Jury Awards Terminally Ill Man $289 Million In Lawsuit Against Monsanto
August 10, 2018, NPR
At 42, Dewayne Johnson developed a bad rash that was eventually diagnosed as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Four years later Johnson — now near death, according to his doctors — has been awarded a staggering sum of $289 million dollars in damages in a case against agricultural giant Monsanto. The former school groundskeeper sued the company, arguing that an herbicide in the weed killer Roundup, likely caused the disease. His lawyers also contended Monsanto failed to warn consumers about the alleged risk from their product. Monsanto insists its products are safe to use.
CPSC Discussion of Federal Research Action Plan: Crumb Rubber
July, 2018, cpsc.gov
The public, media, and government agencies have expressed concern that the chemicals in surfaces derived from recycled tires may be hazardous to human health. In February 2016, the Federal Research Action Plan on Recycled Tire Crumb Used on Playing Fields and Playgrounds was announced. This is a multi-agency effort, which includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), performing research that seeks to improve the understanding of potential health effects of recreational exposures to recycled tires. The CPSC is studying exposures of children to playground surfaces derived from recycled tires. Ultimately, the CPSC intends to initiate a nationwide survey to acquire representative exposure data, and in turn, inform future research in the associated hazards.
E.P.A. Staff Objected to Agency’s New Rules on Asbestos Use, Internal Emails Show
August 11, 2018, The New York Times
Top officials at the Environmental Protection Agency pushed through a measure to review applications for using asbestos in consumer products, and did so over the objections of E.P.A.’s in-house scientists and lawyers, internal agency emails show. The clash over the proposal exposes the tensions within the E.P.A. over the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back environmental rules and rewrite other regulations that industries have long fought
New strategy launched to keep consumers safe and protect businesses that do the right thing
August 10, 2018, Government.UK
Plans to strengthen the UK’s world-leading product safety regime have been set out by the government’s newly established Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). The OPSS was established in January to help keep consumers safe and enforce the UK’s strict safety laws and the strategy and delivery plan. Included in the plan are a new national incident management team for product safety incidents capable of coordinating large scale product recall and repair programmes, and establishing a new website to support consumers with reliable information and advice about recalled products.
Product Safety: Free SPSP webinar on what every professional needs to know
August 10, 2018, Society of Product Safety Professionals
Product safety professionals and teams work tirelessly to promote product safety, protect consumers, and avoid costly problems. During this cost-free webinar, Tim Cassidy will discuss specific elements within a product safety system, and why they are important for professionals to master. These components include the culture of an organization, product assurance methods and risk management, understanding regulatory trends and requirements, product incident investigations, and product recall management. Tim is Director, Product Compliance and Safety for Best Buy. He holds a Master of Science, Management of Technology from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
County fair’s thrill rides inspected daily
August 3, 2018, Bedford Now
Laura Kreger watched nervously as four of her six children slowly weaved their way through the line Tuesday at the Monroe County Fair. The Monroe native’s kids — ranging from 8 to 13 years old — were waiting patiently to ride Freak Out, a pendulum-like attraction that swings riders up into the air while simultaneously spinning them around in a circle. Kreger explained that this ride in particular was one she hoped to convince her children to avoid.
“This was one I really didn’t want them to ride,” she said. “This one especially, because this is (similar to) a dangerous one that, at another park, went down.” Freak Out is very similar to the Fire Ball attraction that malfunctioned at the Ohio State Fair last summer, killing one person and injuring several others.
Top International News in Chemical Policy and Regulation: August 2,2018 – Europe and United Kingdom
August 2, 2018, National Law Review (Bergeson & Campbell)
EC And Online Marketplaces Sign Product Safety Pledge: The European Commission (EC) announced on June 25, 2018, that it signed a Product Safety Pledge with four major online marketplaces — Alibaba Group (for AliExpress), Amazon, eBay, and Rakuten-France.
Among the measures agreed to, the marketplaces will react within two working days to authorities’ notices made to the companies’ contact points to remove listings offering unsafe products; and provide a clear way for customers to notify dangerous product listings. Such notices are treated expeditiously and appropriate response is given within five working days;
What is Corporate Culture and What Factors Influence It?
August 7, 2018, JDSupra
Over the past few months, senior leaders at both the Department of Justice (DOJ), Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton, have given speeches discussing the need for appropriate corporate culture around compliance. We therefore begin with the question of ‘what is corporate culture?’ It is not simply a social science question as Feldman believes “culture is everything” for an organization. Culture is a foundational internal control, without which all your other controls are likely to be ineffective.
Successful Social Entrepreneur Launches New Venture Selling Toys With A Purpose
August 9, 2018, Forbes
After creating the top-selling organic baby food company, Happy Family, and selling it to Groupe Danone in 2013, Jessica Rolph, 43, is ready to go big again.
Joined by Rod Morris, 46, co-founder and President, Rolph, who serves as CEO, has launched Lovevery, a toy company employing scientific research about early childhood development to create toys that help babies learn.
