Video: Coast Guard Crew Assists in SpaceX Debris Recovery

U.S. Coast Guard District 7 PADET Tampa Bay

 

An HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida, drops flares to mark debris near Port Canaveral, Florida, Sunday, June 28, 2015. 

The crew assisted NASA vessels in debris recovery after a SpaceX rocket exploded minutes after launching. U.S. Coast Guard video by Chief Petty Officer Crystalynn A. Kneen

FAA: Washington DC is a NO DRONE ZONE

June 30, 2015

As the July 4 holiday approaches, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reminding residents and visitors to Washington, D.C. that the city and surrounding communities are a “No Drone Zone.”

The prohibition against flying any type of unmanned aircraft, or “drone,” without specific approval includes the District of Columbia and cities and towns within a 15-mile radius of Ronald-Reagan Washington National Airport.

The FAA is conducting the “No Drone Zone” campaign so visitors and residents thoroughly understand that operating an unmanned aircraft in this area for any purpose is against the law.

The airspace around Washington, D.C. is more restricted than in any other part of the country. Rules put in place after the 9/11 attacks establish “national defense airspace” over the area and limit aircraft operations to those with an FAA and Transportation Security Administration authorization. Violators face stiff fines and criminal penalties.

So if you’re in the Washington, DC area for the Fourth, enjoy the holiday. But leave your drone at home.



///-------------///

No Drone Zone

 

The FAA is leading a public outreach campaign for the National Capital Region around Washington, D.C. to reinforce the message that the District of Columbia and cities and towns within a 15-mile radius of Ronald-Reagan Washington National Airport are a No Drone Zone.

Federal rules prohibit any aircraft from operating in the Flight Restricted Zone around our nation's capital without specific approval, which includes all unmanned aircraft.

The airspace around Washington, D.C. is more restricted than in any other part of the country. Rules put in place after the 9/11 attacks establish "national defense airspace" over the area and limit aircraft operations to those with an FAA and Transportation Security Administration authorization. Violators face stiff fines and criminal penalties.

The FAA is making outreach materials available through a digital toolkit. These materials are offered to federal, state, and other local partners around the National Capital Region to ensure that residents and tourists all understand that operating an unmanned aircraft in this area for any purpose is against the law. This digital toolkit includes No Drone Zone signage for any medium, including print and web, and informational handout cards explaining that the National Capital Region is a No Drone Zone.

EPA: Modifications to Settlement with Alabama Power Company Will Reduce Harmful Air Pollution

Release Date: 06/25/2015

Contact Information: Julia P. Valentine (News media only), valentine.julia@epa.gov, (202) 564-2663, (202) 564-4355


WASHINGTON -- EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice today lodged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama a proposed modification of a prior 2006 consent decree with Alabama Power Company that will secure further reductions of harmful air pollutants, primarily sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), from three of the company’s coal-fired power plants in Alabama. The proposed modifications, if entered by the court, will resolve the remaining claims in a long-running case that alleged violations of the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review program.
The pollution reductions will be achieved through operation of state-of-the-art pollution control devices, the conversion of four units from the use of coal to natural gas, and the retirement of three other units. Among other requirements, the company must meet specified emission rates. Alabama Power will also pay a $100,000 penalty and will spend at least $1.5 million on providing electrical charging infrastructure for electric airport service vehicles and passenger cars. This settlement is part of EPA’s national enforcement initiative to control harmful emissions from large sources of pollution, which includes coal-fired power plants, under the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements.
“This action secures reductions of harmful air pollution at Alabama Power Company’s coal-fired power plants across the state,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This is important progress toward our commitment to cut emissions from the largest sources, and means cleaner air and improved public health for communities across Alabama.”
For more information about EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance: http://www2.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-office-enforcement-and-compliance-assurance-oeca

Shell Rig Departs for Arctic Despite Protest

Posted by Eric Haun

Tuesday, June 30, 2015, 12:41 PM

U.S. Coast Guard and police boats cleared a way through protesters in kayaks at a Seattle-area port on Tuesday so a drilling ship could head for the Arctic on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell.

The Noble Discover is the second drilling ship Shell has sent to the area in recent days.

