04182011 Canada Extension of natural gas distribution network to Thetford Mines: Gaz Métro announces the signing of an important agreement with Sables Olimag: MONTREAL, April 18 /CNW Telbec/ - Gaz Métro today announces the signing of an important agreement with Les Sables Olimag inc. (Sables Olimag), a producer of non-toxic abrasives for sandblasting in Eastern Canada, thus marking a step forward toward extending the natural gas distribution network to Thetford Mines. The contract with Sables Olimag represents a major portion of the volume of natural gas needed for Gaz Métro to obtain authorization from the Régie de l'énergie for the extension of its distribution network by 72 km at an estimated cost of $24.7 million. The Thetford Mines community's long hoped-for project will become a reality in fall 2012, with the help of a financial contribution of more than $18 million from the Federal Government, and the leadership of the Comité de réalisation du gazoduc Vallée-Jonction/Thetford....more...

04182011 Austria AUSTRIA: Enzyme process offers Eco-friendly jeans boost: Scientists in Austria have developed what they claim is a cheaper, more efficient and eco-friendly method for giving a distressed look to denim jeans, and one that offers an alternative to the controversial sandblasting technique. A central step in processing indigo dyed textiles such as blue jeans is the wash and bleach process which creates a final wash down effect. To remove the ring-dyed indigo dyestuff, manufacturers use a combination of drum washing machines and chemical treatments...more...

04162011 US San Pedro bridge wears out welcome: Drive into or out of San Pedro, and you'll learn who's having a birthday and who's graduating. That's because San Pedro's pedestrian bridge - which arches over the end of the Harbor (110) Freeway and Gaffey Street - has become the town's catch-all bulletin board. A bevy of handmade signs - most beginning with "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ... " or "CONGRATULATIONS ... " - flutter from the overpass, some written on paper and tacked onto the structure, others inked onto bedroom sheets and draped over the side. It's turned the bridge into a blighted, much-maligned landmark in the eyes of many hometown residents....more...

04142011 South Africa Anglo to restructure BEE share scheme: The total cost to AngloGold Ashanti of the proposed restructuring was around R120.5-million while the pro-forma impact on adjusted headline earnings and net asset value per share is 0.4% and 0.2% respectively, it said. The company said the restructuring was to ensure the intended benefits would accrue to its recipients, namely its South African employees, through the Bokamoso ESOP trust and BEE Partner Izingwe Holdings, an investment company controlled by black investors...more...

042011 Nigeria Jonathan lifts ban on mining in Zamfara after lead poisoning: Gusau (WorldStage Newsonline)-- President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday announced the immediate lifting of the temporary ban on mining of solid minerals in Zamfara State and assured the people that the Federal Government will invest more in solid minerals development if given the mandate to direct the affairs f the nation in the coming April 2011 presidential election. Speaking at a PDP campaign rally in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, the President said following consultations with the state governor, Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, the ban imposed following the lead poisoning in the state was no longer necessary....more...

03222011 Turkey Sandblasting Of Denim in Turkey: Approximately eight to ten thousand workers live not knowing that they are in danger of an illness, more than half of these are affected but not aware of their illness, hundreds more of them fight against this illness and unfortunately many of them have lost their lives to this illness. In Turkey the laborers who work in the sandblasting of denim develop the illness called silicosis. It is estimated that at least eight to ten thousand workers have been employed in sandblasting workplaces. Particularly from 2000 onwards, the sandblasting of denim was extremely widespread in the garment sector....more....

03212011 UK Top chains are urged to ban sandblasted jeans: The pressure group, Labour Behind the Label, said these companies continue to use sandblasting to give denim a "worn" look, despite the danger that silica dust from the sand can get into workers' lungs. British companies including New Look and Marks & Spencer (Dusseldorf: MA6.DU - news) also say they have banned the process. Levi's and H&M (Stockholm: HMB.ST - news) stopped all use in December "Dead workers aren't fashionable," said Sam Maher, co-author of Labour Behind the Label's Killer Jeans report, which will be published on Monday...more....

03142011 US State pledges to restore, keep lead poisoning records: A lawyer for the state health department pledged Monday in Baltimore Circuit Court to retrieve and safeguard records of Maryland children tested for lead poisoning, resolving a complaint by lawyers for poisoned children over the agency's recent destruction of thousands of paper records of those tests. Matthew Fader, assistant attorney general representing the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told Judge Pamela J. White that he had reached an agreement with lawyers bringing lawsuits on behalf of lead-poisoned children to keep all remaining paper test results and to try to restore electronic records that had also been deleted...more....

03132011 Maryland Maryland lab destroys documentation on lead poisoning of children: Maryland's health secretary said Friday that his department's laboratory has destroyed test results dating to the 1980s documenting lead poisoning of Maryland children - potentially thousands of records that plaintiffs' lawyers say are crucial to pursuing lawsuits seeking damages on behalf of poisoned children and their families. Joshua Sharfstein said he has asked for an investigation of how the destruction of records happened, replaced the lab's director and ordered that efforts be made to recover whatever test results might have been deleted from state computer files....more....

03112011 Turkey Levi Strauss & Co. Proposes Radical New Standards for Apparel Industry: In a speech to be delivered today at the CERES annual conference, Levi Strauss & Co. CEO and President John Anderson will urge the apparel industry to adopt a new level of social, economic and environmental sustainability, moving beyond compliance with site-specific regulations to encompass improvements in the daily lives of workers in the global supply chain. This is going to be a tough row to hoe, to say the least. However, though it would be practically impossible for one company to change an entire global industry on its own, Anderson makes it clear that Levi’s experience as a leader in supply chain engagement indicates that a strong, consistent and focused program can establish new norms and gain widespread acceptance within a relatively short period of time...more....

03102011 US Lead Lead poisoning is theme of legislative hearing in New Orleans: Legislators heard both good news and bad. On the one hand, they were told, reported levels of lead poisoning decreased sharply in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. On the other hand, despite legal requirements, many pediatricians are not making sure that their young patients are tested for lead, and the city is doing little to enforce a law requiring homeowners and contractors to take safety precautions when removing lead-based paint....more....

03082011 US Osha US Department of Labor's OSHA cites Lavonia, Ga., cotton manufacturerfor 16 serious safety and health violations following fatality: LAVONIA, Ga. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Parkdale America LLC in Lavonia with 16 safety and health violations following the death of a worker in September 2010, who fell from a rolling ladder while replacing the drive housing unit on a spinning machine...more....

03072011 US Osha US Labor Department's OSHA fines Chicago-area contractor nearly $123,000 for failing to provide trench cave-in protection for workers: SCHAMBURG, Ill. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued A. Lamp Concrete Contractors Inc., a road building contractor in Schamburg that engages in concrete and underground construction, one willful, one serious and two repeat safety citations for failing to protect workers from cave-ins during trenching operations at a job site in Morton Grove. The company faces proposed penalties of $122,960...more....