While the Canadian Police Research Institute has now stated that Tasers and other “conducted energy devices” are acceptable because the advantages they provide outweigh the risks they pose.

In reaching this conclusion in its report to Canadian police chiefs, the Institute was apparently not overly troubled by the enormous number of deaths that have occurred in cases where a Taser has been used.

The specific finding by the Coroner of Cook County, Illinois, that a Taser was, in fact, the cause of death of a man arrested in Chicago also appears to have been ignored in the report as the type of definitive evidence it was seeking to support the claim that the devices can cause death.

This report comes at the same time that police officers in five states have filed lawsuits against Taser International claiming they suffered serious injuries after being shocked with the device during training classes.

One officer, a Missouri police chief, alleges that he suffered heart damage and two strokes after he volunteered to be shocked with a Taser in April 2004, while hooked up to a cardiac monitor that was supposed to show the Taser was safe. The officer also claims he suffered hearing and vision loss as well as neurological damage.

Other injuries claimed by the officers involved include spinal fractures, burns, a dislocated shoulder, and soft-tissue damage. A previous lawsuit file in February 2004 alleged a sheriff’s deputy suffered a fractured back in 2002.

The lawsuits challenge Taser International’s central marketing claim that its device is safe and charge the manufacturer of misleading its customers concerning the potential risks posed by the stun guns. Taser is also accused of minimizing and misrepresenting the 2002 fractured back case even after its own doctor found a one-second shock from a Taser caused the injury.

The lawsuits also allege Taser International withheld reports of injuries to at least 12 other police officers and that the company has ignored credible research suggesting the device can be extremely dangerous, if not fatal.

As with all previous allegations against it, Taser International has stated that it intends to vigorously defend the claims. The company has denied any of the 144 deaths which have occurred following the use of a Taser was caused by its product.

Clearly, both sides cannot be right in this matter. As we reported on August 7, Taser International has now issued a training bulletin warning that repeated blasts of the Taser can "impair breathing and respiration."

According to a posting on Taser’s website, for subjects in a state known as excited delirium, repeated or prolonged stuns with the Taser can contribute to "significant and potentially fatal health risks."

The three-page bulletin appears to counter instructions in a training manual Taser International issued only last year. It also departs from Taser’s previous dismissals of safety concerns raised by groups such as Amnesty International, which has documented 129 U.S. and Canadian deaths of people stunned by Tasers.

The Houston Police Department (HPD), Taser’s biggest U.S. customer, has formed a review committee of police officials and community leaders, including representatives from the NAACP and League of United Latin American Citizens, to study the use of Tasers in the city of Houston.

The committee started by reviewing the HPD use-of-force policy, training sessions that officers receive, and the first 200 incidents in which Tasers were used in Houston.

Houston will also be involved in a study of Taser use conducted by a national police-research organization according to a report in the Houston Chronicle.

Obviously, a non-lethal weapon becomes a problem when it starts killing people. Many experts and critics of the Taser stun gun believe that time has long since passed. 

For example, using a number of sources, The Arizona Republic has now compiled a list of 144 cases in the United States and Canada since 1999 where a death followed the use of a Taser stun gun. http://www.azcentral.com/specials/taser/#

The sources used included autopsy reports, computer searches, police reports, media accounts, and Taser International’s own records. To date, the research indicates that medical examiners have cited the Taser to some extent in 18 deaths. In four cases it was a cause of death, in 10 it was a contributing factor, and in four it could not be ruled out as a cause of death. 

This, however, seems to be just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to Taser International’s mounting problems with respect to its approximately 100,000 stun guns now being used by some 7,000 U.S. law-enforcement agencies.

Despite the company’s spirited defense of its product, Taser International’s stock has continued to fall from $33.45 in December 2004 to $9.72 on July 30, a decline of over 70%.