The activists, who have staged frequent demonstrations during the past two months against Royal Dutch Shell's oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea off mainland Alaska, said 21 protesters in kayaks took to the waters just beyond the Port of Everett north of Seattle where the oil rig launched for sea.

The activists had entered the safety zone around the Noble Discover and were intercepted by small boats of the U.S. Coast Guard and local police, who took the water-borne demonstrators to shore, said Coast Guard spokesman Chief Petty Officer David Mosley.

No one was arrested but the Coast Guard and police team issued five citations to demonstrators, he said.

Following its pre-dawn departure, the Nobel Discover was sailing on toward international waters with no blockade in its path, Mosley said.

Shell could begin drilling for oil in the Arctic off Alaska as early as the third week in July, when it expects sea ice to begin clearing.

The company was given conditional approval by the U.S. Department of the Interior in May to return to the Arctic for the first time since its mishap-plagued 2012 drilling season.

Protesters around Washington have demonstrated against Shell's intention to drill for fossil fuel in the Arctic, one of the most environmentally sensitive regions in the world, saying a spill would be destructive to the ecosystem and extremely hard to clean up.

On June 15, another drilling rig that will search for oil in the Arctic for Shell pulled out of the Port of Seattle and also was met by protesters in kayaks, including Seattle City Council member Mike O'Brien, who slowed its progress before it reached the open ocean.

That drilling rig arrived in Dutch Harbor off mainland Alaska on Saturday morning. Shell plans to drill through late September.

Shell maintains that it has a robust safety and clean-up plan should a spill occur.


////-------------------//

Activists Planning Protest Against Shell's Arctic Business

Posted by Joseph Keefe

Tuesday, June 30, 2015, 8:45 AM

U.S. environmental activists said they planned to protest on Tuesday against the launch of the second of two oil rigs central to Shell's plans to drill for oil in the Arctic.

The Washington state activists, who have staged frequent demonstrations over the last two months against Royal Dutch  Shell's oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea off mainland Alaska, said they expected the rig to leave a Seattle-area port in the early morning and were planning a water-borne protest.

Shell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The company could begin drilling for oil in the Arctic off Alaska as early as the third week in July, when it expects sea ice to begin clearing.

The first drilling rig arrived in Dutch Harbor off mainland Alaska on Saturday morning and will remain there until ice begins clearing where the company plans to drill through late September.

The company was given a conditional green light by the U.S. Department of the Interior in May to return to the Arctic for the first time since its mishap-plagued 2012 drilling season.

Protesters around Washington have staged ongoing demonstrations over Shell's intention to drill for fossil fuel in the Arctic, one of the most environmentally sensitive regions in the world, saying a spill would be destructive to the ecosystem and extremely hard to clean up.

Shell maintains that it has a robust safety and clean-up plan should a spill occur.

Fuel Pipe Leak at Port of Prince Rupert

Posted by Eric Haun

Tuesday, June 30, 2015, 11:03 AM

Westview Wood Pellet Terminal (Photo: Port of Prince Rupert)

 

Seepage from disused fuel pipe contained on Prince Rupert industrial waterfront

 

Efforts are underway at Prince Rupert’s industrial waterfront to stop a slow leak from an abandoned fuel pipe, the Prince Rupert Port Authority reports. 

 

Seepage at the Port of Prince Rupert was first observed Sunday, with immediate action taken to prevent the contaminant from escaping into the marine environment, according to the port authority.

 

Excavation work has permitted access to a nearby junction from which the pipe can be flushed and capped. This will prevent further seepage of a small quantity of oily liquid that is believed to be bunker fuel.

 

Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) was engaged on Sunday afternoon to contain the small quantity of liquid that reached the foreshore. WCMRC will also be working to clean the shoreline and immediate vicinity.

 

The pipe passes under property owned by the Port of Prince Rupert, terminating adjacent to the marine berth of Westview Wood Pellet Terminal. The containment and cleanup response was triggered when terminal staff reported a rainbow sheen near the tideline Sunday.

 

While the small quantity of escaped oil is believed to pose minimal risk to marine life and vegetation, an environmental consultant engaged by the port authority has been onsite since Monday morning to assess potential impacts.

Maersk: No Issue in Funding Greek Operations Despite Capital Controls

Posted by Joseph Keefe

Tuesday, June 30, 2015, 8:05 AM

Photo: Maersk Line

Oil and shipping conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Tuesday it was experiencing no problems funding operations in Greece or getting paid by Greek customers despite the imposition of capital controls by Athens.

Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipping company,  has offices in Greece and vessels passing though its ports. Maersk's terminal operator unit, APM Terminals, was invited to bid for Greece's biggest port, Piraeus Port.

"We are not facing issues funding local operations. Maersk Line continues to receive incoming payments via bank transfers and cash at counter," Maersk said in a statement.

"Customers who are able to transfer from accounts abroad are offered to do so to a collection account in London."

It said it had paid its employees in Greece early in anticipation of capital controls which were imposed after talks between Athens and its foreign creditors collapsed.

Container Ship and LPG Tanker Collide near Surabaya, Indonesia

By Aiswarya Lakshmi

Tuesday, June 30, 2015, 3:14 AM

Navigator Aries. Photo by Navigator Gas 

 

 LPG tanker Navigator Aries (23,333 dwt, built 2008), and containership Leo Perdana (33,423 dwt, built 2007) collided yesterday in waters off Gresik, nearby the Port of Tunjung Perak in Surabaya, Indonesia.

 

The collision caused a fire on the 2008-built tanker, which was quickly put out by the crew. The tanker, owned by Navigator Gas, suffered a 5-meter breach on its port side.

 

The tanker suffered large breach in the port side and caught fire, which was quickly extinguished. 

 

During the collision there were no injured crew, but both ships were seriously damages and small quantity of fuel spilled into the water.

 

Four tugs were dispatched at the scene of the accident and towed the Navigator Aries to anchorage on 10 nautical miles off Gresik. 

 

The container ship Leo Perdana proceeded to Surabaya by own power and berthed for repair works and inspection. 

 

The ship was built in 2007 by Naikai Shipbuilding Setoda Factory in Japan and operated by Japanese shipping company Tokei Kaiun. During the accident Leo Perdana was en route to Surabaya. The extent of the damage on the 2,553 TEU Leo Perdana is still unknown.

 

The Panama-flagged Leo Perdana is operated by Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corporation, and is employed on a Taiwan-Philippines-Indonesia (TPI) Service, which includes a call at Surabaya.

 

The Indonesia-flagged Navigator Aries is managed by the UK-based Navigator Gas LLC. The LPG tanker has overall length of 160.00 m, moulded beam of 26.00 m and maximum draft of 8.00 m.

Michigan Man Killed When Large Firework He’s Holding Next To His Head Explodes

June 29, 2015 2:49 PM

(credit: istock)

WALLED LAKE (CBS Detroit) 

Police say a 47-year-old man died Sunday in Walled Lake when a large mortar fireworks shell he was holding next to his head exploded.

A mortar shell is typically about the size of a softball. They’re put together ahead of time and inserted into a tube from which they’re launched. Many types of mortars and other aerial fireworks were banned in Michigan until 2012 when the legislature loosened restrictions under public pressure to allow larger, typically considered more dangerous fireworks.

In this case of a firework gone wrong, the man’s family was “devastated” when the deadly incident unfolded in front of them at about 9:14 p.m. Sunday at a home on the 1500 block of Quinif Drive, according to Walled Lake Police Chief Paul Shakinas.

Shakinas said, when first responders arrived, they found the man unresponsive, not breathing, and suffering from severe trauma to the back of his head.

“Hands down, the worst I’ve ever seen,” Shakinas said. “I’ve seen (fireworks) accidents, but never causing a fatality. He was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Alcohol was a factor, the chief said, and the man may not have realized the firework had been lit.

Michigan law allows consumer fireworks the day before, on the actual Fourth of July holiday, and the day after. Shakinas said, however, no one was cited in this case.

“The individual is deceased, so we’re not gonna issue a ticket to him,” Shakinas said. “But we would just remind everyone that alcohol and fireworks do not mix.”

Shakinas said there were other people around, but he does not believe the man’s children witnessed the accident.

An investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office is ongoing.

Another fatal grain bin accident. Man killed in grain bin accident in Thurston County, NE

 

 

Thurston Co. Sheriff releases the name of the man killed in deadly grain bin accident

Posted: Jun 29, 2015

 

 
EMERSON, NE (KTIV) - 

Authorities in Thurston County have released the identity of a man killed in a grain bin accident on Monday afternoon. 

