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The two DOT agencies are conducting audits, and PHMSA is making unannounced inspections, to ensure railroads

DOT Proposes DOT-111 Phase-Out, If Not Retrofitted

The agency has released details of an NPRM and an ANPRM, rulemaking efforts following the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's rulemaking last fall.

The March 2014 landslide in Oso, Wash., was 7.6 million cubic yards in size, according to the report.

Oso Report Recommends Landslide Warning Systems, Seismological Recordings

The Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association team's report, published July 22, analyzes the March 2014 landslide that killed 43 people in Oso, Wash.

The Dearborn plant being bought by AK Steel has been updated in recent years. (Severstal image)

Severstal Sells Dearborn, Columbus Plants

AK Steel and Steel Dynamics, Inc. are buying the units for a combined total of $2.3 billion, the companies announced July 21.



"These products are essentially 100 percent caffeine. A single teaspoon of pure caffeine is roughly equivalent to the amount in 25 cups of coffee," according to FDA.

FDA Warns About Powdered Pure Caffeine

At least one death has been reported.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5021, a bill that would fund surface transportation projects through May 2015, by a 367-55 vote on July 15, 2014.

White House Launches Infrastructure Initiative

The Build America Transportation Investment Center, housed at DOT, will be a one-stop shop for state and local governments, public and private developers, and investors to utilize innovative financing strategies for projects.

The 2014 award went to the VCU Medical Center. Its innovations include daily infection audits for patients, according to the American Hospital Association.

Virginia Hospital Wins AHA-McKesson Quality Prize

The 2014 American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize® will be awarded July 20 to VCU Medical Center of Richmond, Va. It will receive $75,000.

Safety advocates want OSHA to take several steps, including establishing a National Emphasis Program, to strengthen safety and health protections for temporary workers.

NACOSH Temporary Workers Workgroup Meeting Again July 28

The workgroup has met twice this year, on May 9 and Feb. 11, as it works to develop recommendations for NACOSH to consider.

The Aug. 14 Building Up Residential Safety Day lets employers of workers at Michigan residential sites have MIOSHA personnel evaluate specific hazards and areas.

MIOSHA Hosting Two Days of Penalty-Free Site Visits Next Month

The tenth annual Take A Stand Day on Aug. 13 is for high-hazard industries targeted by the MIOSHA Strategic Plan, and Building Up Residential Safety Day occurs the following day.

Driver William D.W. Scott

NTSB Meeting Will Determine Probable Cause of Skagit River Bridge Collapse

The July 15 meeting in Washington, D.C., will be available as a live webcast. A section of the bridge collapsed after a truck hauling an oversize load struck its superstructure last May.

Recent fatal incidents during demolition work prompted OSHA to update its demolition topics page with added materials.

OSHA Offers New Demolition Safety Resources

The agency has updated its demolition website, stocking it with more guidance and training documents, news releases, and links to industry organizations and federal agencies’ materials.

The uprighted Costa Concordia wreck awaits refloating and being moved to the port of Genoa. (The Parbuckling Project photo)

Concordia Refloating Set for July 14

A no-fly zone is in place and restrictions on ship movements in the area are in place, but no beaches will be closed when the operation begins.

Workers remove debris in Rockaway, N.Y., on Nov. 11, 2012, following Hurricane Sandy. (Photo by Elissa Jun/FEMA)

NIST Announces Second Disaster Resilience Workshop

Hosting it July 30 with the Stevens Institute in Hoboken, N.J. will allow the Commerce Department agency to get input for an initial draft of a framework to help communities prepare for and recover from disasters faster and at lower cost.

Investigators pieced together the remains of the B747 after the aircraft crashed. NTSB

NTSB Won't Reopen Flight 800 Probe

The safety board issued a 24-page response July 2 to a petition from a group called the TWO 800 Project that claims an explosion, possibly from a missile, brought down the aircraft in July 1996.

NTSB recommends that parasailing operators recognize that, even though a rope may be rated at 10,000 pounds, tying a knot in it can reduce the rope

NTSB Alert Warns Parasailing Operators About Towline Knots

The bowline knots that are typically used (and any knot in general) can reduce a towline's strength as much as 70 percent, even on brand-new ropes, it points out.

All employers in California must have workers’ comp insurance.

California's 2014/15 Alternative Security Program Approved

Department of Industrial Relations Director Christine Baker approved it; the program provides financial guarantees to replace security deposits required to collateralize self-insured worker's compensation liabilities.

The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City was heavily damaged by a bomb April 19, 1995. The blast killed 168 people.

CDC Releases New Blast Injury Application

The app provides guidance about specific blast injury patterns in order to help emergency responders and clinicians assess and treat patients from the blast.

Ten states in the South were among the states with the highest per-capita opioid prescribing rates in 2012, according to CDC.

CDC Calls Attention to Painkiller Prescribing Disparities

There is no health reason that can explain why health care providers in the highest-prescribing states wrote almost three times as many opioid painkiller prescriptions as their counterparts in the lowest-prescribing state.

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