Lime launches ‘major safety campaign’ after first scooter death
May 16, 2019, Brisbane Times
Lime will unveil a “major Brisbane safety campaign” a week after the first death in Australia involving one of their scooters. Last week, a 50-year-old man fell off a scooter down the stairs near the Wheel of Brisbane, hit his head and was found in cardiac arrest. He died in hospital a day after the accident.
LED light can damage eyes, health authority warns
May 16, 2019, ENCA
The “blue light” in LED lighting can damage the eye’s retina and disturb natural sleep rhythms, France’s government-run health watchdog said .New findings confirm earlier concerns that “exposure to an intense and powerful [LED] light is ‘photo-toxic’ and can lead to irreversible loss of retinal cells and diminished sharpness of vision,” the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) warned in a statement.
Albany residents debate safety of 5G
May 16, 2019, WNYT
If you travel through the Buckingham Lake neighborhood in Albany, you may have noticed some new cell towers. As the Times Union first reported, the towers have ignited a debate over whether or not they could pose health risks. SUNY Albany Professor David Carpenter said by 2020 we can expect to see small cell towers every five to six blocks in cities across United States. He claims there’s strong evidence that radiation from 3G and 4G technologies increases the risk for cancer or disease. He said 5G technology hasn’t been studied yet.
How to avoid silly mistakes with smart toys
May 17, 2019, Irish Times
Smart toys such as Furby Connect and My Friend Cayla have been making headlines over the past few years but for all the wrong reasons. UK consumer information organisation Which? warned of security vulnerabilities in the Furby Connect toy and Germany’s telecoms watchdog urged parents to destroy their Cayla talking doll, branding it an illegal surveillance device. Does this mean it is best to avoid ‘smart’ or internet-connected toys altogether or are we throwing the talking baby doll out with the bath water?
Organohalogen Flame Retardants Used in Consumer Products Can Be Assessed for hazards in Subclasses, Says New Report, but not a single class
May 15, 2019, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine offers guidance to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on how to conduct a hazard assessment of nonpolymeric, additive organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs), which are used in some consumer products. OFRs cannot be treated as a single class for hazard assessment, the report says, but they can be divided into subclasses based on chemical structure, physical and chemical properties, and predicted biologic activity.
Survey finds most Americans are concerned about the safety of food and other consumer products, yet few research product claims
May 16, 2019, EIN Presswire
NSF International, an independent public health and safety organization, released a new study showing 61% of Americans are concerned about the products they put in, on and around their bodies. However, 34% say they rarely or never research product claims. Almost half (46%) of Americans say they have purchased a product despite being unsure of the validity of product claims.
Germany to vote on law allowing e-scooters on road
May16, 2019, The Guardian
Germany’s upper house of parliament is due to vote on whether to allow electric scooters on to the country’s roads, following a feverish debate spanning everything from road safety to air quality.The transport minister is behind the plan, but he has faced a barrage of protests from lobby groups, representing both car drivers and bike riders, who have warned of chaos and accidents i
Customers suffer severe burns from clothes steamer
May16, 2019, ABC
My Little Steamer is advertised as America’s favorite non-iron. The advertisements make no mention of multiple lawsuits filed around the country claiming the product is dangerous and defective.
Drew Part II: Inflatable bounce house safety
May 16, 2019, Birmingham Times
A writer explains: Even though many children sustain injuries during summer months while using bounce houses, there are no national safety standards. So, if you hire a company to set up your bounce house and it is insured and uses trained staff to set up and supervise its usage, the liability still rests with you. So, make sure you supervise it being set up and help with supervision, also.
The business of the future is ethical, sustainable, and employee owned
May 16, 2019, Fast Company
A new report from the Democracy Collaborative, a nonprofit that advocates for employee ownership structures, explains how the clothing company exemplifies a mission-led, employee-owned company: One in which employees, through their ownership stake, help drive the brand’s ethical commitment to environmental sustainability, social equity, or ideally, both.
