There were 103 Taser stun-gun-related deaths in the United States and Canada between June 2001 and March 2005, according to an Amnesty International report. [ + ]

Following growing concerns around the potential danger of certain potting mixes on the market, SAI Global has issued a warning to green thumbs across the country. [ + ]

The national addiction with home renovation is being blamed for a huge surge in cases of the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma, so much so that home renovators are being warned that even small jobs can be fatal. New figures in Victoria show mesothelioma cases have more than quadrupled since 1982, and Queensland Health figures show the number of terminal asbestos cases has risen from 49 to 1993 to 73 in 1998 - a 50% increase in just five years. [ + ]

The acting chief executive officer WorkCover NSW, John Watson, has announced a revised Code of Practice for Noise Management and Protection of Hearing at Work. [ + ]

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has ruled that the common chemical formaldehyde is a carcinogen. [ + ]

A Sydney company which specialises in iris recognition technology that provides security identity checks more accurate than DNA has taken out the honours in the annual Australian Technology Showcase (ATS) Patrons' Award. [ + ]

Australians use more cannabis than people in the United States, Britain and the Netherlands. [ + ]

Yoga exponents are being caught out by the activity's relaxing and low impact image with more than one in four injured during sessions. [ + ]

Tieman Industries has been fined $275,000 by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission sitting in Court Session following a workplace incident that led to the permanent disability of a worker. [ + ]

The US, Denmark and Singapore are interested in buying new Australian technology which allows the safe removal of hazardous sea mines. [ + ]

Integral Energy has been fined a total of $150,000 by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission sitting in court session following serious injury to a worker using a woodchipping machine. [ + ]

Boral Construction Materials has been fined $200,000 by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission sitting in Court Session following the death of a road worker near Goulburn in 1999. [ + ]

WorkCover NSW chief executive officer, Jon Blackwell said that WorkCover is continuing its efforts to keep truck drivers safe with its latest compliance blitz on falls from heavy vehicles. [ + ]

Known as a ceramifiable polymer, it behaves like an ordinary plastic at room temperature but the high temperatures experienced during a fire cause it to harden into a type of ceramic, allowing wiring to be protected from the flames. [ + ]

A NSW coroner's jury has recommended safety measures at the Perilya Broken Hill mine, in western NSW, after an inquest into the death of an employee underground. [ + ]