVAC project has shut down Kensington High School for the rest of the year, forcing more than 400 students and 90 staff members to relocate eight miles away.

The teachers union says the district's communication about the danger fell short, and unlike students, staff were not given transportation to the new site.

Asbestos does not become less dangerous because a building is old or a budget is tight. The people who work in these buildings every day deserve the same protection as the students who study there.

Asbestos concerns forced Kensington High School to close at least for the rest of the calendar year for students and staff.

09/17/2026

With triple-digit temperatures hitting California, state regulators are reminding employers of their legal duty to provide water, shade, rest breaks, and heat illness training for indoor and outdoor crews alike.

Agriculture, construction, and landscaping workers get added protections once temperatures pass 95 degrees, because heat illness can escalate from discomfort to a medical emergency in minutes.

Missouri sees its own share of brutal summer heat, and outdoor crews here need those same basic protections spelled out and enforced. No worker should risk heat stroke because a break was treated as optional.

https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2026/2026-63.html

09/15/2026

Firefighters keep wearing turnout gear made with PFAS, the "forever chemicals" linked to higher cancer rates, because departments cite cost and confusion over safer alternatives.

Whistleblower Diane Cotter has spent a decade pushing for change after her husband's cancer diagnosis, and the effort has finally pushed the International Association of Firefighters to back PFAS-free gear.

Cost should not decide whether a firefighter's protective equipment is protecting them or slowly poisoning them. Departments everywhere, including in Missouri, need a clear timeline for phasing this gear out.

Turnout gear meant to protect firefighters on duty is raising questions among the industry as potential links to cancer arise.

09/10/2026

OSHA has opened an investigation into the death of Corey Sooter, a 44-year-old electrician who died in June while working on the University of Missouri's Memorial Stadium construction project.

His employer called him family rather than just an employee. A reminder that behind every incident report is a person whose absence is felt on and off the job site. Investigations like this exist to find out what went wrong and prevent it from happening to the next worker.

Missouri's construction crews deserve a full accounting of what happened and real changes that follow it.

One day after Corey Sooter's death, OSHA opened an investigation into the incident.

09/08/2026

California lawmakers are advancing a bill to preserve refinery safety protections won after the 2012 Chevron Richmond fire, including workers' rights to refuse dangerous work and report hazards anonymously.

The push follows recent refinery explosions and concern that a pending settlement could weaken those protections instead of strengthening them.

Refinery workers face some of the highest chemical exposure risks in any industry, and the right to speak up without retaliation should never be negotiable. Missouri refinery and plant workers face the same stakes whenever safety rules are left open to rollback.

California lawmakers are advancing an effort to preserve oil refinery safety rules that were designed to prevent fires, explosions and other catastrophes despite industry opposition.