Dimetrius Pairama, 17, died five years ago after she was forced to hang herself.

Sydney Water workers are threatening to strike after an ongoing dispute with management over pay and conditions but potential industrial action could impact the city's residents.

The Australian Services Union – which is responsible for Sydney Water workers – said negotiations with their management have broken down, leading to the union lodging a dispute with the Fair Work Commission.

Workers are looking for improved pay and conditions after claims management slashed current salaries and imposed "secretive" contracts.

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"The relationship between the people who work at Sydney Water and senior management has never been worse," deputy secretary Jan Primrose said.

Primrose claimed long-term skilled workers are quitting the organisation as a result of the deteriorating pay and working conditions.

"Sydney Water is a great public asset, but it is being dragged backwards," she said.

"These workers are essential to keeping our water clean, and our beaches pristine."

"The people of NSW who are the owners of Sydney Water deserve better and so do the workers who have been delivering Australia's safest water."

A Sydney Water spokesperson told 9news.com.au it has proposed an 11 per cent increase over three years and "has agreed to a number of proposals put forth by the joint unions".

"Sydney Water states that they have been bargaining with their employees in good faith, and with an additional meeting scheduled for next week, we're hopeful that an agreement may have been reached," the spokesperson said.

Primrose called on the government to step in and rectify the dispute between workers and management by formalising an enterprise agreement.

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Premier Chris Minns said he was unaware of the industrial negotiations going on at Sydney Water but wants the senior management to better liaise with the workforce.

"I urge all parties to sit down and work through the circumstances of both the union claims and the ability of this particular agency to meet them," he said.

"It's going to be a rocky road and I've said this in relation to other industrial disputes.

"We don't welcome it but unfortunately it's part of the process."

If a strike is to occur, Sydney residents could be impacted if workers don't show up.

Minns warned there could be flow-on disruptions for residents if the strike goes ahead.

"I'm not promising that it will run smoothly but I am promising we will make progress and keep more people in the public sector to deliver better service to the people of this state," he said.

Sydney Water has more than 3000 employees and services 5.3 million customers in Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains and Illawarra.

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Passengers have been warned not to fly with fully charged devices due to an increased cabin fire risk by the United States' Federal Aviation Administration.

The safety regulator has warned travellers everyday items like mobile phones, laptops, tablets and smartwatches all contain lithium batteries, which can be potential fire hazards.

Fire safety branch manager Robert Ochs said the batteries had "high energy density" so there was a lot of electrical power in a relatively small pack on the Air Up There podcast which was posted on X, formerly Twitter, this week.

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Fire safety branch manager Robert Ochs said the batteries had "high energy density" so there was a lot of electrical power in a relatively small pack.

"They can however undergo a failure mode called thermal runaway," Ochs explained.

"So this thermal runaway occurs if there is an internal short circuit within the battery itself where energy will start to flow within the battery.

"That creates a good amount of heat and if that heat can't be dissipated then the heat just keeps building and building to the point where the cell fails.

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https://twitter.com/FAANews/status/1683162628254846976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

"You can have everything from fires to explosions and it's a very, very dangerous situation."

He said the main difference between a fire occurring in the air opposed to the ground was the inability to escape a fire if it was on a plane.

"If you do notice any of these signs (devices heating up)… get the attention of the cabin crew immediately, they are trained to handle these type of situations."

He said the best way to avoid the situation was to turn the device off or travel with it at 30 per cent or lower.

The event is rare but it does happen, Ochs said.

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More than 100,000 people in the US have become allergic to red meat since 2010 because of a weird syndrome triggered by tick bites, according to a government report, but health officials believe many more have the problem and don't know it.

A second report estimated that as many as 450,000 Americans have developed the allergy.

That would make it the 10th most common food allergy in the US, said Dr Scott Commins, a University of North Carolina researcher who co-authored both papers published by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials said they are not aware of any confirmed deaths, but people with the allergy have described it as bewildering and terrifying.

READ MORE: On a quiet one-acre plot, army of toxic ticks 'torture' Sydney grandfather

“I never connected it with any food because it was hours after eating,” said one patient, Bernadine Heller-Greenman.

The reaction, called alpha-gal syndrome, occurs when an infected person eats beef, pork, venison or other meat from mammals — or ingests milk, gelatin or other mammal products.

It’s not caused by a germ but by a sugar, alpha-gal, that is in meat from mammals — and in tick spit.

When the sugar enters the body through the skin, it triggers an immune response and can lead to a severe allergic reaction.

Scientists had seen reactions in patients taking a cancer drug that was made in mouse cells containing the alpha-gal sugar. But in 2011 researchers first reported that it could spread through tick bites, too.

They tied it to the lone star tick, which despite its Texas-themed name is most common in the eastern and southern US. (About 4 per cent of all US cases have been in the eastern end of New York’s Long Island.)

One of the studies released Thursday examined 2017-2022 test results from the main US commercial lab looking for alpha-gal antibodies. They noted the number of people testing positive rose from about 13,000 in 2017 to 19,000 in 2022.

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Experts say cases may be up for a variety of reasons, including lone star ticks' expanding range, more people coming into contact with the ticks or more doctors learning about it and ordering tests for it.

