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The Texas traffic fatality rate has fallen to the lowest level ever in 75 years of recordkeeping. Road fatalities have dropped by roughly 12 percent in the span of a year, from 3,476 in 2008 to 3,071 in 2009. Houston’s eight-county region also saw a decrease in 2009 of almost…
The Barnett Shale and Eagle Ford Shale regions in Texas are heavily exploited for natural gas that exists deep within the rock. The process used to extract natural gas is dangerous for workers and may be hazardous to nearby residents and the environment. Read about private well contamination linked to…
Last year saw a record number of prescription and over-the-counter drug recalls, 1,472 different types in all. That number is four times the number of drugs recalled in 2008. While it is difficult to attribute the increase in defective and dangerous drugs to a single reason, the overseas manufacture of…
Many people have heard about traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), but few realize how common these injuries are in the United States. Data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that an estimated 52,000 people die every year in the United States as a result of a TBI….
Oil and gas pipeline work is extremely dangerous – particularly in Texas. According to the National Wildlife Federation, since 2000 the state has been tied with New Mexico for the most pipeline accident fatalities in the country. In that time, there have been over 500 pipeline accidents around the state,…
The state of our nation’s aging natural gas infrastructure has become a major concern in light of the recent string of pipeline explosions. Places like Allentown, Pennsylvania and San Bruno, California have seen firsthand the catastrophic aftermath of natural gas pipeline disasters. And, with 1.8 million miles of gas delivery…
Large commercial trucks present a unique danger to other drivers on the road. Because of their size, they are less maneuverable and require a longer distance to come to a stop than other vehicles. The size and weight of eighteen-wheelers, tractor trailers and other large trucks leaves little room for…
When a passenger vehicle is involved in an accident with a large commercial truck, the results can be devastating. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2009, the last year for which statistics are available, 70 percent of the roughly 3,000 people who died in accidents with…
When the morning-sickness drug thalidomide was introduced in the 1960s, little was known about how medication could affect a developing fetus. But when more than 10,000 babies were born with missing or shrunken limbs, medical experts quickly realized that drugs ingested by women during pregnancy can have powerful and potentially…
Products qualifying as medical devices are required to undergo a rigorous review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before being sold. However, some medical devices marketed in the past, or currently promoted, pose dangers to patients because of poor testing and flawed FDA review. Transvaginal mesh (TVM) slings are…
