Just a few days after a new study reported that Segway injuries are on the rise, news has broken that the owner of the company that makes the popular scooters has died in a Segway accident.

Since their introduction in 2001, Segways have been used as transportation for police departments, military bases, warehouses, corporate campuses or industrial sites. They have also become a popular mode of transportation for tourist wishing to sightsee, and Segway tour companies have popped up in numerous locations throughout the US. In most cases, such tours mark the first time a person has used a Segway. Often, the instruction provided by the tour company is inadequate, and often leads to Segway injuries. (more…)

As the search for victims of the San Bruno, California gas pipeline explosion continues, the company that owned the line responsible has announced that it is setting up a $100 million compensation fund for victims. According to The Los Angeles Times, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) said it expects to distribute checks by the end of the week of up to $50,000 for immediate moves and daily needs. Money from the fund will also be paid directly to the city to help rebuild streets, parks and sidewalks.

The blast, which is known to have killed at least four people, occurred last Thursday around 6:00 p.m., and set off a fire that engulfed a large part of the San Francisco suburb. Fifty-two people were injured and 37 homes were destroyed, while scores of others sustained damage. Four people remained unaccounted for Sunday. Additional remains have been discovered, and are being tested to determine their origin and identity. (more…)

Officials in San Bruno, California expect that the death toll from a natural gas pipeline explosion will rise. Four people are confirmed dead, but the search for victims has only just begun.

The explosion occurred around 6:00 p.m. last night. According to a report on CNN, a Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) spokesman said Friday that the company’s gas transmission line ruptured, leading to the blaze that swept through 10 acres in the San Francisco suburb. The fire burned hot enough to melt tail lights on cars blocks away from the blaze. (more…)

Chalmette Refining has been hit with a lawsuit over a Labor Day release of spent catalyst powder at its Louisiana Refinery. The lawsuit, which was filed in US District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, seeks class action status to benefit anyone impacted by the Chalmette Refining powder release.

At least 2,000 lbs of the powder, a byproduct of refining operations, was released on Monday as a result of a power outage that occurred around 2:00 a.m. local time. The powder release blanketed parts of Chalmette, Arabi and New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. (more…)

The failure of BP engineers to correctly interpret a pressure test conducted the day of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion was at least partially to blame for the worst oil spill in US history, according to an internal BP report.

According to Bloomberg News, the 200-page internal BP report was compiled by a team of BP investigators led by the company’s head of safety and operations. In addition to blaming BP engineers, it also faults Transocean Ltd., the owner of the rig, for the disaster. (more…)

Another group of scientists is raising doubts the governments claims regarding the BP oil spill. According to a Bloomberg News report, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution say they have discovered a 22 mile plume of degrading crude oil deep in the Gulf of Mexico. That’s about the size of Manhattan.

According to government estimates, 4.9 million barrels of oil escaped from the well between the April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and the deployment of a containment cap that finally stopped the flow on July 15. Earlier this month, a scientific team led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report purporting that most of the oil had been captured, burned off, evaporated or broken down in the Gulf. (more…)

Another Pennsylvania Marcellus shale gas driller has come under fire for violating state environmental laws. According to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Atlas Resources LLC has been fined $97,350 for a spill of hydraulic fracturing fluids into a tributary of a creek called Dunkle Run.

The Atlas Resources incident is just one of many that have been perpetrated by gas drillers performing fracking operations in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale. (more…)

Hundreds of lawsuits over the BP oil spill will be heard in a New Orleans federal court. The decision to consolidate the lawsuits was announced yesterday by the he Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. New Orleans is the largest city near the BP oil spill, and Louisiana was hardest hit by the disaster.

“Without discounting the spill’s effects on other states, if there is a geographic and psychological ‘center of gravity’ in this docket, then the Eastern District of Louisiana is closest to it,” the panel said in its decision. (more…)

BP has begun to make good on its promise for a $20 billion oil spill compensation fund. Yesterday, the company announced it had deposited $3 million into the fund.

BP was supposed to make an initial deposit to the fund by September 30. But according to The Wall Street Journal, the company chose to make an early deposit to “show its commitment to restoring the livelihoods of people affected by the worst offshore oil spill in history.” (more…)

Two school buses taking students from a Missouri high school band camp to a Six Flags amusement park were involved in a serious traffic accident today. A student in one of the buses and a driver in a pickup trick were killed in the crash, and dozens of others were injured.

According to a report on KMOV.com, the accident occurred on eastbound I-44 in Gray Summit, Missouri, bout 40 miles west of St. Louis, around 10:15 a.m. local time. The crash involved the school buses, a tractor-trailer, and the pickup, which was wedged under the school bus. (more…)