New York bans hoverboards on trains and subways over fire concerns
January 27, 2016, Mashable.com
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that it is banning the possession of hoverboards on its public transportation system facilities, adding to the growing list of facilities and institutions that have instituted bans. It’s chief safety officer said that in addition to concern over the safety of hoverboards on station platforms, “we’re equally concerned about the safety risk of bringing devices that pose fire hazards into the confined spaces inside trains and buses.”
Consumer Affairs update on hoverboards
January 27, 2016, bernews.com
Add Bermuda (British Overseas Territory) to the locations that are tracking developments on the risks that hoverboards represent globally. The island territory uses the U.S. consumer Product Safety Commissioner’s public announcements relating to the fire-prone product as the basis for its warnings to citizens. Bermuda urges residents who own hoverboards “to use them with great caution” and “have a working fire extinguisher nearby while charging or using these boards in and around your home.”
South Korea expresses concerns over China’s toughened safety rules on batteries
January 28, 2016, English.yonhapnews.co.kr
A South Korea committee consisting of government and business officials has asked the Chinese government to delay introducing tougher safety rules on lithium-ion batteries. In October, the Chinese government said it would look closely into whether imported lithium-ion batteries meet safety rules when issuing its product quality certification. The Koreans are asking for more time to respond to the new rules, which are set to go into effect.
Batteries with a less fiery future
January 21, 2016, NPR News
Stanford University chemical engineer Zhensen Bao says she and her colleagues think they have a “very simple solution’ that can prevent the catastrophic failure of lithium-ion batteries that can heat up to point of starting fires on such products as airplanes, cars, and hoverboards. By chemically treating a piece of heat-sensitive plastic to conduct electricity, its carbon-coated nickel nanoparticles expand under heat and pull apart so they can no longer conduct electricity and stop the battery from operating.
Volkswagen may buy back diesel cars it can’t fix
January 28, 2016, The New York Times
A company attorney says the automaker may buy back some diesel cars in the United States if it cannot make them compliant with air quality rules fast enough. This is seen as the “clearest indication yet that the company, which is based in Wolfsburg, Germany, may not have the technology to bring emissions for some cars into line with regulations without hurting performance and fuel economy.
Water pollution in Hoosick Falls prompts action by New York State
January 27, 2016, The New York Times
Scrambling to contain an environmental scare in a small upstate village, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is using Superfund money, filtration systems and testing to address the presence of a toxic chemical, perfluoroctanoic acid, or PFOA, an industrial chemical used in the manufacture of coatings such as Teflon, cleaning products and other materials. Local officials welcomed the governor’s decision.
Monsanto sues California over herbicide classification
January 22, 2016, The New York Times
The company stepped up its defense of Roundup, a widely used weed killer, by filing a lawsuit in California seeking to prevent glyphosate, the main ingredient in the herbicide, from being added to the stat’s list of known carcinogens under the provisions of Proposition 65. The company’s suit against California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is based on the state’s use of an assessment by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer as an “unelected, undemocratic, unaccountable and foreign body.” It claims the lack of oversight violates the company’s right to procedural due process under sate and federal law.
New food safety rules loom over industry
January 21, 2016, Handfordsentinel.com
As U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials issue rules to enforce the sweeping Food Safety Modernization Act, local operators around the country involved in food product chains from farms to restaurants are trying to understand what it means to their operations. Rules covering fresh produce growers were released in November. In March, rules will be released covering third party certification of foreign food facilities, increased sanitation requirements, for food haulers, and mandatory anti-terrorism plans to be submitted by domestic and foreign food facilities.
Ready for a crisis?
January 27, 2016, Agweb.com
Prepare in advance to save time when an emergency strikes is the advise of one writer. She recommends tat experts be call on to advise farm owners on how to develop protocols and plans for handling disasters such as tornadoes, disease outbreaks, and charges of animal cruelty.
New guide to complex supply chain disputes released on Amazon
January 28, 2016, einpresswire.com
Supply chain legal experts have published a first of its kind legal and operational guide to successfully manage supply chain relationships. The book is a guide for optimizing supply chain relationships, beginning with the first states of supplier-buyer relationships through handling legal disputes when supply chain relationships fail.
