{"id":7089,"date":"2023-03-06T12:43:13","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T17:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/?p=7089"},"modified":"2023-03-06T12:43:13","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T17:43:13","slug":"east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"East Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The trains must go through!<\/p>\n

As you might imagine, there was quite a mess to clean up in order to get the rail line running again through East Palestine, Ohio, after 20 rail cars full of vinyl chloride and other toxic materials derailed at the beginning of February<\/a>. But while the citizens of East Palestine were sheltering-in-place and evacuating, Norfolk Southern, being the responsible custodian of public health that they are, immediately leapt into action, sending 40 of their employees in to start cleaning up the wreckage — and to get the rail line running again.<\/p>\n

One might expect a railroad as large and profitable as Norfolk Southern to have a specially trained and equipped Hazmat Team to respond to events like this.\u00a0 Turns out that may not have been the case.<\/p>\n

Many rail employees reported that they continue to experience migraines and nausea, days after the derailment, and they all suspect that they were willingly exposed to these chemicals at the direction of Norfolk Southern.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Workers that participated in the cleanup of the train derailment had unanswered questions about their protections, and have experienced lingering migraines and nausea, according to a union representative<\/a> for workers that build and maintain railways for Norfolk Southern.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Long, a union representative for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED), said in a Wednesday letter<\/a>\u00a0to Ohio Gov.\u00a0Mike DeWine\u00a0<\/span>(R) that around 40 workers were ordered by Norfolk Southern, which owns the train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, last month, to clean up the wreckage.<\/p>\n

Long said he had received reports that the workers were not given proper personal protection equipment to help clean up the wreckage, not being offered respirators, eye protection and protective clothing.<\/p>\n

And rail workers are not magically immune from the health effects of the substances they’re directed to clean up.<\/p>\n

He also said many employees \u201creported that they continue to experience migraines and nausea, days after the derailment, and they all suspect that they were willingly exposed to these chemicals at the direction of [Norfolk Southern].\u201d<\/p>\n

Worker Safety<\/h2>\n

Cleaning up toxic waste spills is a well-recognized hazard.\u00a0 In fact, there’s even an OSHA standard that is intended to protect worker who clean up these spills: the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response<\/a> standard, also known as HAZWOPER.<\/p>\n

As OSHA explains<\/a>, HAZWOPER<\/p>\n

established health and safety requirements for employers engaged in these operations, as well as responses to emergencies involving releases of hazardous substances. HAZWOPER requires that employers follow specific work policies, practices, and procedures to protect their workers potentially exposed to hazardous substances. The standards provide employers with the information and training criteria necessary to ensure workplace health and safety during hazardous waste, emergency response, and cleanup operations involving hazardous substances. HAZWOPER aims to prevent and minimize the possibility of worker injury and illness resulting from potential exposures to hazardous substances.<\/p>\n

Norfolk Southern insists<\/a> that a hazmat professional was on the scene immediately to coordinate the response, monitor the air and ensure appropriate PPE was used.<\/p>\n

But we’ll see if that actually happened.<\/p>\n

When sending workers in to clean up a toxic release, employers can’t just say, “Holy Cow! There’s a big chemical spill of methyl-ethyl-death and God-knows what else. Slap on these respirators, grab some shovels and buckets, and head over there and clean that stuff up!”<\/p>\n

Employers can’t just say, “Holy Cow! There’s a big chemical spill of methyl-ethyl-death and God-knows what else. Here’s a bunch of respirators, shovels and buckets. Head over there and clean that stuff up!”<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s not that simple.<\/p>\n

There are training requirements under HAZWOPER for 8, 20 or 40-hour training courses.\u00a0 The 8-hour course is generally just basic awareness. The 40-hour course is for workers who are exposed to hazardous materials above OSHA Permissible Exposure Levels (PELs) — and for which respiratory protection is required. Personal Protective equipment can include not just respirators,\u00a0 all the way up to Self Contain Breathing Apparatus, depending on the toxicity of the hazard, as well as protective clothing.\u00a0 There are also requirements for decontamination and medical surveillance, and there needs to be a detailed written emergency response plan.<\/p>\n

And they have to be trained to use the equipment properly — especially the respirators — or they won’t protect the workers. In addition, any employees who are required to use respirators at work, must previously have a medical evaluation.<\/p>\n

The 24-hour course is for workers who have a temporary or short work task at a HAZWOPER site\u00a0 — and no potential for exposure to hazardous substances or materials above the PEL exists; and no respiratory protection is required.<\/p>\n

While it’s not clear exactly what the rail workers were doing in East Palestine, a 2012 OSHA Letter of Interpretation<\/a> about applies to clearing and re-railing train cars after derailment situations explains that:<\/p>\n

General site workers (such as equipment operators and general laborers) who are engaged in hazardous substance removal or other activities that expose (or potentially expose) them to hazardous substances and health hazards must receive 40 hours of off-site training and 3 days of supervised field experience. [29 CFR 1910.120(e)(3)(i)]. Please note, however, that different training requirements apply to other employees and supervisors\/managers at the site. [29 CFR 1910.120(e)(3)(ii), (iii) and (e)(4)].<\/p>\n

