A train accident in Chatsworth, Calif.

Wednesday

Chrysler Reverses Course and Agrees to Recall Older-Model Jeeps

June 19, 2013 |

Under pressure from U.S. regulators, automaker consents to safety meaures. Chrysler Group said it will recall 1.56 million Jeeps with fuel tanks behind the rear axle to satisfy regulators who say the vehicles pose unacceptable fire risks in rear-end crashes. The move reverses Chrysler’s previous rejection of a U.S. request to recall up to 2.7 million Jeeps. The recall covers 1993-1998 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty SUVs. Chrysler said dealers will install towing hitches on vehicles lacking them, putting more metal between fuel tanks and the rear of the car to absorb an impact. Chrysler said dealers also will inspect and, if needed, replace non-Chrysler towing hitches on 1.14 million 1999-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees. The Wall Street Journal

Lack of U.S. guidelines for chemical exposures at oil spills forces health officials to improvise. Since 2010, ruptured pipelines have spilled oil into neighborhoods in Utah, Michigan and Arkansas, forcing officials to decide quickly whether residents would be at risk if they breathed the foul air. Because there are no clear U.S. guidelines for oil spill evacuations, health authorities relied on a patchwork of data designed for other situations. After the spills, people complained of  headaches, nausea and respiratory problems — short-term symptoms that health experts say usually disappear as the air clears. What health experts don’t know, however, is whether the fumes could also trigger long-term health problems that become evident years later. InsideClimate News

Smoking rate falls among U.S. adults. In 2012, 18 percent of adults surveyed nationally described themselves as current smokers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. In 2011, the reported figure was 19 percent, but that was regarded as a possible statistical blip in a rate that seemed stuck around 20 percent to 21 percent for seven years, following decades of declines. CDC said it hasn’t determined why the rate fell last year. Patrick Reynolds, executive director of the Foundation for a SmokeFree America, speculated that the reasons were higher state and federal tobacco taxes, more spending on anti-smoking programs and more laws banning smoking in public. “It’s proof that we are winning the battle against tobacco,” he said. The Associated Press

Analysis shows more conflicts of interest in cancer research papers. The analysis was based on more than 20,700 scientific abstracts, or research summaries, presented at annual meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology from 2006 through 2011. Over those years, the proportion of studies reporting a financial conflict of interest rose from 33 percent to 38 percent. Abstracts tied to pharmaceutical companies also tended to be given more prominence at conferences, such as by being made the topic of a talk. At the same time, industry-linked abstracts were rated slightly better quality by peer reviewers. ”I think there is a pretty clear influence that industry has on research that’s not always bad, but it’s not always good either,” an expert said. Reuters

Underground utility contractor in Florida accused of exposing workers to cave-in hazards. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration charged Gulf Coast Utility Contractors with four offenses, including two willful violations, the agency’s most serious charge. OSHA said the company failed to protect workers installing underground utility lines at a job site in Panama City Beach. Fla. The agency is seeking penalties totaling $106,400.  ”This employer is aware of OSHA’s standards regarding excavation and trenching, but put its employees’ lives at risk, causing them to work in an unprotected trench,” an OSHA official said. Gulf Coast disputed OSHA’s findings and said it will contest the charges. OSHA, WMBB (Panama City, Fla.)

Compiled by Stuart Silverstein

Tuesday

U.S. Investigating Deaths of Two Patients Who Received Injections of Antipsychotic Drug

June 18, 2013 |

Food and Drug Administration probe focusing on possible risks of schizophrenia treatment. The agency said today the investigation was triggered by the deaths of two patients who passed away  three to four days after receiving the Eli Lilly & Co. treatment Zyprexa Relprevv. The medicine, approved by the FDA in late 2009, comes with warnings that patients must stay at the doctor's ...

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