Contamination

close Video Missing radioactive capsule found in Australia Australian officials search for a radioactive capsule that was found Wednesday. (Department of Fire and Emergency Services) A radioactive capsule has been found in the Australian outback after more than a week of searching along a 870-mile stretch, authorities said Wednesday. Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said the capsule was being evaluated by the military before being taken to a secure facility in Perth Thursday. "When you consider the scope of the research area, locating this object was a monumental challenge, the search groups have quite literally found the needle in the haystack," Dawson said. A view shows a radioactive capsule lying on the ground, near Newman, Australia, Feb. 1, 2023. (Western Australian Department Of Fire And Emergency Services/Handout via REUTERS) In this photo provided by the Department of Fire and Emergency … [Read more...] about Pea-sized Australian radioactive capsule falls off truck, is found 6 days later after massive hunt

Members of the Incident Management Team coordinate the search for a radioactive capsule that was lost in transit by a contractor hired by Rio Tinto, at the Emergency Services Complex in Cockburn, Australia, in this undated handout photo. Department of Fire and Emergency Services/Handout via REUTERS SYDNEY — Australian authorities on Wednesday found a radioactive capsule smaller than a coin that was lost in the vast Outback after nearly a week-long search along a 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) stretch of highway, officials said. The Cesium-137 capsule was discovered when a vehicle traveling at 70 kms per hour equipped with specialist detection equipment picked up the radiation, according to officials from the state of Western Australia. The search team then used portable detection equipment to find the capsule, which was located about 2 meters from the side of the road, they added. “I do want to emphasize this is an extraordinary result,” Western Australia’s Emergency Services … [Read more...] about Needle in a haystack found: Australia recovers missing radioactive capsule

Paramedics have started wearing body-worn cameras for the first time after 529 violent assaults were reported in London during the coronavirus pandemic. London Ambulance Service rolled out the trial on Monday in areas where emergency workers are considered to be most at risk. Crews from two stations in north London and two stations in south London will initially wear the gadgets with the intention of expanding the trial if the first phase proves successful. Figures show London Ambulance Service staff were victims of 529 violent attacks between April last year and the end of January. They include kicking, punching, head-butting, biting and spitting with 31 assaults with weapons also reported. It comes after ministers said they planned to bring forward legislation to double the maximum sentence for those convicted of assaults on police, prison staff, custody officers, fire service personnel, search and rescue workers and frontline health workers. London Ambulance … [Read more...] about Paramedics start wearing bodycams for the first time after over 500 attacks in London during pandemic

A Shasta County judge Wednesday ordered Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to stand trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter and other alleged crimes for the deadly 2020 Zogg Fire near Redding. The decision means Shasta County District Attorney’s Office can press its criminal case against PG&E for the role prosecutors say the utility played in the deaths of four people killed in the fire: 8-year-old Feyla McLeod, her mother Alaina Rowe McLeod, Karin King and Kenneth Vossen. Proseutors can also try PG&E on charges of recklessly starting the fire, which sparked in September 2020 near Igo after a pine tree fell on powerlines. But the judge threw out 20 of the 31 original crimes prosecutors alleged in their 2021 complaint against PG&E, including claims the utility is criminally liable for contaminating the air. PG&E company officials said in a statement that they agree with the judge’s decision to throw out some of the charges and said “we believe PG&E did not … [Read more...] about PG&E ordered to stand trial for deadly 2020 Zogg Fire

Dave Hamm, an ethical substance peer navigator with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), distributes packets of drugs tested for contaminants, as the province of British Columbia decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and opioids like heroin, fentanyl and morphine, in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada January 31, 2023. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier VANCOUVER – The western Canadian province of British Columbia on Tuesday began a three-year pilot program to stop prosecuting people for carrying small amounts of heroin, meth, ecstasy, or crack cocaine, as part of an effort to fight a drug overdose crisis. B.C. accounts for about a third of the 32,000 deaths due to overdose and trafficking nationally since 2016, according to official data. The province declared drug overdose a public health emergency that year. The problem worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted illicit drug supply chains as … [Read more...] about Canadian province tries decriminalizing drugs to fight overdose crisis

FILE PHOTO: An area flooded during heavy rainfall is seen in Auckland, New Zealand January 27, 2023, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. @MonteChristoNZ/via REUTERS WELLINGTON — New Zealand’s government on Thursday announced NZ$700,000 ($450,000) in additional funding to help rebuild flood-ravaged Auckland and other areas in the upper north island as residents of the country’s second-largest city start cleaning up. Auckland and much of New Zealand’s upper North Island have been hit by record rainfall in the last week, which authorities say has been exacerbated at least in part by climate change. Four people died in flooding and landslides that left roads closed, cut off communities, and damaged homes, farms and businesses. “The main thing that we have to do right now is to support people through this immediate period,” New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Thursday. “Of course, the government is going to continue to look at how best we can … [Read more...] about New Zealand announces NZ$700,000 in additional flood support as cleanup begins