OTTAWA — Governments should consider extreme heat a natural disaster as climate change raises the risk of soaring summer temperatures in much of Canada, a new report says. Irreversible Extreme Heat, penned by experts at the Intact Centre on Climate Change at the University of Waterloo, says “Canadian alarm bells should be ringing” about the risk of intense heat. “Extreme heat is kind of a disaster waiting to happen,” said lead author Joanna Eyquem, managing director of climate-resilient infrastructure at the Intact Centre. …Heat is not listed on the federal government’s website on natural disasters, even though it has proven deadlier and more common in Canada than most of those other threats. …People can plant trees for better shade… add heat-absorbing building materials, use green roofs or heat-reflecting roofing… Eyquem said … trees and parks enhance quality of life, and can also reduce damage from from flooding.
The smoke in the US Pacific north-west during wildfire disasters in past years has caused atmospheric carbon monoxide levels to spike, with the contaminants offsetting recent reductions in emissions, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research have found. …But scientists are increasingly finding that the fires may be part of a feedback loop that could accelerate the change in conditions and that health impacts officials have long warned would worsen with climate crisis, may in fact already be here. …In August – when CO was expected to be driven to its lowest points – there were instead spikes. The scientists found that this not only affects atmospheric carbon monoxide, but was found closer to the Earth’s surface as well. …The toxic output from fires contributes to an estimated loss of more than 15,000 lives in the US each year. Some scientists say that number will double by the end of the century. 
WorkSafeBC is holding a virtual public hearing on proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Regulation. The virtual public hearing will be streamed live on June 21, 2022, in two sessions. The first will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.and the second from 3 to 5 p.m. The links to view the virtual public hearing and information to dial in will be posted here. The virtual hearing will cover proposed changes to the following parts of the OHS Regulation: 
B.C.’s climate crisis-related disasters last year such as the deadly heat dome, wildfires, flooding and landslides highlight the need for new safety measures, according to a new report by B.C.’s safety authority this week. Other top concerns outlined in 
Living in areas prone to wildfires may boost the risk of developing lung cancer and brain tumours, a new study from McGill University has found. The first-of-its-kind study — which used health data on two million people over 20 years — found higher rates of lung cancer and brain tumours in people exposed to wildfires across Canada, including in B.C. The study, published in 
Free Webinar: Thursday, May 12, 11am – Noon. The BCFSC has partnered with WCPP and Road Safety at Work to present Oh Deer! Driving Tips to Prevent Collisions. This free webinar will cover:
British Columbians are invited to provide feedback on what types of work are too hazardous to be done by youth under age 16, and in some cases, under 19. The Province has launched a 
RCMP say the pilot of a helicopter that crashed in a remote area on northeast Vancouver Island has been killed. Police say in a news release they were notified Wednesday morning a helicopter that was moving wood crashed north of the village of Sayward along the Johnstone Strait. It says a search and rescue team from the Canadian Forces base in Comox was sent to the scene and found the only person on board the aircraft dead. …RCMP say they are working alongside the safety board and the BC Coroners Service to determine the cause of the crash.
Officials are warning about the dangers of a “pretty” TikTok trend following an investigation into two mysterious deaths in Wisconsin. Deputies responded to a residential fire on April 6 in Marathon County. Officials initially treated the incident as a homicide because, after arriving, the homeowners were not immediately found and investigators suspected foul play. Tanya Rodriguez, 44, and James Carolfi, 52, were later found dead in the garage after the blaze had been extinguished, and investigators went to work to determine the cause of the fire. In the weeks since, officials have determined that the deadly electrocution and fire were caused by a trend that has garnered millions of views on TikTok — fractal wood burning, according to the sheriff’s office. …The technique uses high-voltage electricity to burn tree-like patterns and designs into wood that has been drenched in a chemical solution, the sheriff’s office said.
Climate change has already made allergy season longer and pollen counts higher, but you ain’t sneezed nothing yet. Climate scientists at the University of Michigan looked at 15 plant pollens in the United States and used computer simulations to calculate how much worse allergy season will likely get by the year 2100. It’s enough to make allergy sufferers even more red-eyed. As the world warms, allergy season will start weeks earlier and end many days later — and it’ll be worse while it lasts, with pollen levels that could as much as triple in some places, according to a new study Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. Warmer weather allows plants to start blooming earlier and keeps them blooming later. Meanwhile, additional carbon dioxide in the air from burning fuels such as coal, gasoline and natural gas helps plants produce more pollen, said study co-author Allison Steiner, a University of Michigan climate scientist.
Dust Safety Science examines how big the combustible dust fire and explosion problem around the world. Determining how to prevent these incidents… is the driving force behind this work. The combustible dust incident reporting launched in 2016. Since then, the U.S. has averaged 133 fires, 30 explosions and 36 injuries per year with fatalities ranging between one and six per year. Canada has averaged 15.2 fires, 3.5 explosions and 4.2 injuries over that same time period. …In 2021, at least eight combustible dust explosions and two combustible dust fires that caused injuries to workers were reported in the incident reporting system. …both dust fires and dust explosions are common challenges at wood products, woodworking and pelleting facilities around the world. A comprehensive combustible dust safety program must be in place to address these challenges and avoid loss of product, damages to the facility, and harm to employees or other individuals that are on-site at the facility.
Fires broke out in the forests of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone this week, raising concerns that radiation from the nuclear site could spread. The Ukrainian parliament released a statement on Monday regarding the situation at Chernobyl, saying the fires were likely caused by Russian military forces, possibly due to weapons use or deliberate arson. According to satellite imagery from the European Space Agency, seven fires were burning within the exclusion zone. The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Ukraine’s natural resources minister said the flames had been extinguished and that radiation levels were normal.