The Dangers of Public Wildlife Interactions in National Parks

National park officials and wildlife managers each year stress the importance of maintaining a safe distance from wildlife. Summer traffic causes wildlife encounters to be at an all-time high. Most wildlife encounters occur during the summer between May and September as more than 100 million visitors enter national parks across the United States. These parks host wildlife that can threaten human life, including snakes, mountain lions, moose, bison, bears, and wolves. Wildlife interactions only become dangerous when visitors disregard safety measures put in place by park officials, often getting too close while taking pictures for social media.

Many of these animals will only attack if someone invades their personal space. Far inside what national park officials recommend for safe viewing, a 25-year-old woman was gored to death by a bison in Yellowstone National Park after approaching the animal within less than 10 feet. The park officials stated the woman and two others were threatening the animal by coming within 25 feet, causing it to respond by stampeding and goring her to death. Witnesses stated the woman was tossed more than 10 feet into the air, while the two other people who also approached the animal escaped. 

The tragic encounter prompted officials to restate their recommended boundaries when encountering wildlife in hopes of preventing further interactions this season. Yellowstone officials recommend visitors stay at least 25 yards away when interacting with large animals like bison, deer, bighorn sheep, and elk. When interacting with predatory animals, they recommend maintaining more than 100 yards if possible to avoid deadly encounters with bears, wolves, and mountain lions.

The bison in Yellowstone park have injured more people than any other animal as they stand more than 6 feet tall, weigh more than 2,000 pounds, and can easily run three times faster than a human. They often graze in highly trafficked areas near roads and buildings, leading to more frequent close encounters than other types of wildlife—the bison population numbers more than 20,000 across the United States National Parks. High population densities in some parks have posed challenges for effectively managing human interactions, leading to proponents advocating for population control in certain park areas. 

Dangerous wildlife encounters occur every year in the national parks. Recent wildlife encounters this season have caused the same concerns as many national parks across the United States have begun enforcing daily reservations and timed entry tickets. Reservation implementation originated from efforts to limit the spread of covid amongst park visitors. Park officials are investigating all efforts to keep people safe and continue managing their wildlife.

Here are three safety tips to keep in mind if you venture out into the wilderness this summer. 

1. Do not feed the animals because this could lead to incitement resulting in small bites from even the smallest animals to an all-out predatory attack.

2. Do not pet or approach wild animals as they can be unpredictable and easily provoked.

3. Report close animal encounters to park officials so they can be attentive and monitor the animal's behavior. 

Correlation Between Marijuana Legalization and Increased DUIs

Marijuana and the use of Cannabis have long been touted to offer certain health benefits for the immunocompromised and chronically ill, except it is still illegal in most of the world. Countries like the Netherlands, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Spain, and a few others have legalized the sale of recreational marijuana among rising public popularity. The main psychoactive component of cannabis is THC which produces the high sensation and can be inhaled or ingested. Users exposed to THC experience relaxing effects, including heightened sensory perception, euphoria, and an altered perception of time. THC can also be directly ingested, delaying the effects by more than 30 minutes. The effects of cannabis usually last up to 3 hours, although evidence of THC can remain in the body for days after initial use. 

Each person reacts differently to THC ingestion, but increased popularity and legalization around the world have contributed to concerns about its impact on driver safety. In the United States, more than 1.5 million people are arrested for driving under the influence each year. Studies in Colorado suggest an increase of marijuana-related DUIs by more than 48% last year, with an increasing trend over the last five years. The rising frequency DUIs is concerning because a large percentage may correlate with areas that have legalized marijuana. In recent years, the same study also identified increased frequency in marijuana-impaired drivers’ roles in deadly car accidents. 

Assessing impairment from a marijuana user is much harder than in individuals under the influence of alcohol. Despite recent increases in legalization and recreational use of marijuana, law enforcement has yet to identify an accurate and reliable test to determine a driver’s level of intoxication. The equivalent test for alcohol impairment is the breathalyzer test used to determine the blood alcohol content as it corresponds to legal limits. There are blood tests used for THC identification, but they do not provide an accurate assessment of an individual’s level of impairment because of the chemical’s varying effects with each person. New developments in law enforcement have focussed on creating behavioral tests to assess individual impairment, similar to methods used to confirm alcohol intoxication. 

Developing accurate tests is vital for driver’s safety and the ability of law enforcement to assess impaired individuals. Regular marijuana users have produced blood profiles that indicate stores of THC can remain detectable in the blood for 30 days in some cases. These THC levels are often higher than local DUI limits, even though the individual has not recently ingested marijuana. 

