NEWS ARCHIVE 2007 Last
updated on 01/31/08 06:55 AM
12/4/07
MESCALERO, N.M. -- OSHA has cited Maloy Construction Inc., a
general construction company, and Deerfield Corp., a plumbing and
construction company, both based in Albuquerque, N.M., with 17
safety violations for asbestos exposure at a hospital construction
site in Mescalero. OSHA cited Maloy Construction, proposing
$75,600 in fines, for one alleged willful and four alleged serious
violations. OSHA cited Deerfield, with $81,900 in proposed fines,
for three alleged willful and nine alleged serious violations of
its asbestos standards. [Click
For More]
12/3/07
WORCESTER, MA -- The federal Environmental Protection Agency has
given Clark University a $677,499 Science to Achieve Results
research grant to do work that could lead to standards to protect
pregnant women from chemical exposures. Scientists will look at
the connection between measured chemical exposures and biomarkers,
which are indicators such as lead levels in blood. [Click
For More]
11/30/07
WA -- The Department of Energy plans to withhold $500,000 from
CH2M Hill Hanford Group's pay over the July spill of about 85
gallons of high-level radioactive waste from a Hanford tank. The
waste was spilled when a pump plugged up as workers were finishing
a 12-hour shift emptying high-level radioactive waste from Tank
S-102, built in the 1940s, into a sturdier double-shell
underground tank. The waste is left from the past production of
plutonium at Hanford for the nation's nuclear weapons program. [Click
For More]
11/29/07
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) Inc. and a regional medical
association have been accused of being responsible for birth
defects in an Austin, Texas, youth born with a missing lower right
arm and lifelong cognitive deficits. The lawsuit alleges the
mother was wrongfully exposed to birth defect-causing hazardous
chemicals during her pregnancy and that AMD knowingly failed to
protect its workers from hazardous chemicals. [Click
For More]
11/28/07
XIANGSHUI, CHINA -- Seven people were confirmed dead in a chemical
plant blast on Tuesday in east China's Jiangsu Province, according
to local authorities. The blast occurred at 10:11 a.m. on Tuesday
when three groups of workers were working in the dyestuff workshop
of Jiangsu United Chemistry and Technology Co. Three workers were
killed on the spot, and four more died later in hospital. One more
was still missing, while some 50 were injured. [Click
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11/27/07
BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's environmental watchdog and
the Jilin local government jointly conducted a computer simulation
of a river pollution emergency on Monday. Using a geographic
information system (GIS), an explosion was simulated at a chemical
plant in Jiutia City of Jilin Province and ten tons of pollutants
spilled into the Songhua River in an apparent bid to right the
wrongs of a real-life incident two years ago. [Click
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11/26/07
Parents have had to absorb a lot of bad news about toys in what
has become known as "the year of the recall." Toy
companies have been forced to recall millions of toys, mostly made
in China, because they contained harmful levels of lead paint or
loose magnets that posed a choking hazard to young children. The
issue took a bizarre turn two weeks ago when 4 million craft kits
for children, called Aqua Dots, were recalled from stores because
their colorful beads were found to be coated with a toxic chemical
that metabolizes into the "date rape drug." [Click
For More]
11/21/07
ATLANTA -- OSHA has proposed $219,800 in penalties against Tires
Into Recycled Energy & Supplies Inc., Jackson, Ga., for
willful, serious and other violations of federal workplace safety
standards including failing to reduce accumulations of combustible
dust on equipment and in the facility and not developing a hazard
communication program. [Click
For More]
11/12/07
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Kennedy Valve, a division of McWane Inc., faces
a total of $68,000 in proposed fines from OSHA for safety and
health hazards at its Elmira, N.Y., manufacturing plant including
uncovered containers of flammable liquids, unbonded and ungrounded
containers of flammable liquids, and lack of personal protective
equipment for employees working with caustics. [Click
For More]
11/6/07
LOS ANGELES: A jury awarded $3.3 million (€2.28 million) to six
workers who claimed they were left sterile by a pesticide used at
a banana plantation in Nicaragua operated by Dole Fresh Fruit Co.
[Click
For More]
11/5/07
SUNSET HILLS, Mo. -- OSHA has cited C&A Metal Finishing Co.
for one alleged willful and 14 alleged serious violations of
federal health and safety standards following a fatal accident at
the company's facility in Sunset Hills. The agency is proposing
penalties totaling $108,150 for violations that include employee
overexposure to the maximum peak and ceiling levels established
for trichloroethylene and not using engineering and or
administrative controls to protect employees from overexposure. [Click
For More]
11/1/07
Popcorn Workers Lung victims involved in a class action lawsuit
got some good news from a New York appeals court yesterday. The
court ruled that if the former Missouri popcorn plant workers
successfully prove their claims that diacetyl exposure caused them
to develop Popcorn Workers Lung, each should receive a minimum
$50,000 deductible payment from International Flavors and
Fragrances, the company that supplied the toxic chemical to the
plant. [Click
For More]
10/30/07
Americans could be excused for assuming that lead poisoning went
away long ago. The government banned lead paint in 1978, and oil
companies began phasing out leaded gasoline in 1975. But three
decades later, hundreds of thousands of children - most of under
age 6 - show signs of lead exposure. The American Academy of
Pediatrics estimates that one in four children live in housing
with deteriorated lead paint. [Click
For More]
10/29/07
Many of the substances to which humans are being exposed are
relatively new to the environment, i.e., the products of a
sophisticated industrial development. As a result humans are
exposed to volatile organic compounds not previously present in
our environment in significant amounts” and the effects of these
VOC’s on the human body has not been thoroughly studied. [Click
For More]
10/25/07
Chances are, you've done it. Tossed a battery in the trash, maybe
a half-full can of hairspray. What's the harm, right? But certain
combinations of such items, considered household hazardous waste,
can be dangerous, even deadly. A chlorine pool tablet, for
example, with no exposure to heat but some contact with brake
fluid, can spontaneously combust. [Click
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10/24/07
Los Angeles, CA -- It's still unclear as to what exactly led to
the death of 46-year-old Alton Washington. What we do know is that
the Gulf Services Industrial contract worker was operating a
vacuum truck at ConocoPhillips when he was exposed to hazardous
chemicals. [Click
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10/23/07
Almost 90 Canadian communities have experienced a shift in the
normal 51:49 ratio of male to female births, so that more girls
than boys are being born, according to two studies in ACS'
Environmental Science & Technology. James Argo, who headed the
research, attributes this so-called "inverted sex ratio"
of the residents in those communities to dioxin air pollutants
from oil refineries, paper mills, metal smelters and other
sources. [Click
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10/22/07
WASHINGTON -- OSHA today issued a new safety and health
instruction that details OSHA policies and procedures for
inspecting workplaces that handle combustible dusts and that may
have the potential for a dust explosion. Combustible dusts are
often either organic or metal dusts that are finely ground into
very small particles, fibers, chips, and/or flakes. These dusts
can come from metal, wood, plastic and organic materials such as
grain, flour, sugar, paper, soap and dried blood. Dusts can also
come from textile materials. Some of the industries in which
combustible dusts are particularly prevalent include agriculture,
chemical, textile, forest and the furniture industry. [Click
For More]
10/19/07
URBANA, Ohio -- Officials said a 15-year-old boy found a baby jar
full of mercury and opened it, spilling the chemical on his hands.
