The massive December 2007 explosion and fire at T2 Laboratories in Jacksonville was caused by a runaway chemical reaction that likely resulted from an inadequate reactor cooling system, investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) said in a final draft report.
“Controlling Silica Exposures in Construction,” a guidance document recently published by OSHA addresses the control of worker exposure to dust containing crystalline silica, known to cause the lung disease silicosis.
EPA is recognizing 11 small businesses and congregations for their efforts to fight climate change. Through the use of effective energy management practices and innovative efficiency solutions in their buildings, these award-winning organizations reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from the average electricity use of more than 1,000 homes, while saving nearly $900,000 annually on their energy bills.
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson has announced the agency will reconsider the 2008 national smog standards to ensure they are scientifically sound and protective of human health. Smog, which is also known as ground level ozone, has been linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
EPA is setting new limits that will affect most existing hospital, medical, and infectious waste incinerators. This final action will reduce about 390,000 pounds of several pollutants each year including acid gases, nitrogen oxides, and metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury.
As part of EPA’s ongoing national effort to assess the management of coal combustion residuals, EPA is releasing the final contractor reports assessing the structural integrity of 17 impoundments and similar management units containing coal combustion residuals, commonly referred to as coal ash, at nine facilities. These 17 impoundments have a “high” or “significant” hazard potential rating. A high hazard potential rating is not related to the stability of those impoundments but to the potential for harm should the impoundment fail. A significant hazard potential rating means impoundment failure can cause economic loss, environmental damage, or damage to infrastructure.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has awarded $33 million to expand the training of health care professionals, according to a recent press release. The funds are part of the $500 million allotted to HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to address workforce shortages under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), NIH, has issued the following statement regarding early results from clinical trials of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines in health adults:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded $5 million to the states of California, New York and Washington to assess residents’ exposure to chemicals, according to a recent press release. Using a technique known as biomonitoring, the states will determine which environmental chemicals people have been exposed to and how much of those chemicals are in their bodies.
Four of every ten home fire deaths resulted from fires with no smoke alarms in 2003-2006, according to a new report, Smoke Alarms in U.S. Home Fires, released last week by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
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