Factors impacting DUI statistics include regional THC blood limits, driving laws, past offenses, and law enforcement discretion. The consequences of driving under the influence are also different depending on the region but can implicate an individual up to a year in jail. 

Understanding the use of marijuana as it impacts drivers’ abilities and law enforcement methods for impairment detection are quickly becoming an increasingly vital area of research. Investments will continue to increase as recreational use becomes legalized in other parts of the world.

UN Leaders Urging Companies to Take Measures to Protect Seafarers’ Rights

The United Nations has issued a list of human rights to business enterprises that are engaged in the maritime industry to protect seafarers that may be stranded on ships due to new COVID-19 variants and government-imposed travel restrictions. The Human Rights Due Diligence Tool is a joint initiative by the UN Global Compact, UN Human Rights Office, International Labour Organization (ILO), and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The tool provides guidance and a checklist for cargo owners, charterers, and logistics providers to conduct human rights due diligence across their supply chains to identify, prevent, mitigate and address adverse human rights impacts for seafarers. 

Amid concerns about the number of crew stranded working beyond their contacts at sea due to COVID-19 restrictions, UN agencies hope the new guidance will help ensure that the working conditions are respected and comply with international standards. The guidance aims to ensure that seafarers have rights safeguarded, such as physical and mental health, and access to family life, and freedom of movement. 

Although the maritime industry contributes more than 80% of global trade goods, there have been reports that seafarers are working way beyond the 11-month maximum limit of service on board. An estimated 200,000 crew are stuck on commercial vessels globally amid recent attempts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Unilever and other big retail brands are among consumer giants adopting a toolkit to audit their shipping supply chains to help bring seafarers stuck on commercial vessels back home and eliminate human rights risks. 

Any company that puts any cargo on ships will be encouraged to use the checklist, which includes asking ship owners and those who charter space on vessels to support crew changes and ensure clauses aren’t being added to contracts that prevent crew relief.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Fined Over $437,000 for Safety Violations in a 2019 Gas Explosion

Maryland has fined Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) for over $437,000 on January 7th, 2021, for safety violations related to a 2019 gas explosion at a Columbia office park. The state has also ordered the utility company to follow through on a remediation plan to upgrade gas lines for more than 1,250 buildings, which could cost around $17 million to prevent future accidents. 

The Public Service Commission of Maryland (PSC) revealed that BGE violated numerous state and federal statutes and regulations. They were ordered to pay two installments of $218,647, and it must be paid within 15 business days. BGE released a statement noting that they have 57 projects currently and have been working to improve 253 gas and electric common service trenches configured the same as those in the explosion. They expect to complete all of the projects by the end of 2021. 

BGE also plans to upgrade an additional 1,000 buildings with smaller-diameter gas pipes, using new practices designed to restrict gas service when the gas flow exceeds certain limits. They expect the upgrades to be completed by the end of 2023. All of these projects will ensure the safe and reliable operations of the BGE system so that future accidents can be prevented.

OHSA Presents New COVID-19 Guidelines and Restrictions Addressing Workplace Ventilation and Safety for Employers

Throughout the pandemic this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been criticized for lax regulations in several industries including meatpacking. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic through October 29th, 2020, OSHA has issued citations from 179 inspections for violations of work safety, and penalties totaling $2,496,768. Some of the violations include failure to: 

implement a written respiratory protection program, report an injury, illness, or fatality, provide medical evaluation, and training on the correct use of personal protective equipment. 

A complaint was filed in April describing the insufficient precautions at a Maid-Rite meatpacking plant in Dunmore, PA. The company failed to notify workers about the potential exposure to COVID, and OSHA designated that meatpacking facilities to be only “medium risk” and would not rush to conduct a formal inspection. Because of this OSHA has come under intense criticism this year, and a lawsuit from Maid-Rite was filed in July. 

In response to this, OSHA has issued guidance and a one-page document to help employers understand which regulations are cited most during coronavirus-related inspections. The guidance includes a description of the violations and available resources to better ensure that employers are adequately protecting workers. 

OSHA also published new guidance on ventilation in the workspace, which recommends that employers work with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) professionals to improve ventilation in a building to lower the potential risk of COVID-19 exposure.  Some of the tips to improve ventilation that OSHA recommends includes:

• Encourage workers to stay home if they are sick

• Remove personal fans to prevent blowing air from one person to another worker 

• Open windows or other sources of fresh air if possible 

• Increase the HVAC outdoor air intake 

• Ensure exhaust fans in restrooms are fully functional and set to always remain on.