They said the teen then walked through the house, spreading the
mercury around. Investigators said the house has been condemned. [Click
For More]
10/18/07
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, -- With a new baby or toddler in the
family, most parents babyproof their homes, putting locks on the
cabinets and bumpers on the tables. But what about the dangers we
can't see-the environmental toxins that can affect our children's
health, growth and development? To help guard against these
dangers, there's Healthy Child Healthy World, the nation's leading
non-profit organization dedicated to protecting children's
environmental health. [Click
For More]
10/15/07
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- OSHA has cited Mid-South Steel Inc. of Cape
Girardeau, Mo., for three alleged willful, 10 serious and one
other-than-serious violation of federal health and safety
standards including no air monitoring and exposure to toluene
exceeding the ceiling and peak limits, following a programmed
inspection at the facility. The agency is proposing penalties
totaling $148,500. [Click
For More]
10/11/07
ROCKLAND, ME -- Clean Air for Rockland, a citizen group claiming
diesel emissions from Maine Eastern Railroad locomotives are
creating health problems in the city, has announced test results
indicating high levels of formaldehyde in the neighborhood along
the tracks. [Click
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10/5/07
COLORADO -- Robison-Prezioso Inc. was fined $145,000 by
California's Department of Toxic Substances Control in 2006 for
unauthorized disposal and transportation of hazardous paint waste
during its lead-abatement project on the bridge. The contractor
whose five workers died in the Xcel plant fire in Georgetown,
Colo., has been cited at least 43 times by state and federal
safety regulators in the past decade, including in the deaths of a
worker and a passer-by on San Francisco's Bay Bridge. [Click
For More] 10/4/07
WINFIELD, WV - A Charleston attorney has filed more than 70 cancer
lawsuits against Monsanto and related companies over its old plant
in Nitro. [Click
For More]
10/2/07
CHICAGO -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $112,000 in fines
against Elliot Construction Co. Inc., Glen Ellyn, Ill., for
alleged willful violations of federal workplace health standards
following a workplace incident that led to the hospitalization of
four employees suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. [Click
For More]
10/1/07
Between 1957 and 1987, as many as one million people living and
working at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune were exposed to
dangerous chemicals through the base's water wells. The U.S.
Senate approved a measure last week to require that military
officials notify all Marines, their families and civilian
employees who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune during the 30-year
period of chemical exposure. [Click
For More]
9/27/07
Nevada -- Authorities are saying that as many as 120 people have
now been treated at the South Lyon Medical Center in Yerington for
exposure to the agricultural chemical chloropicrin, an ingredient
once used in World War I nerve gases, according to the Mason
Valley Fire Protection District. [Click
For More]
9/26/07
WASHINGTON -- OSHA announced that it is taking the following three
actions that will address concerns regarding diacetyl exposure in
the workplace: Initiating a rulemaking under section 6(b) of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act; Issuing a Safety and Health
Information Bulletin (SHIB); Providing Hazard Communication
Guidance. These actions build upon the National Emphasis Program
that OSHA announced in April 2007 to focus on the health hazards
of microwave popcorn butter flavoring containing diacetyl. [Click
For More]
9/25/07
NEILLSVILLE, Wis. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $115,200 in
fines against Ruzic Construction Co. Inc., Neillsville, for
alleged multiple willful, serious and repeat violations of federal
workplace health standards, primarily for employee overexposure to
lead. [Click
For More]
9/24/07
Oil titan BP has arrived at a settlement in the trial filed
against it with respect to the Texas City refinery explosion that
occurred in March 2005. The accident, which killed 15 people and
injured 170, occurred after a piece of equipment called a blowdown
drum overfilled with highly flammable liquid hydrocarbons
exploded. [Click
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9/21/07
A U.S. appeals court reinstated yesterday a conspiracy charge
against Columbia-based W.R. Grace & Co. and six former
executives in a case involving residents of a Montana town who
suffered serious health problems after being exposed to asbestos
from a former Grace mine. [Click
For More]
9/20/07
PERTH AMBOY, N.J. -- OSHA has cited Vira Manufacturing Inc. for
multiple alleged safety and health violations including the lack
of a sufficient hazard communication program, various hazards
associated with the use of methylene chloride, a deficient
respirator program, and lack of required medical evaluations and
training. OSHA has proposed a total of $121,600 in penalties. [Click
For More]
9/19/07
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Colt Defense LLC and Colt's Manufacturing LLC
face a total of $223,000 in proposed fines from OSHA. The military
and commercial firearms manufacturers were cited for 50 alleged
violations of safety and health standards including exposing
employees to lead, lack of controls to reduce those exposures,
storage areas not kept free of accumulated materials posing an
explosion hazard, and improper disposal of cloths contaminated
with combustible liquids. [Click
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9/17/07
How often after a fire or response do you hear firefighters
complain of headaches, dizziness or achiness? These symptoms are
pretty typical after a long, strenuous physical activity,
dehydration or lack of sleep. Recent research indicates, however,
that these symptoms could indicate cyanide poisoning, which occurs
in firefighters more often than recognized. [Click
For More]
9/13/07
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a Request for
Information seeking input from the public to determine what
action, if any, the Agency should take to further address
emergency response and preparedness. The Request for Information
was published in today’s Federal Register and OSHA is accepting
comments from the public until Dec. 10, 2007. [Click
For More]
9/12/07
Massachusetts -- Five burn injuries from a boat fire on the
Charles River appear to have been caused by sodium, said Jake Wark,
spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Local media sources reported that the substance may have come from
a sodium drop, a traditional MIT activity in which sodium is
thrown into the Charles River so that students can watch its
violent reaction with water. [Click
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9/11/07
Washington, DC - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
released the first set of Hazard Characterizations on 101 High
Production Volume (HPV) chemicals. These characterizations are
based on EPA’s scientific review of the screening-level hazard,
or toxicity, data that was submitted by the U.S. chemical industry
through EPA’s HPV Challenge Program or other information
previously collected by the agency. [Click
For More]
9/10/07
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in the Aug. 31 Federal
Register that it will hold an informal public hearing regarding
OSHA's plan to update its personal protective equipment (PPE)
design standards. The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Dec. 4,
2007, at the Department of Labor's Frances Perkins Building in
Washington, D.C. [Click
For More]
9/5/07
Kansas -- A company operating an interstate pipeline carrying
ammonia pleaded guilty today to criminal charges of discharging
200,000 gallons into a creek near Kingman. Mid-America Pipeline
Co. LLC pleaded guilty to lying to federal authorities about the
magnitude of the leak, delaying response and killing 25,000 fish.
The company agreed to pay a $1 million criminal penalty. [Click
For More]
9/4/07
HealthDay News -- A key chemical ingredient in the buttery
flavoring of microwave popcorn has been identified as a likely
culprit in "popcorn lung," a lung disease that afflicts
people who work in the microwave popcorn manufacturing industry,
Dutch researchers report. Publishing in the September issue of the
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the
team said that the chemical diacetyl may be responsible for more
cases of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), otherwise known
as "popcorn lung," at a diacetyl factory. [Click
For More]
8/31/07
Federal lawmakers are demanding the Army reveal everything it
knows about where it dumped chemical weapons into the world's
oceans, as well as provide proof the munitions won't leak and
cause an environmental catastrophe. [Click
For More]
8/30/07
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first ever
report highlighting children’s special susceptibility to harmful
chemical exposures at different periods of their growth.
"Principles for Evaluating Health Risks in Children
Associated with Exposure to Chemicals" is the most
comprehensive work yet undertaken on the scientific principles to
be considered in assessing health risks in children. It highlights
the fact that in children, the stage in their development when
exposure occurs may be just as important as the magnitude of the
exposure. [Click For More]
8/29/07
While air quality in the United States has improved over the last
three decades, one-third of the U.S. population - more than 99
million Americans - still lives in areas with unsafe levels of
ozone, according to the American Lung Association. Ozone exposure
can harm even the healthiest lungs, but children, teenagers, the
elderly, and people with lung disease are most vulnerable to the
health effects of ozone exposure, which can trigger asthma attacks
and even cause premature death. [Click
For More]
8/28/07
CHICAGO -- OSHA has proposed $227,500 in fines against
Dallas-based American Airlines Inc. in Chicago for alleged
multiple willful, serious, repeat and other-than-serious
violations of federal workplace health standards including a lack
of warning signs or labels on previously identified
asbestos-containing materials and failing to inform employees of
the presence of hazardous chemicals and labeling many of those
chemicals. [Click
For More]
8/27/07
After serving in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago the Tucson soldier
was called back to active duty in Iraq. While there, he awoke one
morning with a sore throat. Eighteen months later, Army Sgt. James
Lauderdale was dead, of a bizarrely aggressive cancer rarely seen
by the doctors who tried to treat it. As a result, his stunned and
heartbroken family has joined growing ranks of sickened and dying
Iraq war vets and their families who believe exposures to toxic
poisons in the war zone are behind their illnesses — mostly
cancers, striking the young, taking them down with alarming speed.
