Girl Seriously Hurt at Amusement Park

A young girl was seriously hurt at a popular amusement park Friday when she plunged more than 40 feet and hit the ground in a bungee-type of attraction.

A 12 year old who was visiting the Wisconsin Dells with her family reportedly was outfitted in a special harness, taken up in an elevator and then dropped straight down into a large net.  Instead, the net reportedly was not high enough above the ground to break her fall and she hit the ground, according to Lake Delton Police Chief Thomas Dorner.

She reportedly was taken to the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison by helicopter but details of her injuries were not available.

The ride, called Terminal Velocity at the Extreme World amusement park in Madison, Wisconsin, reportedly is closed while police and state regulators investigate the tragedy. 

Concrete Slab Falls Off Milwaukee Parking Structure, Killing One and Injuring Two

According to reports, one person was killed and two injured when a piece of concrete fell from a parking ramp on the Milwaukee lakefront.  The person killed is reported to be a 15-year-old boy and the two injured are reportedly a mother and her 15-year-old son.

The piece of concrete that collapsed was reported as a 30-foot slab.  The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon, at about 4 p.m., only a couple blocks from Milwaukee’s popular Summerfest music festival, which began that same afternoon and attracts thousands of people.

The parking garage, reported to be underneath O’Donnell Park, was built in the 1990s.  According to reports, the concrete slab came loose from the façade of the structure.

Investigators have not released the names of the victims.

According to  reports, the construction of O’Donnell Park, which sits atop the parking structure, was plagued with problems which included cracks in the structure because of the weight of the park.
Cracks in the structure, reportedly first discovered in May 1991, led to the removal of tons of dirt from the park to reduce the load.  In addition,  repair and reinforcement of the structure was also reportedly carried out.  Further, the county fired the architect working on the project, Jordan Miller, after discovery of the cracks.

Law Suit Filed Against Chicago Cubs in Death of Wrigleyville Man

Clifford Law Offices today (Friday, Aug. 21, 2009) filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Cubs for the death of a 21-year-old Wrigleyville man who died when a structure owned by the Cubs collapsed and fell on him, killing him, about 50 feet from the confines of Wrigley Field.  The press release, including a statement given by the young man's mother, can be viewed here.

Explosion on Chicago's West Side

An explosion at a vegetable oil and biodiesel plant on Chicago’s West Side today left two people injured.  According to a Fire Department spokesman, the two victims were taken to Stroger Hospital and others were being de-contaminated on the scene.  The two victims  reportedly were employees at the Columbus Foods Company in the 800 block of North Albany Avenue where the explosion occurred at 8:45 a.m.

According to officials, the blast occurred while chemicals were being mixed and a truck was being unloaded.  One report stated that the Police Department's Bomb and Arson unit along with fire investigators are working to uncover what caused the explosion.  All of the chemicals that were involved are not known, but nitrogen, sulfuric acid and glycerin are among those detected, according to Deputy Fire Commissioner Eugene Ryan.

The explosion disrupted other activities in the vicinity.  Metra's Milwaukee District North and West Lines reportedly experienced delays.  Also, 19 people from a Metra yard near the explosion were reportedly taken to hospitals with complaints of minor respiratory problems and skin irritation, fire officials said.

Train Accident at Louisville Zoo

On Monday, a train transporting visitors around the Louisville Zoo derailed, injuring 22 people.  Of the 22 people, 17 were children.  All were taken to area hospitals following the derailment.  Fifteen children reportedly were treated and released that day but a young girl remained in serious condition and her brother, a two month old, was listed in good condition.  According to reports, the train was passed a full 35-point inspection on the morning of the incident.

Some reports are focusing on the driver of the train.  According to Mark Zoeller, assistant zoo director, employees who drive the train progress through an internal program to qualify for the job.

In addition to inspecting the train itself, zoo officials have reportedly said that the rails for the train are inspected at least once a month by zoo staff.

