Steven Holt: “I oppose H.R. 987, the Workplace Preservation Act. The human body is a complicated machine. There is a lot we are still…”

“I oppose H.R. 987, the Workplace Preservation Act. The human body is a complicated machine. There is a lot we are still learning about the body, how it works, and how to protect it. Far be it for me as a scientist to say that we should avoid studies to get the facts. I expect, in fact, that we will learn a lot about the human body and how to take care of it in the workplace for decades to come. But several of my colleagues here have talked about the unpredictability of workplace injuries. They may not be sure why they have back problems or other injuries. Well, in fact that is the point. Because the human body is so complicated, in many cases, it is difficult to determine the cause of an individual musculoskeletal disorder. If we could identify the cause of injury in each case, we could rely on the employer's altruism or self-interest or worker's comp findings or even the threat of a lawsuit to see that each individual threatening situation was taken care of. But it is in just such circumstances where we have statistical evidence about this complicated machine that we need the kind of general regulations and protections that OSHA provides. We want to continue the effort to obtain the best evidence, but that is not a reason to delay providing guidelines. There is now concrete evidence. There are clear relationships between occupational assignments and musculoskeletal injuries. See the National Research Council, National Academy report and the NIOSH report.”