[Click For
More]
8/24/07
California -- Home Depot USA Inc., the nation's largest home
improvement chain and the second-largest retailer, will pay
approximately $10 million to settle a civil case for its failure
to properly, responsibly and legally handle dangerous chemicals. [Click
For More]
8/23/07
LUBBOCK, Texas — A natural gas producer is suing another company
that works the vast West Texas natural gas fields, alleging its
practice of injecting a flammable and toxic gas into the earth is
contaminating wells, endangering people and threatening the
region's water supply. [Click
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8/22/07
High amounts of formaldehyde have been found in trailers used by
copper miners and their families living in Morenci in eastern
Arizona. The chemical comes from glue used in the making of
pressed-fiber products such as plywood, carpet, wall paneling and
furniture found inside trailers. Phelps Dodge has responded to
concerned workers by telling them to keep their windows open, run
fans, or find someplace else to live. [Click
For More]
8/21/07
CONCORD, N.H. -- Boston Felt Co. Inc. of Rochester, N.H., has been
cited for 66 alleged willful, serious and other-than-serious
violations of health and safety standards by OSHA. The felt
products manufacturer faces $134,900 in proposed fines fo
violations including inadequate or incomplete safeguards for
employees working in areas where asbestos or potentially
asbestos-containing materials were present. [Click
For More]
8/20/07
A mysterious epidemic of thyroid disease among pet cats in the
United States may be linked to exposure to dust shed from flame
retardants in household carpeting, furniture, fabrics and pet
food. Humans may also be at risk, although more research is needed
to determine if there is a link. [Click
For More]
8/17/07
Virginia -- A 150-gallon spray rig that a worker was filling at
Blacksburg Country Club overflowed, spilling a mix of chemicals
and water onto a concrete pad near the club's maintenance
building. The workers hosed the pad down. Later that day someone
downstream noticed dead fish in the North Fork of the Roanoke
River. The next morning, the Department of Environmental Quality
sent people to walk the riverbanks. They followed the trail of
dead fish that led to the country club. [Click
For More]
8/16/07
Baby bibs imported from China and sold at Toys 'R' Us stores in
the United States contain high levels of lead, reports said
Wednesday. According to tests conducted for the Center for
Environmental Health, a public interest group, and the New York
Times, the vinyl bibs contain up to three times the amount of lead
allowed in paint. [Click
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8/13/07
California -- A white, 36-foot-long Bluebird bus carrying federal
scientists and something called a triple quadrupole mass
spectrometer will be used to monitor the planned fumigation of an
Oxnard, California hospital this week if officials of St. John's
Regional Medical Center receive state approval in time to begin
fumigating with chlorine dioxide Friday. [Click
for More]
8/10/07
BRADENTON, FL -- Family members of a Donzi Marine worker who died
after inhaling toxic fumes in the cabin of a yacht are suing the
boat maker, saying the company failed to provide a safe working
environment. The attorney for the family said Donzi knew "Permagrip
105" contained methylene chloride. The chemical is
"virtually certain to cause death or serious bodily
injury" when inhaled, according to the lawsuit. [Click
For More]
8/8/07
LOS ANGELES -- Dole Fresh Fruit Co. and Standard Fruit Co., now a
part of Dole, are accused in a lawsuit of negligence and
fraudulent concealment while using the pesticide known as DBCP in
the 1970s. The plaintiffs, a dozen former banana workers in
Honduras, claim the pesticide made them sterile. [Click
For More]
8/7/07
CONCORD, N.H. -- Inadequate and incomplete safeguards against
ammonia releases at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Hanover, N.H.,
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory have resulted in
the issuance of four willful Notices of Unsafe and Unhealthful
Working Conditions by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). [Click
For More]
8/6/07
BRAINTREE, Mass. -- OSHA has proposed an additional $39,200 in
fines against a North Attleboro, Mass., stone fabricator for
allegedly failing to correct health and safety hazards cited in a
previous OSHA inspection including lack of respiratory protection
and hazard communication programs for employees exposed to silica
and other hazardous substances. [Click
For More]
7/31/07
Washington, DC - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
announced a proposal Thursday to strengthen the nation's air
quality standard for ground-level ozone. The EPA recommended an
ozone standard within a range of 0.070 to 0.075 parts per million,
as well as soliciting comments on alternative standards within a
range from 0.060 ppm up to the level of the current 8-hour ozone
standard, of 0.08 ppm. [Click
For More]
7/30/07
NEW YORK: The International Safety Equipment Association has
designed a new performance standard for classification and
performance requirements for chemical protective clothing. The
ANSI/ISEA 103-200x standard is designed to help users select the
appropriate protective apparel for a variety of chemical hazards,
providing minimum performance classifications and labeling
requirements. [Click
For More]
7/27/07
HealthDay News -- Nurses, printers and woodworkers are more likely
than the average population to develop work-related asthma,
according to a European research team that is calling for more
monitoring of workers' exposure to chemicals that could cause the
illness. [Click
For More]
7/26/07
The spectacular fire and explosions that launched flaming gas
cylinders high over Dallas on Wednesday have touched off a federal
investigation and raised concerns about the safety of the city's
industrial plants. [Click
for More]
7/25/07
SAN FRANCISCO - Dozens of common household cleaning products
contain hidden toxic chemicals linked to fertility disorders in
lab animals, according to data gathered by a women's research
group. A type of glycol ether is frequently found in popular
cleaning products such as Windex Aerosol, Formula 409, Lemon Fresh
Pine-Sol and Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner, says the report
released Tuesday. [Click
For More]
7/24/07
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- OSHA has cited the Chemcentral Corp. chemical
distribution facility in Kansas City for two alleged willful and
four alleged serious violations including improper storage and
handling of liquids and failure to train employees on the physical
hazards of liquids, following a fire and multiple explosions at
the plant. The agency is proposing penalties totaling $126,500. [Click
For More]
7/23/07
ATLANTA -- OSHA has proposed penalties of $155,000 against Kings
Delight for 13 safety and eight health violations found at its
Braselton, Ga., production facility. Inspectors visited the
poultry processor as part of OSHA's Site-Specific Targeting
Program. Violations included the company's failure to provide
emergency eye wash and shower stations for employees handling
corrosive materials, incorrect use of respirators, and allowing
employees to be exposed to particulates above the maximum level
specified by regulation. [Click
For More]
7/20/07
WASHINGTON -- OSHA has announced that they are accepting public
comments on the review of its Methylene Chloride (MC) Standard 29
CFR §1910.1052 (62 FR 1494). In 1997, OSHA promulgated the
Standard to protect employees from occupational exposure to MC.
