Public safety - Articles - Page 12

A FairWarning Story

Lawmakers question influence of industry at CPSC

April 2, 2019

Leaders of a House committee have called on the acting head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Ann Marie Buerkle, to disclose her contacts with business groups, citing a “disturbing” report by FairWarning that “suggests you are prioritizing the interests of industry over the safety of consumers.”

After MAX 737 crashes-

DOT to review aircraft certification process

March 27, 2019

In the wake of two airline crashes and an emergency landing involving the Boeing 737 MAX plane, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has established what it says is an expert Special Committee to review the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) procedures for certifying new aircraft. A March 10, 2018 crash involving an Ethiopian Airlines flight claimed the lives of all 157 people aboard. The October 29 crash of a Lion Air plane into the Java Sea off Indonesia killed its 189 passengers and crew. Both incidents occurred shortly after takeoff.

Baron announces new weather forecasting model

Benefits include improved forecast accuracy and increased resolution

March 21, 2019

Baron, the worldwide provider of critical weather intelligence, announces a new weather forecasting model available immediately in the company’s Baron Threat Net, Baron API, and broadcast products. Weather models are produced via intense computer analysis using known and projected atmospheric conditions and current sensor readings.

A FairWarning Story

ATV deaths top 15,000 threshold in latest government report

Myron Levin Eli Wolfe

March 20, 2019

Since the early 1980s, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has conducted a grim census, tracking reports of deaths from crashes of all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs. Now the body count has risen above 15,250, according to the agency’s latest annual report, with more than one in five of the deaths suffered by children under 16.

A FairWarning Story

Industries turn to Bracewell lobbyists to scuttle product safety rules

Myron Levin

March 15, 2019

Justin Miller was 16 when he took his first ride on a recreational off-highway vehicle, or ROV. He came home missing a hand. The powerful 1,100-pound machine tipped over and landed on the Northridge, California, teen, mangling his hand so severely that seven surgeries couldn’t save it. At the time of the accident in 2008, similar reports of gruesome injuries and deaths were piling up at the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

U.S. Army Corps to help investigate natural gas blast

March 14, 2019

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will be assisting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in its investigation of a fatal, Feb. 23, 2018, natural gas-fueled explosion in Dallas, Texas. The USACE began taking soil samples this week in the area of Espanola Drive and Durango Drive in Dallas, to help the NTSB evaluate the technical accuracy of the preliminary geotechnical assessment report.

FAA reverses course, grounds Boeing 737 model Max 8s

March 13, 2019

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will ground the type of aircraft involved in the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday and a Lion Air accident in October, according to an announcement made today by President Donald Trump. The Ethiopian incident claimed the lives of 189 people while the Lion Air crash killed 346.

3 countries ground type of jet used in Ethiopian crash

March 11, 2019

After the second crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 jet in two years, China, Ethiopia and Indonesia as well as Cayman Airways, a carrier that flies to the U.S. and Caribbean countries, have all suspended use of 737-8s. The move follows last week’s crash of an Ethiopian jet bound for Kenyway – an incident that occurred shortly after takeoff, just as a crash off Indonesia last year.

Poor workmanship caused deadly Pennsylvania house explosion

March 1, 2019

An improperly installed gas connection that allowed natural gas to seep into a single-family house was the probable cause of a deadly 2017 explosion in Millersville, Pennsylvania, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined. The July 2, 2017 explosion at 206 Springdale Lane killed one person and injured three others, destroyed the residence and significantly damaged six neighboring homes, one of which was subsequently condemned.

Toxic release that injured 8 prompts rail tank car safety recommendations from NTSB

February 22, 2019

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued five safety recommendations Thursday following completion of its investigation of the Aug. 27, 2016, chlorine release from a ruptured rail tank car near New Martinsville, West Virginia. There were eight injuries reported in connection with the accident in which 178,400 pounds of liquefied compressed chlorine was released in the course of two and a half hours after a DOT-105 rail tank car sustained a 42-inch long crack in its tank shell shortly after being loaded at the Axiall Corporation Natrium plant.