The top speed of the zoo train is reported to be 12 mph, yet some zoo visitors have said that they believe it is able to travel faster.

One zoo member, Rod Mitchell, is reported to have complained to zoo employees about the speed of the train and stated that he noticed its speed increasing in recent months.

Tunnel Safety

National transportation infrastructure oversight is currently administered by a number of federal authorities: the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Federal Highway Administration, etc.  However, a glaring gap in the nation’s oversight regime was exposed when a Boston woman was killed by a tile from the Big Dig’s tunnel ceiling; there is no federal tunnel inspection program.

According to reports, federal estimates place the number of highway tunnels in the U.S. over 300, many of which range from 51-100 years old.

One report quoted Wayne Klotz, the president of the professional organization for engineers that builds the nation’s roads.  “Tunnels and other infrastructure systems have a significant impact on the safety and security of the American people and economy, so the idea of an inspection program that could help improve their performance is certainly something the American Society of Civil Engineers supports,” he told the media.

The NTSB report on the Big Dig’s ceiling tile incident found that an inspection program would likely have prevented the tragedy.  The wrong adhesive was used to secure the tile to the ceiling.  In response, lawmakers promised to enact legislation aimed at fixing the problem by creating national standards that supplement the effort s made on the state level.

The Big Dig accident happened three years ago, in 2006.  To date no legislation to support nation highway tunnel inspections has been signed into law.

Are Artificial Turf Fields a Toxic Hazard?

The increased use of artificial turf fields for children’s sports is creating concern among parents and health professionals.  The fear of carcinogenic and toxic chemical contamination is currently being debated as more grass fields in our nation’s parks are being replaced by artificial turf.

Artificial turf fields provide tangible benefits because they contribute to reduced chemical and fertilizer use and require much less water than traditional grass fields.  However, “crumb rubber,” a controversial fill poured between the artificial blades of grass, is stirring up controversey.  Crumb rubber is composed of recycled ground-up tires.

According to reports, recycled tires contain carcinogenic toxins which are a cause of concern for the parents of children who play and sweat on these surfaces.  Recycled tires also contain metals and chemical toxins such as zinc, benzene and butadiene.  Elevated levels of lead, another threat to children on these surfaces,  was studied by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).  They concluded that the contamination did not rise to levels that would be harmful but they still called for voluntary standards to be instituted to eliminate the problem.  According to reports, heat on the playing surface is also an issue as temperatures as high as 140 degrees have been recorded.

Studies evaluating different aspects of potentially dangerous exposures to these reported harmful compounds have been commissioned and reviewed in areas across the country including Connecticut, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle.  The conclusions have reportedly not found demonstrably dangerous levels of the compounds.  However, Dr. Philip Landrigan, professor and Chairman of Community and Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, remains skeptical because he is not aware of any studies that measure the effects on children using fields that have crumb rubber.  According to Dr. Landrigan, "All those toxins are very available to kids, if kids are playing and running.   [A]ll this chemical soup is going to get on their skins and their fingers."

Day Care Center Accident

Several children at a Little Rock, Arkansas daycare center reportedly consumed windshield wiper fluid after having accidentally been served the liquid.  The bright blue substance reportedly was put in the refrigerator after a shopping trip and apparently mistaken for Kool-Aid.  The children between the ages of 2-7 each consumed an estimated ounce of the liquid, according to media reports.

According to the Department of Human Services, the day care operator, Carolyn Bynum, has since had her license revoked.  The department’s spokeswoman expressed the grief felt by Bynum in the wake of this accident.

As of Friday morning, only one child reportedly remained hospitalized with blood samples demonstrating heightened levels of methanol, a highly toxic alcohol that can induce comas and cause blindness.

According to the toxicologist, bright solutions such as wiper fluid antifreeze can be mistaken for juices.  With this in mind, particularly those who care for children must take all proper precautions when storing and using toxic substances.