A press release from Thurston County Sheriff Shelly Perez says Todd Martin, 53, of rural Emerson was killed in the accident on Monday. 

The accident occurred at around 1:00 p.m. at 1736 A Avenue in rural Thurston County just east of Emerson. Rescue personnel attempted life-saving procedures on Martin, but were unsuccessful.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s office continues to investigate the incident. No other details have been released.

///---------------///
 

Emergency crews were called to the farm about a half mile east of Emerson just after 1 o'clock for a man who was trapped in a grain bin.
 
By 1:30, the man had been freed and CPR was underway, with a request for Mercy Air Care to airlift the man to the hospital.

However, the victim did not survive his injuries.

The man's identity has not been released.

The Thurston County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident, to determine how the man became trapped in the bin.



///--------------///

Experts project high number of grain bin accidents

By NICHOLAS BERGIN - Associated Press - Saturday, November 29, 2014 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - It took only seconds.

Tim Hansen climbed inside the grain bin with a long pole, planning to shove it down into the corn to clear a crust of kernels stopping corn from funneling out to be loaded into trucks.

His grown son, Chris Hansen, stood outside the 60,000 bushel bin northeast of Dixon with a two-way radio that let him talk to his 60-year-old dad. They knew going inside a bin could be dangerous and liked to keep in contact as a precaution.

Chris tried to radio his dad but got no response. He banged on the side of the bin, turned off the auger then climbed to the top.

“When I got to the top of the bin and looked in, his bar was sitting dead smack over the center of the hole where it should have been but there was no dad,” Chris said.

Chris jumped in and dug with his hands but couldn’t find his dad and business partner.

It took rescue workers more than two hours to find Tim Hansen’s body at the bottom of the bin under 10 feet of corn. Chris believes there was a void in the grain that collapsed, causing Tim to fall backward and sucking him under.

One to three people die in Nebraska each year from becoming entrapped in grain, the Lincoln Journal Star (http://bit.ly/1y2mwLp ) reported.

Nationally, this year is expected to be the deadliest for grain engulfment since 2010, which was the deadliest year on record, according to Bill Field, professor in the department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue publishes an annual summary of grain-related entrapments and engulfment in the United States.

The number of incidents recorded this year surged passed last year’s total of 33 about midsummer, the final numbers will be released early next year, Field said.
Those are only the numbers researchers hear of, he said. 

The actual number likely is about 30 percent higher. About two-thirds of grain storage in the United States is on farms exempt from the OSHA reporting requirements. Often, when a person is rescued, people wipe the sweat off their brows and go home. The incident doesn’t make the news and researchers never hear of it.

In 2013, about 40 percent of recorded entrapments ended in death, a figure that has been steadily declining. From 1964 to 2008, 73 percent were fatal. Experts believe it’s due to a combination of factors, including safer 

confined-space entry procedures, more emphasis on first responder training and public awareness and greater willingness to report nonfatal cases.

Getting trapped in grain is far from the most common cause of death in the agricultural industry. Overturned tractors kill the most workers, an average of 125 lives in the United States each year, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

But grain bins, which claim only about one-tenth of the lives as tractors each year, stand out in the news just as they do on the horizon. The incidents make for gruesome tales: A farmhand goes into a bin to do some dull task and gets crushed under an avalanche of grain or gets sucked down as in quicksand. Bits of grain have been found in the lungs of victims.

Adding to the shock often is the young age of the victims. Farming is the only industry that employs children as young as middle school. About 20 percent of all documented entrapments involve people younger than 21, the Purdue survey says.

In Nebraska, 18-year-old Joseph Teague went into a grain bin in Lorenzo to shovel millet on May 7, 2007. He got caught in the flow of grain being emptied by an auger and was pulled under and suffocated.

OSHA cited the elevator owner, Crossroads Cooperative Association, for allowing the teen to go into the bin without supervision or without a proper harness while grain-moving equipment was running. Crossroads also was cited for failing to provide equipment for rescue operations. The initial federal fine was $130,050; after appeal the fine was reduced to $50,000.

This year, with the last few acres of corn being harvested across the Midwest, grain bins are full to bursting. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has predicted a record 14.4 billion bushels of corn will be harvested in the United States this fall. Low prices have many producers holding onto their grain in hopes of better prices later.

