Safety News
If you’re buying a new home, the house may need to be tested for radon, depending on local laws. Although the tests aren’t required everywhere, you should insist on it. You might not be able to see or smell radon, but it can still harm you—slowly, and in ways that you can’t detect. Radon is [...]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is notifying the public of new information about zolpidem, a widely prescribed insomnia drug. FDA recommends that the bedtime dose be lowered because new data show that blood levels in some patients may be high enough the morning after use to impair activities that require alertness, including driving. [...]
The IC3 continues to receive complaints reporting telephone calls from individuals claiming to be with Tech Support from a well-known software company. The callers have very strong accents and use common names such as “Adam” or “Bill.” Callers report the user’s computer is sending error messages, and a virus has been detected. In order to [...]
The Food Standards Agency is advising people not to consume products containing the substance DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine), after a number of people across the world have reported adverse reactions linked to products containing DMAA.
The U.S. Consumer Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers that certain recalled products, originally sold at Meijer, Inc., were resold after the recall date due to an error. These recalled products were improperly disposed of by offering them for sale at discount retailers, dollar stores, liquidation firms, flea markets and thrift stores nationwide at various [...]
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced that Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), of Palo Alto, Calif., has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $425,000. The settlement agreement has been provisionally accepted by the Commission (3-1). Others arrived looking for:hewlett packard civil penalty
During the height of holiday gift giving, most people aren’t thinking about product recalls. It’s definitely on the minds of manufacturers, though. Data such as serialization, lot and batch numbers prove invaluable in the event of a recall. In the excitement of unwrapping presents, however, UPC codes, product registration cards and other packaging information often [...]
In an effort to prevent further injuries and deaths resulting from the use of gel fuels in firepots, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted (4-0) Friday to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) aimed at improving the safety of gel fuels and firepots.
EU Votes to Ban 3-acetyl-2,5-dimethylthiophene
It has been decided by the European Commission and European Union member states that the flavoring substance 3-acetyl-2,5-dimethylthiophene should be banned. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a scientific opinion and press release on 16 May that said: ‘The flavoring substance 3-acetyl-2,5-dimethylthiophene is genotoxic (that is, it can damage DNA, the genetic material of [...]
What We Know About Concussions
Your brain is your body’s command center. Its soft, sensitive tissues float in a cushioning fluid within the hard and sturdy skull. But a swift blow to the head or violent shaking can override these protections and lead to a mild type of brain injury known as a concussion. More than 1 million mild traumatic [...]
Flu in Pregnancy May Quadruple Risk for Bipolar Disorder in the Child
Pregnant mothers’ exposure to the flu was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk that their child would develop bipolar disorder in adulthood, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings add to mounting evidence of possible shared underlying causes and illness processes with schizophrenia, which some studies have also linked [...]
NHS England to Tackle Shockingly Low Dementia Diagnosis Rates
NHS England is to tackle “shockingly low” dementia diagnosis rates with plans that could see 160,000 people who are unknowingly living with the condition identified and treated, Jeremy Hunt announced today. The plans, announced as the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia reached its first year, will aim to see two-thirds of people with dementia identified [...]
CDC Finds Suicide Rates Among Middle-aged Adults Increased From 1999 to 2010
Suicide deaths have surpassed deaths from motor vehicle crashes in recent years in the United States. In 2010 there were 33,687 deaths from motor vehicle crashes and 38,364 suicides. Suicide rates among middle-aged Americans have risen substantially since 1999, according to a report in CDC journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. “Suicide is a tragedy [...]