Emergency Response


Spill Commission's Second Meeting Set for Aug. 25

This meeting in Washington, D.C., of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling will look at root causes of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and be broadcast live.

Since the fire season began, about 1.7 million acres have burned.

Russia May Revise Current Fire Safety Program

EMERCOM, the agency that includes the Russian State Fire Service, reported 129,161 people and 19,343 pieces of apparatus were fighting the 589 fires active on Aug. 5 in the country.

Poisoning Death Rate Rising as Other Leading Causes Fall

The age-adjusted rate for poisonings more than doubled from 1979 to 2007, CDC reports.

The National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures aims to create an agenda for implementing stronger protections.

National Conversation Has Busy Fall Agenda

More than 50 public meetings are in the books for this project of CDC and ATSDR about chemical exposures and public health. An action agenda is scheduled for release in December.

Providing a Solid Foundation

In many cases, our training is the first opportunity workers have had to use entry equipment and to understand the potential dangers they could encounter in a confined space.

Study: Having Interpreters in the ER Improves Safety, Efficiency, Overall Mood

“Using the same interpreter from triage to discharge creates continuity of care and also ensures that we are not missing anything important when talking to the patient,” said study co-author Dr. Robert Eisenstein. “It has the potential to help us get a more accurate patient assessment on arrival in the emergency department as well as better patient compliance with discharge instructions because the patient actually understands what we’re telling them to do!”

The Year of the Spill

In the end, all of us will pay for this disaster.

This photo shows some of the destruction caused by the December 2004 Asian tsunami.

Global Database Being Developed for Use in Disasters

INTERPOL is working with five European partners to create FASTID, which became a priority after the Asian tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004, killed at least 227,000 people.



Hazmat Training: Preparing for the Worst

At the specialist level, trainees are expected to don and doff a hazmat suit. For some, this can bring out anxieties that range from fear of suit entrapment to decreased mobility or visibility.

Construction of venues for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games is well under way in London.

London Looks Ahead

With construction of venues for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games well under way, a study commissioned by HSE analyzed the risks and hazards at major sports events around the world. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was insured for a total of about $9.4 billion, according to Lloyd's.

Cleaning the Gulf

In the same way the demand for respirators challenged manufacturers after H1N1 influenza was declared a pandemic, glove and apparel orders soared once the spill began.

Massey Energy, Like BP, Posts Large Loss

Second quarter 2010 results from the coal company showed its revenue on coal sales rose from a year earlier, but $128.9 million of pretax charges associated with the Upper Big Branch Mine incident produced an $88.7 million quarterly loss.

Metal/Nonmetal Mine Rescue Contest Begins

Held in Reno and sponsored by MSHA, the national contest features 38 teams from 16 states. Awards will be presented Thursday.

Five North American Lafarge Units Join Excellence Club

It recognizes business units that maintain a total injury frequency rate of less than 10 and a lost-time injury frequency rate of less than one per million man-hours worked.

Tony Hayward is BP Group Chief Executive, a member of the board of directors, and head of the BP executive management team.

BP's Hayward Leaving 'By Mutual Agreement'

The chief executive is out effective Oct. 1 and will be nominated as a non-executive director of BP's Russian joint venture.

Special Permits, Hearing Spotlight Hazmat Cargo Tanks

An Aug. 3-4 public hearing by the NTSB about an Indianapolis crash will look at design changes and tank crashworthiness standards. Meanwhile, PHMSA has proposed incorporating six special permits in the Hazardous Materials Regulations, mainly for agricultural shipments.

Miami Transit System Being Checked After Collision

Forty people were treated after two of the automated Metromover cars bumped Tuesday on the 1.1-mile Brickell Loop operated by Miami-Dade Transit.

About 6.2 million patient transport ambulance trips occur annually in the United States. According to NHTSA, approximately 10 percent of those 6.2 million patients are children.

Public Meeting Set on Children's Ambulance Trips

NHTSA says what data are available indicate as many as 1,000 ambulance crashes per year involve children, yet there is no uniformity nationwide for how children should be restrained during transport.

This photo of the Sago Mine is found on the MSHA online page about the 2006 mine explosion there.

$500,000 in Mine Safety Training Grants Offered

The FY 2010 Brookwood-Sago grants will fund mine emergency preparedness and mine emergency prevention training programs and training materials for underground mines.

All five companies prosecuted in connection with the Dec. 11, 2005, explosion and fire at the Buncefield oil storage depot pleaded guilty or were found guilty by a jury.

Buncefield Defendants Fined $14.5 Million

The December 2005 explosion at the fuel storage depot in Hemel Hempstead, near London, is considered the most costly petrochemical accident ever in Britain, with an estimated total cost of almost $1.5 billion.

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