safety

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The Secret Nuclear Mishaps That Aren't Causing Alarm

Scientists in one case ended up breathing in uranium due to 'several grievous errors'

(Newser) - For the past year, the Center for Public Integrity has been investigating nuclear negligence in the US, finding weaknesses that led to avoidable accidents and looking at the resulting repercussions—or lack of them. As part of that probe, Scientific American publishes a look at one such federal investigation into...

5 Safest, Least Safe States
This Is America's
Safest State

This Is America's Safest State

Vermont is A-OK, Mississippi not so much

(Newser) - Drug problems aside , living in Vermont is your safest bet to stay safe, according to WalletHub . The site reviewed a variety of data falling under the categories of personal, financial, workplace, and road safety, as well as emergency preparedness, to give the states a safety score out of 100,...

Airplane Phone Restrictions: Safety or Manners?

'Many passengers would prefer that voice calls not be made on airplanes'

(Newser) - Overhearing some loudmouth's phone conversation is bad enough on the street or at a restaurant, but nobody wants to be sitting next to that person for the duration of a flight. And that may be the real reason the FCC continues to ban voice calls on phones, even though...

Horse Manure Figures in Fight Over Religious Freedom

Two Amish men in rural Kentucky say a law requiring horse diapers is unfair

(Newser) - An unusual clash about religious freedom is playing out in the small city of Auburn, Kentucky: It's all about horse diapers, reports the Wall Street Journal . Two local Amish men have filed a lawsuit against the city, its mayor, and its police chief, accusing them of violating their ability...

Few Vacationed in Iceland. Then Things Went 'Bonkers'

Island's population is 332K; the country has seen 1.6M tourists so far this year

(Newser) - Iceland is hot, and no, this isn't a story about global warming. Since the tiny island country in the northern Atlantic began keeping tabs in 1949, the number of visiting tourists has climbed from roughly 5,000 people a year to, in 2010, more than 500,000. Then, in...

The 10 Least Safe Cities for Women
The 10 Least Safe
Cities for Women

The 10 Least Safe Cities for Women

Be extra-vigilant in Miami, Houston

(Newser) - Out on the town in Miami or Houston? Ladies should be extra-vigilant. Both cities are among the least safe for women based on 31 factors, including crime, workplace policies, women in local politics and police forces, and health care, as well as education and wealth, which "indicate a woman'...

New Ride-Sharing Service for Women, Driven by Women

But there are risks of gender discrimination lawsuits

(Newser) - Starting April 19 in Boston, women will be able to hail a ride that may make them feel safer, the Next Web reports. In response to reported sexual assaults during Uber, Lyft, and taxi rides, Michael Pelletz launched Chariot for Women , providing ride-sharing just for women (as well as kids...

Google's 'Robot' System Can Now Be Considered Legal Driver

This could be a big step

(Newser) - Up until recently, Google's self-driving cars have been limited to real-world activity only in certain states (i.e., not on the federal level), and only under certain conditions, Quartz notes. But this week the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted a Feb. 4 letter saying Google's self-driving system,...

To Avoid Falling on Ice, Do as Penguins Do

Don't stick with your usual stride: waddle instead

(Newser) - If anyone's an expert at walking in icy conditions, it's penguins—so it only makes sense that we should follow their example to stay safe. An infographic from Tablet explains it: Prevent slipping by focusing your center of gravity "over your front leg." That's instead...

Golden Gate Bridge Taking First-Ever Weekend Off

Bridge will be shut down as traffic median is installed

(Newser) - San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge has apparently banked plenty of PTO hours over the last 77 years—and this weekend it's using 52 of them. Starting at midnight tonight and continuing through 4am Monday, the bridge will be closed to cars so that a movable median barrier can...

What Stores Are Doing to Prevent Black Friday Freakouts

Tickets, Segways, live bands aim to keep shoppers calm

(Newser) - Ever since a Walmart worker was trampled to death five years ago on Black Friday, the chain has increased its efforts to ensure safe shopping. Now, a range of top retailers are trying everything from live music to off-duty police hires to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy. Among their...

65K US Bridges 'Structurally Deficient'

And another 20K are 'fracture critical,' which is even worse

(Newser) - Think about this the next time you drive over a bridge: An AP analysis of 607,380 bridges in the most recent federal National Bridge Inventory showed that 65,605 were classified as "structurally deficient" and 20,808 as "fracture critical." A bridge is deemed fracture critical...

Task Forces Tackle Dangerous—and Disgusting—Hoarding

California team has been trained to fight gag reflex

(Newser) - How'd you like to spend your days walking on piles of newspapers soaked with rat urine, helping hoarders clear their houses of not just junk but often gross junk, from mildewed papers to bottles of urine? That's what the members of California's Orange County Task Force on...

High School to Fire Blanks During Shooting Drill

Starter pistol aims to familiarize kids with sound of gunfire

(Newser) - A Chicago-area high school has an unconventional safety drill slated for today: During its "code red drill," Cary-Grove High School is going so far as to have someone in the hallway shoot blanks from a starter pistol. The point? "To provide our teachers and students some familiarity...

Hidden Danger Aboard Planes: Lithium Batteries

 Hidden Danger 
 Aboard Planes: 
 Lithium Batteries 
in case you missed it

Hidden Danger Aboard Planes: Lithium Batteries

Shipments suspected in 2 jet crashes

(Newser) - The new year brings new shipping standards for lithium batteries—and though they're designed to improve safety, the new rules may not be enough to protect us. The Wall Street Journal explains that the batteries can "spontaneously ignite" if they're damaged or overheated, which is exactly what...

Walmart in 2011: We Won't Pay for Factory Safety

Declined to pay more in order for Bangladesh factories to improve

(Newser) - Walmart could have helped make Bangladesh's garment factories safer, but it declined at a meeting in 2011, saying such a move would be too expensive. Details from the meeting are coming out now in the wake of the factory fire that killed 112 last month. More than a dozen...

Teen Wins $14.5M Settlement From Louisville Slugger

He was injured by ball hit off aluminum bat

(Newser) - A New Jersey boy's 2006 baseball injury resulted in a $14.5 million settlement this week. Steven Domalewski was pitching when a batter using an aluminum bat hit a line drive that struck him in the chest, stopped his heart, and caused serious brain damage, reports AP . The family...

Motorcycle Deaths Hold Steady

Even as overall road fatalities decrease

(Newser) - The number of motorcycle fatalities in 2011 did not budge compared to 2010, even though overall vehicle deaths dipped to the lowest level since 1949, says a new highway safety report. One theory: High gas prices might be encouraging more people to drive motorcycles instead of cars, reports the Los ...

New Plan: Fewer Safety Drills Near US Nuke Plants

Sleep soundly, America

(Newser) - Without fanfare, US nuclear power regulators have overhauled community emergency planning for the first time in more than three decades, requiring fewer drills for major accidents and recommending that fewer people be evacuated right away. The revamp, the first since the program began after 1979's Three Mile Island accident,...

Most Dangerous Part of Oil Jobs: Driving Home

Exemptions allow drivers to head home after 20-hour shifts

(Newser) - You know what's more dangerous than working on an oil rig? Driving home from one. More than 300 oil and gas workers have died in car crashes in the past decade, making it the top cause of death in a dangerous industry, the New York Times reports. The probable...

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