Despite the mountain of grain that will be in the bins, Field isn’t predicting a spike in engulfment incidents. It’s not the amount of grain harvested in a given year that increases the risk of suffocation deaths, he said, it’s the moisture level of the grain. Wetter corn tends to stick together and create crusts. That means more people crawling into bins to knock it loose.

The deadliest year on record was 2010 with 59 recorded grain entrapments following a wet 2009 harvest, according to the Purdue summary.

The Midwest Farmers Cooperative, which has 26 locations in southeast Nebraska, reports the majority of corn coming in this year at 15 percent moisture or less, which is about optimal for storage, according to Marketing Manager Austin Benes.

Midwest Farmers Co-op recently donated a six-piece tube for use in emergency extraction of people from grain to the Tecumseh Volunteer Fire Department for use in Johnson County and another tube to Cass County Emergency Management. The cooperative also has offered to open its facilities up to rescue workers to train how to save people from the crushing embrace of grain.

Grain handling facilities subject to OSHA regulations have to follow strict standards and have equipment like harnesses on hand to prevent workers from being trapped in grain. Most farms don’t have the same requirements, said Lee Paulsen, Midwest Farmers Cooperative safety and compliance manager.

Paulsen advised farm workers to stay out of grain bins if they can. But if they have to go in, he said to turn off the auger that moves the grain, have a buddy nearby and use a harness connected to a rope that can pull them out just in case they get sucked in.

It’s advice Chris Hansen echoed. Tim Hansen had gone into grain bins countless times to knock grain free, and they thought they had taken proper precautions, he said.

Tim Hansen had been a local business owner, an emergency responder and former fire chief in addition to having farmed with his son for 15 years. He knew the dangers.

It took only one slip for a tragic result. Emergency responders, neighbors, family and friends dug by hand, with shovels and tore the bin apart with heavy equipment to get Tim Hansen out.

“I don’t want that to happen to any of my friends. If I see somebody crawling inside a bin now, I’ll stop and yell at them,” Chris Hansen said.

1 woman killed when two boats collide near Gavins Point Dam in Nebraska

 

Officials release the name of a Creighton, NE woman who died in a boating accident near Gavins Point Dam

Posted: Jun 30, 2015 9:07 AM EST

 

YANKTON, SD (KTIV) - 

 The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission said 68-year-old Carolyn Neyes of Creighton, Nebraska died after a boating accident below Gavins Point Dam in Cedar County Monday morning. 

Officials said two boats collided at approximately 9:55 a.m.

Neyes was a passenger in one of the boats and authorities said she sustained injuries from the accident.

She was transported to Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, S.D., where she died.

Conservation officers with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nebraska State Patrol, Cedar County Sheriff's Office and Cedar County Emergency Management, responded to the accident.

The investigation is ongoing. Alcohol does not appear to be a contributing factor in the accident. The Cedar County Attorney has ordered an autopsy on Neyes. Both boats have been impounded.

//----------//


A boating accident on the morning of June 29 in the tailwaters below Gavins Point Dam in Cedar County claimed the life of a 68-year-old Creighton woman.

Two boats collided at approximately 9:55 a.m. The victim was a passenger in one of the boats. She was transported to Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, S.D., where she was pronounced dead.

Conservation officers with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nebraska State Patrol, Cedar County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar County Emergency Management, responded to the accident.

The investigation is ongoing. Alcohol does not appear to be a contributing factor in the accident. The Cedar County Attorney has ordered an autopsy on the victim. Both boats have been impounded.

//------------//

 
A boating accident on the evening of June 28 at Whitney Lake in northwest Nebraska sent a woman to a hospital with serious arm and shoulder injuries. 

A 40-year-old Crawford man was operating a boat on the Dawes County lake approximately 9 miles south of Crawford. 

The boat apparently struck a wake while making a turn, throwing the woman overboard. She was struck by the boat’s propeller. 

The victim was transported to Chadron Community Hospital and then later flown to a hospital in Fort Collins. Colo. The accident is under investigation.

