REVISED TIMBER TREATMENT CODE OF PRACTICE
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The Timber Treatment Installations 2003 - Code of Practice for Safe Design and Operation, intended to give practical guidance on the safety, health and environmental issues relevant to all companies engaged in the activity of industrial wood preservation has been revised.
The code, which explains good practice for the UK wood-preservation industry, has been developed in consultation with the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Environment and Heritage Service Northern Ireland, the HSE and the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association (CACFOA).
The Code is applicable to all UK companies with plant used for the impregnation and/or immersion of timber with water-borne preservatives, organic solvent based preservatives, creosote and fire retardant chemicals. This document is not intended to cover in-situ methods of timber treatment or the use of highly flammable liquids (flash point below 32ºC).
Wood preservatives may only be advertised, sold, supplied, stored and used in accordance with approval under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986.
RAILWAY INDUSTRY SHOULD LEARN LESSONS AND MOVE ON
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Bill Callaghan, HSC Chair, has set out key challenges for the rail industry to improve public confidence through developing a better safety culture.
He addressed the Railway Forum's annual conference conveying the importance of learning lessons from the recent past and moving on, for example with UK development of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
He said the HSE and its Railway Inspectorate looked forward to working with the industry towards restoring pride and public confidence in the railway and conveying a better appreciation of HSC/E's role as independent health and safety regulator, the aim being to foster a relationship characterised by mutual respect and shared understanding of the problems and how to solve them.
Most significantly he explained there should be an understanding that where there is potential for catastrophic accidents the public demands firm action to protect itself.
HSC/E's POSITION
HSC/E is: not aiming for absolute safety, which is unrealistic and unachievable; looking to talk, and listen, more to develop joint problem solving; prepared to reconsider requirements now appraised as low risk, e.g. TPWS at certain permanent speed restrictions;
working with industry to develop better guidance on risk assessment;
carrying out a fundamental review and evaluation of the safety case regime and a review of approvals and authorisation processes;
clarifying its inspection approach to focus on key requirements;
considering the findings of research on stakeholders' perceptions; &
supporting an overhaul of prescriptive industry standards.
CHALLENGE
Mr Callaghan recognised the rail safety improvements made, such as the withdrawal of Mark I rolling stock and the fitting of the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS). Looking ahead, he anticipated progress on the Cullen public inquiry's core message on safety leadership and safety culture, which he was concerned was not getting through to the whole industry; employee engagement, the unions should be part of the solution, not the problem; and trackworker safety.
On ERTMS, he said: "If the industry misses the opportunity of an ERTMS trial before 2008, it will not have restored the trust and confidence of the public." However, there remained big challenges ahead. He said that HSC/E could provide independent assurance of a safe railway, based on robust risk assessment and sound health and safety management with the challenge "to make this an industry which can be truly proud of its safety performance - a performance based on actual achievement and real commitment to continuous improvement. An industry which is proud to accept its safety responsibilities and which is trusted by the public to deliver. HSC/E wants to help the industry achieve these objectives."
RESPONSIBILITY FOR CABLE AVOIDANCE LIES SQUARELY WITH CLIENTS AND CONTRACTORS
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE says the recent prosecution of a fencing contractor and Railtrack plc (now Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd) should serve to remind the industry of the need to use cable plans before digging near buried services.
The two companies were fined a total of £22,000 by a District Judge sitting at Birmingham Magistrates' Court for legislative breaches that led to an accident where a man struck a 132,000-volt cable with a metal spike last year. Workmen working for HW Martin (Fencing Contractors) Ltd were digging a hole for a gatepost at Handsworth in Birmingham. Fortunately, the men had moved about a metre away before the 132,000 volt cable, one of several buried in a concrete duct, exploded. One man suffered superficial burns rather than almost certain death had he still been holding the spike.
Safe practice not followed
Investigation revealed that several elements of accepted safe practice for avoiding buried cables had not been carried out. Most importantly, the men were not provided with plans of cables in the area - their employer had not tried to obtain any and the client had not provided the plans when it authorised the work.
HM Principal Inspector of Railways, Allan Spence, commented: “This was a very near miss. In court, the defendants acknowledged that the job involved dangerous work and, as the District Judge said during sentencing, it was fundamental that the workmen should have had plans to help them identify where cables lay, before digging began. The plans were available either from a member of the client’s own staff or utility companies.
The District Judge emphasised that the client bore the primary responsibility for what happened in this case. To meet their legal duty, clients need to provide contractors with information about site hazards. This client had a Company Standard procedure for providing plans to contractors and even a dedicated Buried Services Manager but the system was not being followed locally. Both companies knew what they should have done but the necessary precautions were not properly applied to this job.”
AVOIDING BURIED SERVICES
HSE guidance makes clear there are four essential elements of a safe system for avoiding buried services: planning the work; using cable plans; checking the site with a cable locator & safe hand digging techniques.
