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FDA Issues Final Rule on Antibacterial Soaps

The rule removes triclosan and triclocarban from over-the-counter antibacterial hand and body washes. Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said "some data suggests that antibacterial ingredients may do more harm than good over the long term."

Time's Running Out to Submit AIHce 2017 PDC Proposals

The deadline to submit a proposal to present at the June 4-7 conference in Seattle is Sept. 14, so get moving if you're interested.

The Evolution of Flame-Resistant Clothing

Flame-resistant (FR) clothing has come a long way from its origins in the lab of French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, who first discovered that ammonium phosphates and borax were capable of making textiles relatively flame retardant in 1821.



$121K in Fines Proposed for Exposing Workers to Trench Cave-In at Austin Project

The construction companies received one willful and four serious violations in total.

Workwear For Women

In the 1970s, only 38 percent of women were in the workforce, according to the United States Department of Labor (DOL). Today, the DOL reports that 57 percent of women participate in the labor force — occupying a range of positions in an incredibly wide variety of industries.

Electronic Health Records Devouring Physicians' Time, Study Finds

The authors evaluated the time they spent on four activities (direct clinical face time, EHR and desk work, administrative tasks, and other tasks) and self-reported after-hours work. They concluded that the doctors spent 27.0 percent of their total time on direct clinical face time with patients and 49.2 percent of their time on EHR and desk work.

Machine Guards Were Bypassed in Fatal Lathe Operator Injury

The company responsible, Carlson Tool & Manufacturing Corp., has been cited for one willful and one serious violation.

New Orleans Flood Insurance Workshop Set for Sept. 15

New flood insurance maps will become effective Sept. 30 in the city. "FEMA's new flood maps for New Orleans will make a huge difference for our residents, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of dollars on flood insurance," Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. "But recent flooding in Louisiana should be a reminder to everyone that weather events can strike anyone, even those who have never flooded before."

REACH Having the Desired Effect

The REACH regime used in the European Union is creating a strong push for end users to substitute less-hazardous chemicals, according to a study conducted by Joel Tickner and Molly Jacobs from the University of Massachusetts Lowell Centre for Sustainable Production.

UN Meeting Under Way on Setting Date for Cluster Bomb Ban

The Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits all use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of these devices, and took effect Aug. 1, 2010. To date, 119 states have joined the Convention. The Sept. 5-7 meeting aims to set a target date to achieve that.

Noise Safety Challenge Now Under Way

Hearing damage is pervasive, both from occupational exposures and from recreational exposures. According to NIOSH, U.S. business paid more than $1.5 million in penalties last year for not protecting workers from noise and an estimated $242 million is spent annually on workers' compensation for hearing loss disability.

CDC Scientist Wins Highway Safety Award

David A. Sleet, Ph.D., associate director for Science with the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at CDC, who has done important research that helped bring about stronger child passenger safety laws, adoption of the national 0.08 percent blood alcohol concentration standard nationwide, and safer airbag designs, according to GHSA.

NRC Issues Mid-Cycle Assessments

Of the 96 highest-performing reactors, 87 fully met all of the safety and security performance objectives and were inspected by NRC using the normal "baseline" inspection program. Nine reactors needed to resolve one or two items of low safety significance.

Seattle Contractor Fined in Fatal Trench Collapse

Harold Felton was killed last January when the dirt walls of the trench he was working in collapsed and buried him, and rescuers were unable to dig him out in time.

DARPA Hails Smartphone-Sized Radiation Detectors

The networked devices were developed as part of the SIGMA program, which began in 2014 with the goal of creating a cost-effective, continuous radiation-monitoring network that can cover a large city or region.

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