From the very beginning, many experts questioned the safety of the 50,000 volt “non-lethal” weapon. A lack of adequate testing and independent medical evidence supporting the company’s bold marketing claims have been cited by such diverse critics as Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, and a consulting electrical engineer as reasons for removing the stun guns from the market until more extensive testing is done especially with respect to how the device affects pregnant women, people on drugs, or those with heart conditions.

Even the International Association of Chiefs of Police have suggested that further testing is needed. The organization advocates using the device only to subdue violent suspects; not to use it on handcuffed persons unless they are “overly assaultive;” to use it the least number of times; and to seek medical attention for anyone who has been shocked.

In addition, all types of Taser-related lawsuits abound. Personal injury and death claims have been commenced in a number of states. In March of this year, Mesa, Arizona, settled a claim by a 43-year-old man who fell out of a tree after being shocked twice with a Taser by a city police officer. The City paid $2.2 million to the man who became a quadriplegic and another $200,000 to the hospital where he was treated.

A class-action lawsuit was commenced only last week in U.S. District Court in Chicago by the city of Dolton, Illinois, on behalf of police departments across the country for being misled about the safety of the Taser and for leaving the police with weapons that are too dangerous to use on the street.

The law firm representing the city of Dolton claims to have already been retained by other police departments in four states. Paul Geller, an attorney from that firm, states that the law suit would be dropped if Taser would agree to take back the stun guns.

The potential for huge personal injury and death claims have left many municipalities rethinking their purchase of Tasers. Some police forces like those in Birmingham and Lucas County (Ohio) have either stopped issuing the weapons or have pulled them of the street altogether. Other cities like Chicago have backed off making additional purchases.

The mayor of Birmingham ordered police to stop using Tasers after the death of an inmate who had been shocked with a Taser several hours before he died.

The mayor of Dolton, which suspended their use, calls his city’s purchase of Tasers “a mistake” because “they need far more testing.” He went on to say that losing the money his city paid for the Tasers was far less than the financial risk posed by even one wrongful-death lawsuit.

On January 6, 2005 Taser officials disclosed that federal authorities had launched an inquiry into claims made by the company with respect to its safety studies. The Securities and Exchange Commission was also probing an end-of-year sale which appeared to inflate sales in order to meet annual projections. 

In May, The Arizona Republic also reported that “Taser International was deeply involved in a Department of Defense study that company officials touted to police departments and investors as ‘independent’ proof of the stun gun’s safety…This information is surfacing at a time when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Arizona attorney general are pursuing inquiries into safety claims that the Scottsdale firm has made.”

On July 17, the Associated Press reported a Texas man died after being shocked between three and six times with a Taser by an off-duty police officer who was acting as a security guard. The man’s wife said she was suing Taser International because her husband “didn’t deserve the death penalty.” It appears the men had done little more than trespass on private property and confront the officer who had chased him.

The report went on to state: “In the past nine months, at least six people in Texas – including three in Fort Worth – have died after authorities shocked them with a Taser gun.”

On July 27, a prisoner being held in a Queens, New York, police station died after being shocked with a Taser.   

Finally, on July 30, several news sources reported that (for the first time) the Cook County (Chicago, Illinois) Medical Examiner had ruled the February 10 death of an agitated 54-year-old man was caused by being shocked excessively with a Taser.

The finding indicated that the 57-second shock was sufficient, in and of itself, to have killed the man. Why such a long shock (ten times the usual amount) was administered has not been explained.

Although the Chicago police force will continue to use the Tasers they already have, an order for additional units was suspended.

Taser has vigorously defended its stun guns in every situation where it has been linked to an injury or death. The company continues to maintain that Tasers are non-lethal and that all of the reports regarding deaths and injuries associated with the device are baseless and can be explained      
away on the basis of other causes.

A recent training bulletin issued by Taser, however, advised police that “repeated, prolonged, and/or continuous exposures to the Taser may cause strong muscle contractions that may impair breathing and respiration, particularly when the probes are placed across the chest or diaphragm.” 

