BUSINESS NEWS.(Industry Overview)

Labsafety.com has placed a paper on school safety on its Web site. The paper notes that violence is not the only concern for schools. These facilities must also address the same hazards as seen in industry, including indoor air quality and handling of toxic materials used in janitorial services.

With regard to indoor air, for example, the paper notes that the two major related illnesses that can arise are known as sick building syndrome and building-related illness. The former is a "physical reaction to multiple low-level contaminants," according to the paper. The latter differs in that the illness is caused by just a single contaminant.

Bad air quality is typically related to poor ventilation or new building materials, according to the document. Activities in a lab or new carpeting can be a culprit, the paper states.

With regard to janitorial materials, proper storage and compliance with the Hazard Communication Standards are the issues. The paper lays out some of the specific issues addressed by these standards, including chemical labeling and employee training. The full paper can be read at Www.securitymanagement.com. Go to "Beyond Print" and scroll to School Safety paper under "Industry Focus."

The problem of interoperability among different IP video products, such as TV, videoconferencing, webcams, video-on-demand, and CCTV, has been a concern in the business community. A world standard could help these units communicate with one another.

New digital CCTV systems from Videology Imaging Solutions Inc. and Baxall Ltd. incorporate enabling technology from IndigoVision to resolve this problem.

VideoBridge-enabled products can switch in real time between standards. The protocol is distributed across four functional elements (server, client, recorder, and administrator) from which any application can be dynamically created. Other users who have already chosen this technology include Panasonic and Cirrus Logic Inc.