In a significant legal setback for Dupont, yesterday a US District Court judge ruled in favor of a class action lawsuit filed by neighbors of Dupont’s Chambers Works facility in Deepwater NJ. Dupont has poisoned nearby drinking water wells and local public water supply systems with the toxic chemical commonly called PFOA (or C8), ammonium perfluorooctanoate.

U.S. District Judge Renee Bumb in Camden granted class certification to home owners and renters who want to prove that their property values were harmed by the leaking of perfluorooctanoic acid, a byproduct of the production of Teflon, from DuPont's Chambers Works in Salem County.

The US Dept of Labor has recently released the preliminary 2008 census of fatal occupational injuries.
A total of 5,071 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2008, but this is the smallest number of annual fatalities reported since this census began in 1992.

Nutricia and FDA notified healthcare professionals of the voluntary recall of one lot [# P91877] of the specialized infant formula product, Neocate, a hypoallergenic dry powder formula distributed to pharmacies, health care professionals and consumers nationwide.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare and FDA notified consumers of a nationwide recall of certain Tylenol products as a precautionary measure because of potential manufacturing problems.

The FDA has issued a Public Health Alert to notify prescribers and pharmacists about potential dosing errors with Tamiflu (oseltamivir) for Oral Suspension. U.S. health care providers usually write prescriptions for liquid medicines in milliliters (mL) or teaspoons, while Tamiflu is dosed in milligrams (mg). The dosing dispenser packaged with Tamiflu has markings only in 30, 45 and 60 mg. The Agency has received reports of errors where dosing instructions for the patient do not match the dosing dispenser.

Merck & Co. is paying claims by the families of more than 3,100 users of its Vioxx painkiller who died of heart attacks or strokes blamed on the drug, according to a law firm administering a $4.85 billion settlement fund.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in conjunction with Big Lots Stores, Inc., has announced a recall on about 20,000 units of wooden bunk beds sold in Big Lots stores nationwide from May 2008 through February 2009. The beds are being recalled because the mattress support slats and side support railings can break, posing a risk of the bunk bed collapsing.

The U.S. Department of Labor plans to hire 670 investigators next year to beef up enforcement of laws that protect workers from everything from unsafe working conditions to unfair wage practices.

The California Department of Public Health says Ippolito International, of Salinas, is recalling 1,715 cartons of spinach harvested from Sept. 1-3, and sold to retail, food service and wholesale buyers.