Given all of this information, it is difficult to image how the Canadian Police Research Institute reached its conclusion that the benefits of the Taser and similar devices outweigh the risks they pose to anyone who is shocked with any of them. It now appears that the courts will be the forum in which the final verdict on the Taser will be rendered.

In a new identity theft scam, criminals are posing as members of local courts in order to obtain confidential information by accusing people of failing to appear for jury duty. So far, incidents have been reported in Arizona, Washington State, and Texas.

When the Harris County District Court Clerk’s Office in Houston found out about the scam in Arizona they informed the public via their Web site and received a number of calls reporting similar incidences in Texas.

In carrying out the scam, the caller questions a consumer about their failure to appear for jury duty after receiving a summons in the mail. Caught off guard, the victim often claims they never received the notification. The scammer then asked for confidential information for “verification.”

Court clerks, however, will never call you and ask for your Social Security number, credit card numbers, or other sensitive information. Moreover, such information should not be given out over the phone, even if the caller claims to be part of the judicial system.

Most courts follow up on jury notices by mail and never call prospective jurors. If you are in doubt, you should ask for a name and telephone number to call the person back on. A return call will either confirm the clerk’s story or reveal a scam has been attempted.

The lead researcher in a major government-funded study, Dr. Edward Emmett, a University of Pennsylvania scientist, has advised Ohio Valley residents to avoid drinking water contaminated with DuPont’s toxic chemical C8.

The independent study, funded through a four-year Environmental Justice Partnership grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, is a collaboration between scientists at University of Pennsylvania’s school of medicine, the Decatur Community Association in Cutler, Ohio, and a local physician affiliated with Grand Central Family Medicine in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Dr. Emmett also stated that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s so-called safe limit for C8 in drinking water, 150 parts per billion, needs to be changed.

While the study did not find a link between the levels of C8 found in Parkersburg area drinking water and diseases of the liver, kidney, or thyroid, it did not examine C8 as a potential to cause cancer or developmental problems in children. Both have been linked to C8 exposure in rat studies.

In July, Emmett reported the study had found that residents who depend on C8-contaminated drinking water have 60 to 80 times more C8 in their blood than found in the general U.S. population.
 
He suggested that residents of the affected communities should switch to bottled water until long-term water treatment funded by DuPont is installed at local treatment plants. DuPont has agreed to finance the bottled water program.

For the past two years, there has been a growing concern over the safety of the manmade chemical known as C8 or PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) which can be found in everything from bread to birds, green beans to ground beef, dolphins to drinking water, and in the blood of up to 96% of the population of the United States.

The acid is used to manufacture Teflon coating for cookware and hundreds of other products like telephone cables, carpets, clothing, computer chips, chemical piping, and automobile fuel systems.

Since there are no known “natural” sources of C8, scientists are curious as to how the chemical enters the environment. C8 has also contaminated the groundwater in areas where Teflon is manufactured.  

DuPont, which also pioneered the development of PFOA and continues to dominate its use, claims that the chemical is harmless to humans. It also disputes that C8 is released during normal cooking (as opposed to overheating).

Others are not so sure that either assertion is true. Studies have concluded that C8 is one of several toxic gases released by Teflon when it is heated to temperatures which, at their low end, are only slightly above normal cooking temperatures.

C8 has been shown to cause tumors in rats and fumes from Teflon coated cookware can cause what is known as “polymer fume fever,” a condition which has been shown to kill birds even at low temperatures but which DuPont claims is harmless to humans if the cookware is used at a temperature of up to 500F. When Teflon is overheated (above 700F), fatal cases of polymer fume fever in humans have occurred (at 842F).

Last August, DuPont agreed to pay up to $343 million in settlement of a class action arising out of the contamination of drinking water in Ohio and West Virginia linked to its plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Of that amount, most of the $107 million to be paid for damages to the water supply of some 50,000 people living near the plant will be used to fund a detailed scientific review and a landmark community health study with respect to the dangers posed by C8.  Up to another $235 million is to be set aside for future medical monitoring if the studies find C8 can make people sick.

