Bill Weems and Phil Bishop [ + ]

Between bacterial outbreaks, viral pandemics, irradiation and the continuing controversy surrounding food additives and genetic modification, it seems that the safety of what we consume regularly comes into question. The issue of food safety is a multi-faceted and cross-dimensional issue, covering many disparate areas and a plethora of often-conflicting scientific data. Since this issue affects each and every human being alive today, the question that needs to be asked is: “How safe is the food we eat?†[ + ]

At a recent congressional hearing in Manhattan, experts testified about long-term health problems among workers who inhaled fumes and dust while performing cleanup at the World Trade Center site. [ + ]

A project management and engineering company has been fined $8000 for its role in an incident in which part of the first floor of a building under construction collapsed during a concrete pour. [ + ]

Cyclonic winds can batter a house with uplift forces at a typical roof truss connection equivalent to the weight of a car, which is good reason for homeowners to ensure their dwellings are up to scratch for the cyclone season, says David Henderson, the manager of James Cook University's (JCU) Cyclone Testing Station. [ + ]

Handling cash is as risky as handling radioactive material, according to Security Consultant Terry Flanders who was speaking at a major workplace safety conference, recently presented by the Safety Institute of Australia. [ + ]

The Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) has developed a revolutionary material that can be used for bullet-proof, anti-theft and shrapnel protection applications. The patent rights were sold to Exote Oy, a Finnish company that forecasts a multi-million dollar market for the new material. The company is planning to build a new production facility in southern Finland. The material will most likely be used to produce completely new types of structures for civil and military vehicles. [ + ]

Preventing injuries in Australian Defence Force personnel will be the focus of a new study announced by Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, Danna Vale. [ + ]

Disaster management, through the tracking of bushfires like the one that swept through Canberra suburbs at the start of 2003, will become a more accurate science with the opening of Australia’s largest commercial investment in geospatial technology. [ + ]

WorkSafe has urged businesses to think of a $200,000 fine imposed on a company after a worker died as an urgent wake-up call. [ + ]

A five year old boy has died after falling from a trailer being towed by a ride-on mower at Rochester in the north of Victoria. [ + ]

Engineering researchers at the University of Wollongong have discovered an innovative way of stabilising railway tracks to cater for modern high-speed trains that carry heavy loads. [ + ]

Up to 26 lives may have been saved on Victorian roads in the past 12 months through a ground-breaking program examining the link between driver health and truck accidents, Workcover Minister Rob Hulls announced today. [ + ]

A US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study suggests an association between occupational exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO), a disinfecting agent, and increased risk of breast cancer in women. The study of 7578 women found that those at the highest levels of exposure had a nearly twofold increase over the normal incidence of the disease. [ + ]

The inaugural Safety Show, Sydney, held at the Sydney Showground during October, recorded 5600 visitors - far in excess of the 4000 visitors predicted by the event's organisers, Australian Exhibitions & Conferences. [ + ]