illin': The Weekend Health Buzz

City to 9/11 Workers: FU (oh, and keep cleaning)

And the hits just keep on coming. In addition to concerns about the current safety of the air downtown and the increasing number of complaints of respiratory problems and even cancer as a result of 9/11, reports now show that worker-safety rules were "routinely violated" at Ground Zero. The city's Department of Design and Construction reports the lion's share of safety lapses at the site. It seems the City's rush to get Wall Street up and running trumped concerns for the well-being of those working feverishly to do so. It may be that as few as 20% of workers were wearing the personal protective equipment they should have been.

Sick Bird

One of the worst things about New York City crosswalks is trying to use one during any high tourist season. The constant neck-craning and photo-taking really slow things down. But one of the most amazing things about them is the occasional moment when you see a pigeon crossing the street with the rest of us. While we find it pretty cool, there are many who find the birds utterly repulsive and likely infested with disease. So we're glad to post that while pigeons are not immune to the avian flu virus, they need to be exposed to very high levels of the stuff to become infected. So there's very little chance of a NYC pigeon actually having the illness. Migratory birds that travel far and wide who may come into contact with strange birds are more likely to bring the virus to the City. Birds that rarely stray from the neighborhood (pigeons, starlings, sparrows) are less of a worry.

Don't Bring the Noise

Don't you hate when you misplace your keys, wallet, or two test tubes full of anthrax? Aren't you relieved when you find out that you didn't lose them but just miscounted because of a clerical error? So are New Jersey health officials who reported a similar snafu this past week. Because we know if we had accidentally lost two vials of a deadly bioweapon, we would surely `fess up.

Why Your Kids are Fat

Newsflash: They eat the junkfood they see advertised on TV.