CPSC Warns: As Button Battery Use Increases, So Do Battery-Related Injuries and Deaths

Toddlers and Seniors Most Often Injured in Battery-Swallowing Incidents WASHINGTON, D.C. - Small, coin-sized batteries can be found in products in nearly every home in America. From the flashlight sitting on the table, to the remote control next to the TV, "button batteries" as they are commonly referred to, are in thousands of products used in and around the home. Young children and senior adults are unintentionally swallowing the button batteries and in some cases, the consequences are immediate and devastating. (more)

Notre Dame makes safety change in wake of student death

Notre Dame announced plans to change how football practices are videotaped in response to the October 2010 death of student Declan Sullivan, who died while videotaping a practice. The plan is to install a permanent, remote video system for the university’s practice fields, eliminating the need to use a scissors lift. The scissor lift in use by Sullivan at the time of the accident toppled when stuck by high winds. Sullivan's parents hope that other universities will take similar steps.

http://ehstoday.com/safety/news/notre-dame-eliminates-elevated-scissor-lifts-following-student-death-0309/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/09/AR2011030901953.html

Reference for federal campus fire safety reporting

The Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting  was recently released by the U.S. Department of Education. Yes, it would've been more useful for you last year when you had to prepare the report. For future reference, chapters 11-14 cover the fire safety requirements of the regulations.

Right-to-Know App Identifies Toxic Neighbors

This application was designed by Abt Associates for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Feb 24, 2011

If you’ve ever wondered how close your home or office is to a chemical facility and if the toxins it is releasing might impact your health, answers can be as close as your smartphone. A pioneering mobile application known as My Right-to-Know (myRTK), designed and developed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by Abt Associates, can enable you to easily access this information. All you need is a Web-enabled mobile device.

The MyRTK application, engineered by the Bethesda firm launches with a map or list of facilities in close proximity to the mobile device, or near an address identified by the user. An easy-to-comprehend, graphically rich interface is used to simplify fairly complex information, including the facilities' locations, relative size, chemical releases and their possible health effects, and a record of compliance with U.S. environmental laws. The Google-serviced maps are complemented with street and satellite views.

The application includes suggestions of what mobile users might do next, such as report a potential violation from their device using a link to EPA's enforcement office.

MyRTK can be viewed at http://myrtk.epa.gov/info/. (More...)