Guidance on the dangers arising from work near services such as electrical cables and the precautions to be taken can be found in the HSE publication, Avoiding danger from underground services, HSG47, available from HSE Books, price £7.50.
HOW CAN SO MANY IN THE INDUSTRY BE GETTING IT WRONG?
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Walking through our towns and cities casually observing health and safety standards on construction work it is clear that the risks from working at height are too often poorly controlled or disregarded.
It should therefore come as little surprise that during HSE's biggest ever (1446 sites across Great Britain) construction blitz focussing on the managed prevention of falls from height during the first two weeks of June, it was necessary to stop work on 332 sites: meaning almost 25% of the sites visited had work stopped; another 5% (75) of the sites visited were issued with improvement notices; a number of dutyholders are still being considered for possible prosecution; and
these numbers would have been further swelled had there not been many instances of work voluntarily stopping until easily solved fall from height risks were reduced.
Falls from height remain the single biggest cause of death, disability and injury in construction in Great Britain, accounting for 37 deaths and 1344 major injuries of workers in 2001/2. Twelve construction workers have died from fall from height accidents since the beginning of April this year.
OPEN BEAM WALKING
Inspectors report poor practices being adopted such as: an entire scaffolding gang were found to be wearing worn or damaged safety harnesses with no system for harness inspections; a refurbishment job where workers were walking across open steel beams at a height of approximately 6 metres with a fall onto demolition debris below;
many examples of inadequate or absence of toe boards and intermediate guard rails on scaffolding or work platforms; problems with the installation of nets that were not being secured to suitable anchorage points & poor compliance with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994, with in some instances contractors and planning supervisors found to be either not fulfilling or not aware of their duties.
WHICH WHITE VAN WILL YOU BE LEAVING IN TODAY?
Part two of the Don't Fall For It, a Europe-wide inspection-led campaign to reduce falls from height in construction will take place in September. It includes an advertisement campaign showing an injured worker who has fallen from height leaving the site in an ambulance under the caption Which white van will you be leaving in today? People working in the construction industry interested in finding out more can call 08457 181 819 for a Falls From Height Action Pack that includes the free Height Safe video and a poster. So far over 2,000 Falls From Height Action Packs have been sent out to respondents.
"It was good to see during the inspection blitz that many people were aware of the campaign and many people had also taken action to improve work at height practices. Yet despite the industry knowing that HSE inspectors were out in force specifically looking at falls from height the standards on 30% of the sites visited were so poor they required enforcement action. This evidence suggests that there is still a large number of people working in the construction industry that are either not aware of or do not fully understand their duties to manage fall from height risks. This situation must change if we are to reduce the rate of falls from height, which remains the biggest cause of death or injury in construction.
On a more positive note, inspectors did find numerous examples where excellent standards of working at height safely were displayed - both by major contractors, smaller sub- contractors and scaffolding companies. People were using new and innovative forms of access methods and equipment." - Kevin Myers, HSE Chief Inspector for Construction.
OFF-ROAD DIESEL EXHAUST EMISSION SIGNIFICANT RISK TO WORKERS' HEALTH
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering regulation to limit worker exposure to off-road diesel exhaust emission causing adverse health effects including cancer, cardiovascular, and cardio-pulmonary effects, which it believes will result in the prevention of tens of thousands of premature deaths in construction and agricultural over a 25- year period.
A recent study by Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) suggested that in-cab exposures of heavy plant operators to fine particulates from diesels was exceeding federal recommendations by a factor of 16.
EPA is consulting on its proposals before reaching a decision.
ACCIDENT FIGURES SHOW SELF-EMPLOYED AGRICULTURAL WORKERS DISPROPORTIONATELY AT RISK
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Linda Williams, the HSEs Chief Inspector of Agriculture, has voiced her concern over the prominence of accidents to the self-employed in the sector's declining workforce.
"Although I welcome the fact that the total number of people killed is, at 38, the lowest figure in over a decade, I must warn against complacency, particularly in regard to fatalities among the self-employed.
This group accounted for 20 cases out of the total, while employees numbered 15, and 3 were members of the public, including, sadly, one child.
CREDIT TO HSE
Linda Williams expressed the view that hard work by HSE and stakeholders lay behind the overall fall in incident rate, saying: "HSE and the industry can take some comfort, and, I believe, some credit for, the decline in incident rate among the employed, and we must continue to find new and innovative ways to drive this down further.
But we must also tackle the much higher rates amongst the self-employed and family farmers. It is more difficult for us to connect with this part of the agriculture sector but we have embarked on a number of workstreams to deal with the problem. The Agriculture Inspectorate will continue to run its successful programme of Safety Awareness Days specifically targeted at the self-employed and family farms, demonstrating common health and safety risks and solutions.
