04292011 India Silicosis: Unorganized industry affects workers’ health: The unorganized nature of the agate polishing industry in Khambat in Anand continues to affect the workers’ health and many of them die of silicosis. Kesrisinh Darbar (36) died of the disease on Wednesday on the eve of World Day for Safety and Health at Work. He was the ninth member of a family, running a polishing unit at their home in Shakharpur outside Khambat for four decades, to die of silicosis...more....
04282011 US Wish list day at the Emporia City Commission: The Emporia City Commission began Wednesday sifting through a wish list of equipment, vehicles and construction projects brought forth by city department heads. While many of the items would probably help city operations, the reality is the vast majority won’t get done soon. The city has little money to spend on capital improvements so usually the requests get pushed back year after year. “This has always been an exercise in futility,” said Commissioner Jim Kessler. “The department heads say they need it every year, but we obviously don’t have money to do it....more....
04282011 US ‘Tinners’ bring C.R.’s Lady Liberty statue back from flood: Retired sheet metal worker Mike Kane looked at what was left of the Lady Liberty statue on May’s Island after the mighty flood of June 2008, and shrugged. “It’s just a matter of patience and perseverance,” he said. “We’ve had worse.” The eight-foot, four-inch-tall Lady Liberty statute has been part of the downtown landscape for more than 60 years. It was donated by the Boy Scouts of America as part of the youth organization’s nationwide “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty” campaign from 1949 through 1951....more....
04282011 US Perry cleanup project under way: PERRY -- Work is already under way on a separate plan to clean up the A&A Metal Fabricating site. The old facility at 90 Washington Blvd. is already being studied as part of the state Brownfield Cleanup Program, which encourages developers to re-mediate the site for tax credits. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is requesting further study of the location's contaminants, said Executive Director James Pierce of the Wyoming County Business Center, during Tuesday's informational session...more...
04282011 US Lead Paint Poisoning Verdict of $7M Appealed by Sherwin-Williams: This is the second time the case, which has been pending for more than a decade, will reach the Mississippi Supreme Court. The original lawsuit was filed in 2000 by Shermerker Pollard, the mother of Trellvion Gaines, in Jefferson County Circuit Court against Sherwin-Williams. The family alleged that Gaines suffered lead poisoning after eating paint chips and inhaling lead paint dust while living at his grandmother’s home, which had been painted with Sherwin-Williams paint in the early 1970s...more...
04282011 US Hanover Park man's Chevy truck a 1954 classic: For 42 years, Don Zierdon commanded a great view of Chicago roads from his perch high above in his eighteen-wheeler. Crisscrossing the area hauling freight presented him with a full spectrum of available project vehicles tucked away far off the beaten path. But when it came time for him to select a classic to restore, nothing could sway him from what he knew best....more...
04282011 South Africa Anglo offers to fund workers’ treatment: ANGLO American, whose South African subsidiary is being sued by sick workers, has offered to pay for the medical treatment of claimants proven to have silicosis, although it does not concede any liability. The case is likely to come before the South Gauteng High Court next year. Led by lawyer Richard Meeran, teams of lawyers are representing 18 workers who contracted silicosis — a lung disease caused by breathing silica dust caused during mining...more....
04262011Chili Rescued Chilean Miner Has Silicosis: SANTIAGO – Yonni Barrios, one of the 33 men who survived 70 days trapped at the bottom of a mine in northern Chile, says he has been diagnosed with silicosis, a respiratory illness common among miners.“In the exams performed on me at the Chilean Safety Association it emerged that I have silicosis,” the 51-year-old veteran of three decades in the mines told Las Ultimas Noticias newspaper...more...
