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Health News
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Another offshore oil rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico |
(NaturalNews) It's a war zone out there! ... if you're an oil platform worker, anyway. Another oil rig, theVermilion Oil Rig 380, has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, just a few miles from the infamousDeepwater Horizonthat started the massive volcano of oil that poisoned the Gulf this summer.
U.S. Coast Guard helicopters were immediately dispatched to the scene, where 13 workers were found floating (alive) in the water around the rig. The rig is reportedly on fire, but it is being reported by ABC News that the rig wasn't drilling for oil at the time of the explosion. No information explaining the cause of the explosion has yet surfaced.
One workers was apparently injured in the explosion. While it may be too early to know for sure, there are so far no reports of oil being spilled into the Gulf from the rig.
This second explosion naturally brings to mind the safety and reliability of offshore drilling platforms. In many ways theDeepwater Horizonincident was described as a fluke, a rare event that would likely not be repeated any time soon. To see another oil rig exploding just weeks later does not inspire confidence in the minds of Gulf Coast residents who have already been hit hard by the previous oil spill as well as the Corexit chemicals widely used as oil dispersants.
It raises the question that's now on everybody's mind: CouldDeepwater Horizonhappen again? If so, how can we improve the safety of offshore oil drilling? Or better yet, how can we replace that dangerous, dirty industry with clean, renewable energy sources that don't burst into flame when something goes wrong?
When wind turbines fail, they don't explode into great balls of fire that kill workers and destroy the environment. |
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Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 PDT |
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Antibiotic tainted beef illegally sold for human consumption |
(NaturalNews) The conventional U.S. food supply is no stranger to chemicals, pesticides, growth hormones and antibiotics. But a Michigan dairy has violated what minimal restrictions do exist concerning these additives by illegally selling antibiotic-ridden dairy cows to be processed for human consumption over the last eight years.
Scenic View Dairy of Hamilton, Mich., is currently the subject of a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for selling beef that tested positive for illegal levels of neomycin, penicillin and sulfadimethoxine. The FDA is seeking a permanent injunction against the dairy for ignoring multiple warnings about the tainted meat.
According to reports, the FDA has warned Scenic View Dairy at least eight times since 2001 about unsafe levels of antibiotics in its beef, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has sent more than 11 letters concerning the issue as well. But the defendants have ignored all such warnings given between 2002 and 2010 and have continued to sell the beef anyway.
FDA regulations specify that in order to sell meat for human consumption, the animals have to be off antibiotics and other drugs for a certain period of time in order for the substances to clear from their systems. But Scenic View Dairy's three farms have allegedly been selling them off long before the proper time.
"One-half of all antibiotics in the United States are used in livestock--25 million pounds a year," explains D. Lindsey Berkson in her bookHormone Deception. "[A]ntibiotics can contribute to hormone-disruptor exposure as well as contribute to antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria."
It is unclear to what extent the tainted meat has affected the public, but the case is just one more reason for meat eaters to purchase only organic, grass-fed meat.
Sources for this story include:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/199640.php
http://www.naturalpedia.com/antibiotic.html |
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Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 PDT |
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Popular OTC medicines so dangerous that only doctors should prescribe them, says FDA |
(NaturalNews) Some popular cough medicines and pain relievers could become available by prescription only if an independent panel determines that such action should be taken. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a report about the dangers of dextromethorphan, a popular drug ingredient in many non-prescription cough and flu medicines, and is considering banning the drug from store shelves.
According to the report, dextromethorphan "is sought after by those seeking to alter their mental state" because it exerts a psychoactive effect on its users. Though the drug is abused less than codeine, another popular brain-altering drug, dextromethorphan sent roughly 8,000 people to the emergency room in 2008. This is nearly twice the amount it sent in 2004.
What typically occurs is people buy cough medicines and take many times the recommended dose in order to get high. The practice is popular particularly among teenagers, and overdosing on the drug can severely increase blood pressure and heart rate, and can also cause high fevers. And other drugs in cough medicines, such as acetaminophen, only exasperate the problem by bearing heavily on the liver.
If the panel decides to pull dextromethorphan from shelves, the effects will be widespread. Hundreds of different drugs, including Wyeth's Dimetapp, Bayer's Alka-Seltzer Flu Plus and Proctor and Gamble's Vicks cough medicines, all contain the drug, and would have to be either reformulated or sold through pharmacies.
Other options being considered include restricting the sale of medicines with dextromethorphan to only people 18 years of age and older, or simply placing such medicines behind the sale counter to discourage illegitimate buyers from seeking them. Either way, current laws will have to be updated to reflect any potential changes.
Sources for this story include:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1911058/cough_medicines_should_be_restricted_fda/ |
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Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 PDT |
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