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DOT Asks for FASTLANE Grant Applications

As part of the FAST Act, the new program authorizes $800 million in funding.

OSHA Says Fatal Aerial Lift Tipover Was Preventable

According to the agency, Skyline Contracting and Roofing Corp. of Taunton, Mass., ignored industry standards.

Mayor Appoints NYC Crane Safety Committee's Members

The technical working group's first assignment will be to examine whether current wind restrictions on crawler cranes – the type of crane involved in the recent collapse – reflect the best science. The city already has implemented new directives on crawler cranes

CAL FIRE announced that law enforcement investigators concluded a faulty gas water heater sparked one of the fires that merged to become the Rocky Fire, one of 16 active wildfires in the state as of Aug. 19, 2015.

NIST Touts Data's Role in Improving Wildfire Defense

A NIST study examined three fires in February 2011 in suburban areas outside Amarillo at the wildland urban interface, the area where residential communities and undeveloped wildlands meet. Those fires destroyed 70 homes, burned more than 25,000 acres of land, and caused nearly $6 million in property damage.

FAA Sets Up Committee to Work on Integrating Drones

The agency also revealed Feb. 18 that it is now partnering with the Department of Homeland Security and CACI International, an information and services company, and testing the ability of CACI's prototype detection technology to detect drones near airports.

Campbell Institute Awards Innovation in the Workplace Honorees

Cummins Components Filtration and Deb Group were honored at the 2016 Innovation Challenge.

Federal Experts Update HELP Committee on Zika Threat

A trio of experts testified at a Feb. 24 hearing about their agencies' work to develop a vaccine and educate the public about the virus.



Senate Confirms New FDA Commissioner

"I look forward to working with Dr. Califf to ensure the FDA can carry out every aspect of its critical mission, from ensuring the safety and effectiveness of the medical products we use to protecting the nation's food supply and implementing its oversight of tobacco products, to furthering our efforts to combat opioid abuse," HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said in a statement.

Construction Company Cited for Fall Exposures

OSHA announced it has cited Burkholder Builders and fined the Pennsylvania company $64,400.

Circus Tent in Fatal Collapse Was Not Erected Correctly, OSHA Says

Walker International Events Inc. has been cited for crushing and electrical hazards.

Several railroad grade crossings will get flashing lights and gates as a result of nearly $10 million from the Railroad Safety Grants for the Safe Transportation of Energy Products (STEP) by Rail Program.

FRA Grants to Upgrade Rail Crossings on Energy Routes

Nearly $10 million in grants was awarded to state departments of transportation in Washington state, California, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

Bill Would Make British Columbia's Fire Code Compliance Monitoring Risk-Based

"The Fire Chiefs' Association of BC applauds the adoption of the new Fire Safety Act. This legislation provides local governments with new and better tools with which they can provide for fire safety within their communities," said Timothy Pley, president of the Fire Chiefs' Association of British Columbia.

OSHA: Bryant University Structural Collapse Needless, Preventable

According to the agency's investigation, the contractor did not follow the manufacturer's plans or install adequate bracing.

Industrial Laundry Facility Cited in Worker's Death

OSHA says that Crothall Laundry Services failed to prevent equipment from operating.

NOAA Satellites Aided 250 Rescues in 2015

The International Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking System uses a network of spacecraft to detect and locate distress signals quickly from emergency beacons aboard aircraft and boats and from hand-held PLBs, enabling the rescues of downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters, stranded hikers, and others.

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Set for April 30

DEA's National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is intended to provide a safe and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while educating the public about the potential for medication misuse.

DOE Issues Citations for 2014 WIPP Incidents

Operations at the U.S. Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the transuranic waste disposal site outside of Carlsbad, N.M., were suspended after two serious February 2014 incidents involving worker exposures to smoke and radiation.

DOT Inspector General Auditing FAA's Work on ERAM Outages

FAA declared ERAM fully operational at all 20 en route air traffic control facilities in March 2015, but since then, the $2.7 billion system has experienced a number of outages, most recently at the Washington Center in August 2015, that resulted in delays and cancellations of hundreds of flights, affecting thousands of passengers.

"A year after the Mount Carbon crude oil train fire, residents there know that they narrowly escaped their town becoming the American Lac-Mégantic – an outcome of a fiery derailment that could still happen at any moment," NTSB Board Member Robert Sumwalt wrote Feb. 18, 2016.

Tougher Tank Cars Too Slow in Coming: NTSB's Sumwalt

"A year after the Mount Carbon [West Virginia] crude oil train fire, residents there know that they narrowly escaped their town becoming the American Lac-Mégantic – an outcome of a fiery derailment that could still happen at any moment," he wrote Feb. 18.

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