The company also announced that it plans to dramatically decrease the use of PFOA in Teflon coatings by the end of 2006. With these announcements, DuPont hoped the worst was over for its lucrative Teflon business which nets a reported $200 million in profit a year.   

In 2005, however, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that tests on laboratory animals linked PFOA to liver, pancreatic, and testicular cancer, reduced birth weight, birth defects, and immune suppression.

The EPA also found that elevated cholesterol and triglycerides were a risk of exposure to C8. As a result, the EPA stated that low-level exposure to PFOA could pose a “potential risk of developmental and other adverse effects” in humans. 
 
Earlier this year, the EPA released a draft assessment of a chemical used in the production of Teflon which, based on animal studies, found “suggestive evidence” that the substance may be a human carcinogen.

In May, the Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas seeking documents from DuPont with respect to PFOA and related chemical compounds. The suspicion is that DuPont withheld critical information concerning possible health risks posed by PFOA.

A 1961 internal document indicated that DuPont scientists had already warned company executives to avoid human contact with PFOA. DuPont faces more than $300 million in fines if it is found guilty of withholding such information.

Even DuPont’s shareholders are now demanding that the company fully disclose all legal and expert fees, media and lobbying expenses related to PFOA.

Dupont is attempting to settle the EPA claim and has set aside $15 million for that purpose. To date, however, no agreement has been finalized.

Then, earlier this month, a draft report released by an independent EPA scientific advisory board which reviewed the earlier EPA assessment and which will now be submitted to the EPA, concluded that PFOA (C8) is “likely” to be a human carcinogen and, as a result, the EPA should conduct cancer risk assessments for a variety of tumors found in rats and mice exposed to it.

This latest finding is seen by environmental advocacy groups as significant since it will increase the pressure on the EPA to conduct human health risk assessments for a variety of cancers as well as potential toxic effects on the human immune system.

Another startling revelation was reported in the Charleston Gazette on July 10. According to an April 2004 sworn statement by Dr. Bruce Karrh, DuPont’s former medical director, the company found similar birth defects in two of eight children born to women who worked at the Parkersburg chemical plant 25 years ago.

According to the Charleston Gazette article: “A DuPont researcher said the number was ‘significantly greater’ than the expected rate of birth defects in the general population. In April 1981, the researcher proposed that DuPont do a detailed study to determine if exposure to the toxic chemical C8 was to blame.

Three months later, DuPont officials dropped the study, a former top corporate doctor has testified. Dupont officials also decided not to report its preliminary findings to federal regulators, according to the testimony, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. ‘To my knowledge, it was never reported to EPA, and, to my knowledge, I didn’t ask anybody whether it was reported,’ Karrh said of the birth defects data.”  
 
Finally (for now), two Florida law firms filed class-action lawsuits on July 19, charging DuPont with concealing the potential health hazards associated with Teflon nonstick cookware coatings. The lawsuits were filed in a number of federal district courts.

The relief being sought includes monetary damages to class members, the creation of a fund for medical monitoring of consumers who have bought and used products containing Teflon, and placing warning labels on Teflon coated cookware.

Although DuPont announced it intends to “vigorously defend itself against the allegations in the lawsuit,” the mounting problems for Teflon (and C8) may no longer be of the nonstick variety.

The independent study results would also seem to indicate that anyone living in an area with high levels of C8 in the available water supply should make every effort to avoid drinking it. 

The CPSC, in cooperation with West Bend Housewares LLC, of West Bend, Wisconsin, has announced a voluntary recall of about 14,000 10-Cup Coffeemaker Carafes and Replacement Carafes manufactured in China.

Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately.

The carafe handle can unexpectedly loosen or break, resulting in the carafe falling. This can cause burn injuries from hot coffee or lacerations from broken glass.

West Bend Housewares has received 194 reports of the handles breaking, including three reports of consumers receiving burns to their hands and arms.

The carafe is a 10-cup capacity glass pot with a black, plastic handle. It is used with the West Bend Housewares 10-cup Automatic Coffeemaker (item # 56870).

