As batteries keep catching fire, U.S. safety agency prepares for change
November 27, 2016, npr
In October, CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye introduced a new initiative to help the agency get a broader understanding of the battery industry and how to prevent rather than resolve hazards. In November, he found himself preparing for a change of roles and the hope that his potential successor will not scuttle this work.
EPA Names the first ten chemicals to be evaluated under the revised TSCA law amidst concern over the agency’s future
December 12, 2016, 4-Traders
On November 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named the first chemicals to be reviewed for safe use under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act legislation. Since then U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen an Oklahoma attorney as EPA’s new leader, albeit one with a career-long record of opposing the agency and it programs.
Designing a safer battery for smartphones (that won’t catch fire)
December 12, 2017, The New York Times
An engineer has a new spin on lithium-batteries. His company is working on “solid” lithium polymers that greatly reduce their combustible nature. His dream is to create the “holy grail of solid batteries.”
Blog: Battery safety: Do we need new regulations
December 12, 2016, Electronic Design
A blogger looks at Galaxy Note7 battery fires and explosions, and suggests that the smartphone’s aggressive design was responsible for the battery explosions. She offers one company’s theory on root cause and poses the question of whether standards should be changed to better reinforce the safety of consumers from product failures like this.
Analysis: CPSC guidance to encourage the disclosure of relevant consumer product safety information in private litigation
December, 6, 2016 Ad Law Access (Kelley Drye)
Two attorneys have analyzed a recent guidance approved by the CPSC that encourages parties to include a provision in their protective orders or settlement agreements that allows for disclosure of relevant consumer product safety information to the CPSC and other authorities.
Rare Court decision in CPSC-backed enforcement action rendered against Spectrum Brands, Inc.
December 9, 2017, Morrison Foerster
In a federal district court in Wisconsin, the court interpreted the Consumer Product Safety Act to grant the Consumer Product Safety Commission broad latitude in seeking and levying penalties for failure to report a product safety hazard. The court found that Spectrum Brands is liable for failing to report timely in a rare CPSC-backed lawsuit.
Troubled Chipotle will lose one of its CEOs
December 9, 2016, The New York Times
The food safety crises that have battered the once high-flying Chipotle Mexican Grill
over the past year are taking a toll on the company’s executive suite. Co-chief executive officer Montgomery F. Moran will step down early next year. The company said it would also be changing the board.
U.S. Agency concerned about destroyed, lost phones in VW probe
December 12, 1016, Reuters
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is engaged in settlement talks with Volkswagen over its diesel emissions scandal, has raised concerns about nearly two dozen mobile phones destroyed or lost by the German automakers. In a court filing, the FTC said that the 23 lost or broken phones “were a bright red flag, especially when they include phones that belongs to (unidentified) important individuals.”
EU urges easing of hydrocarbons restrictions
December 12, 2016, Hydrocarbons21.com
Standards, codes and legislation must be adapted to encourage the wider rollout of hydrocarbons as HFC alternatives, argues an upcoming European Commission report. Local building codes and fire regulators, as well as transport and storage-related codes, can “severely restrict” the use of flammable refrigerants in many EU countries, the report declares.
Health and safety experts offer 2017 predictions
December, 12, 2016, SHPonline
U.K. professionals from a varied range of backgrounds and sectors share their thoughts and opinions of what lies ahead. After a year that brought us President-elect Trump, Brexit, sentencing guidelines and the Rio Olympics, some very specific health and safety predictions are made by health and safety executives, engineers, regulators and public officials, as well as educators.