In particular we plan co-coordinated action to make the industry a much safer place to work in. We will be strengthening our links with
the National Farmers Union, the Transport & General Workers Union and a wide range of individuals and organisations with interest and influence in the agricultural and rural community. Through partnership and co-operation we are determined to reduce the tragic toll of preventable deaths in agriculture."
CRISIS IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Bill Callaghan, HSC Chair, has addressed the Local Government Association Conference on the clear challenge for local government in effectively discharging its health and safety enforcement duties and its responsibilities as a major employer.
He also advised delegates of the strategic planning and review currently underway by the Commission with the potential impact on local government.
The Environmental Health profession finds itself in somewhat of a crisis because of a poor level of student recruitment.
Crisis in recruitment
Mr Callaghan says: “The HSC has long valued the work of local authorities and in particular the services of the highly qualified Environmental Health Officers. However more recently the Commission has been concerned about the decline in local authority enforcement activity in relation to health and safety matters. In part, this is due to the crisis in recruitment and the shortage of qualified Environmental Health Officers. HSC very much welcomes the regulatory services partnership Action Plan launched by the LGA and is seeking ways of providing support to Environmental Health Officer Student recruitment.
I am pleased that the HSE is able to play its part in working with other Government Agencies to encourage students to enter the Environmental Health profession. There are big strategic challenges ahead in the future and we will only be able to meet them with the help of competent professional support.”
WOMAN SERIOUSLY INJURED BY FALLING CHOPPING BOARD
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
A young woman was struck on the head and sustained what may be a fractured skull when a wooden chopping board is believed to have fallen from an Edinburgh restaurant window from a height of 7 metres. According to one account the large board came the Maison Bleue Restaurant in the capital's Old Town.
IPCS INTOX DATABANK NOW AVAILABLE FREE
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The fast, thorough and comprehensive IPCS INTOX Databank, an important source of chemical information resulting from a collaboration between CCOHS and the World Health Organization’s International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), is now available free online for at least 12 months.
The databank is an essential source of information for chemical emergencies. Users and primarily poison centres can turn to it to identify a poison and its toxicity, likely clinical effects and appropriate patient management.
The databank information has been proven to help: strengthen and enhance the services of Poisons centres around the world, prevent poisoning, save lives & minimise damage to health from toxic exposures.
MONOGRAPHS AND GUIDES
More than 100 experts have contributed their collective knowledge, expertise, and experience to the development of IPCS Poisons Information Monographs (PIMs) and IPCS Treatment Guides. Its main roles are to establish the scientific basis for the safe use of chemicals and to strengthen national capabilities and capacities for chemical safety.
The development of the monographs and guides represents a major undertaking by IPCS INTOX., documents contained in the databank also include:
IPCS/EC Evaluation of Antidote Series
IPCS International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs)
IPCS Environmental Health Criteria monographs (EHCs)
CCOHS CHEMINFO Database
WHO/FAO Pesticide Data Sheets
UK Poison Information Documents (UK PIDs)
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Summaries
ROSPA EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER 'MORNING-AFTER MOTORING'
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
In view of a recent RAC report revealing drivers' poor awareness and understanding of the dangers of 'morning after driving', the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) feels fleet managers should respond to the threat.
RoSPA's Charles Davis, Head of Driver and Fleet Solutions, says: “This research underlines what we have believed for some time. Fleet managers have to understand their responsibility to ensure that those driving for them are never over the limit when on the road. It is something that needs to be looked at as part of a company’s MORR (management of occupational road risk) policies.
Many people still do not understand how easy it is to fail a breath test, especially the morning after a few drinks. People who test positive next day often say they wish they had been given the knowledge to prevent them facing a ban.
Driving bans can have disastrous consequences for employees, who may well lose their jobs, but employers also face the costly business of replacing experienced staff.”
In RoSPA's one-day courses for fleet drivers and employees, this and other issues are explained to participants who learn more about the strength of different types of alcoholic drink and how little it takes to be 'over the limit'.
Courses can be held in-company or at RoSPA headquarters, tel 0121 248 2105.
CONSTRUCTION AND USE OF TANKS AND PRESSURE RECEPTACLES
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Transportable Pressure Vessels (Amendment) Regulations 2003 are now in force. The new amending regulations on the construction and use of tanks and pressure receptacles used in the carriage of dangerous goods extend certain existing requirements to close a gap in regulatory provisions before the consolidated carriage of dangerous goods regulations come into force in 2004.
They will also implement EC Directive 2002/50/EC, which corrects a minor error in the original Transportable Pressure Equipment Directive (TPED) by inserting references to EC design-examination certificates that had originally been omitted. These Regulations amend the Transportable Pressure Vessels Regulations 2001 accordingly.