The 10-cup replacement carafe was sold separately (item # 5815). There is a four-digit date code printed on the bottom of the coffeemaker. Date codes beginning with 04 are included in this recall.

The products were sold at AAFES, Dillards, Bi-Mart and retail stores that sell housewares from July 2004 through July 2005 for about $32. The replacement carafe was sold separately for about $8.

Consumers should stop using the recalled carafes immediately and contact West Bend Housewares to receive a replacement carafe free of charge.

For additional information, call (800) 874-4084 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.westbend.com

The CPSC, in cooperation with Kadant Composites Inc. of Bedford, Massachusetts, has announced a voluntary recall of about 11,000 constructed decks of GeoDeck™ Decking and Railing Materials manufactured in the United States.

Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately.

When the decking or railing material is exposed to hot temperatures and sunlight, it can degrade prematurely. The degraded material could break, posing a fall hazard to consumers.

Kadant Composites has received about 370 reports of accelerated degradation of the decking material. No injuries have been reported.

GeoDeck™ is a composite decking product that looks similar to natural wood and is sold in three colors including: driftwood, cedar and mahogany. The decking materials were manufactured between April 2002 and October 2003.

Each decking and railing component has a manufacturing date stamp (day/month/year) on the cut end, which may still be visible on uninstalled materials.

The product was sold at retail lumberyards nationwide from April 2002 through July 2005 for between about $2 and $2.50 per linear foot.
Consumers should check their GeoDeck™ decking materials for visible cracks on the surface and check to see if the surface can be easily scratched with a fingernail or the corner of a credit card.

If the deck/rail is degrading, contact GeoDeck™ customer service to receive replacement decking and/or railing materials at (800) 545-1710 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.KadantCompositesRecall.com

The CPSC, in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, announced a voluntary recall of about 3,300 Stork Craft Toy Boxes manufactured in China.

Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately.

The toy box’s lid support can fail, allowing the lid to collapse suddenly. This poses a strangulation hazard to young children, and possible impact injuries to a child’s head, neck, fingers or hands.

CPSC and Stork Craft have received two reports of the lid collapsing. No injuries have been reported. Stork Craft has received 11 consumer requests for replacement lid supports.

The recall includes toy boxes with manufacture date codes between November 2002 and July 2004 and the following model numbers and colors: 01520-331 – white, 01520-334 – cherry, 01520-33C – cognac, 01520-33L – oak, and 01520-33N - natural.

The manufacture date codes, model numbers, and colors are located on a label underneath the toy boxes. The toy boxes measure 27-inches long by 18-inches wide and 17-inches high. The boxes are constructed of pine.

The products were sold at Wal-Mart and J.C. Penney Web sites and at furniture, baby, and juvenile stores nationwide from December 2002 through April 2005 for about $90.

Consumers should immediately stop young children from using these toy boxes and contact Stork Craft for information to determine if their toy box lid support needs to be replaced. If so, the firm will provide a free replacement lid support.

Contact Stork Craft toll-free at (877) 274-0277 between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or go to the firm’s Web site at www.Storkcraft.com

New York State Agriculture Commissioner, Nathan L. Rudgers, has alerted consumers that Tanya Ivelisse Torres, doing business as NY Dominican Cheese Factory, 693 Rhinelander Avenue, Bronx, NY 10462, is recalling certain packaged cheese products because the cheese was made from unpasteurized milk and was not properly aged.

Raw milk may contain infective doses of human pathogens and consumption increases the risk of gastrointestinal illness, causing severe illness and, in certain cases, death. So far, no illnesses have been reported.

The cheese is marketed under the brand name "Don Chepe" and two styles of cheese are involved in this recall: "Queso Blanco De Freir" and "Queso Amarillo De Freir." 

The processing plant code "36-8588" appears on the label and the products are packaged in shrink wrapped plastic. Both products, regardless of date code, are involved in the recall. The products are sold and were distributed to customers in the metropolitan New York area.

