French investigators blame faulty sensors and mistakes by ill-trained pilots in 2009 Air France crash. The probe examined the airline’s deadliest-ever accident, which killed all 228 people on the Rio de Janeiro-to-Paris flight when the aircraft plunged into the Atlantic Ocean. Based on their findings, investigators called for better instruction for pilots on flying manually at high altitudes and stricter plane certification rules. Airbus, manufacturer of the ill-fated A330 plane, said it is working to improve its speed sensors and making other efforts to prevent future accidents. Air France stressed the equipment troubles. Both companies face manslaughter charges, and a French judicial investigation remains under way. The Associated Press
Global study foresees more human diseases coming from animals. An international research group found that 13 diseases that originated in animals, including tuberculosis, AIDS and bird flu, account for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths a year. Most infections and deaths from so-called zoonotic diseases are in poor or middle-income countries. Researchers said exploding global demand for livestock products means the problem is likely to get worse. “From cyst-causing tapeworms to avian flu, zoonoses present a major threat,” said the study’s lead author. Separately, cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis rose 26 percent in the United Kingdom last year. Reuters, Daily Mail
Parliamentary probe calls Fukushima nuclear accident a preventable disaster. The investigators’ report blamed government-industry collusion and the worst conformist conventions of Japanese culture. It also warned that the plant may have been damaged by the March 2011 earthquake even before the tsunami arrived, a concern as the quake-prone country brings reactors back online. Despite assigning widespread blame, the report didn’t call for censure of specific officials. The panel’s chairman said criminal investigations, which critics have demanded, “is a mater for others to pursue.” Meanwhile, a reactor in Ohi resumed operation, returning nuclear power to Japan’s energy mix for the first time in two months. The New York Times, The Associated Press
Two whistleblowers win settlements. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said CMM Realty of Columbia, S.C., will pay $45,000 to an employee who was fired for reporting asbestos problems at one of the real estate management company’s condominium sites. Separately, OSHA said Knoxville, Tenn.,-based Heartland Transportation, a U.S. Postal Service contractor, will pay $31,200 to a truck driver fired in 2009 for complaining about vehicles with mechanical problems. The driver, Jason Ford, wasn’t available for comment, but said in a 2010 letter published in the Knoxville News Sentinel: ”I decided to stand up and say what I felt was right and wrong. I was looking out for my life and the lives of people in the community.” OSHA
At-home HIV test to be available by October. The Food and Drug Administration this week approved the OraQuick test, which for the first time will make it possible for Americans to learn in the privacy of their homes whether they are infected. It uses a mouth swab and gives results in 20 to 40 minutes. A previous test sold over the counter required a user to prick a finger and mail a drop of dried blood to a lab. Government officials estimate that one-fifth of the 1.2 million HIV carriers in the U.S. are not aware they are infected. Testing is one of the chief means of slowing new infections. The maker of the test said the kit should be available in pharmacies and grocery stores and online by October. The New York Times, The Associated Press
Recalls: Bath Petals’ Soy Candles, Fruiti Pops Classic Coconut frozen dessert bars, LabDiet and Mazuri animal feeds, AirLife Infant Breathing Circuit products
Compiled by Stuart Silverstein