DESIGN AND DESIGNERS OF KEY IMPORTANCE IN WORKPLACE FALL PREVENTION
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
As if in answer to yesterday's safetynews headline question about what can be done about poor control of the risk to workers of falls from height, the HSE has informed of published research into identifying the underlying factors contributing to these events and the most effective ways of controlling them
The research report Falls from height -Prevention and risk control effectiveness provides: a definitive baseline for measuring improvements in the incidence rate of falls from height, a quantified model of the influences affecting falls from height covering human, hardware and external factors & a toolkit for selecting measures, setting performance targets and monitoring improvement.
"This report provides valuable insight into the factors which cause falls from height and offers the Priority Programme a useful tool to help achieve its target of a 10% reduction in the number of deaths and major injuries as a result of a fall from height by 2010." - Dr Bill Gillan, Falls From Height Priority Programme Manager
CONSENSUS VIEW
The research carried out by BOMEL Limited for HSE used RIDDOR accident data on falls from height from 1996/97 to 2000/0, with analysis confirming that construction and agriculture had the highest frequency of falls from height accidents.
The research draws upon consultation in workshops with key stakeholders in these industries to obtain a consensus view on the key issues relating to falls from height and the measures available to prevent and control risks.
The research then goes on to identify and compare the effectiveness of alternative measures to prevent and control the risk of falls from height in order that effort can be targeted most appropriately.
Some of the key issues highlighted are: the importance of design and designers in eliminating work at height hazards, enough guidance and information is available but people need to be aware of risks and actually use guidance available, the importance and large number of 'low falls' especially on stairs - the report states around 60% of non-fatal accidents and injuries over the past five years have been due to low (under two-metre) falls & the economic benefits of good health and safety performance need to be better understood and publicised.
Copies of Falls from height - Prevention and risk control effectiveness, RR116, price £50.00, ISBN 0 7176 22221 5 are available from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2WA, tel 01787 881165, fax 01787 313995
NEW REVISED EDITION OF 'WORKING WITH VDUS'
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Over 5,000,000 people in Britain use VDUs for a significant part of their work and, if it is used unwisely, stress, visual discomfort, aches and pains in the hands, wrists, arms or shoulders are just some of the problems from which people can suffer.
A new edition of the popular guidance book Working with VDUs has been published by the HSE explaining how, if good working practices are followed, VDU workers can avoid the variety of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) or other health problems. These problems can be prevented by good workplace and job design and by using the equipment and workstation in the right way.
“The new edition of Working with VDUs takes account of minor changes to the law that came into effect last September, as a result of the Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2002. It also draws more attention to the vital role of employees and safety representatives in taking part in risk assessments and reporting any health problems to employers. The earlier that any problems are reported and tackled, the less severe they are likely to be.
By following HSE's guidance on VDU work, preventive action in most workplaces can be taken quite easily and need not be costly. Indeed it is likely to be far more expensive for employers and their insurers to ignore MSDs, which may lead not only to compensation claims, but also to costs arising from sickness absences and reduced productivity.” Elizabeth Gyngell, Head of HSE's Better Working Environment Division, said:
TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS
The guidance gives revised practical advice on working with a mouse, taking into account the latest research results, main points are to:
adopt a good posture, placing the mouse close so it can be used with a relaxed arm and straight wrist, support the arm, for example on the desk surface & take frequent breaks and try to limit the time spent using the mouse.
If users still find gripping the mouse awkward, the advice is to try a different sized or shaped mouse, or another device such as a trackball. The revised booklet also recommends using a docking station when working with a portable computer in an office environment.
Single copies of Working with VDUs (INDG36 rev2) are available free from HSE Books and in priced packs of 10, ISBN 0-7176-2222-3.
Copies of Work with display screen equipment (L26), ISBN 0-7176-2582-6, price £8.95, and The law on VDUs: an easy guide HSG90, ISBN 0-7176-2602-4, price £8.50, are also available from HSE Books.
Additional copies of the VDU workstation checklist (which is included in both the above publications) can also be ordered from HSE Books, ISBN 0-7162-2617-2, price £5.00 for a pack of five, with price reductions on a sliding scale for larger orders.
GREATER MANCHESTER FIRE AND CIVIL DEFENCE AUTHORITY FACES PROSECUTION
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
It is reported that HSE intends to prosecute the Greater Manchester Fire and Civil Defence Authority for an alleged breach of S.2.(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in the circumstances of the death in 1999 by drowning during a rescue operation of the authority's employee Paul Metcalf, 40, a part-time firefighter.
MANSLAUGHTER CONVICTION FOR MIDLANDS PAINT-STRIPPING DOUBLE FATALITY
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Ian Morris, 48, has been found guilty by majority verdict at Birmingham Crown Court of the manslaughter of two men who died on a nightshift when overcome by chemical vapours after a mistake was made mixing chemicals.
