时差N小时 职业安全与健康法

Congress first dealt with issues of safety and health in the workplace in 1890, when legislation was passed for safety standards in coal mines. Over the next several decades, more complicated machinery¹ and new chemicals entered the workplace yearly, posing new hazards to workers.

国会第一次处理职业安全与健康的问题是在1890年，当时国会立法通过了煤矿安全标准。在接下来的几十年里，每年都有更复杂的机器和新化学物质进入工作场所，给劳动者带来了新的危害。

By the late 1960s, an estimated 14,000 workers were dying on the job each year, and over 2 million were suffering disabling injuries from work-related accidents. For years business and labor² groups wrangled³ over the need for federal legislation.

到20世纪60年代后期，据估计每年都有一万四千多名工人因工致死，还有超过两百万工人因工受伤或致残。多年来，工商界和劳动团体就联邦立法的需要一直争论不休。

Opinion in Congress was deeply split over what form legislation might take, but in 1970 Congress finally approved the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which would establish the Occupational Safety and Health Agency, or "OSHA." OSHA quickly became one of the federal government's most disliked agencies.

国会内部在确定立法形式上发生了严重分歧，但最终于1970年批准通过职业安全与健康条例，并依法成立了职业安全与健康署，即 OSHA。OSHA 很快就成为联邦政府内部最不受欢迎的部门之一。

Businesses complained that they faced scores of nit-picking rules, high compliance⁴ costs, and arbitrary inspections⁵. In response, OSHA scaled back many of its original rules, and focused its safety inspections on the most dangerous workplaces. Employment in the U.S. has more than doubled since the creation of OSHA, but during the same time period, occupational injury and illness rates declined 40 percent, and the number of workplace fatalities⁶ dropped by 60 percent.

企业们抱怨他们要面对大量挑剔的规则，高昂的成本以及专制的检查。作为回应，OSHA 缩减了原有规则的数量，将安检力度集中在最危险的工作岗位上。自从 OSHA 成立以来，美国就业人数翻了一番多。与此同时，因工受伤、患病的概率下降了40%，并且因公死亡事件降低了60%。

1 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 wrangled   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They wrangled over what to do next. 他们就接下来该干什么而争吵。 来自辞典例句
• They wrangled and rowed with other passengers. 他们与其他旅客争辨吵闹。 来自辞典例句

4 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

5 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》