safety

A three-year study by the award-winning, investigative on-line journal ProPublica indicates that strict comprehensive regulations of oil and gas drilling and, in particular, of hydraulic fracturing would not be enough to protect the drinking water, the health, and the public and private property of many Americans. The main reason is that the powerful oil and natural gas industry resists regulations by egregiously eroding them through the influence of well-paid lobbyists on state and federal politicians and agencies.

A significant case in point involves Class 2 injection wells, which the industry in order to save money and increase its profits has been using for many decades to dispose of toxic fluid wastes. According to ProPublica, “There are now more than 150,000 Class 2 wells in 33 states, into which oil and gas drillers have injected at least 10 trillion gallons of fluid.” The journal examined records summarizing tens of thousands of Class 2 well inspections. ProPublica examined also “federal audits of state oversight programs, interviewed dozens of experts and explored court documents, case files, and the evolution of underground disposal law over the past 30 years.”

New codes are a mixed bag of good and bad:

The North Carolina Building Code Council decided Tuesday to order the increase in home energy efficiency and to consider changes to building standards that could cut building costs by 15 percent. Commercial buildings would be required to meet a 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency.

But it seems unlikely that entire package of savings will be approved. The proposals include easing requirements on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and rules on home foundations, which some council members said would risk safety.

Some council members? If they don't see the safety risk of easing those requirements, they shouldn't be sitting on the Council in the first place.

In the aftermath of 9/11, we saw thousands of workers develop devastating respiratory conditions and other illnesses as a result of exposure to toxic dust that filled the air in the days and weeks after the twin towers fell. To this day, these peoples' plight continues to add misery to the ongoing tragedy of 9/11. What makes it even worse is that these people were assured the air was safe.   As we all know now, it wasn't.

Today, sadly, history may be repeating itself in the Gulf of Mexico.

Officials from five local governments near the Shearon Harris nuclear plant, and three watchdog groups, asked for a federal investigation into possible wrongdoing by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission involving the top safety issue at the nation’s reactors. They say the NRC is ignoring its own safety regulations – and criticisms by numerous fire science experts – while attempting to bring scores of nuclear plants into compliance after over two decades of regulatory failure. Fire constitutes more than 50% of the risk of core meltdown - the main threat being that one fire could knock out redundant control cables.

Emergency rooms see approximately 217,000 toy-related injuries each year. But the good news is tragedies from toys are most often injuries and not deaths. On average, only 15 children younger than 14 die from toy-related injuries each year according to Safe Kids USA. Choking on small parts is the most frequent cause of toy-related death.