Vaping Illnesses Are Linked to Vitamin E Acetate, C.D.C. Says
November 8,2019, New York Times
A form of vitamin E has been identified as a “very strong culprit” in lung injuries related to vaping THC, health officials reported on Friday, a major advance in a frightening outbreak that has killed 40 people and sickened 2,051. Many patients with the mysterious illness have wound up hospitalized in intensive care units, needing ventilators or even more desperate measures to help them breathe. Most are young, male adults or even teenagers.
Is your family safe from tipping furniture?
November 6, 2019. Rismedia
While many of us think about safety in our vehicles, safety at home is often less front and center, especially when it comes to furniture safety. Lawmakers recently introduced the Stop Tip-Overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth Act (STURDY) that would direct the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to adopt a stronger, mandatory stability standard for household furniture. According to lawmakers, furniture or items on top of them like TVs have caused at least 363 deaths between 2000 and 2011 from children being trapped or crushed by unstable products
Scientists design ‘smart’ asphalts with magnetic materials for safer electric scooters
November 7, 2019, Tech Explore
Scientists from the University of Granada have used magnetic materials in “smart” asphalts that modify their properties in the presence of external magnetic fields. This work—part of the wider research field of “smart cities”—would enable roads to signal to scooters when to slow down, for example, or could automatically cut off the electric motor or engine in case of danger. Scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) have designed “smart” asphalts, made with magnetic materials, that significantly increase the safety of Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs), in particular electric scooters, in urban areas.
Buyers Beware: Recalled products are being sold on Craiglist and Facebook marketplace
November 6, 2019, Consumer Reports
A mom from Asheville, N.C., selling a Fisher-Price Rock ’n Play Sleeper for $20 on Craigslist in October gave the product a ringing endorsement. “This was a lifesaver for my newborn,” she wrote. “He was able to sleep right next to me and I didn’t have to worry about him choking in the middle of the night. . . . Gave us so much peace of mind.”
“Was a lifesaver when my daughter was a baby,” echoed another mom from Kenosha, Wis., in a post on Facebook Marketplace. She had listed the Rock ’n Play Sleeper for sale for $40.
Neither mother apparently was aware of how much her upbeat recommendation jarred with reality.
House leaders demand FAA answer why it overruled its own engineers sfety concerns about Boeing 737 Max
November 7,2019, Washington Post
Two leading House Democrats wrote to the FAA on Thursday demanding to know why the agency appeared to overrule its own engineers’ concerns about safety issues related to the Boeing 737 Max and the 787 Dreamliner, ultimately siding with the manufacturer rather than its own staff. House Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), who chairs the committee’s aviation panel, asked FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson to provide answers about how the agency “weighs the validity of safety issues raised by its own experts compared to the objections raised by the aircraft manufacturers the FAA is supposed to oversee.”
Boeing to invest $1 billion in global safety drive: sources
November 6, 2019, Reuters
Boeing Co (BA.N) is planning an initial investment of around $1 billion into industry-wide pilot development as part of a long-term initiative to reduce risks like those faced by the crew in two 737 MAX crashes, people familiar with the matter said.
Acting Chairman Adler dissenting opinion on organohalogen amendments to the CPSC FY 2020 Operating Plan
October 24, 2019, cpsc.gov
The Acting Chairman praises the spirit of communication in considering amendments to the CPSC FY 2020 operating plan among the commission members but says “I must voice strong opposition to…the amendment to direct staff to draft a notice withdrawing the Commission’s Guidance Document on Organohalogen Flame Retardants.”
Governor DeWine signs new law strengthening safety inspection standards for amusement rides
November 7, 2019, Fox8.com
Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a measure aimed at strengthening Ohio’s amusement ride safety program. The bill signed by the Republican governor seeks to strengthen safety inspection standards, define qualifications for ride inspectors and outline ride owner responsibilities, among other things. It also will provide for a professional engineer on the state panel that makes recommendations to Ohio’s agriculture director about safety matters involving amusement rides.
Engineering degrees should require ethics training
November 8, 2019, Quartz
This summer, the FaceApp debate exploded on social media, as people questioned the motives of the Russian engineers behind the technology that scanned millions of people’s faces, with no indication of what happened to the data given to the app. Privacy is presumably top of mind for the general public, but people’s urge to literally see the face of their own future selves seemed to outweigh that threat.