The notice asks the public to suggest how the Standard's
applicability or requirements could be changed or tailored to
reduce the burden on employers while maintaining employee
protection. OSHA is accepting comments until Oct. 9, 2007. [Click
For More]
7/19/07
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- OSHA has cited Tyson Foods Inc. in Noel, Mo.,
for serious, willful, repeat and other-than-serious violations of
safety and health standards including storage of incompatible
chemicals; not providing a distinctive alarm for an ammonia
release; containers of hazardous chemicals lacking labels
displaying appropriate chemical identities and hazard warnings;
and not providing effective hazard communication training.. The
agency is proposing penalties totaling $339,500. [Click
For More]
7/11/07
QUNICY, Ohio -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $220,620 in fines
against Quincy Castings Inc. for alleged multiple willful, serious
and repeat violations of federal workplace safety and health
standards including failure to have adequate engineering controls
for overexposures to crystalline silica. [Click
For More]
7/10/07
A Wall Lake, Iowa, man has settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed
amount with the makers of a butter flavoring used in microwave
popcorn. John Weimer Jr. and his wife, Marion, had sued
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., of New York, for
negligence, claiming he suffered lung damage after being exposed
to diacetyl, a chemical linked to a respiratory disease commonly
called popcorn packers' lung, while he worked as a manager at the
Snappy Popcorn Company plant in Breda, Iowa. [Click
For More]
7/9/07
LOS ANGELES -- The pesticide was designed to kill worms infesting
the roots of banana trees on Latin American plantations. But at
least 5,000 agricultural workers from Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, Honduras and Panama have filed five lawsuits in this
country claiming they were left sterile after being exposed in the
1970s to the pesticide known as DBCP. [Click
For More]
7/6/07
BRAINTREE, Mass. -- OSHA has cited Michael Bianco Inc. for 15
alleged serious violations of workplace health and safety
standards including employees not being provided information and
training on the hazardous chemicals with which they work and the
company's hazard communication program lacked information and data
sheets about those chemicals. OSHA has proposed a total of $45,000
in fines against the New Bedford, Mass., leather goods
manufacturer. [Click
For More]
7/3/07
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citizens for Pennsylvania’s
Future (PennFuture) and the Sierra Club, represented by
Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit today in the United States Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging the
United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) refusal to
reduce cancer risks in Collegeville and throughout the nation
resulting from the use of highly toxic industrial solvents,
including perchloroethylene (perc) and trichloroethylene (TCE). [Click
For More]
7/2/07
It could be called the “suicide gas”: each year thousands of
people deliberately inhale it, usually in the exhaust fumes of
their own cars. But carbon monoxide (chemical symbol CO) has also
caused more accidental deaths than any other poison in history –
not just because it’s deadly, but because it slips under the
radar of the human senses: you can’t see, smell or taste it, and
it doesn’t irritate the skin or mucous membranes. By the time
you notice symptoms of poisoning, it’s sometimes too late. [Click
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6/28/07
Washington -- U.S. Senator Schumer Wednesday said that despite
efforts at the state and federal level to clean up the toxic
contaminant TCE, many contaminated sites carrying the carcinogen
continue to pose a threat to residents throughout upstate New
York. TCE is a popular degreasing solvent used to clean metal, but
it can also cause cancer, kidney and lung damage, nervous system
defects, abnormal heartbeat, and birth defects. [Click
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6/25/07
Creosote lawsuit settled for $17M -- For the first time this week,
officials of the chemical company Tronox announced that they paid
$17 million to settle the lawsuit filed against them by
Hattiesburg Public School District and several businesses. [Click
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6/24/07
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- OSHA has cited Williamsport Steel Container
Co. Inc. of Williamsport, Pa., for alleged safety and health
violations including improper storage of flammable and combustible
liquids, and is proposing $43,000 in penalties. The company, which
has 38 employees, manufactures steel drums used for the storage of
flammable, combustible and corrosive liquids or hazardous waste. [Click
For More]
6/21/07
A Kentucky man filed suit against 11 defendants alleging his
exposure to benzene and butadiene caused pancreatic cancer. He
claims that during the course of his employment he was exposed to
and inhaled, ingested or otherwise absorbed benzene and butadiene
which was designed, manufactured, sold or distributed by the 11
defendants that include BP Amoco, Chevron, Continental Tire, Shell
Oil and ConocoPhillips. [Click
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6/20/07
A year after the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act
(MINER) Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush,
Democratic lawmakers are pushing a new bill in an effort to
further reform mine safety and health. [Click
For More]
6/19/07
Safety officials are warning about the risk of a potentially
deadly release of chlorine gas unless the government requires
equipment for transporting it. A safety bulletin from the U.S.
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board recommends that
sites where rail cars unload chlorine have automatic shut-off
valves and other devices that can stop the flow of gas in an
emergency. [Click
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6/18/07
Most paints contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that give
paint its consistency and evaporate as the paint dries. Short-term
health effects include eye irritation, headaches, nausea, fatigue,
and dizziness. Long-term exposure can lead to more serious health
problems such as damage to the central nervous system, liver and
kidneys. [Click
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6/15/07
DA NANG, Vietnam -- More than 30 years after the Vietnam War
ended, the poisonous legacy of Agent Orange has emerged anew. A
scientific study has found extraordinarily high levels of
health-threatening contamination at the former U.S. air base at Da
Nang. “They’re the highest levels I’ve ever seen in my life,”
said Thomas Boivin, who conducted the tests this spring. [Click
For More]
6/14/07
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Teamsters Union applauds the introduction of
legislation by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) that will compel OSHA to
take immediate action to protect food processing workers from
exposure to diacetyl, a chemical that has been linked to a form of
irreversible lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans. [Click
For More]
6/13/07
Lake Charles, LA -- Concern over formaldehyde emissions in travel
trailers issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency is
continuing to gain national attention - and politicians are not
the only ones calling for immediate change. [Click
For More]
6/12/07
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued its official
interpretation and explanation of the phrase "on site in one
location" in the "Application" section of OSHA's
Process Safety Management (PSM) of Highly Hazardous Chemicals
standard. [Click
For More]
6/11/07
METHUEN, Mass. -- OSHA has cited C.A.I. Inc. and Arnel Co. for a
combined total of 23 alleged serious violations of workplace
health and safety standards. The citations address alleged
violations of OSHA standards governing the storage, transfer and
use of flammable liquids and, in C.A.I.'s case, the safe
management of processes utilizing more than 10,000 pounds of
flammable liquids. [Click
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6/8/07
OAKLAND, CA — Previous assumptions about the health risks of one
of the world's most widely used flame retardants are wrong,
scientists say, with new data suggesting the compound is both more
toxic and widespread in humans and wildlife than thought. The
chemical, known as "Deca," is a close cousin to PCBs and
the bigger brother of two flame retardants already banned in
Europe and several states, including California. [Click
For More]
6/7/07
METHUEN, Mass. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited C.A.I. Inc. and
Arnel Co. for a combined total of 23 alleged serious violations of
workplace health and safety standards in connection with the Nov.