The recall was initiated after sampling by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Dairy Products Specialists and subsequent analysis by the Department’s Food Laboratory personnel revealed that milk used to manufacture the cheese was not pasteurized. 

An investigation discovered that the cheese was not properly aged according to Department dairy product safety regulations.

A new study presented at the 113th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC entitled "Violence in Video Games: A Review of the Empirical Research," concludes that children who play violent video games are more likely to show violent or aggressive behavior.

The researchers observed that children who played violent video games even for only ten minutes exhibited aggressive behavior immediately after playing.

In a study of over 600 8th and 9th graders, teachers described children who played violent video games as more physically and verbally hostile and also said they did not perform as well on academic tests.

The authors also noted differences between boys and girls with respect to video game play. They said that boys spend more time playing video games possibly because the women in games are confined to subordinate rolls. When girls did play, however, the study claims they too became more aggressive.

Finally, the researchers submit that children and adolescents who enjoy the games are more susceptible to their negative effects. Further studies, they say, are needed to examine the attraction of the games as opposed to playing outdoors and why certain personality types seem more interested in violent video games than others.

Although such research points to the effect living in a media saturated society has on children, it may still be somewhat of a leap to connect video games directly to antisocial behavior.

Aggressive and violent tendencies can be influenced by many factors including environment (both within the family and in a larger cultural context), economics, personality, and other stimuli. Even traditional outdoor games such as “cops and robbers” and “red rover” as well as many organized sports have there own aggressive elements.

According to a Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital study, women who regularly work at night may have as much as a 50% increased risk of breast cancer.

The study suggests it cause may be due to their greater exposure to artificial light, which increases the female hormone estrogen.

Harvard doctors analyzed data on more than 10,000 women, including several hundred airline cabin staff, and determined that night workers were 1.5 times more likely to get cancer than those who worked during the day.

 The results of the study appear in the European Journal of Cancer and are supported by earlier research connecting cancer to sleeping with the light on and suggesting the negative impact of night shifts and frequently fluctuating between day and night shifts.

The likely explanation for the increased cancer risk involves the hormones melatonin and estrogen. Melatonin is normally released into the body at night to regulate sleep patterns.

Maintaining normal melatonin levels at night has been shown to be beneficial. In previous research women with high levels of melatonin in the morning were found to be at lower risk of breast cancer.

When working night shifts interferes with normal melatonin “possibly through exposure to artificial light " the ovaries produce more estrogen. This excess of estrogen can cause the development of breast tumors.

Currently many businesses, including call centers, tech-support services as well as the retail, entertainment, and fast-food industries require the employment of millions of night shift workers.
 
Working nights has been shown to increases the risk of heart disease, depression, and other types of cancer and according to one study, is more damaging than smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

A British company called Astron Clinica has developed a revolutionary skin-imaging technology which enables doctors to look under the surface of the skin.

This invention is seen as particularly promising as means by which to detect skin cancers (melanoma) early on as well as an aid in diagnosing and treating a variety of other skin problems including psoriasis, eczema, and acne.

The company is financing the development with Kuwait Finance House, Bahrain and a multi-million pound investment of about £300,000 raised through Oxfordshire Investment Opportunity Network (OION).
 The company is utilizing the funds to build market share worldwide, and continue to develop its DERMETRICS® product line.

The technology called SIAscopy™ (Spectrophotometric Intracutaneous Analysis) uses visible and infra-red light to see under the skin to examine blood, melanin, dermal melanin, and collagen up to 2mm below the surface.

Doctors can use a handheld SIAscanner™ or a regular digital camera to generate surface or sub-surface maps of the skin that can be stored for comparison with other images and to document a patient’s progress.

The images are viewed on a standard PC computer and can be printed out for patients and for doctors’ reports.

In addition to facilitating the early diagnosis and treatment of melanomas and other skin disorders, the technology should also help in gaining a better understanding of the aging process.