Safety

Waukesha Receiving $141,000 to Increase Technology, Improve Community Safety

April 09, 2009 -- WAUKESHA – Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle today announced a $30 million investment of Recovery Act funds to protect public safety, avoid cuts to police service and reduce future corrections costs. Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) funds will be used to target youthful offenders, fight drug abuse and trafficking, and reduce the number of offenders entering the corrections system. Governor Doyle also announced that Waukesha County will use $140,708 of Recovery Act funding to purchase equipment critical to officer and community safety.    » read more »

March 25, 2009 -- ATLANTA – Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue today commended the final passage of “Super Speeder” legislation, HB 160, by the General Assembly. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Jim Cole and will help reduce traumatic automobile accidents and provide funds for trauma care in the state. The legislation passed the House 113-53 and passed the Senate 42-10.

“I commend the General Assembly for passing legislation to discourage reckless driving and increase funding for trauma care in Georgia,” said Governor Perdue. “The Super Speeder bill will make our roads safer and save lives.”    » read more »

March 24, 2009 -- Surrounded by friends and relatives of recent victims of carbon monoxide poisoning, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter today signed the Lofgren and Johnson Families Carbon Monoxide Safety Act into law.

The act is named after Parker and Caroline Lofgren and their children Owen (10) and Sophie (8), all of whom died while vacationing in Aspen over Thanksgiving, and Lauren Johnson, a 23-year-old University of Denver graduate student who died in her apartment in January.    » read more »

March 14, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – In his weekly address, President Barack Obama announced the appointments of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as the Principal Deputy Commissioner, as well as the creation of a new Food Safety Working Group.

This Food Safety Working Group will be chaired by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture and it will coordinate with other agencies and senior officials to advise the President on improving coordination throughout the government, examining and upgrading food safety laws, and enforcing laws that will keep the American people safe.    » read more »

Statement of Sidney Wolfe, M.D., Director, Health Research Group at Public Citizen

March 10, 2009 -- On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) belatedly announced a Class I recall of the Shiley 3.0 PED tracheostomy tube, highlighting the painfully slow and lethargic way that the agency responds to emerging problems with medical devices. This delayed and therefore negligent FDA announcement comes three months after the agency was first aware of problems with the device and two months after the company had warned its customers and begun a recall.    » read more »

Teamsters, Safety Advocates Petition Court to Review Hours-of-Service Rule

March 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Teamsters, Public Citizen, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and the Truck Safety Coalition asked an appeals court today to review a dangerous Bush-era regulation that increased the amount of time truck drivers can spend behind the wheel.

The groups also sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asking him to begin work on a new regulation that would reduce truck crashes caused by fatigue.

“We have taken this action with the conviction, based on research and scientific data, that longer driving and working hours are unsafe and promote driver fatigue,” the letter said.    » read more »

March 6, 2009 -- Today President Barack Obama announced that Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice are making available $2 billion Recovery Act 2009 funding allocations for state and local law enforcement and criminal justice assistance, available through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program.

This funding will be used to help communities keep their neighborhoods safer with more cops, prosecutors, and probation officers; more radios and equipment; more help for crime victims and more crime prevention programs for youth.    » read more »

ill Would Allow Patients Hurt by Faulty Medical Devices To Hold Manufacturers Accountable

March 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congress should quickly pass legislation introduced today that would restore the rights of patients injured by defective or poorly labeled medical devices to hold manufacturers accountable in court, Public Citizen said today.

The Medical Device Safety Act is sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). Public Citizen and nine other public interest groups sent letters to Kennedy, Waxman and Pallone urging prompt action on the bills.    » read more »

Airline Agrees to Further Improve Safety

March 2, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today reached a settlement agreement with Southwest Airlines to resolve outstanding enforcement actions. Under the agreement, Southwest Airlines will pay a $7.5 million civil penalty that could double to $15 million if the airline does not accomplish specific safety improvements outlined in the settlement agreement.

The agreement stems from a $10.2 million civil penalty proposed on March 6 against Southwest Airlines for operating 46 airplanes on 59,791 flights without performing mandatory inspections for fuselage fatigue cracking.    » read more »

February 24, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced it has made steady and measurable increases in air safety that have made flying safer than ever before. The work of DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) resulted in a 65 percent reduction in the aviation fatal accident rate between 1997 and 2006.

Prior to the fatal accident near Buffalo this month, there had been no fatal commercial accidents for more than two years. The rate of runway incursions also has fallen, as have the number of accidents caused by ice on aircraft.

The FAA is committed to further reducing accidents related to icing in all parts of the aviation industry.    » read more »

February 18, 2009, Juneau, Alaska - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today encouraged U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to support recently adopted regulations allowing concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges. Secretary Salazar has directed a review of the regulations that were approved by the Bush administration.

In a letter to the Interior secretary, Governor Palin outlined the importance of the possession and use of firearms as a matter of safety.    » read more »

Washington, DC - 02/11/2009 - Erik Olson, director of chemical and food safety programs with Pew Health & Human Services Policy, issued the following statement at today’s House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Hearing on the recent peanut-related salmonella outbreak:

“The ongoing peanut product recall, widespread illnesses, and eight reported deaths highlight yet again that the nation’s food safety net has gaping holes that must be mended. As President Obama recently said, ‘At a bare minimum, we should be able to count on our government keeping our kids safe when they eat peanut butter.’    » read more »

Use of Generators, Kerosene Heaters and Grills Still Pose Dangers for Those Without Power

February 10, 2009 -- FRANKFORT, KY -- Preliminary results from a survey of more than 500 households in 10 Western Kentucky counties over the weekend indicate serious safety concerns remain for those still without power, health officials announced today.

The most striking preliminary finding indicates that many Kentuckians in these areas are at continued risk for carbon monoxide poisoning due to the improper use of generators, kerosene heaters and grills. The biggest problem observed involved generators being used in enclosed areas or too close to the home.

Findings also indicated that carbon monoxide detectors are playing a key role in saving lives.    » read more »

February 5 2009 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine today signed legislation increasing penalties for individuals illegally possessing machine guns or assault weapons in New Jersey, part of his anti-crime initiative launched in 2007.

"Machine guns have been virtually outlawed nationally for civilian possession since the 1930's and assault guns have been outlawed in our state for almost 20 years," said Governor Corzine. "There is no excuse for anyone possessing either of these weapons."    » read more »

Washington, DC - 02/04/2009 - "In the midst of an ongoing peanut product recall, the introduction of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) could not be more timely. The FSMA contains key improvements that will enable federal authorities to better ensure the safety of the food supply – by requiring food companies to implement preventive plans and meet performance standards for contaminants in food; creating a system for certifying the safety of imported foods; establishing a strong risk-based inspection regime for food companies; and granting the government explicit authority over all food-production facilities. The legislation also provides essential enforcement tools such as mandatory recall and civil penalties.    » read more »