Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate released the agency's statement shortly after President Obama signed the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013, which includes a provision to amend the Stafford Act to allow tribal governments direct access to federal disaster relief.
From terrorism to drug recalls to natural disasters, new risks seem to arise as fast as the next news cycle. Risk communication is a tool for creating and improving that understanding, thereby closing the gap between laymen and experts.
A new Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) paper, "Attribution of Foodborne Illnesses, Hospitalizations, and Deaths to Food Commodities By Using Outbreak Data, United States, 1998-2008" is being published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal. For the first time, CDC has developed a comprehensive set of estimates using data from more than a decade of foodborne disease outbreaks and previously published estimates on how many illnesses can be attributed to each food category.
Cubic Corporation is developing a new system that could make large gatherings of people - like the Super Bowl, NASCAR races, Mardi Gras and events on the National Mall - safer and easier to manage. Using a series of sensors and Cubic's Mission Rehearsal Planning System (MRPS), authorities will be able to accurately determine in real time the volume of people flowing through a large area and even model what will happen in the future so steps can be taken to avoid problems.
"Salient proactively maintains its certifications with AMAG's Symmetry SMS to provide up-to-date integration for advanced video surveillance solutions for our customers," said Extended Business Solutions, Program Manager, Shae Taylor.
A new strain of norovirus called GII.4 Sydney was the leading cause of norovirus outbreaks in the United States from September to December 2012, according to a study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Norovirus is very contagious. In the United States, norovirus is the number one cause of acute gastroenteritis, which leads to diarrhea and vomiting.
Implant Sciences Corporation, a high-technology supplier of systems and sensors for homeland security and defense markets, has announced that the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has notified the company that its Quantum Sniffer QS-B220 Explosives Trace Detector has successfully met the requirements for acceptance onto the Air Cargo Screening Technology List (ACSTL).
CBRNe World's Dublin conference will raise awareness of all-hazard events and the diverse roles that chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) teams play in responding to them. As budgets are being cut, leaders must be aware of how existing resources can be transitioned as the focus of the incidents change.
Bruker Corporation's SIGIS 2 (Scanning Infrared Gas Imaging System) automatically identifies multiple airborne chemical compounds at distances of up to 10 km, making it ideal for stadium security and the monitoring of large crowds. The SIGIS 2 provides the ability to immediately, and remotely, identify released compounds and allow responders to take the appropriate actions needed.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it has approved Flublok, the first trivalent influenza vaccine made using an insect virus (baculovirus) expression system and recombinant DNA technology. Flublok is approved for the prevention of seasonal influenza in people 18 through 49 years of age.
