Environmental Safety and Health

Friday Briefing

February 3, 2012 |

Pilots raise safety concerns about letting drones fly in U.S. skies. Congress has pushed regulators to clear the way for the small unmanned aircraft to be used domestically by law enforcement agencies and businesses. Flights are expected to be restricted to remote areas and to no more than a few hundred feet off the ground. But a pilots union official said it’s not clear how a drone would respond to air-traffic controllers in an emergency. Bloomberg

Breast cancer charity backs off plan to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced the move after four days of controversy that divided women’s health campaigners and supporters. The organization apologized “to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.” The statement announcing Komen’s reversal referred to a congressional investigation as the impetus for the decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood, but didn’t clarify other questions about its original decision. The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post

Bird populations dwindle near Japanese nuclear plant. The finding came in the first major study of the impact of last year’s Fukushima Daiichi disaster, the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years. Researchers from Japan, the U.S. and Denmark said their analysis of 14 bird species   common to Fukushima and Chernobyl, the Ukrainian city struck by a meltdown in 1986, showed the effect was worse in the Japanese disaster zone. Separately, Ukrainian nuclear experts said people evacuated from around the stricken Fukushima plant eventually should be able to return to their homes, unlike the Chernobyl site. The Independent, The Associated Press 

Hundreds of tubes carrying radioactive water show unusual wear at San Onofre nuclear plant. The discovery raises questions about the integrity of equipment installed in a multimillion-dollar makeover in 2009 at the plant, 45 miles north of San Diego. It also follows this week’s tube leak at San Onofre’s other reactor. Officials say a tiny amount of radiation could have escaped in that leak, but workers and the public were not endangered. Still, some environmentalists say the episode demonstrates the need to move away from nuclear power. The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times

Maker of Lap-Band cuts off sales to controversial Southern California chain of weight loss surgery clinics. Allergan Inc. took the action against clinics in the 1-800-GET-THIN network amid state and federal investigations of the chain. Records show that five Southern California patients have died since 2009 after undergoing Lap-Band surgeries at the clinics. Los Angeles Times

Sierra Club confirms accepting $26 million in donations from the natural gas industry. The environmental organization took the money between 2007 and 2010 while also promoting gas as clean energy alternative to coal. Sierra Club’s executive director, Michael Brune, said he learned of the funding, and moved to end it, shortly after beginning his job in 2010. Time, Politico, The Hill

Regulators detect low levels of illegal fungicide in U.S. orange juice samples. The Food and Drug Administration said the fungicide, carbendazim, is far below dangerous levels and that U.S. orange juice won’t be recalled. The tested juice apparently was mixed with product from Brazil, where the fungicide is legal. The government will continue to block orange juice imports with the chemical to try to filter it out of the U.S. food supply. The government started testing for the chemical in orange juice after being alerted about the issue by Atlanta-based Coca-Cola late last year. The Associated Press, Bloomberg

Despite pleas to hurry, workplace safety regulators are in no rush to adopt new combustible dust rules. The Chemical Safety Board — which investigated three dust-related fires last year that took five lives at a Hoeganaes Corp. plant near Nashville, Tenn. — urged workplace safety regulators to take quick action. But the Occupational Safety and Health Administration instead has put the issue on its long-term agenda. A 2006 study by the Chemical Safety Board tallied at least 281 dust explosions and fires from 1980 to 2005. They killed 119 workers and injured 718. The Associated Press, The Tennessean

Recalls: gas furnaces for manufactured homes, hard-cooked eggs (in 34 states), Toyota RAV4, Maserati GranTurismo, Honda Accord and Crosstour, Bumbleride strollers, Carter’s infant bodysuits, Zhang Zhou tremella, Rely sardine anchovies and dried yellow croaker

Compiled by Stuart Silverstein

Thursday Briefing

February 2, 2012 |

Hewlett-Packard recalls more than one million fax machines over fire hazard. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it received six reports in the U.S., and one from Canada, of the machines overheating and catching fire, including an incident that caused "significant" damage.  The recall applies to the HP Fax 1040 and the HP Fax 1050. ...

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