But many doctors are not. The second study was a survey last year of 1,500 US primary care doctors and health professionals.

The survey found nearly half had never heard of alpha-gal syndrome, and only 5 per cent said they felt very confident they could diagnose it. Researchers used that information to estimate the number of people with the allergy — 450,000.

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People with the syndrome can experience symptoms including hives, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, difficulty breathing, dizziness and swelling of the lips, throat, tongue or eyelids.

Unlike some other food allergies, which occur soon after eating, these reactions hit hours later.

Some patients have only stomach symptoms, and the American Gastroenterological Association says people with unexplained diarrhea, nausea and abdominal pain should be tested for the syndrome.

Doctors counsel people with the allergy to change their diet, carry epinephrine and avoid tick bites.

The allergy can fade away in some people — Commins has seen that happen in about 15 per cent to 20 per cent of his patients. But a key is avoiding being re-bitten.

“The tick bites are central to this. They perpetuate the allergy,” he said.

One of his patients is Heller-Greenman, a 78-year-old New York art historian who spends summers on Martha's Vineyard. She has grown accustomed to getting bitten by ticks on the island and said she has had Lyme disease four times.

About five years ago, she started experiencing terrible, itchy hives on her back, torso and thighs in the middle of the night. Her doctors concluded it was an allergic reaction, but couldn't pinpoint the trigger.

She was never a big meat eater, but one day in January 2020 she had a hamburger and then a big, fatty steak the following evening. Six hours after dinner, she woke up nauseated, then suffered terrible spells of vomiting, diarrhea and dizziness. She passed out three times.

She was diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome shortly after that, and was told to avoid ticks and to stop eating red meat and dairy products. There have been no allergic reactions since.

“I have one grandchild that watches me like a hawk," she said, making sure she reads packaged food labels and avoids foods that could trigger a reaction.

“I feel very lucky, really, that this has worked out for me," she said. “Not all doctors are knowledgeable about this.”

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A "funky" artisan-style cheese has been recalled by the food standards regulator due to potential E. Coli contamination.

Long Paddock Cheese is conducting the recall of its Driftwood Cheese in 180g and 1kg quantities, which were sold across NSW and Victoria.

"The recall is due to potential microbial (E. Coli) contamination," Food Standards Australia New Zealand said in a statement.

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"Food products contaminated with E. Coli may cause illness if consumed."

The product is described by Long Paddock as a "funky bark-belted soft cheese in the style of Vacherin Mont d'Or".

Consumers should seek medical advice if they are concerned about their health.

Products can be returned to Long Paddock for a full refund.

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‘Is this a sign?’ Teacher tosses up what to do with pole someone cemented in her driveway.

Whispered concerns about broken lifts and abandoned helipads have gained momentum.

And hundreds more are set to go over the next few weeks as as DHB changes take effect.

Two men allegedly pretended to be running a train replacement service to try to abduct a teenage girl from a train station in Melbourne's south-east.

Police have been told the girl was waiting at a bus stop near Somerville train station about 4pm on Tuesday when a van pulled up alongside her.

A man in the van allegedly told the girl he was there as a bus service replacing the train.

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The van allegedly had a Public Transport Victoria sticker on it.

The teenager refused to get in the van and the men drove away.

The actual train replacement bus arrived a short time later and the girl reported the incident to police.

Police are calling for anyone with CCTV, dashcam footage or any other information to come forward.

One of the men was described as Caucasian in appearance, balding with a heavy build and wearing a blue jacket and orange tabard.

The second was perceived to be Caucasian and had brown hair.

The girl's school warned parents about the incident yesterday.

Victoria Police Senior Constable Scott Walters told 3AW the incident "is alarming".

"We are looking into it and we are treating it very seriously," he said.

"We've had the replacement buses running down here for some time.

"To think someone is maybe taking advantage of that is quite concerning."

Anyone that can assist investigators with their enquiries is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

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A man accused of murdering teenager Shyanne-Lee Tatnell, who went missing in northern Tasmania almost three months ago, has briefly appeared in court.

Human remains believed to belong to the 14-year-old were discovered on Wednesday on a bush track near Nabowla in the state's northeast during a large-scale search.

Christopher Mark Jordan, 36, from the nearby town of Scottsdale, was charged on Thursday afternoon.

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He briefly appeared in Launceston Magistrates Court on Friday and didn't enter a plea to one count of murder.

Shyanne-Lee was last seen walking near the North Esk River in Launceston on the night of April 30 and was believed to be on her way to visit a friend.

Subsequent searches of the river failed to uncover any trace of the teenager.

Tasmania Police on Wednesday launched one of the biggest searches in the state's history in bushland near Nabowla, about 50km north-east of Launceston.

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A crime scene was set up where the remains were found, as well as at a property in Scottsdale.

Investigators have said it could take one week for forensic testing to confirm the identity of the remains.

Tasmania Police northern district commander Kate Chambers said police had been in regular contact with Shyanne-Lee's family and her thoughts were with them and the community.

Jordan has been remanded in custody and is expected to appear in court on August 16 via video link.

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