So how much training did the rail workers need? And how much did they get? What kind of personal protective equipment did they need and what did they get? We don’t know that yet.<\/p>\n

But the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding the first Congressional Hearing<\/a> on the rail disaster on Thursday morning. Hopefully, a Senator will ask about what the workers were exposed to and whether they were properly trained and protected.<\/p>\n

OSHA to the Rescue<\/h2>\n

OSHA inspectors as well as high level officials are at the site to ensure the safety of cleanup workers currently working at the site — and presumably to ensure that Norfolk Southern didn’t violate HAZWOPER in the immediate aftermath of the derailment.<\/p>\n

Jurisdiction over rail worker safety and health is complicated. Paragraph 4(b)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act gives authority over certain aspects of rail worker health and safety to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) instead of OSHA. And there is no requirement that FRA protections must be at least as effective as OSHA requirements.<\/p>\n

But a 2012 Memorandum of Understanding<\/a> between OSHA and the FRA clarifies that “OSHA’s regulations relating to substantive safety and health requirements apply to railroad employees, while safety and health issues specifically relating to railroad operations are regulated and enforced by the FRA.”<\/p>\n

And a 2012 OSHA Letter of Interpretation<\/a> states that “Train car derailment response operations, where there is an emergency response to a release (or a substantial threat of a release) of hazardous substances, would be covered by the HAZWOPER standard paragraph (q, Emergency response. [29 CFR 1910.120(a)(2)(iv)].”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The trains must go through! As you might imagine, there was quite a mess to clean up in order to get the rail line running again through East Palestine, Ohio, after 20 rail cars full of vinyl chloride and other toxic materials derailed at the beginning of February. But while the citizens of East Palestine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[276],"tags":[118],"class_list":["post-7089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-railroads","tag-ohio"],"yoast_head":"\nEast Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers - Confined Space<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rail workers who were sent in immediate after the East Palestine derailment are suffering health effects. Were they properly protected?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"East Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers - Confined Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rail workers who were sent in immediate after the East Palestine derailment are suffering health effects. Were they properly protected?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Confined Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-06T17:43:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AP23040660986305.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"787\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jordan Barab\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jbarab\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@jbarab\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jordan Barab\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jordan Barab\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\"},\"headline\":\"East Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-06T17:43:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1155,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/AP23040660986305.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Ohio\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Railroads\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/\",\"name\":\"East Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers - Confined Space\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/AP23040660986305.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-06T17:43:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"Rail workers who were sent in immediate after the East Palestine derailment are suffering health effects. Were they properly protected?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/AP23040660986305.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/AP23040660986305.webp\",\"width\":1400,\"height\":787,\"caption\":\"rail workers\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/06\\\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"East Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/\",\"name\":\"Confined Space\",\"description\":\"A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\",\"name\":\"Jordan Barab\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":267,\"caption\":\"Jordan Barab\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\"},\"description\":\"Jordan Barab was OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2009-2017. He ran AFSCME's health & safety program from 1982-98. He also worked at the House Education and & Labor Committee (2007-2009, 2019-2021) and the Chemical Safety Board.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/jordan-barab-81b0218\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jbarab\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/author\\\/jbarab\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"East Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers - Confined Space","description":"Rail workers who were sent in immediate after the East Palestine derailment are suffering health effects. Were they properly protected?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"East Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers - Confined Space","og_description":"Rail workers who were sent in immediate after the East Palestine derailment are suffering health effects. Were they properly protected?","og_url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/","og_site_name":"Confined Space","article_published_time":"2023-03-06T17:43:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1400,"height":787,"url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AP23040660986305.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Jordan Barab","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jbarab","twitter_site":"@jbarab","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jordan Barab","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/"},"author":{"name":"Jordan Barab","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5"},"headline":"East Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers","datePublished":"2023-03-06T17:43:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/"},"wordCount":1155,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AP23040660986305.webp","keywords":["Ohio"],"articleSection":["Railroads"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/","name":"East Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers - Confined Space","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AP23040660986305.webp","datePublished":"2023-03-06T17:43:13+00:00","description":"Rail workers who were sent in immediate after the East Palestine derailment are suffering health effects. Were they properly protected?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AP23040660986305.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AP23040660986305.webp","width":1400,"height":787,"caption":"rail workers"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2023\/03\/06\/east-palestine-the-forgotten-rail-workers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"East Palestine: The Forgotten Rail Workers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/","name":"Confined Space","description":"A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5","name":"Jordan Barab","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg","width":400,"height":267,"caption":"Jordan Barab"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg"},"description":"Jordan Barab was OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2009-2017. He ran AFSCME's health & safety program from 1982-98. He also worked at the House Education and & Labor Committee (2007-2009, 2019-2021) and the Chemical Safety Board.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jordan-barab-81b0218\/","https:\/\/x.com\/jbarab"],"url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/author\/jbarab\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AP23040660986305.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8s1ZU-1Ql","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7089"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7101,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7089\/revisions\/7101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}