22, 2006, explosion that destroyed the companies' Danvers, Mass.,
manufacturing facilities. [Click
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6/6/07
10 Common Household Products that can Hurt or Kill a Child or Pet.
Don't take chances when it comes to your child or pet's safety,
(such as dog, cat, or ferret), warns Debra Holtzman J.D, M.A, an
internationally acclaimed safety and health expert. [Click
For More]
6/5/07
BINGHAMTON, NY -- Pure chlorine gas released from the Binghamton
Water Filtration Plant on Monday afternoon caused the temporary
evacuation of homes in a South Side neighborhood. [Click
For More]
6/4/07
When Marvin Motes bought his Keystone Cougar RV in March 2006, he
envisioned a lifetime of healthy vacations exploring the natural
beauty of America. What he didn't imagine was that his $29,000
camper would poison him. [Click
For More]
5/31/07
BEIJING -- A Chinese city has halted construction of a chemical
plant after residents sent more than 1 million mobile phone text
messages protesting possible pollution dangers. The $1.4 billion
facility being built by Tenglong Aromatic PX (Xiamen) Co. Ltd to
produce the petrochemical paraxylene was planned for the booming
southeastern port of Xiamen. [Click
For More]
5/30/07
CALHOUN CITY, Miss. — A jury has awarded more than $9.4 million
in damages to four workers at Franklin Corp.’s upholstery plant
who claimed they were exposed to dangerous levels of a toxic
chemical while working on a glue line. The workers testified they
repeatedly complained to senior management about nausea, dizziness
and a variety of other medical problems they believed were caused
by exposure to an adhesive that was sprayed on foam cushioning. [Click
For More]
5/29/07
Few of us give much thought to the air we breathe when we fly on a
passenger jet aircraft. For about 50 years one of the technologies
that has made international jet travel possible is the bleed air
pressurisation — which draws hot air out of the engine, cools it
down, and then ducts it into the plane cabin and cockpit. What
many flight crew have known for decades is that on occasion these
bleed air systems can be contaminated with oil that leaks into the
cabin air from the engines. The jet oil most commonly used in
commercial aviation contains a number of nasties — including an
organophosphate called tricresyl phosphate (TCP), which is a known
neurotoxin. [Click
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5/25/07
In a strongly worded declaration, many of the world's leading
environmental scientists warned Thursday that exposure to common
chemicals makes babies more likely to develop an array of health
problems later in life, including diabetes, attention deficit
disorders, prostate cancer, fertility problems, thyroid disorders
and even obesity. [Click
For More]
5/24/07
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers have voted down a bill
that could have further cracked down on formaldehyde emissions
from engineered wood products. The California Air Resources Board
(CARB) voted April 26 to impose tighter rules on formaldehyde
vapors coming from plywood, particleboard and medium density
fiberboard. [Click
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5/23/07
California -- Assembly Bill 706 will ban the use of two classes of
toxic fire retardants— brominated and chlorinated fire
retardants—in upholstered furniture and bedding products such as
pillows, comforters and mattresses. [Click
For More]
5/22/07
A new survey of childhood lead poisoning in 15 Chinese cities
reveals that in Beijing, 7 percent of children under the age of
six have lead levels in their blood that exceed the national
standard. The three-year study blames rising auto emissions for
the trend and notes that children who live near heavily trafficked
main roads or in a lower-level apartments are more likely to have
high blood lead levels. Among other effects, lead poisoning can
lead to serious developmental problems in areas such as
intelligence, speaking, learning, and memorization. [Click
For More]
5/21/07
WASHINGTON -- OSHA today signed an agreement with the National
Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the Specialty Steel Industry
of North America (SSINA), Public Citizen Health Research Group (HRG)
and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing,
Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union
(Steelworkers). This agreement settles NAM and SSINA’s challenge
to OSHA’s hexavalent chromium standard (NAM et al. v. OSHA, 3d
Cir Docket Nos. 06-2272 and consolidated cases). [Click
For More]
5/18/07
WASHINGTON -- The U.S Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced that its 2007
Site-Specific Targeting (SST) plan will focus on approximately
4,150 high-hazard worksites in its primary list for unannounced
comprehensive inspections for the coming year. [Click
For More]
5/17/07
WASHINGTON — El Paso Natural Gas Co. is lending support to a new
Navajo effort to force federal cleanup of one of the Cold War's
last major toxic legacies. El Paso filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S.
District Court against the Department of Energy and other federal
agencies, seeking cleanup of debris from an old uranium processing
mill that the company operated. [Click
For More]
5/16/07
GUIYANG,(Xinhua) China -- Three workers died and 23 others were
hospitalized following a toxic gas leak at a chemical plant in
southwest China's Guizhou Province between May 4 and 10, local
authorities confirmed on Wednesday. At least 26 workers were
exposed to a serious release of arsinegas. [Click
for More]
5/15/07
BRAINTREE, Mass. -- The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Carlos Seafood
Inc., a New Bedford, Mass., seafood processor, for allegedly
failing to protect its employees against carbon monoxide and
confined space hazards. The enforcement action follows an OSHA
inspection prompted by the November 2006 death of an employee who
was fatally overcome by carbon monoxide fumes while using a
gasoline-powered pressure washer to clean the inside of a water
tank in a fishing boat docked at Leonard's Wharf in New Bedford. [Click
For More]
5/14/07
More than 200 chemicals - many found in urban air and everyday
consumer products - cause breast cancer in animal tests, according
to a compilation of scientific reports published today. Writing in
a publication of the American Cancer Society, researchers
concluded that reducing exposure to the compounds could prevent
many women from developing the disease. The research team analyzed
a growing body of evidence that linked environmental contaminants
to breast cancer, the leading killer of U.S. women in their late
30s to early 50s. [Click
For More]
5/11/07
Minneapolis, MN -- State officials couldn't explain how fish in
Lake Calhoun became contaminated with a 3M chemical, but they told
about 75 people at an informational meeting in south Minneapolis
on Thursday evening that more than a dozen other lakes in the
metro area also will be tested for similar problems. [Click
For More]
5/9/07
Texas -- Pinned between a scaffold and the flare line he was told
to demolish, a Port Neches man had no choice but to swallow his
circumstance and the hazardous chemicals that sprayed from the
ruptured line. Christopher Burnette is suing the Afton Chemical
Additives Corp. and Huntsman Petrochemical Corp. for giving him a
green light to demolish the supposed empty line when in fact it
was still chocked full of lingering chemicals. [Click
For More]
5/8/07
A study at Anderson Laboratories in Vermont concluded that
fragrance chemicals caused a variety of acute toxicities in mice
after an hour long exposure to breathing five commercial colognes.
The researchers discovered "the emissions of these fragrance
products caused various combinations of sensory irritation,
pulmonary irritation, decreases in expiratory airflow velocity, as
well as alterations of the functional observational battery
indicative of neurotoxicity." [Click
For More]
5/7/07
SACRAMENTO, Calif.- A common chemical found in plastic ducks,
teething rings and other soft, chewable baby toys would be banned
in California under a bill before an Assembly committee this week.
Legislation by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, would
require that all toys or child care products sold for children
under 3 be free of six types of phthalates, a chemical used to
soften and smooth plastics. [Click
For More]
5/4/07
Environmental Protection Agency officials are balking at plans to
set a national cleanup standard for perchlorate, a toxic rocket
fuel additive that abounds in the nation's drinking-water supply -
including the San Gabriel Valley's. The EPA already has a
guideline of 24.5 parts per billion as a recommended safe dose for
perchlorate, but it has yet to set any mandatory limit for the
chemical in drinking water. California is considering setting the
limit at six parts per billion, a standard currently being used by
many state water agencies. [Click
For More]
5/2/07
NEW YORK -- A Queens, N.Y., residential complex's failure to
protect its employees against asbestos hazards has resulted in a
total of $117,000 in proposed fines from OSHA. Parkway Village
Equities Corp., 81-26 150th St., was cited for nine alleged
violations of health and safety standards following an OSHA
inspection in response to a complaint. [Click
For More]
5/1/07
Adults are exposed to toxic chemicals in food packing, textiles
and carpets every day, and now scientists have found the chemicals
even in newborns. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health tested nearly 300 umbilical cord blood
samples and found that 99 percent of the newborns came into
contact with the manmade chemical perfluorooctane sulfonate in the
womb. [Click
For More]
4/30/07
Scientists report that chemicals used in the computer industry are
more toxic than previously realized. Consequently, this made it
difficult for the medical community to link illnesses with
workplace exposures historically. Industrial hygienists now know
better, but the dirty little secret is that federal standards
designed to protect workers from exposure use outdated guidelines
set back in the 1960s and '70s. [Click
For More]
4/27/07
GENEVA - At least 200,000 people die every year from cancers
related to their workplaces, mainly from inhaling asbestos fibers
and second-hand tobacco smoke, the World Health Organization (WHO)
said on Friday. [Click
For More]
4/25/07
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced that it is
initiating a National Emphasis Program (NEP) to address the
hazards and control measures associated with working in the
microwave popcorn industry where butter flavorings containing
diacetyl are used. [Click
for More]
4/24/07
SEWARD, Ill. — An ammonia leak at an agriculture plant sent a
noxious white cloud wafting over this small northern Illinois
town, sickening at least 10 people and forcing residents to
evacuate. A mandatory evacuation had been issued for the town's
less than 1,000 residents, who were told to go to one of two high
schools in the nearby villages of Pecatonica and Winnebago. [Click
For More]
4/23/07
WASHINGTON -- Evidence that pesticides can cause Parkinson's
disease is stronger than it has ever been after a meeting of
experts who have put together links in animals and people,
scientists say. One study shows that farm workers who used the
common weedkiller paraquat had two to three times the normal risk
of Parkinson's, a degenerative brain disease that eventually
paralyzes patients. [Click
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4/20/07
Baltimore officials closed a city park yesterday that is used
regularly by children's sports teams, after tests showed arsenic
levels more than 100 times higher than is considered safe. [Click
For More]
4/19/07
WASHINGTON -- OSHA signed an agreement April 6, 2007, with the
Building Construction Trades Department (BCTD), AFL-CIO, Laborers’
International Union of North America, and International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, to settle their challenge to OSHA’s
hexavalent chromium standard. As a result of the settlement, OSHA
will issue a new document which provides specific enforcement
procedures for compliance officers to follow at all construction
sites where employees are working with portland cement. [Click
for More]
4/18/07
Ethanol is widely touted as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel.
