Safety

24 August 2008 -- Kyrgyz officials say a passenger plane has crashed shortly after taking off from the capital, Bishkek, killing 68 people on board.

The Boeing-737 jet was headed to Iran's capital, Tehran, with 90 passengers and crew on board. About 10 minutes after takeoff Sunday, it crashed in a field near Bishkek's airport and burst info flames. Officials say only 22 people survived.

Kyrgyz Prime Minister Igor Chudinov says the plane suffered a sudden loss of cabin pressure, forcing the pilot to attempt an emergency landing.

Government spokeswoman Rosa Daudova says the plane was carrying 24 Kyrgyz citizens, 52 Iranians, three Kazakhs, two Canadians, one Chinese and one Turkish national.    » read more »

Aug. 20, 2008 -- WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship Directorate announced Wednesday the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend Coast Guard regulations governing the stability of domestic passenger vessels.    » read more »

Push Ban To Keep Dangerous Materials Out Of Terrorists' Hands

August 12, 2008 -- Today Representative Peter King (R-NY), Ranking Member on the House Homeland Security Committee and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo warned that current restrictions on access to highly enriched uranium (HEU) are too lax and could potentially lead to terrorists acquiring the potentially lethal material. There are seven civilian facilities across the country that continue to use HEU even though safer alternative materials exist.    » read more »

August 13, 2008 -- MONTGOMERY - Alabama Governor Bob Riley announced that more than 125 additional state troopers will hit the roads Aug. 18-24, ramping up DUI, seat belt and aggressive driving enforcement during a statewide “Take Back Our Highways” traffic safety campaign.

Public Safety Director Col. J. Christopher Murphy joined the governor at a Montgomery news conference to unveil plans for the traffic safety and enforcement effort, which DPS successfully pioneered last year to combat Alabama’s rising fatality rate. Trooper-worked fatalities dropped by 62 in 2007, and troopers have worked 93 fewer fatalities this year, compared with the same period last year.    » read more »

State bill would ban use of Bisphenol A in baby bottles and other feeding devices

August 11, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (both D-Calif.) today called on the California State Assembly to pass legislation that would prohibit the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles, sippy cups and other feeding devices for children ages three and younger.

Senators Feinstein and Boxer have co-sponsored federal legislation that would ban BPA from children’s products as well as require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the health effects of BPA in children and adults.    » read more »

Las Vegas, NV – The International Association of Fire Fighters has announced the launch of a new initiative to help fire fighters, family members and friends to quit smoking cigarettes.

“Our goal is to help make the IAFF the first smoke-free union,” IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger said in his address to delegates at the IAFF 49th Convention.

Cigarette butts: Photo by The Other

The IAFF is collaborating with pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. to promote smoking cessation. Schaitberger and Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler first announced the joint initiative at the IAFF Health and Safety Conference in Chicago, Illinois, in October 2007.    » read more »

August, 2008 -- Home fire deaths are higher in states that have a greater percentage of smokers, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study published this month in the journal Injury Prevention. If smoking at home is reduced or stopped, fewer residential fire deaths may result, the study said.    » read more »