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DARPA Aerial Dragnet Program Seeks to Monitor Drones

Although its focus is to protect military troops in urban areas overseas, such a system could be used to protect U.S. cities from terrorist threats.

The June 23, 2016, floods in West Virginia killed 23 people and damaged homes, businesses, schools, and infrastructure, to the tune of $339.8 million in flood costs.

West Virginia Legislature Approves State Funds for Flood Assistance

Gov. Earl Ray Tomplin had called an extraordinary session to pass the bill that will put $85 million in state money toward recovery costs from the June 23 flood, which affected most of the state's 55 counties.

TVA Making Dam Safety Checks at Raccoon Mountain

The reservoir at the top of the mountain contains approximately 107 billion gallons of water covering 528 acres of water surface, and the dam holding back that upper reservoir is 230 feet high and 8,500 feet long.



Make Vision Health a National Priority, National Academies Report Says

As many as 16 million Americans have uncorrected vision impairments, according to the report, which urges efforts to eliminate avoidable impairments by 2030.

A date stamp associated with one of the part numbers indicated manufacture on in January 2002, which was consistent with the delivery date for the MH370 aircraft, ATSB reported.

Wing Flap from Missing MH370 Identified

The flap section was found June 20, 2016, on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania. The Malaysian government asked ATSB to determine whether the flap section came from the MH370 aircraft, and ATSB did so by using part numbers and a date stamp.

The "Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance" will focus on improving awareness of antimicrobial resistance among farmers, veterinary professionals, authorities, policymakers, and consumers. It also emphasizes building national capacities for surveillance and monitoring of AMR and antimicrobial use in food and agriculture and promoting best practices.

UN Ag Agency Issues Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance in Foods

The action plan calls for raising awareness among farmers, consumers, authorities, and veterinary professionals and building national capacities for surveillance and monitoring.

CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says 75 million Americans have high blood pressure, and about half of them don

CDC Study Again Calls Attention to Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure

About 75 million Americans have high blood pressure, and about half of them don't have it under control, raising their risk of stroke and heart attack, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden reiterated Sept. 13.

After reviewing current Medicare emergency preparedness regulations, CMS found the regulatory requirements were not comprehensive enough to address the complexities of emergency preparedness.

CMS Issues Final Rule to Increase Facilities' Emergency Preparedness

The rule will require Medicare and Medicaid participating providers and suppliers to develop an emergency plan using an all-hazards approach and to meet other industry best practices.

FHWA Accepting Nominations for Emergency Route Working Group

The committee of as many as 25 members will provide advice and recommendations to the secretary of Transportation on best practices for expeditious state approval of special permits for vehicles involved in emergency response and recovery.

OSHA Wants Input on Shipyard Fall Protection Rules

Falls are a leading cause of shipyard fatalities, according to OSHA, which states that 40 percent of all fatal incidents in shipyard employment from 1992 to 2014 resulted from falls to a lower level, citing BLS data. The current standards haven't been updated since 1971.

Electronic Health Records Devouring Physicians' Time, Study Finds

The authors evaluated the time they spent on four activities (direct clinical face time, EHR and desk work, administrative tasks, and other tasks) and self-reported after-hours work. They concluded that the doctors spent 27.0 percent of their total time on direct clinical face time with patients and 49.2 percent of their time on EHR and desk work.

Noise Safety Challenge Now Under Way

Hearing damage is pervasive, both from occupational exposures and from recreational exposures. According to NIOSH, U.S. business paid more than $1.5 million in penalties last year for not protecting workers from noise and an estimated $242 million is spent annually on workers' compensation for hearing loss disability.

DARPA Hails Smartphone-Sized Radiation Detectors

The networked devices were developed as part of the SIGMA program, which began in 2014 with the goal of creating a cost-effective, continuous radiation-monitoring network that can cover a large city or region.

Celebrating Labor Day 2016

"The best way we, in the occupational safety and health community, can honor workers today and throughout the year, is to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for every man and woman—young and old alike," NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard wrote in his Labor Day 2016 message.

NHTSA Chief Sends Safe Driving Message for Labor Day Weekend

NHTSA has reported that there were 35,092 people killed in U.S. traffic crashes during 2015, which ended a five-decade trend of declining fatalities with a 7.2 percent increase in deaths from 2014, and its data showed a 3.2 percent increase in drunk driving fatalities -- with 10,265 such deaths in 2015, compared to 9,943 in 2014.

Preparedness Month Begins with Floridians on Alert

"Disasters don't always occur when we are together with our family and friends, and so it is important to take a few minutes now to plan what you will do in the event you are separated," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said.

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Counting Down to NSC 2016

The pre-conference program identifies 10 technical sessions as "hot topics" for this year—and they look very promising.

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