But if every vehicle in the United States ran on fuel made
primarily from ethanol instead of pure gasoline, the number of
respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations would likely
increase, according to a new study by Stanford University. [Click
For More]
4/17/07
BISMARCK, N.D. - Thieves suspected of stealing liquid fertilizer
to make methamphetamine left open a storage tank valve that
released a dangerous plume of ammonia gas and caused an apartment
complex to evacuate. [Click
For More]
4/16/07
Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado, Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio,
Mayor Josephus Eggelletion of Broward County Florida, Governor Jim
Gibbons of Nevada, and Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington
are among the first governors and mayors to proclaim the month of
May 2007 as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Awareness and Education
Month. [Click
For More]
4/13/07
It is a question posed by a new study that has found the
proportion of boys born in the past three decades has unexpectedly
dropped in both the United States and Japan. Although the
researchers do not know why boys are taking a hit, they suspect
contributing causes could include widespread exposure to
hormone-mimicking pollutants by women during pregnancy and by men
before they help conceive children. [Click
For More]
4/12/07
Benzene is a colorless sweet-smelling chemical that is known to
cause leukemia and other cancers of the blood and blood-forming
organs. Benzene is a component of gasoline, automobile exhaust,
and cigarette smoke. It is also used as a solvent in waxes, glues,
resins, paints, paint thinners, and some craft and art supplies. A
person can drastically reduce their exposure to this harmful
chemical by following these simple tips: [Click
For More]
4/11/07
HASTINGS, Neb. -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Premium Protein
Products of Hastings for 37 alleged safety and health violations
and proposed penalties totaling $180,900. One alleged willful
health citation is for the employer’s failure to inspect and
test the two anhydrous ammonia systems within the facility, and to
correct deficiencies in the systems. [Click
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4/10/07
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Syracuse-area asbestos abatement contractor
faces $57,000 in proposed fines from the U.S. Labor Department's
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for exposing
employees to asbestos-related health hazards during an asbestos
removal project at the Agway Building in Dewitt, N.Y. [Click
For More]
4/9/07
Winston-Salem, NC -- Davidson County health officials found that
nine samples of drinking water out of 56 samples collected at West
Davidson High School had elevated levels of lead. But they still
don’t know what’s causing the problem. Health officials have
said that it is unlikely that anyone was exposed to enough lead to
cause health problems. [Click
For More]
4/6/07
In 2004, almost a quarter (24 percent) of all air and water
releases of carcinogens occurred within just 20 U.S. counties.
Four Texas counties—Harris, Galveston, Brazoria, and Jefferson—ranked
in the top five counties for most carcinogenic emissions.
Tennessee, Texas and Illinois accounted for more than 40 percent
of the nation’s developmental toxicant releases and more than 70
percent of the reproductive toxicant releases in 2004. [Click
For More]
4/5/07
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Conditions that exposed employees to potential
fires, explosions and other hazards have resulted in OSHA issuing
$142,550 in proposed fines to a Bristol, Conn., manufacturer of
precision springs for violations including failure to control and
clean combustible dust generated during the manufacturing process;
open containers of flammable liquids; excess amounts of flammable
liquids stored on the shop floor; flammable liquids sprayed within
five feet of ignition sources; untested and uninspected
ventilation systems; and ungrounded and unbonded containers of
flammable and combustible liquids. [Click
For More]
4/4/07
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Coreslab Structures (Conn) Inc., precast
concrete products plant, faces $105,500 in proposed fines from the
U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) for violations including improper storage of
flammable chemicals and unlabeled containers of hazardous
chemicals. [Click
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4/3/07
CHICAGO, /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the fourth time in the
past year, a Resurrection Health Care hospital has been cited for
violations and fined by the federal Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA). The new citations, issued on March 23, stem
from an October incident at St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital in which
formaldehyde was spilled. [Click
For More]
4/2/07
MILWAUKEE -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $120,000 in fines
against the west Milwaukee, Wis., facility of Rexnord Industries
LLC for alleged serious and repeat safety and health violations of
federal workplace safety standards including lack of employee
personal protective equipment during exposure to cutting fluids
and lack of proper labeling on hazardous chemicals. [Click
For More]
3/30/07
SWAMPSCOTT, MA -- Jared Richard and his friends thought it would
be a fun experiment: Mix some chemicals in a plastic 2-liter
bottle, shake it up, and watch the container explode. But the
results backfired and almost left Richard blind. [Click
For More]
3/29/07
Poughkeepsie, NY -- The family of an East Fishkill man who died of
cancer in 2004 has filed a lawsuit against Hopewell Precision,
Inc., claiming chemicals from the cabinet-making firm caused his
illness by contaminating groundwater in the neighborhood. [Click
For More]
3/28/07
Environmental contamination can cause cancer and birth defects. Of
particular concern are a group of toxic chemicals called
endocrine-disrupters, which interfere with reproductive hormones
and may cause sterility. A new study, published online this week
in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests
that these chemicals can change reproductive behavior as well, and
that these behavioral changes can be passed on from parents to
offspring. If correct, these changes could alter the course of
evolution by giving natural selection new targets to act on. [Click
For More]
3/27/07
A new report from a U.S. environmental group suggests the
"new car smell" long beloved by the purchasers of
vehicles could be a sign of harmful chemicals inside the car. Much
of the smell comes from plastics and materials used inside the
car, from the steering wheel to the dashboard to the carpets —
parts often made with chemicals including flame retardants,
plasticizers and other chemicals that can give off gas or leach
into the environment. [Click
For More]
3/26/07
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has jointly cited Brey-Krause
Manufacturing Co. and L.M. Smoyer Brass Products Inc. for alleged
lead exposure violations, and is proposing a total of $109,250 in
penalties. The Bethlehem companies manufacture bathroom fixtures
and accessories as well as automotive accessories. [Click
For More]
3/22/07
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Ross Valve Manufacturing Inc., a manufacturer of
steel and brass valves, was cited by OSHA for a total of 40
alleged violations of health and safety standards including
failure to conduct lead monitoring, provide protective clothing
and follow basic lead hygiene procedures, silica dust overexposure
and lack of controls, deficient selection, use and care of
respirators, and failure to implement a hazard communication
program and training. [Click
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3/21/07
Mexico has at least 432 dangerous toxic waste sites, a report by
the Federal Institute for Access to Public Information (IFAI)
revealed. Hidalgo and Guanajuato states are those that most
intensively generate waste, while the IFAI report warns that
prolonged exposure to toxic substances can cause cancer, genetic
malformations, renal and hepatic damages. [Click
For More]
3/20/07
HOUSTON, TX - The federal government's final report on the fatal
2005 explosion at BP PLC's Texas City refinery released Tuesday
criticized a key U.S. worker-safety agency for lax oversight and
reiterated claims that organizational and safety deficiencies at
the British energy company led to the blast. [Click
For More]
3/19/07
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three trucks rigged with chlorine and explosives
blew up in the Sunni insurgent center of Anbar province killing at
least 8 people and sickening hundreds. The chlorine attacks -- two
near Fallujah and one near Ramadi -- left at least 350 people and
seven U.S. soldiers ill from exposure to the chemical, the
military said. [Click
For More]
3/16/07
Tuscon, AZ -- Three people who were injured in an fiery crash near
Picacho Peak Wednesday afternoon when they were pushed off the
road by a tractor-trailer rig hauling sodium hydroxide, sulfuric
acid and phosphoric acid, according to a news release from the
Department of Public Safety. The collision was enough to damage
the trailer, causing it spill 1,500 gallons of the hazardous
materials. [Click
For More]
3/15/07
Science Daily — Exposure to phthalates, a common chemical found
in everything from plastics to soaps, already has been connected
to reproductive problems and now, for the first time, is linked to
abdominal obesity and insulin resistance in adult males, according
to a study by the University of Rochester Medical Center. The
research adds to the growing suspicion that low-dose exposures to
phthalates and other common chemicals may be reducing testosterone
levels or function in men, and thereby contributing to rising
obesity rates and an epidemic of related disorders, such as Type 2
diabetes. [Click
For More]
3/14/07
Charleston, WV -- Residents in the communities where water is
polluted with the toxic chemical C8 have elevated levels of
several cancers, according to a previously confidential state
government analysis. The study was drafted more than a year ago by
the state Department of Health and Human Resources, but was never
finalized or made public. [Click
For More]
3/13/07
LOS ANGELES, CA -- A billion dollar class action suit has been
filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court against five leading
manufacturers of baby bottles. The suit has been filed on behalf
of the babies of California, who may have been injured by drinking
out of plastic bottles that contain the toxic chemical Bisphenol-A.
