Rollover crashes in trucks and buses cause the greatest number of fatalities and injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed that all new trucks and buses should be fitted with an electronic stability control system (ECS) that will sense when a driver loses control and automatically applies the brakes to individual wheels to keep the vehicle stable and avoid a rollover. This type of system is required in passenger cars, sport utility vehicles and light trucks, as of the 2012 model year, but has been available in SUV's and many other cars for years.

The stability control system would help commercial drivers avoid skidding across icy or slick roads or keep control when swerving to avoid an unexpected object in the road. In addition the individual-wheel braking system counters over-steering and under-steering in trucks. Research into electronic stability control systems by the government concludes that up to 56 percent of rollover crashes each year could be prevented, which equates to 2,329 crashes, reducing up to 858 injuries, and preventing between 49 and 60 fatalities a year.

Read about commercial vehicles here.

Follow me on Twitter

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are weighing in on the issue of companies that want to use nanoparticles in their packaging of food stuffs. A nanoparticle is generally considered to be less than 100 nanometers in diameter, 1000 thinner than a sheet of paper. Some nanoparticles are being found in FDA regulated products such as sunscreen and skin lotions. The FDA have now issued guidelines to food manufacturers indicating that they will need to provide additional data establishing the safety of any packaging that would contain nanoparticles.

Some companies are currently studying whether nanotechnology can be used in packaging to identify when food has spoilt or to even stop food from spoiling. The most popular area of nanotechnology for packaging involves polymer-clay nanocomposites, which embed nanoparticles of volcanic ash into plastics. These materials provide a barrier that can be used to keep carbon dioxide and nitrogen in a package, while keeping oxygen out, thus prevent oxidation and extends the shelf life of food. Other nanoparticles can remove oxygen from inside food packaging, and silver-based nanoparticles have also been proven to kill microorganisms, including some pathogens.

Read about Nanoparticle safety here.

Follow me on Twitter

India is preparing itself for a bumper crop this year and with that news comes a problem. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has publically raised concern that there is not enough warehousing space to store the 12 million tonnes of food grain that will be arriving during the first week of June. The FCI believe the main storage shortages will be in Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh.

The food grain has been purchased by a government procurement program that is operated by the FCI. The corporation buys the grain at a fixed price plus any relevant bonuses, so the FCI knows how much grain will be arriving at its depots. The Indian government must act in some manner to stop the purchased grain from sitting in substandard storage or even out in the open. The government could distribute food grain to the poor, export some grain, or provide temporary storage before the June rains begin.

Follow me on Twitter

How would you feel if your garbage bin charged you each time you threw in a bag of household waste? Well don't get too comfy because Earth911 is reporting about a new scheme in South Korea that uses RFID in a rubbish bin to weigh the waste put in it and then inform the depositor of the fee. The Korean government estimates that the nation of 50 million creates 170,000 tons of food waste daily at a cost of $1.5 billion annually. The government is aiming to reduce waste by twenty percent and this is where the new rubbish bin from SK Telecom comes in.

The new RFID enabled bin was displayed at an RFID show in April. The bin is opened when a user taps their public transportation card and they can deposit their waste, which is measured to the nearest gram. The RFID bin then reports the weight of the waste to the user along with the appropriate fee for disposal. The future for RFID rubbish bins could be rosy as the country is running out of landfill. Could they appear in the US or Europe?

Read more about RFID here.

Follow me on Twitter