Mr Morris was the employer of Mumtaz Hussain, 42, and Ghulam Sarwar, 22, who died at the premises of ENG Industrial Services in West Bromwich in 1999. Mr Morris will be sentenced at a later date.
HSE spokeswoman Jan Willets commented: "This verdict will send a message to employers that they have to ensure the safety of their workers or face conviction."
RAIL INDUSTRY CONSULTATION ON TPWS
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Although the industry-wide TPWS fitment programme required by the Regulations is largely completed, HSE is consulting with the rail industry, passengers, councils, trade unions, victims groups, and the public generally to gather views on an application by Network Rail for exemption from a requirement of the Railway Safety Regulations 1999.
The Regulations require Network Rail to fit the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) at certain categories of permanent speed restriction where, the company argues, there is little safety benefit. TPWS automatically applies a train's brakes in signal passing incidents and prevents overspeeding.
HSE is proposing to grant the exemption but attach conditions requiring Network Rail to prepare a programme of alternative train protection fitments, which would provide greater safety benefit and HSE seeks views on this approach.
TPWS+
Network Rail's application is concerned with a particular category of overspeed risk at certain diverging junctions. These are permanent speed restrictions (PSRs) at diverging junctions with approach controlled signalling (ACS), where the company considers the risks to be low and already adequately controlled. Network Rail estimates there are 1800-1900 such locations.
HSE has carried out its own preliminary assessment of Network Rail's application and, based on that assessment, is minded to grant the exemption, subject to consultation, although this may require a programme including fitting TPWS at higher-risk signals and some fitting of TPWS+, an enhancement of TPWS not available when the Regulations were made.
Network Rail's exemption application and the HSE consultation paper are available on HSE's website www.hse.gov.uk/railways/liveissues/tpwsconsult.htm
Responses to Mrs Chandrika Shah, CL1, HSE, 3rd Floor North, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS e-mail: tpws.exemption@hse.gsi.gov.uk by 7th August 2003.
SMOKING BAN IN NORWAY'S RESTAURANTS, BARS, CAFES IN 2004
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Norway will be the first country in the world to ban smoking in its restaurants, cafeterias and bars the Norwegian government has decided. Dagfinn Høybraten, Minister of Health says: “Knowing what we do about the harmful effects of smoking, we would be seriously negligent if we did not ensure that employees work in a smoke free environment.”
According to Prevent (Scandinavia’s leading provider of knowledge and training in the field of health and safety) Sweden may follow the same strict line but it may permit smoking areas where no food is served and no employee is obliged to enter.
Its National Institute of Public Health takes the view that voluntary measures were not effective, and there has been strong union pressure in both countries to reduce the risk posed to employees form passive smoking.
HEARD ABOUT THE INTERNET SHOPPING DAY?
Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Millions of UK shoppers will be encouraged to shop online this Thursday when the national Internet Shopping Day hits the headlines. National media coverage will highlight the growing security of online shopping and hundreds of special offers being made online on the 24/7
IMRG, the industry body for global e-retail, together with a whole host of UK companies and government, have joined together to create the 24x7 Internet Shopping Day to be promoted by national TV, press coverage and events. (IMRG - Interactive Media in Retail Group)
SUNSENSE!
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE Northern Ireland (HSENI) is urging outdoor workers to Keep Your Top On - the campaign that advises on the dangers to health from sunlight and how these can be prevented. It also stresses the benefits of checking the skin for moles, which are growing, changing shape or bleeding.
There are 2,300 new cases of skin cancer, 30 deaths and 180 newly diagnosed cases of malignant melanoma in the Province annually.
Dr Anna Gavin of the NI Cancer Registry added: “In men over a third of melanomas occur in their head and neck and a further quarter on their trunk. These could be avoided if people enhanced their personal shade with hats and shirts.
On those parts of the body, which are not easy to shade from the sun, wear a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or more." She also advises checking your skin and if worried to see your GP.
Safety sense
English building firm Bluestone has warned staff that it is equating a failure to cover skin and lessen the risk of skin cancer with failure to wear protective clothing, footwear and hard hats and that it will practise a zero tolerance for contravention this summer.
"We want all our people, including our sub-contractors and suppliers, to have the same safety sense when it comes to the sun as they have for wearing hard hats," says Regional Director Steve Emmerson from his Shrewsbury base.
HOT SCOTTISH SUN
In a similar vein, NHS Tayside Senior Health Promotion Officer Lesley Marley advises you must take care in the sun both at home as well as abroad. One may call it a tan, but Lesley Marley calls it damaged skin, precautions are needed while participating in outdoor pastimes such as golfing, gardening or even going round the shops.
Ms Marley says: "As soon as you change a different colour that’s a sign of damage. Your skin is reacting and trying to protect you. Already having a suntan only gives you a protection of factor two. In Tayside every year there are 1000 removals of suspicious moles."