[Click For More]
3/12/07
A group of 59 workers were poisoned by chlorine leak from a
Shanghai chemical plant early today, the local government said.
The workers were dismantling an impregnanting plant on Nanmatou
Road of Pudong District when they were sickened by a spill of
remnant chlorine from some old equipment. [Click
For More]
3/9/07
Canada is a world leader when it comes to monitoring and limiting
exposure to mercury. A national news report that aired February
19-20, 2007, reported that 8 out of 60 individual cans of albacore
tuna sampled from the retail market exceeded the Government of
Canada's guidelines for mercury. [Click
For More]
3/8/07
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A North Collins, N.Y., manufacturer of consumer
cleaning products faces a total of $272,900 in proposed fines from
OSHA for a variety of alleged health and safety hazards following
a hydrochloric acid spill. Crescent Marketing Inc., doing business
as Crescent Manufacturing, was cited for a total of 39 alleged
violations of health and safety standards and for failing to
correct a hazard cited in a previous OSHA inspection. [Click
For More]
3/7/07
KEARNY, N.J. -- OSHA has cited Radial International Corp., doing
business as Radial Casting Corp., for alleged safety and health
violations including failure to maintain surfaces free of
accumulations of lead and implement a written hazard communication
program, and is proposing penalties totaling $167,700. [Click
For More]
3/6/07
CHAMPAIGN, IL -- Federal investigators are expected to release a
long-awaited report today on a 2004 plastics plant explosion that
killed five people. The explosion came after an inadvertent
release of the highly flammable chemical polyvinyl chloride. The
plant manufactured polyvinyl chloride used in PVC pipe and other
materials for construction, medical supplies and automotive parts.
[Click
For More]
3/5/07
The safety of a chemical that's probably in your cell phone,
eyeglass lenses, car, computer, baby bottles, microwaveable dishes
— and hundreds of other popular products — will face public
scrutiny today. The chemical bisphenol A is used to make
lightweight clear plastics and resins used as adhesives and
coatings in everyday products. [Click
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3/2/07
ST. PAUL, MN — State health authorities on Thursday lowered what
they consider to be safe levels of long-term exposure to two
chemicals once manufactured by 3M Co. and now found in groundwater
east of St. Paul. The new guidelines apply to chemicals called
PFOA and PFOS, both of which have been detected in south
Washington County’s groundwater. [Click
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3/1/07
BROOKPORT, Ill. - Thousands of gallons of a toxic chemical spilled
into the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky after a barge
hit a lock wall, environmental officials said Wednesday. Up to
8,000 gallons of a petroleum-based substance called cumene poured
into the water after the accident occurred between Brookport and
Metropolis, Illinois. [Click
For More]
2/28/07
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Independent experts convened by the
National Institutes of Health will meet next week to review
whether exposure to a chemical commonly found in plastic products
like food containers and baby bottles causes health problems.
Separately, an environmental group said new laboratory tests at
the University of Missouri found that the chemical, bisphenol A,
leached into liquids at potentially dangerous levels from baby
bottles sold by five leading brands. [Click
For More]
2/27/07
TORONTO - Armed with tests that suggest the body of every Canadian
carries trace evidence of dangerous chemicals, Ontario's New
Democrats are spearheading an effort that would help them learn
exactly what carcinogens or toxins they are exposed to on a daily
basis. Toxic chemicals are in many everyday products, from
household cleaners and laundry detergents to hair dyes and
cosmetics, said NDP environment critic Peter Tabuns, who is
pushing for a new law that would compel manufacturers to disclose
dangerous ingredients in their products. [Click
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2/26/07
Utah has a rigid standard for meth contamination — 0.1
micrograms per 100 square centimeters. That amounts to slicing a
pea in 10 million pieces, and if one of those minute particles is
found in an area roughly the size of a CD case, the premises would
be considered contaminated. The current regulations were
established with meth labs in mind, not meth use. Smoking the drug
emits fewer toxins at lower levels than cooking it. [Click
For More]
2/23/07
NEW HARTFORD, NY — A chemical spill at St. Luke's Healthcare's
St. Luke's campus required the Utica Fire Department's hazardous
materials team to be called in. At about 2 p.m., crews from
Precision Industrial Maintenance were removing containers and
punctured one, which caused the spill. Everyone in the building
was evacuated to avoid exposure to fumes. [Click
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2/22/07
Reno NV -- State regulators are investigating the suspected
discharge of a toxic solvent from five Truckee Meadows businesses,
but officials say progress is being made in protecting groundwater
from the chemical. The solvent, linked to several types of cancer
and other health problems after extensive exposure, first started
showing in Reno-Sparks groundwater in the 1980s. [Click
For More]
2/21/07
United Kingdom -- More than 120,000 people will be killed by a
lung cancer timebomb caused by exposure to asbestos in the 1960s
and 70s, experts have revealed. Tens of thousands of workers and
their families were given a shocking warning on Tuesday that they
face a painful death from the untreatable condition. [Click
For More]
2/20/07
Canada - Emergency officials still don't know what toxic material
poured into the air in a massive explosion and fire at a hazardous
waste processing station just south of Thorold. The Clean Harbors
Canada Co. plant on Allanport Road in the hamlet of Allanburg was
rocked by a series of explosions that began shortly after 6 a.m.