A horrible way to die: worker killed when he was buried alive with sand while inside his bulldozer in Plymouth, Massachusetts

Worker dead after dozer gets buried under sand in Plymouth, Massachusetts

JUNE 30, 2015

 

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (WHDH) 

PCTRT assisting with the incident in #Plymouth pic.twitter.com/w9y9ie1stY

— Plymouth County TRT (@PCTRT) June 30, 2015

One man was killed in a tragic construction accident that unfolded late this morning in Plymouth, according to the Plymouth District Attorney's office.

Charles Pace, 66, an employee with P.A. Landers construction company died in a bulldozer accident after he was "apparently trapped in a work area the employee had been using the bulldozer to dig in."

The accident occurred at 143 Hedges Pond Rd., where construction is being done to expand an existing cranberry bog farm.

P.A. Landers declined to comment. 

The accident is under investigation by Massachusetts State Police, Plymouth Police, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the district attorney's office.

 
 //-------------------//

 The driver of a truck on a construction site in Plymouth is dead after the truck got buried under an avalanche of sand.

Firefighters said a truck was moving sand in a sand pit at Hedges Pond Road when the sand collapsed on the truck. 

The truck then rolled over, trapping the driver inside.

Stay with 7News for more on this story as it develops.



////-------------------///

Committed to Health and Safety...

There is no issue of greater importance to the P.A. Landers’ owners and management team than the safety of our employees.

P.A. Landers has always had a strong safety program, but as we move forward, our commitment to the health and safety of our employees is stronger than ever. Since Landers offers a diverse range of products and services, compliance with many regulatory agencies is required. These agencies include OSHA, which oversees road and site construction, concrete and asphalt production and our maintenance facilities. Our aggregate crushing and screening production falls under the regulatory jurisdiction of MSHA, and our large heavy truck fleet requires attention to DOT regulations.

Public safety is also a top priority at P. A. Landers. Prospective employees are screened for drugs, their driving records are reviewed and their previous employers are contacted. Current employees are randomly drug and alcohol tested. We ensure that our employees are licensed and medically qualified to operate equipment and drive trucks. 

Landers’ diversity is made possible by our many talented and versatile employees.  We provide ongoing, comprehensive safety training for all of our employees. All employees complete an OSHA 10 Hour Construction course. Other training includes competent person, mining safety, general industry, and trucking safety. Our goal is to provide the safest workplace possible for our employees.

                         P.A. Landers, Inc. © 2010 | 351 Winter Street | Hanover MA 02339 | 800-660-6404

Eating mud is not good for the body: 1,000 runners sickened with suspected Norovirus after French mud run

A mud run participant passes a mud barrier in this 2015 file photo. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

Tuesday, June 30, 2015 09:20AM

 

ALPES-MARITIMES, France (KTRK)

 

Nearly 1,000 runners are sick with a suspected case of Norovirus after taking part in a mud run in southeast France, the country's health officials confirm.

The race, which involves 22 obstacles featuring ice, mud and electricity, took part in the Alpes-Maritimes region of France this past Saturday. Since then, one out of every eight participants has come down with an outbreak of gastroenteritis, with common symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting.

Health officials believe the patients may have ingested mud during the race that was laced with some kind of bacteria. The mud run organizer confirmed on it's website that it's working with health officials to test ground samples to determine the cause of the illness.

At least one runner was hospitalized as a result of the illness, but health officials say there are no serious or life-threatening cases.

This isn't the first time runners taking part in a mud run have gotten sick after the event. In 2012, the CDC reported 22 runners got sick after a Tough Mudder race, the Washington Post reports. In that case, those runners had swallowed mud laced with cattle and pig feces, causing them to become infected with Campylobacter coli, a bacteria that can bring on a case of acute gastroenteritis. And earlier this year, a woman claimed she contracted a flesh eating bacteria that caused her to go blind in one eye after participating in a mud run event in Dallas.

Young worker trimming with weed-eater struck, killed by 18-wheeler in Texas City, Texas

Texas City police are investigating a deadly accident between an 18-wheeler and a worker who was trimming with a weed-eater

Updated 47 mins ago

 

TEXAS CITY, TX (KTRK)

 

Texas City police are investigating a deadly accident involving a contract worker and an 18-wheeler.

Police say the big rig ran off the road on the southbound lanes of Highway 146 at FM 646 and struck the worker who was trimming grass with a weed-eater.

The 20-year-old male victim died at the scene.

Two southbound lanes on 146 are being diverted to a middle turn lane at 646.