Skin cancer is one of the fastest growing cancers in Britain, with cases more than doubling in the last 25 years.
BRIGHT EYES!
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has served an enforcement notice on UKAEA Dounreay over the dangers posed by rabbits accessing solid low level waste pits. SEPA says UKAEA must avail itself of the ‘best practicable means’ for preventing the movement of any radionuclides contained in the pits.
FAST-BREEDERS POSE NUCLEAR THREAT
It is known rabbits can spread radioactivity and radioactive waste for some distance away from its source, and during a recent routine inspection SEPA officers observed rabbits entering one of the pits.
The enforcement notice requires UKAEA to do several precautionary actions including:
TAKE IMMEDIATE MEASURES TO LIMIT WILDLIFE ACCESS TO THE PITS
TAKE LONG TERM MEASURES TO PREVENT WILDLIFE ACCESSING PITS
QUANTIFY AND REPAIR DAMAGE CAUSED BY WILDLIFE
UNDERGROUND SURVEILLANCE
A further requirement of the enforcement notice is for UKAEA to carry out surveillance to demonstrate that the measures have been effective. SEPA will also require UKAEA to provide evidence that it has complied with the notice. Scottish Natural Heritage is to be consulted.
HSE WARNS RECREATIONAL DIVE COMPANIES
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The prosecution of Andrew Abery, a partner of Mike's Waterfront Warehouse, who was fined £2,000 with £3,401.70 costs at St Alban's Magistrates court for a breach of section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for failure to comply with an Improvement Notice, has implications for other recreational dive companies in terms of non-compliance.
The Notice served in April 2002 required the company to comply with requirements of the Diving at Work Regulations 1997(DWR) by 31 May 2002, a deadline subsequently extended to August 02 but to which compliance was not observed.
DIVING IS A HIGH HAZARD ACTIVITY
The Notice detailed the following requirements for each diving operation taking place:
THE APPOINTMENT OF A DIVING SUPERVISOR
PREPARING A DIVING PROJECT PLAN
PREPARING A RISK ASSESSMENT
PREPARING EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
After the hearing Gordon Clark of HSE’s Central Diving Inspection Team said: “I hope that this case will send a clear message to recreational diving contractors that proper compliance with the Regulations is key to ensuring a safe diving operation takes place. This is particularly important where members of the public are undergoing instruction in recreational diving.
Diving is a high hazard activity, which, if conducted properly can be undertaken with low risk. An Improvement Notice is one of the tools HSE inspectors have available to ensure that the Regulations are complied with.
When Notices are not complied with inspectors are left with no option but to prosecute.”
NO RE-TRIAL FOR METROPOLITAN POLICE COMMISSIONER & PREDECESSOR!
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Sir John Stevens and Lord Condon are not to face retrial for alleged breaches of health and safety legislation in relation to the death of Pc Kulwant Sidhu, a police officer who was fatally injured when he fell through a roof in Twickenham, south west London during October 1999. Both men have already been found not guilty of similar charges at an earlier trial. William Norris QC has said it would not be in the public interest to re-try.
Sir John Stevens, calling for an independent review of the HSE case, said “This prosecution has clearly demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of the unique nature of policing by those in positions of responsibility in the HSE. Having complied with the improvement notices served on us they nevertheless launched this ill-judged prosecution.
During my time as a Chief Officer I have always sought to work with health and safety experts to ensure the highest possible safety standards for staff. Indeed, safety is at the core of the police service at every level.”
HSE STATEMENT
Below is reproduced in full a statement made by Justin McCracken, Deputy Director General HSE, concerning the Metropolitan Police Prosecution case.
“HSE brought this prosecution because we found evidence to suggest that there were persistent failures by the Metropolitan Police to protect their officers while carrying out their duties. Many factors were taken into account in considering whether to seek a retrial, specifically the comments of the judge, the views of PC Berwick and the family of PC Sidhu, other public interest matters and the welcome fact that the Metropolitan Police have made improvements in their management of health and safety.
After careful consideration of these difficult issues, we have concluded that a retrial would not be in the public interest. Throughout the case HSE never lost sight of the fact that a young man died and another was seriously injured while carrying out their duties. The death of PC Sidhu was a powerful public interest factor in favour of prosecution and we would have failed in our duty if we had not brought this case.
If we had decided not to prosecute it would have discriminated unfairly and unjustifiably in favour of a public body. The fact that that the employer was the Metropolitan Police doesn’t mean they should be treated any differently from any other employer; Parliament decided in 1997 that police officers are entitled to the protection of health and safety law.
The past and present Commissioners were named as the defendants because this is what the law requires. Parliament decided in 1997 that the chief officer of police should be named as the employer for the purposes of any prosecution under health and safety law.
