Safety
Foes Of S. Ind. Fertilizer Plant Cite Texas Blast
May 15, 2013 2:09 pm | News | CommentsOpponents of a proposed southern Indiana fertilizer plant are arguing that state officials should block the project because of dangers highlighted by last month's deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer manufacturer. An Illinois businessman is seeking permission to build a fertilizer plant projected to cost $950 million near the Ohio River city of Rockport.
Senate Pushes Bill To Regulate Compound Pharmacies
May 15, 2013 2:02 pm | News | CommentsThe effort responds to last year's outbreak tied to contaminated compounded drugs that sickened more than 740 Americans and killed 55 others. The wave of fungal infections was identified in September and linked to a large Massachusetts compounding pharmacy, which regulators said was operating more like a manufacturer.
Chains Grapple With How To Improve Safety
May 15, 2013 8:19 am | by Anne D'Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer | News | CommentsBut in the latest sign that there's a clash between what U.S. companies and overseas firms think should be done to solve the issues in Bangladesh, several North American retail groups led by the National Retail Federation on Tuesday said they are working on a separate factory safety plan.
Japan Watchdog To Halt Test Reactor Over Safety
May 15, 2013 8:01 am | by Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Nuclear Regulation Authority's decision is the latest blow to the Monju fast-breeder reactor and Japan's nuclear fuel cycle program. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is hoping that Monju will be a key part of Japan's plans for disposing of atomic waste and reducing the nation's plutonium stockpile.
Pest Birds And Corrosive Droppings
May 14, 2013 2:04 pm | by Chrissy Hansen, Bird-X Media Correspondent | Articles | CommentsPest birds cost individuals and businesses millions of dollars each year in clean-up expenses, repairs, and damaged equipment. Some large industrial facilities spend as much as six figures to combat pest bird problems. Facility managers must understand the important of implementing a preventative bird control program as means of reducing these costs.
Safety Agency Probes Mazda Door Latch Problem
May 14, 2013 1:44 pm | News | CommentsThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received four complaints that the doors wouldn't latch. In one case, a passenger door opened while a car was being driven. The agency says the owners complained that some of the door-latch mounting screws were missing.
NJ Man Charged With Plane Parts Fraud Scheme
May 14, 2013 1:35 pm | News | CommentsA northern New Jersey man is due in federal court to face charges he ran a scheme to sell airplane parts that had been scrapped or rejected. Gideon Vaisman of Edgewater was arrested Monday night. He is due in court Tuesday to face a wire fraud conspiracy charge that carries a 20-year maximum sentence.
Feds Probe 3 Chrysler Models For Engine Stalling
May 14, 2013 8:31 am | News | CommentsThe agency says it has 54 complaints from owners that engines stalled while the cars were being driven. In all cases the stalling happened after the cars were refueled. Forty-eight of the owners said they had several stalling incidents, and seven said they had trouble restarting the cars.
2 Hurt In Explosions, Fire At W.Va. Gas Plant
May 14, 2013 7:48 am | by Pam Ramsey, Associated Press | News | CommentsPutnam County emergency management director Frank Chapman said the explosion involved about 50 tanks of acetylene that were at Airgas waiting to be refilled. What caused the tanks to explode wasn't known. Chad Jones, a firefighter with the Bancroft Volunteer Fire Department, said four cylinders continued to burn Monday evening and that crews were letting them "burn out."
GM: Supercomputers To Keep Recalls In Check
May 14, 2013 7:40 am | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsThe Detroit automaker, which formally opened the giant data storage center in suburban Warren, Michigan, on Monday, said the changes are examples of how it is moving faster to cut costs and serve its customers better by bringing more computer technology inside the company.
Raising The Bar
May 13, 2013 6:14 pm | by Krystal Gabert, Editor, Food Manufacturing | Articles | CommentsMcNamara estimates that Hearthside currently has over 100 contracts that govern their business, with 80 to 85 percent of the business devoted to contract manufacturing. When acquiring new businesses, in many cases Hearthside also acquired the clients previously contracted with the facilities being purchased.
Regulators Probe Ford Truck Steering Issue
May 13, 2013 8:20 am | News | CommentsU.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that problems with steering-gear boxes are causing a loss of control in some Ford trucks. The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers an estimated 340,000 F250 and F350 Super Duty Trucks from the 2008 model year.
AP: Cars Made In Brazil Are Deadly
May 13, 2013 8:01 am | by Bradley Brooks, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe culprits are the cars themselves, produced with weaker welds, scant safety features and inferior materials compared to similar models manufactured for U.S. and European consumers, say experts and engineers inside the industry. Four of Brazil's five bestselling cars failed their independent crash tests.
