February 25, 2016

Toys ‘R’ Us, the major toy retailer, has announced that it will be halting sales of hoverboards. The store’s ban on hoverboard sales applies to both brick-and-mortar stores and online e-commerce transactions. The reasons for the retail giant’s decision to stop selling the portable scooters include the risk of fire-related accidents and slip & fall accidents. Hoverboards were one of the hottest items this past holiday season, with many young people and adults being gifted the device for Christmas. However, the safety standards for the popular gadget have come under intense scrutiny in recent months as more and more…

February 18, 2016

A major reason for shorter life expectancies in the U.S., relative to other countries, is the proliferation of guns, drugs and cars, according to a study conducted by federal health officials and recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examined 2012 data compiled by the federal government and the World Health Organization (WHO) and found that some of the leading causes of deaths in the U.S. are violence, drug overdoses and car accidents. By comparison, other developed nations with lower death rates from those three…

February 11, 2016

After the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) handed down a $7,000 fine against Amazon’s fulfillment center in Robbinsville, NJ, Amazon has decided to fight back. Amazon recently released a statement declaring that the company plans to contest the citation and fine issued by OSHA, the main federal agency in charge of making sure that safety and health laws are properly enforced. A spokesperson for Amazon said that the company wants the public to know that the online retailer takes worker safety very seriously, so Amazon intends to contest the OSHA citation and appeal the agency’s initial decision. The…

February 5, 2016

Continental Automotive Systems, a German company, recently issued a recall of cars containing Continental airbag units after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicated that the airbags were potentially defective and could cause car accidents. Honda: One of the U.S. companies affected by the recall is Honda Motor Co. The car manufacturer is recalling 341,000 Accord models made between 2008 and 2010 so that the vehicles’ air bag control units can be replaced. However, Honda indicated that the company will not be able to replace airbags on all units because there are not enough replacement parts…

February 2, 2016

The federal government has taken a bold step to prohibit the use of microbeads in cleansing products. President Obama recently signed off on a law passed by the U.S. Congress last year. The law bans companies from selling certain products containing microbeads, an ingredient that has been found to be extremely harmful to the environment. Microbeads are often used to make soaps, body washes, toothpastes and other personal care products sold in stores throughout the United States. Many of these cleansing products use microbeads because the particles work as tiny scrubbers to help consumers remove oil and dirt from their…