After the death of PC Sidhu, we informed the Metropolitan Police of our intention to prosecute. Over a year later we were disappointed at the slow progress of improvement in health and safety management and issued six improvement notices. Under these circumstances we are sure that it was right to continue with the prosecution.
We will continue to direct our resources and efforts to working with the Metropolitan Police on health and safety matters and are satisfied that in bringing this case we have been able to highlight the dangers of falls from height, which led to nearly 4,000 serious injuries and 68 deaths last year.
The cost of bringing a case is just one of many legitimate public interest factors to be taken into account. In deciding on whether to seek a re-trial we thought long and hard about all the relevant factors. The fact is that prosecutions cost money and HSE is charged with enforcement in this area. Prosecutions also lead to improvements in health and safety performance. The cost to UK industry of failures in health and safety is approximately £18 billion per year, not to mention the terrible personal cost to victims.
The judge himself decided there was a case for Lord Condon and Sir John Stevens to answer. As he said, there was no suggestion that the decision to prosecute was an abuse of process. The fact that the trial went to its full term and the jury failed to reach a decision after three days’ deliberation shows that there was a case to answer and we were right to start proceedings.
Our thoughts remain with PC Sidhu’s family.”
BULL SAVAGELY ATTACKED FARM MANAGER
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
A farm manager narrowly avoided death recently when a bull knocked him into the air then attacked him on the ground, inflicting serious injury at Dunecht, Aberdeenshire.
John Matheson, 38, is in hospital with abdominal injuries including a punctured lung and fractured ribs, realising he owes his life to two colleagues who succeeded in distracting the large animal, permitting rescue.
DRIVING MOBILE PHONE USERS – GOT YOUR NUMBER!
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
From 1st December 2003 it will be a specific offence to drive while using a hand-held mobile phone. The new offence will be created by a new regulation to be added to the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.
Offenders will be subject to a £30 fine but may be as high as £1,000 if the matter reaches court. Furthermore, legislation is planned that will render an offender's licence endorsable by three points for each offence.
Hands-free calls are also distracting and drivers still risk prosecution for failing to have proper control of their vehicle, for careless or even reckless driving if use of a phone affects their driving in this way.
FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT
Road Safety Minister David Jamieson commented: "Driving whilst using a mobile phone is dangerous. We are all too familiar with the sight of people driving along while holding and talking on their mobile phones. Any driver will be distracted by a phone call or text message. It affects the ability to concentrate and anticipate the road ahead, putting the driver and other road users at risk.
Our decision to introduce this new offence will make the roads safer for us all. Missing a call won't kill you - an accident quite possibly could."
Research has demonstrated that driving while phoning makes you four times more likely to have an accident.
HSE DELIVERS NEW AND EXPECTANT MOTHER WEBSITE AREA
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE website now features a special area covering all matters of Health and safety for new and expectant mothers .
Principal guidance A guide for new and expectant mothers who work, and New and expectant mothers at work - a guide for health professionals can be downloaded from this location.
INCOMPETENCE LED TO CABLE EXPLOSION
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
A near fatality when a fencing contractor drove a metal spike into a 130Kv underground cable by the permanent way in the Midlands has led to a £16,000 fine for Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd and a £6,000 fine for HW Martins (Fencing Contractors Ltd) with both incurring costs of £1,750 each.
Russell Comery, 30, was digging on a rail fencing project by the rail line in Handsworth, Birmingham, when the spike with which he was working cut into the cable, the resulting explosion setting his clothes alight and causing serious burns.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY
Of the incident on 5 March last year, Network Rail (then operating as Railtrack plc) admitted failing to provide underground utility services information for construction staff and was prosecuted for breaching the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Prosecuting for HSE, inspector Anthony Woodward referred to neglect in terms of incompetence rather than through criminal intent or for financial gain.
Given that this was the second such offence for the rail operator in four years, Judge Jervis attributed the major part of the blame to them, especially as it has a dedicated buried services manager with access to plans for the whole of the network. In his view "they have the primary responsibility for what happened."
HW Martins has since invested a considerable amount on training and a utility plan library.
MANAGING THE 5 BIG THREATS
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE seeks your views on the way forward for health and safety over the next 10 years to reduce the injury and ill health caused by work that results in 40 million days lost and considerable personal suffering and lost productivity. To elicit your opinions on an appropriate strategy HSE has published Strategic Thinking - work in progress.
HSE Deputy Director General, Kate Timms, says: "Health and safety is seen by some as a closed book, but the continuing toll of death, injury and ill health tells a different story. 'Strategic Thinking - work in progress' represents a new departure for HSE in sharing and seeking comment on HSE's strategy development process at an early stage.
The paper asks big questions about the future of the health and safety system - If HSE is to maximise its effectiveness in reducing occupational ill health, death and injury it must not spread its resources too thinly. If we are to concentrate resources on key areas for improvement, some tough choices need to be made as to where the resources are taken from.