04252011 UK Concerns for air traffic during volcanic ash cloud were legitimate, say scientists: Particles collected from the Iceland ash cloud were found to be sufficiently sharp to damage jet engines. Photograph: Brynjar Gauti/AP An independent investigation into the volcanic ash cloud that caused travel chaos across Europe last year has vindicated the aviation authorities' decision to ground thousands of flights until the danger had passed. The drifting plume of ash contained fine particles that were hard and sharp enough to put aircraft at risk from abrasion on windows and airframes and, more seriously, to melt inside jet engines and clog up cooling ducts – something that could have caused engines to fail and planes to fall from the sky, scientists report....more....
04252011 Hong Kong Crystal’s Yida jeans plant takes more green steps: Hong Kong based Crystal Group, one of Asia's largest garment manufacturers, is taking steps to improve the energy, water, waste, material usage, air quality and noise at its Yida denim factory to prove the industry doesn't have to be as polluting as many critics claim. Located at Zhong Shan in China's Pearl River Delta, Yida was set up in 2005 and makes 1m pairs of jeans a month for Levis, Gap, Target and JC Penney as well as the Asian market. The company is the third biggest bottoms exporter in the People's Republic of China, and has a 4% share of the US jeans market....more...
04212011 US Space Shuttle Endeavour: A New Beginning (Part I): A little over one year after the loss of the sister she never knew, the United States Congress passed legislation officially authorizing the construction of new Space Shuttle orbiter to fill the manifest needs left in the wake of the 51L disaster. However, before permission to construct a new orbiter was issued, serious consideration was given to refitting the test orbiter Enterprise (OV-101) and having her join the Shuttle fleet as an operational, space-worthy vehicle. This idea was quickly turned down, however, due to cost and time requirements....more...
04212011 London Anglo American Offers Help To Gold Miners With Medical Claims: LONDON - (Dow Jones)- Global diversified miner Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) said Thursday that it will offer to cover the medical expenses of gold miners in South Africa who have filed claims related to respiratory ailments against the company." This is one of those situations where, even though Anglo American firmly believes it is not liable, it has decided, as a responsible corporate citizen, to respond to the request for assistance," Chief Executive Cynthia Carroll told at an annual general meeting with shareholders here....more...
04202011 US Department of Labor's OSHA cites APBN Inc. of Campbell, Ohio, for failing to protect workers from fall, water hazards during bridge construction project: TOLEDO, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued APBN Inc. of Campbell 13 safety citations for failing to provide fall protection and implement water safety procedures for workers sandblasting and painting the Interstate 75 Disalle Bridge more than 40 feet above the Maumee River last October as part of an Ohio Department of Transportation project. The company faces penalties totaling $193,200 and will be placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program....more...
04202011 US Newton : Water Tank Gets New Purpose, Facelift: NEWTON, N.C. -- It’s seen better days but officials hope the water tank in Newton can continue to be a landmark and generate some income. Newton City Council approved a budget ordinance amendment to the city’s water and waste water fund for $22,750 on Tuesday night. The $22,750 is for the 2010-11 fiscal year and is revenue generated from renting space on its water tank to AT&T/New Cingular Wireless....more...
04202011 Nigeria Silicosis trial nears end: Alpheos Blom, 49, who lives in Welkom, worked underground at Anglo's President Steyn Mine in the Free State from 1984 to 2001. Silicosis is caused by breathing in crystalline silica dust, and scars the lungs, making it hard to breath, causing coughing, sufferers to become lethargic, lose their appetites and their skin to go blue....more....
04202011 Nigeria Anglo 'ignored' ill miners: A day ahead of the AGM of the South African company's parent, Anglo American plc, in London, lawyers held a press briefing in Johannesburg at which they alleged that Anglo American SA ignored the health of its miners, some of whom are exposed to more than four times the internationally accepted levels of silica dust. Four of the 18 former miners the lawyers represent have died since the litigation began in 2004. Two of them, Tseliso Nkete and Moses Semakale, had died since December, said London attorney Richard Meeran . Wilson Mafolwana, 62, is one of the remaining 14 suffering from the respiratory disease silicosis, allegedly contracted while he was working for 23 years at the President Steyn gold mine, in the Free State....more...
