Turk, Michelle Follette (Author)
University of Nevada Press
Physical Details: 416
Language: English
The United States has a long and unfortunate history of exposing employees, the public, and the environment to dangerous work. But in April 2009, the spotlight was on Las Vegas when the Pulitzer committee awarded its public service prize to the Las Vegas Sun for its coverage of the high fatalities on Las Vegas Strip construction sites. The newspaper attributed failures in safety policy to the recent “exponential growth in the Las Vegas market.” In fact, since Las Vegas’ founding in 1905, rapid development has always strained occupational health and safety standards. A History of Occupational Health and Safety examines the work, hazards, and health and safety programs from the early building of the railroad through the construction of the Hoover Dam, chemical manufacturing during World War II, nuclear testing, and dense megaresort construction on the Las Vegas Strip. In doing so, this comprehensive chronicle reveals the long and unfortunate history of exposing workers, residents, tourists, and the environment to dangerous work—all while exposing the present and future to crises in the region. Complex interactions and beliefs among the actors involved are emphasized, as well as how the medical community interpreted and responded to the risks posed. Few places in the United States contain this mixture of industrial and postindustrial sites, the Las Vegas area offers unique opportunities to evaluate American occupational health during the twentieth century, and reminds us all about the relevancy of protecting our workers.
...MoreReview Mark Aldrich (2019) Review of "A History of Occupational Health and Safety: From 1905 to the Present". Journal of American History (pp. 775-775).
Review Andrew T. Simpson (Summer 2019) Review of "A History of Occupational Health and Safety: From 1905 to the Present". Business History Review (pp. 423-425).
Review Erik Loomis (July 2019) Review of "A History of Occupational Health and Safety: From 1905 to the Present". Environmental History (pp. 638-640).
Review Gerald Markowitz (2019) Review of "A History of Occupational Health and Safety: From 1905 to the Present". Bulletin of the History of Medicine (pp. 132-134).
Similar Citations
Article
Scott Gabriel Knowles;
(2017)
Private Standards, Public Goods: Underwriters Laboratories and American Safety Engineering in the Consumer Era
(/isis/citation/CBB401083567/)
Book
Schüll, Natasha Dow;
(2012)
Addiction by design: machine gambling in Las Vegas
(/isis/citation/CBB947045565/)
Book
Gragg, Larry Dale;
(2013)
Bright Light City:Las Vegas in Popular Culture
(/isis/citation/CBB001550144/)
Article
Maines, Rachel;
(2011)
Engineering Standards as Collaborative Projects: Asbestos in the Table of Clearances
(/isis/citation/CBB001211691/)
Thesis
William Marino;
(2018)
Outer Space in a Western Place: How Environmental Perceptions of the American West Shaped the Space Race
(/isis/citation/CBB499322594/)
Article
Angus Law;
Graham Spinardi;
(2021)
Performing Expertise in Building Regulation: ‘Codespeak’ and Fire Safety Experts
(/isis/citation/CBB766276484/)
Book
Sarah E. Robey;
(2022)
Atomic Americans: Citizens in a Nuclear State
(/isis/citation/CBB648725464/)
Book
Mark Aldrich;
(2018)
Back on Track: American Railroad Accidents and Safety, 1965–2015
(/isis/citation/CBB660965999/)
Book
Thomas Raymond Wellock;
(2021)
Safe enough? A history of nuclear power and accident risk
(/isis/citation/CBB609552152/)
Book
Dennis R. Judd;
Stephanie L. Witt;
(2015)
Cities, Sagebrush, and Solitude: Urbanization and Cultural Conflict in the Great Basin
(/isis/citation/CBB694023658/)
Article
Huntington, Tom;
(Fall 2006)
Desert Colossus
(/isis/citation/CBB549994826/)
Article
Denton, Sally;
(Spring 2010)
Hoover's Promises
(/isis/citation/CBB301508827/)
Article
Marcus, Gail H.;
(Fall 2001)
Technology, Safety, Human Resources, and Nuclear Power
(/isis/citation/CBB400599084/)
Book
Hay, Amy M.;
(2021)
The Defoliation of America: Agent Orange Chemicals, Citizens, and Protests
(/isis/citation/CBB039979128/)
Book
Mikkael A. Sekeres;
(2022)
Drugs and the FDA: Safety, Efficacy, and the Public's Trust
(/isis/citation/CBB614307145/)
Book
Jonathan D. Cohen;
David G. Schwartz;
(2018)
All In: The Spread of Gambling in Twentieth-Century United States
(/isis/citation/CBB918353278/)
Book
Gregory Wood;
(2016)
Clearing the Air: The Rise and Fall of Smoking in the Workplace
(/isis/citation/CBB790086691/)
Book
James B. McSwain;
(2018)
Petroleum and Public Safety: Risk Management in the Gulf South, 1901-2015
(/isis/citation/CBB127804806/)
Book
Gregory B. Jaczko;
(2019)
Confessions of a Rogue Nuclear Regulator
(/isis/citation/CBB130164448/)
Article
James Rice;
(2015)
Downwind of the Atomic State: US Continental Atmospheric Testing, Radioactive Fallout, and Organizational Deviance, 1951–1962
(/isis/citation/CBB734613150/)
Social Science History
Minerva: A Review of Science, Learning and Policy
Historia Scientiarum: International Journal of the History of Science Society of Japan
Business and Economic History On-Line
The Bridge: Journal of the National Academy of Engineering
Be the first to comment!