Agency says most railroads will miss deadline for high-tech safety equipment. In a report to Congress, the Federal Railroad Administration said technical and other issues will prevent railroads from installing the systems, known as Positive Train Control or PTC, by the Dec. 31, 2015, deadline mandated in a 2008 federal law. As FairWarning has reported, railroad industry lobbyists have backed calls by Congressional Republicans to delay the deadline. A delay was dropped, however, in the transportation bill adopted by Congress this summer. PTC, designed to override human error and automatically put the brakes on trains about to collide or derail, was mandated after a head-on train wreck in Southern California four years ago that killed 25 people.
Study finds low radiation levels in people living near Japan’s nuclear disaster site. Japanese researchers, in the first published study on the issue, measured radiation in about 10,000 people who resided near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant when it suffered multiple meltdowns after an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The residents’ average radiation levels were safe, researchers said, suggesting negligible health risks and a much less serious threat than the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that progress has been made in strengthening global nuclear safety since its member states, spurred by the Fukushima disaster, adopted changes last September. The Washington Post, Reuters
Tobacco companies lose court bid to block Australia’s cigarette labeling law, one of the world’s toughest. A landmark ruling today by the High Court of Australia clears the way for the nation’s plain-packaging law to go into effect Dec. 1. It enables graphic images of mouth ulcers, cancerous lungs and gangrenous limbs to dominate the front of cigarette packages and for brand logos to be banned. Philip Morris and other tobacco companies had challenged the law’s constitutionality. But it still faces hurdles. Several countries are trying to challenge the law through the World Trade Organization, and Philip Morris is seeking arbitration from a United Nations tribunal, claiming the legislation breaches a 1993 trade deal. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal
Johnson & Johnson plans to remove potentially dangerous chemicals from nearly all adult toiletries and cosmetic products. The company said it would complete the move by the end of 2015, two years after it is due to remove “chemicals of concern” from its baby products. Research by an environmental group has found that most cosmetic and personal care products, other than those from small companies in the fast-growing natural products niche, contain the probable human carcinogens 1,4 dioxane and formaldehyde. Johnson & Johnson said it will phase out those chemicals and others of concern, including triclosan, phthalates and parabens, as well as fragrance ingredients. The Associated Press
Biggest makers of flame retardants review their ties to an industry advocacy group. The companies — Albemarle Corp., Chemtura Corp. and ICL Industrial Products — are being criticized by federal and state lawmakers over their involvement with the Citizens for Fire Safety Institute. Chemtura said it has suspended its involvement with the group, and the other two companies said they were evaluating their relationship with it. The group played a pivotal role in a deceptive decades-long campaign by the tobacco and chemical industries to promote the use of flame retardants in couches and other household furniture. Some of the most widely used chemicals are linked to cancer and other health problems. Chicago Tribune
Recalls: Bumbo baby seats, Dale T. Smith and Sons beef, CLIF bars, Hummingbird wholesale pine nuts
Compiled by Stuart Silverstein and Bridget Huber
