CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY

Safety and Health

Keystone assists a wide range of stakeholders in assessing and responding to potential risks to consumer and worker safety posed by industrial and commercial products, practices and processes.

Projects include:

Furniture Flammability (2007)
Keystone facilitated an effort involving leaders and experts from industry, academia, and the environmental and public health advocacy communities, to assess the need for federally promulgated national standards on residential furniture flammability. At the request of the American Home Furnishings Alliance and in consultation with other stakeholders, Keystone designed the agenda, interviewed participants in advance, facilitated a one-day meeting, and wrote a detailed report capturing the interests of key stakeholders and strategic recommendations for government action and stakeholder collaboration going forward. The report was submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, at the Committee’s request.
Contact:	Brad Sperber

Workplace Safety Summit (2001)
Keystone facilitated (and advised on the design of) a high-level, multilateral conference on workplace health and safety issues involving senior representatives of industry, labor unions, government, investment institutions, academic institutions and public interest groups. The Summit generated broad agreement to launch a number of collaborative projects including a public awareness campaign, a research agenda, and an initiative to create more powerful business incentives for strong corporate performance in this area.
Contact:	Brad Sperber

The Keystone National Policy Dialogue on Food Safety and Pesticides (1993)
The Keystone National Dialogue on Food Safety and Pesticides was convened in response to significant disagreement among key interest groups pertaining to the safety of the U.S. food supply with regard to pesticides. The magnitude of these conflicting interests led to a steady increase in media attention, public concern, Congressional interest, and escalating disagreement regarding how to access and ensure the safety of the national food supply. As a result, during the late 1980s, Congress amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (with some issues left unresolved) and considered revisions to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). Furthermore, the public scrutiny of ALAR® application on apples in 1989 propelled the issue of pesticide use in food production and the safety of the resultant residues into the limelight and onto the national agenda. Issues examined and discussed in the Keystone-led dialogue included how best to assess the safety of residues in foods and the diet (risk assessment), policies to protect the food supply from unsafe residues and to regulate the safety of the food supply (risk management), concerns regarding the export of pesticides and the safety of imported foods from other countries, and the impacts (both industrial and agricultural) of changes in pesticide use practices.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #42.
Contact:	Brad Sperber

Keystone National Dialogue on Work-Related Illness and Injury Record-Keeping (1989)
Keystone brought together 46 representatives from labor unions, corporations, health professions, government agencies, Congressional staff, and academia in a year-long dialogue to discuss four major topics: (1) record-keeping criteria, (2) inspection and enforcement procedures, (3) revisions to injury and illness data systems, and (4) capturing information on occupational illnesses. The goal of the initiative was to address the four issues outlined above and to develop a report outlining areas of agreement with associated recommendations as well as areas of disagreement.
Final report:	Please call 970-513-5835 and ask for report #12.
Contact:	Brad Sperber