Disaster Preparedness


OSHA Starts Combustible Dust Rulemaking

U.S. Labor Secretary Solis also announced OSHA is moving forward the proposed regulation governing workers' exposure to diacetyl food flavoring by convening a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) panel May 5.

American Hospital Association President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock

U.S. Hospitals Stretched Thin, AHA Warns

"Hospitals are walking a tightrope, trying to balance the growing needs of their communities with today's economic challenges," American Hospital Association President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock said.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano

$1.5 Billion Sought for Flu Response; First U.S. Death Reported

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and other federal officials Tuesday said they're confident federal and state agencies have a sufficient antiviral stockpile to meet the U.S. demand. Early today, CDC confirmed a 23-month-old child in Texas has died.

ASHRAE Guideline Readies Facility Managers for Major Events

Intended for a range of stakeholders, from architects to owners, Guideline 29-2009 offers a flexible approach to risk assessment for a wide range of safety and health hazards, according to ASHRAE.

a worker wears a protective mask covering her nose and mouth

IFMA Foundation Offers Pandemic Readiness Manual

Though written with avian flu in mind, the guidebook will help workplaces prepare for the swine flu already affecting several countries. The organization is making it available free.

Richard Besser, M.D., Acting Director, CDC

CDC: Avoid Non-Essential Travel to Mexico

The agency's acting director, Dr. Richard Besser, said the travel advisory will be issued this afternoon. But "it's quite premature" to advise restricting travel to the United States, he added.

FDA Findings Contribute Insights into Avian Flu Virus

An in-depth analysis of blood from patients recovering from the H5N1 avian influenza virus has provided important insights into how to combat the potentially lethal virus.

Bayer CropScience Hearing Today As Pressure Mounts

CSB Chairman John Bresland warned this week that extensive secrecy claims like the one made in this case, which involves an August 2008 explosion at Institute, W.Va., could compromise CSB's effectiveness as a safety agency.



U.S. Army North Completes Annual Hurricane Drill

The Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) drill on hurricane relief operations involved more than 150 participants at Fort Belvoir, Va.

Union Pacifics logo

Union Pacific, Dow Cite Major Rail Safety Gains

Their report on progress toward achieving eight major goals by 2017 shows how the industry as a whole is improving the safety of toxic inhalation hazard and flammable chemical shipments by rail.

FEMA Releases All-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning Guide

The Federal Emergency Management Administration has recently released its Comprehensive Preparedness Guide, CPG 101, which provides general guidelines on developing Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) and promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of planning and decision making to help emergency planners examine a hazard and produce integrated, coordinated, and synchronized plans. The guide is intended to help emergency managers in state, territorial, local, and tribal governments in their efforts to develop and maintain a viable all-hazard EOP.

map depicting the layout of the Sago Mine in West Virginia

NIOSH Will Measure Atmospheres of Sealed Areas

The agency yesterday asked coal mine companies to offer help in the research, which will examine methane accumulation in sealed areas like the one that exploded in the Sago Mine, depicted here, in January 2006.

Port Wentworth Rebuild on Track, Imperial Sugar CEO Says

The company's CEO, John Sheptor, issued another update today saying production of granulated bulk sugar at the mill should begin in late May.

USFA Releases Outdoor Fires Topical Report

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has issued a special report examining the causes and characteristics of outdoor fires. The report, titled "Outdoor Fires," was developed by the National Fire Data Center, part of USFA.

Hurricanes, Safety Culture, Kidnapping: Ready for RIMS 2009?

Online registration closed March 23, and admission to the April 20-22 expo is fairly expensive. But this event at the Orange County Convention Center, shown here, is a must for risk managers and insurers.

NIST, DHS Program Evaluates Labs for Emergency Communications Tests

To help ensure that first responders, public safety officers, and military personnel can always talk with each other no matter what communications equipment they are using--a characteristic known as interoperability--the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have teamed up to create the Project 25 Conformity Assessment Program (P25 CAP).

Scientists Devise New Method of Finding Trapped Miners

University of Utah scientists devised a new method, illustrated in this diagram, to find trapped miners that involves installing iron plates and sledgehammers at regular intervals inside mines, and sensitive listening devices on the ground overhead.

FDA Assesses New Nanotechnology Test to Detect Anthrax

The Food and Drug Administration recently completed a "proof-of-concept" study of a test that quickly and accurately detects the presence of even the smallest amount of the deadly anthrax toxin.

FEMA Announces USFA Deputy Assistant Administrator Appointment

Acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Nancy Ward has announced the appointment of former Fairfax County Fire Chief Glenn Gaines as the new Deputy Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Fire Administration.

FEMA Partners With NOAA to Promote Flood Safety

As part of Flood Safety Awareness Week (March 16-20), FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program will partner with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service to demonstrate flood risks across the country and provide important information about flood safety.

Featured

Artificial Intelligence