Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
The New
York Times
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December 26, 2000, Tuesday, Late Edition -
Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 30; Column
6; Editorial Desk
LENGTH: 171 words
HEADLINE: Repetitive Stress
BODY:
To the Editor:
The problem with
compliance with the proposed Occupational Safety and Health
Administration rules on repetitive stress injuries is
only partly the anticipated cost (Workplace page, Dec. 20). Of greater
importance is that science cannot support the concept that these are injuries or
that the workplace and its demands are responsible for the complaints.
In countries like Australia, where the compensation system understood
the overreaching, the epidemic of "injuries" abruptly came to a halt. In
industries using the same equipment at different sites, the complaints radically
differ depending in large part on worker satisfaction with management and rules
at these sites. Thus, the proposed rules require expenditure for a problem that
really reflects a social context, despite expert medical testimony to the
contrary.
GEORGE E. EHRLICH, M.D.
Philadelphia, Dec. 20, 2000
The writer is chairman of the Expert Advisory Panel on Chronic
Degenerative Diseases, World Health Organization.
http://www.nytimes.com
LOAD-DATE: December 26,
2000 