Leaving Bangladesh? Not An Easy Choice For Brands
May 13, 2013 7:58 am | by Anne D'Innocenzio and Jonathan Fahey, AP Business Writers | News | CommentsThe rising death toll may force Western brands to make a choice: Stay and work to improve conditions. Or leave and face higher costs, similar or worse worker conditions in other low-wage countries and criticism for abandoning a poor nation where per-capita income is just $1,940 per year.
Chrysler Recalls Almost 470,000 Jeep SUVs
May 13, 2013 7:54 am | News | CommentsChrysler is recalling 469,000 Jeep SUVs worldwide because they can shift into neutral without warning on startup. U.S. safety regulators say cracks in a circuit board can cause a faulty signal as the SUVs are being started. If the vehicles shift into neutral they can roll away.
Campylobacter On The Rise
May 10, 2013 2:37 pm | by Krystal Gabert, Editor, Food Manufacturing | Blogs | CommentsBy tracking identified foodborne illness instances, FoodNet determined that, in addition to various other strains of foodborne bacteria and viruses, campylobacter infection was found in 14.3 people per 100,000. This figure shows a 14 percent increase over the infection rates from 2006 to 2008.
Texas Launches Criminal Probe Into Plant Explosion
May 10, 2013 1:47 pm | by Angela K. Brown and Ramit Plushnick-Masti, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe announcement came the same day a paramedic who helped to evacuate residents the night of the explosion was arrested on a charge of possessing a destructive device, though it is not clear whether the charge is related to the April 17 blast at West Fertilizer Co.
North Dakota Tops Nation In Rate Of Worker Deaths
May 10, 2013 1:39 pm | News | CommentsThere were 44 worker deaths in North Dakota in 2011, for a rate of 12.4 deaths per 100,000 workers. That was well above the national rate of 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers, the report said. "The oil boom has come with a hefty price tag of a steep increase in deaths on the job," the labor union said in a statement.
Worker Rescued After 17 Days In Bangladesh Rubble
May 10, 2013 1:37 pm | by Julhas Alam, Associated Press | News | CommentsFor 17 days, the seamstress lay trapped in a dark basement pocket beneath thousands of tons of wreckage as temperatures outside climbed into the mid-90s F. She rationed food and water. She banged a pipe to attract attention. She was fast losing hope of ever making it out alive.
Officials Probe Corvette Headlamp Problem
May 10, 2013 8:44 am | News | CommentsU.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that the low-beam headlights can go dark without warning on some Chevrolet Corvettes. The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers more than 103,000 Corvettes from the 2005 through 2007 model years.
Few Industrial Disasters Have Killed 1,000
May 10, 2013 8:01 am | News | CommentsThe 1,000th body has been pulled from the Bangladesh garment-factory building that collapsed last month. Very few other industrial accidents in world history have had such a high death toll. They include the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear plant and the lethal methyl isocyanate gas leaks from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India.
State Pharmacy Boards Back More FDA Oversight
May 10, 2013 7:38 am | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsState pharmacy officials on Thursday threw their support behind a proposal giving the Food and Drug Administration authority over large compounding pharmacies, in an effort to head off more outbreaks tied to contaminated medications.
Senators Seek Ban On Renting Recalled Vehicles
May 9, 2013 2:11 pm | by Andrew Miga, Associated Press | News | CommentsA bipartisan group of senators wants to ban car rental companies from renting or selling vehicles to consumers that are under manufacturer recall until the defect is fixed. The senators say that while current law prohibits car dealerships from selling recalled vehicles to consumers, no law bans rental car companies from selling or renting them to unsuspecting consumers.
Explosion-Proof LED Headlamp For Hazard Areas
May 9, 2013 1:14 pm | Products | CommentsLarson Electronics has added a Class 1 and Class 2 Division 1 explosion-proof LED headlamp to its lineup. The company says the EHL-LED-7W-50-HR lamp has been designed for use in hazardous areas, with a wider operating temperature range, brighter light, and drop-proof durability.
DOE: Breach At Nuclear Plant 'Unacceptable'
May 9, 2013 8:36 am | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press | News | CommentsA breach in which an 82-year-old nun and two other protesters sneaked into a Tennessee nuclear weapons plant last year is "completely unacceptable" and an "important wake-up call" for the government, the head of an agency charged with safeguarding the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile said Wednesday.
