News in category: In The Workplace

If there was ever any doubt about the wisdom of vigorous aerobic exercise, like running, this Stanford study resolves it. Among runners, a 21-year study finds they have improved health and fewer disabilities, the benefits of which last into their 80s and 90s when the participants backed off into walking.

Danish scientists have noticed more behavioral problems among children whose mothers used cell phones during pregnancy.  Despite the controversy on how much - scientists agree that cell phones emit radiation. To err on the side of caution, there are some simple ways you can reduce your exposure, including something called a ferrite bead. 

Expect to see a more aggressive anti-smoking campaign if the FDA regulates the tobacco industry. That came one step closer Wednesday when the House passed the measure. The White House promises a veto. You'll never guess which side of the issue Philip Morris is on.

Citing high rates of obesity, the Los Angeles City Council voted to place a moratorium on the construction of any new fast-food restaurants in South L.A., where 73 percent of the restaurants offer fast-food fare.  Incentives will be offered to draw in establishments offering healthier food.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, combed through 50 million death certificates from 1984 to 2004 and found a 360 percent increase in accidental drug overdoses of prescription medication. Partially to blame is the availability of prescription drugs, especially painkillers. 25 years ago, they were available only in the hospital. Now about a quarter of people exchange them.

California is leading the nation in becoming to the first state to take the trans fats out. Today the governor signed a bill banning all trans fats in restaurant and baked foods. A violation will result in a fine. The benefit to Californians should be a reduction in heart disease, the number one killer in the state.

The powerful painkiller, fentanyl, can easily be made by street-wise chemists. But the illegal version killed more than 1,000 people in major cities, many who died before they finished their injection, the CDC finds.

Electromagnetic radiation may be able to penetrate a child and teens' brain more easily than an adults, so today a major cancer researcher issued a warning memo to 3,000 employees to limit their cell phone use, and to have children use them for emergencies only.

After being dismissed in 2006, lawsuits against military contractors Halliburton and Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), a former subsidiary, may go to trial in 2009. The lawsuits are over an ambush that left six civilian truck drivers in Iraq dead.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill and Melinda Gates are joining forces and $500 million to launch a global anti-smoking campaign in low and middle income emerging countries which have never seen anti-smoking campaigns. Among their challenger are governments that derive income from a tobacco sales tax.

Muscle pain affects roughly one out of every 1,000 people taking statins to lower cholesterol.Now British researchers believe they know why - a genetic variation seems to be the basis for muscle pain and myopathy. About two percent of the population carry the two variant genes, which cause roughly 60% of the muscle pain problem.

Officials are re-examining locals laws following a fatal crane accident on Friday at LyondellBassell plant that killed four workers when a crane collapsed. The accident has prompted officials to call for more city regulation of cranes.

On June 24, the President of the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) stated before the House Education and Labor Committee that there is a need for the creation of an OSHA agency specifically dedicated to construction.

A crane collapsed at LynondellBasell refinery in Houston, on Friday, killing four workers and injuring seven others. Texas is one of 35 states that does not require crane operators to be licensed. Crane regulations are long overdue, especially in those cities that are experiencing new and constant construction.

Consumers overwhelmingly believe the FDA, food producers, and distributors should have some form of tracking the journey a tomato takes from the field to your plate. The latest salmonella outbreak has shown that isn't happening.  The rise in food borne illness may be linked to industrialized farming done by agribusiness.