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DOL Study Underscores Positive Impact of Unemployment Insurance

The Department of Labor recently announced the findings of a multi-year study of the impact of the Unemployment Insurance program in stabilizing the economy during a deep recession. The study was commissioned by the department and undertaken by IMPAQ International LLC and the Urban Institute.

Boeing System Shows Airplanes' Health

A Chinese carrier has ordered the AHM system on a total of 117 planes that are in service or on order.

Another NHTSA Research Plan Released

Updating its 2009-2011 agenda, the agency is now out with a Final Vehicle Safety Rulemaking and Research Priority Plan 2010-2013.



Michaels Offers Reassurance on VPP, State Plans

In a speech last week, the OSHA administrator said none of the problems identified in audits of state plans "is catastrophic or threatens continued plan approval," except in one or two cases where the budgetary commitment to the program is in jeopardy.

DFW International Airport, shown here, on Nov. 18 reported it expects about 1.7 million passengers to pass through during the 11-day Thanksgiving travel period (Nov. 19 through Nov. 29), 5 percent more than last year.

FAA Works to Ease Delays for Thanksgiving Holiday Travel

Under the agreement, the Department of Defense will release airspace off the East Coast above 24,000 feet. The added capacity is expected to ease delays during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, saving time and money for passengers and airlines while reducing fuel burn.

Gulf Spill Committee Meeting Dec. 2-3

At the meeting in Washington, D.C., the presidentially appointed members will continue discussing the causes of the April 2010 spill and how to prevent such incidents in the future.

Volume 6 of Reviews of Human Factors and Ergonomics is being sold by HFES.

Sixth Volume of Reviews of Human Factors Released

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society released the newest volume in the series on Nov. 16.

USFA, NFPA Share Winter Fire Safety Tips

For several reasons, fires are a significant threat during the winter and the holiday season.

Report Estimates 15,000 Medicare Monthly Adverse Event Deaths

Responding to the HHS inspector general's report, the leader of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' administrator, Dr. Donald Berwick, outlined numerous steps being taken to reduce hospital errors.

"Deficient" is changing to "alert" when a score in one or more BASIC categories is above the FMCSA threshold for intervention.

Slight CSA 2010 Changes Coming Next Month

For example, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is changing "deficient" to "alert" when a motor carrier's score in one or more BASIC categories is above the agency's threshold for intervention.

Health care ergonomics is the research topic for the inaugural year of the new Human Factors Prize.

FCC Requires More Pinpoint E911 Location Info

A final rule from the agency requires affected wireless carriers to provide more specific automatic location information for emergency calls to Public Safety Answering Points in areas where they have not done so before.

Congress ordered EPA to investigate drinking water and public health impacts on people living near the wells.

DOI to Discuss Public Lands Gas Fracturing

The Nov. 30 event in Washington, D.C., is a discussion with public and industry officials to ensure drilling operations are environmentally safe. EPA, meanwhile, is making progress on its study of fracturing's impact on drinking water and public health.

Applicants Sought for 2011 Harvard Fire Executive Fellowship Program

Senior fire executives who are selected will be awarded fellowships to attend Harvard's annual Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. The three-week program is conducted on the Harvard campus in Cambridge, Mass.

California Comp Division Seeking Award Nominations

Nominations are due by Jan. 14. These annual awards recognize significant contributors to the betterment of the workers' compensation system.

Aged Cardiac Stem Cells Could Treat Heart Failure

“Regardless of the gender or age of the patient, or of diabetes, we were able to isolate in all of them a pool of functional cardiac stem cells that we can potentially use to rescue the decompensated human heart,” said Dr. Domenico D’Amario, author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Harvard in Boston.

Caffeinated Alcoholic Drinks are Unsafe: FDA

Experts have raised concerns that caffeine can mask some of the sensory cues individuals might normally rely on to determine their level of intoxication.

W.Va. Postal Facility Fined $287,000 for Electrical Hazards

"These citations and sizable fines reflect the Postal Service's failure to ensure that the proper safety practices were being used by employees working with live electrical parts, leaving them vulnerable to multiple hazards," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels.

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