Deadly California Building Explosion Being Investigated as Intentional
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal and local investigators searched through debris, looking for remnants of a possible explosive device, after a blast at a Southern California medical office building that left a woman dead and three other people injured. The explosion happened around 1 p.m. Tuesday in Aliso Viejo, about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) south of Los Angeles. Investigators worked through the night and remained at the scene Wednesday morning, said Orange County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Carrie Braun. Firefighters and sheriff's deputies escort children from Academy on the Hill pre-k school in Aliso Viejo, Calif., ...
Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - May 16, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Michael Balsamo, Associated Press Tags: Major Incidents News Source Type: news

New Tool Determines If Vermiculite Insulation Contains Asbestos
Scientists with the United States Geology Survey (USGS) have created a hand-held spectrometer to determine if vermiculite insulation contains deadly amphibole asbestos. The recent innovation should provide a time-saving technique for commercial and home inspectors. Currently, inspectors must send samples to off-site laboratories before making that determination. “The emphasis was coming up with a method that was both reliable and easier to use,” Gregg Swayze, USGS scientist and lead researcher, told Asbestos.com. “We achieved that goal.” The findings were published in the April 2 edition of American Mineralogist. ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - April 24, 2018 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Matt Mauney Source Type: news

Entering a Golden Age of Medical Materials
Materials science is a field that is constantly evolving as technologies advance around us at lightning pace. New trends and developments continue to drive device innovation, but they also push new materials to the forefront as well. Device makers and engineers have made great strides in using these new materials to create exciting new technologies, with recent discoveries made from advances in medical electronics, biomaterials, plastics, and soft materials. Jacqueline Anim is the principal material engineer for Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that manufactures surgical systems and instruments. She currently...
Source: MDDI - April 19, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Kristopher Sturgis Tags: MD & M East (New York) Materials Source Type: news

Adaptive infrared-reflecting systems inspired by cephalopods
Materials and systems that statically reflect radiation in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum underpin the performance of many entrenched technologies, including building insulation, energy-conserving windows, spacecraft components, electronics shielding, container packaging, protective clothing, and camouflage platforms. The development of their adaptive variants, in which the infrared-reflecting properties dynamically change in response to external stimuli, has emerged as an important unmet scientific challenge. By drawing inspiration from cephalopod skin, we developed adaptive infrared-reflecting platfo...
Source: ScienceNOW - March 29, 2018 Category: Science Authors: Xu, C., Stiubianu, G. T., Gorodetsky, A. A. Tags: Materials Science, Physics r-articles Source Type: news

Arkansas State Veterans Home Gets Quick Fix-Up
A little more than a year after opening, the Arkansas State Veterans Home in North Little Rock is regrouping after cold winter weather revealed problems with heat pumps, pipes and ceiling insulation in some of the buildings housing veterans.
Source: Arkansas Business - Health Care - March 26, 2018 Category: American Health Source Type: news

Insulation retrofit for energy-efficient historic buildings
Many historic buildings in Europe are not energy efficient. Now, EU-funded researchers are developing a web tool on how to install internal thermal insulation in historic buildings that maintains their heritage value and reduces their energy consumption, with an acceptable safety level against deterioration.
Source: EUROPA - Research Information Centre - March 23, 2018 Category: Research Source Type: news

Effect of insulation melting and dripping on opposed flame spread over laboratory simulated electrical wires - Kobayashi Y, Konno Y, Huang X, Nakaya S, Tsue M, Hashimoto N, Fujita O, Fernandez-Pello C.
In electrical wires with insulations that burn and melt, the dripping of molten insulation can change the wire fire behavior, ignite nearby objects, and enhance the fire spread. Dripping is a result of gravity and depends on the insulation type of the wire...
Source: SafetyLit - March 12, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Burns, Electricity, Explosions, Fire, Scalds Source Type: news

Fire behaviors of flame-retardant cables part I: Decomposition, swelling and spontaneous ignition - Gong T, Xie Q, Huang X.
Electrical cable is a potential ignition source and fire hazard in residential houses, nuclear power plants, aircraft, and spacecraft. In this work, a bench-scale flame-retardant cable, consisted of the outer PVC sheath, middle XLPE insulation, and inner c...
Source: SafetyLit - March 12, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Burns, Electricity, Explosions, Fire, Scalds Source Type: news

Enzyme ensures thick insulation
(ETH Zurich) ETH researchers have revealed that Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system largely produce their own fatty acids in order to create electrical insulation for nerve fibres. This process relies on an enzyme whose absence leads to defective insulation and impaired motor function.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - March 8, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

Court Reopens Case Linking Lawn Fertilizer to Mesothelioma
A New Jersey appeals court has reopened a 2012 lawsuit alleging a man developed mesothelioma from using asbestos-contaminated Scotts lawn fertilizer. The decision comes after the discovery of new evidence the appeals court believes “would probably have changed the result” of the 2014 summary judgment in favor of Scotts. The original plaintiff, Lorenz Brandecker, filed the lawsuit in July 2012. The Wayne, New Jersey, resident claimed his twice-yearly use of Scotts Turf Builder fertilizer from 1967 to 1980 caused him to develop mesothelioma, a terminal cancer. According to a report from the National Asbestos Exposure Rev...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 1, 2018 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Daniel King Source Type: news

Using Artificial Intelligence to Detect Asbestos
Humans cannot see, smell or taste airborne asbestos fibers. Identifying them through a microscope requires the eye of a trained analyst — but perhaps not for long. Australian engineer Jordan Gruber is working on technology that can automatically detect asbestos from the air around a worksite. Exposure to airborne asbestos fibers is the primary cause of mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer. The past use of asbestos in building materials has led to great suffering among Americans and Australians alike. Gruber got into robotics so he could work on self-driving cars. But when his brother became an occupational hygienis...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 28, 2018 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Daniel King Source Type: news

The New Old Age: America at Home: Grandparents in the Attic, Children in the Basement
Multigenerational and shared housing arrangements are on the rise, reversing a decades-long trend.
Source: NYT Health - February 17, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: PAULA SPAN Tags: Families and Family Life Population Recession and Depression Elderly Elder Care Real Estate and Housing (Residential) Source Type: news

Pillsbury Plant Owner Sentenced for Asbestos Violations
Federal judge Sue Myerscough sentenced a part owner of the shuttered Pillsbury Mills complex in Springfield, Illinois, Monday to three years in prison for violating clear air standards with the illegal removal of asbestos products. Joseph Chernis IV pleaded guilty to illegal removal, demolition and disposal of asbestos after using untrained workers to remove dry pipe insulation and store it in open containers, trash bags and cardboard boxes. He is still facing an ongoing civil case brought by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “I have grave concerns about the damage to the community in this case,” Mye...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 8, 2018 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Matt Mauney Tags: asbestos exposure asbestos regulations asbestos violations asbestosis clear air standards flour-milling plant Springfield Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Joseph Chernis IV judge Sue Myerscough lung cancer mesothelioma Pillsb Source Type: news

Next-generation insulation promises large energy efficiency gains
An EU-funded consortium has developed a next-generation insulation system using lightweight nano-cellular foam in combination with active moisture monitoring and control technology. The aim is to improve the thermal performance, longevity and sustainability of new and retrofitted buildings.
Source: EUROPA - Research Information Centre - February 7, 2018 Category: Research Source Type: news

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