yesterday. [Click
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2/19/07
DUMAS, Texas -- Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) Sunday made tangible
progress toward repairing and recommissioning its McKee refinery
in Sunray, Texas, but the area will remain "highly
sensitive" for at least three more days, and returning units
to normal may be a lengthy process. The fire that began burning
Friday in the refinery's propane deasphalting unit was finally
extinguished by Sunday morning, and some essential workers were
allowed to return to the plant. [Click
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2/16/07
VICTORIA, CANADA -- Whether you're washing your hands or the
kitchen countertops, it's best for your family's health and the
environment to pass up antibacterial products in favour of plain
soap and water, a University of Victoria researcher has found. [Click
For More]
2/15/07
EPA Region 5 has recently settled four cases involving late
notification of hazardous chemical releases. The facilities cited
are located in Alsip, Chicago Heights and Dwight, Ill., and River
Rouge, Mich. EPA also announced a new case, citing a Kansasville,
Wis., company for late notification of a chemical release. [Click
For More]
2/14/07
For 11 cities in San Bernardino County, the prospect of paying a
surcharge for a chemical that did not originate in their areas
just doesn’t seem right. It has become such a sore point that
the cities have filed suit against the county for breach of
contract, asking for a refund of all fees paid since March
relating to perchlorate found at the landfill in Rialto. [Click
For More]
2/13/07
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - It's probably the last thing most people think
about when buying roses: By the time the bright, velvety flowers
reach your Valentine, they will have been sprayed, rinsed and
dipped in a battery of potentially lethal chemicals. [Click
For More]
2/12/07
Phthalates are one of the top offenders in a group of 70 suspected
endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that we spray in our homes
and yards and use in our makeup, nail polish, detergents, flame
retardants, plastic bottles, metal food cans and even children's
toys. When we're done with these products, we flush them down our
sinks or burn them in our incinerators, where their runoff filters
into our national waterways. It is impossible to avoid
contamination; EDCs are in the bodies of every man, woman, child
and fetus in the U.S. [Click
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2/9/07
The U.S. government has decided to grant 400,000 U.S. dollars to
Vietnam for studying dioxin remediation options at Da Nang
airport, U.S. Ambassador to the country Michael Marine announced
Friday. "The U.S. government understands concerns of
Vietnam's government and people about dioxin's impact on
environment and human health," the ambassador said at a press
conference on the grant announcement. [Click
For More]
2/8/07
DuPont said yesterday it has developed new technologies that will
allow the company to eliminate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from
packaging by 2015, a move made due to consumers' health concerns
about the chemical. [Click
For More]
2/7/07
Low levels of toxic substances cause critical stem cells in the
central nervous system to prematurely shut down. That is the
conclusion of a study published today in the on-line journal PLoS
Biology. This research, which is the first to identify a common
molecular trigger for the effects of toxicant exposure, may give
scientists new insights into damage caused by toxicant exposure
and new methods of evaluating the safety of chemicals. [Click
For More]
2/6/07
SAN FRANCISCO — Your ability to reproduce — and the health of
your child and even your child's children — hinges on an
exquisitely timed series of chemical reactions controlled by
infinitesimally tiny amounts of hormones. You scramble those
reactions at your peril, in other words, and last week hundreds of
researchers gathered at the University of California, San
Francisco, warned society may be doing exactly that with synthetic
chemicals. [Click
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2/5/07
Workers' compensation claims by Toronto firefighters for
job-related cancers have cost the city more than $5 million -- a
price tag expected to increase dramatically in the years ahead.
It's a new expense hitting all Ontario municipalities as policy
makers and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) play
catch-up with research that shows firefighters are more likely to
get certain types of cancer than the general population. [Click
For More]
2/2/07
TENNESSEE -- Humphreys County consistently has one of the highest
rates of cancer in Tennessee. Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds (DLCs)
are some of the most toxic manufacturing by-products released into
the environment. DuPont’s New Johnsonville facility is the 4th
largest emitter of dioxin in the United States. DuPont also
releases into the air, the Tennessee River and landfills many
heavy metals and other chemicals, including arsenic, that can be
toxic to human health. [Click
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2/1/07
The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA)
has completed its investigation of an Aug, 3, 2006, fatal
workplace accident at a chemical manufacturing company located at
411 Manufacturers Road in Dayton. The report cites Fuji Hunt
Photographic Chemicals, Inc., with 13 serious citations, with
proposed penalties totaling $91,000. [Click
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1/31/07
There are already more than 400 companies worldwide that tap
nanoparticles and other forms of nanotechnology, and regulatory
agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and
Drug Administration and the Occupational Health and Safety
Administration are closely examining whether new regulations are
needed to guard against potentially harmful but currently unknown
effects. [Click
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1/30/07
At a U.S. Senate hearing Jan. 18, the problem of highly hazardous
chemical rail tankers in urban areas was listed as the
Transportation Security Administration's second-biggest threat to
surface transportation, after direct threats to passenger rail
systems that travel beneath the ground or water. Nearly 1.2
million tankers carrying materials that are considered hazardous
in varying degrees are shipped through the nation annually. Of
those, more than 100,000 tankers contain toxic inhalation hazard
chemicals such as chlorine and ammonia. [Click
For More]
1/29/07
SACRAMENTO, CA (UPI) -- California is the first state to enact a
gradual ban on a dry-cleaning solvent that has been linked to
several cancers. The California Air Resources Board voted 9-0 to
ban the purchase of new machines that use the chemical
perchloroethylene, or perc, as of 2008. [Click
For More]
1/26/07
During his 20-year career at the Blockson Chemical Plant near
Joliet, IL, Tony Datri never encountered radiation-related safety
procedures. Blockson Chemical issued no personal monitoring
devices at its plant, although workers working on government
weapons projects were exposed to uranium, a byproduct of phosphate
production, said Datri, who lost a 12-inch section of his colon to
cancer. [Click
For More]
1/25/07
Conventional nail polishes dispensed at most drugstores and nail
salons contain a veritable witch’s brew of chemicals, including
toluene, which has been linked to a wide range of health issues,
from simple headaches and eye, ear, nose and throat irritation to
nervous system disorders and damage to the liver and kidneys. [Click
For More]
1/24/07
Some Iraqi artists may have literally died for their art, suggests
new analysis of stucco fragments from the 9th century. A fragment,
taken from the ancient palace-city of Samarra, contains three
arsenic-based pigments that are known to be poisonous and may
cause cancer if people are exposed to them. [Click
For More]
1/23/07
COLLEGEVILLE, PA -- Monitoring has found dangerously high levels
of a carcinogenic chemical in the air around Collegeville, state
officials have announced. The chemical in question is
tetrachloroethylene, better known as TCE, and it has been linked
to having a "significant bearing on excess lifetime cancer
risks," according to the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection. [Click
For More]
1/22/07
Bennington, Vt. - A neighborhood search for toxins including
tetrachloroethene [also known as PCE or Perc] and
trichloroethylene [TCE] is underway as a result of toxin discovery
last year on the Energizer Battery Manufacturing Inc. property. [Click
For More]
1/19/07
Looking at how the workplace can increase the risks of getting
cancer is a new and emerging field that contains more questions
than answers. Many work environments - no matter how seemingly
innocuous - expose people to human carcinogens. Studies show
higher incidence of breast cancer among women who work in offices,
for instance. [Click
For More]
1/18/06
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A wide range of safety and health hazards at a
Syracuse bakery has resulted in $120,600 in proposed fines from
OSHA. Identified hazards included lack of personal protective
equipment, chemical hazard communication, failing to provide
medical exams and surveillance as well as respirator fit testing
to members of the bakery's hazardous materials response team. [Click
For More]
1/16/07
SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. — Several train cars carrying flammable
liquid derailed and exploded south of Louisville Tuesday, shutting
down a nearby highway and forcing evacuations of nearby homes,
businesses and a school. [Click
For More]
1/15/07
Pittsburg, PA -- A Pittsburgh Tribune-Review probe of rail
security across seven states published Sunday detailed ongoing
failures with voluntary standards agreed to by the railroads and
Homeland Security that already were supposed to guide
anti-terrorism standards. [Click
For More]
1/11/07
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational
Safety and Health Administration | 
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