The HSC strategy for 2001-2004 includes the major initiatives of Revitalising Health and Safety and Securing Health Together. These have taken us in the right direction. We now need to build on these for the future."
Comments will contribute to a draft strategic plan for 2004-10, which will be published as a consultation document in the early autumn. The closing date for responses is 13th August 2003.
The 5 big issues that present the most significant opportunities and threats to occupational health and safety over the next 10 years:
A CHANGING ECONOMY - in a changing world. Not only do technology and globalisation continue to affect the nature of competition, but factors such as an ageing workforce and changing attitudes to risk-taking and responsibilities will also have significant effects.
HEALTH ISSUES - such as stress and musculo-skeletal disorders.
PUBLIC PROTECTION AND SECURITY - there has been growing demand for HSC/E's public protection role to expand, pushing the organisations towards new areas, some of which are already regulated by other authorities and some of which lie significantly outside the core expertise of HSE.
ROLE OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES - changes in the economy away from manufacturing and towards the services sector mean that the number of businesses for which local authorities have enforcement responsibilities has greatly increased.
MANAGING THE BUSINESS - HSE has undergone major change in recent years to concentrate effort more directly on achieving its targets: reductions in the numbers of people killed, injured and made ill by work. The organisation needs to go further in becoming more flexible and responsive to change in order to maximise its effectiveness.
ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS - HEALTH ISSUES
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Information on health issues surrounding electric and magnetic fields presented in a way that is readily understood by the non-professional has been produced and published by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB).
It is the latest electronic module in the NRPB website's Understanding Radiation section, based on the NRPB At-a-Glance printed series of broadsheets.
THE MODULE:
Illustrates the nature of electric and magnetic fields and how they affect our day-to-day lives.
Describes alternating electric and magnetic fields and the units used to measure them.
Shows how electric and magnetic fields are distributed and used.
Outlines health issues and the research undertaken to-date.
There are also modules for Radio Waves, Radon, Transport of Radioactive Materials, Nuclear Emergencies and Doses from Discharges along with an electronic version of the NRPB Sunsense poster.
Other planned future modules include Ultraviolet Radiation, Lasers, Maps and Magnitudes and Medical Radiation.
SECURITY ALARM NOISE CASE
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
It is reported that legal action has been instigated at Aberdeen Sheriff Court by a police officer serving with the Grampian Police force who claims to have suffered damage to his hearing through exposure to noise from a security alarm. The policeman was attending a domestic premises false-alarm when the alleged exposure occurred a few years ago.
It is understood the case will involve the participation of several parties including the policeman's employer, the property owners, the company who fitted the alarm and Scottish Hydro-Electric.
CAMBRIDGE AND NEWMARKET COMPANIES ENDEAVOUR TO ACHIEVE SATISFACTORY SAFETY STANDARDS
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The recent surprise inspection visits to 42 companies by HSE inspectors in the Cambridge and Newmarket areas found good standards at many of the premises visited, but in some companies there was still room for improvement.
While standards at many firms were reasonable, inspectors found that some were not adequately controlling risks to their staff using machinery or electrical appliances.
David Head, HSE Principal Inspector for Cambridgeshire comments: "Overall the inspections found a mixed bag of compliance with standards and control of risk. We were encouraged to see that management and employees were working together to ensure all were sufficiently trained on risk assessment. However, during one visit we were disappointed to find an employee using an unguarded printing machine - an activity so dangerous that a prohibition notice was issued to stop this immediately. In total, inspectors issued one prohibition notice, for the unguarded machinery and four improvement notices: three for poor standards of guarding machinery and one for insufficient electrical safety."
TOXIC COMBUSTION PRODUCTS
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
It is known that exposure to toxic gases and smoke is the main cause of injury and death in fires. There are currently no regulatory controls on toxic smoke emissions for construction products or building contents, and there have been no generally accepted methods for testing or hazard assessment. A major problem in testing is that yields of toxic fumes from burning materials vary with the combustion conditions in the fire.
Now, for the first time there is a standard method for small-scale testing of toxic emissions from building products under realistic fire decomposition conditions. The test will provide data for performance-based hazard assessments for use in product specification and fire engineering design.
British Standard
The FRS (the fire division of BRE) tube furnace, recently developed by Professor David Purser with support from the ODPM framework, now enables toxic smoke and gas yields to be measured over a wide range of combustion conditions occurring in full-scale fires.
This is acknowledged by the British Standards Institute as a method of determining toxic product yields in fire effluents (BS 7990: 2003). A variant of the method for estimating toxic potency of fire effluent has been published by the International Electrotechnics Commission as a Technical Specification (IEC 60695-7-50 TS), with a view to developing it into a full international standard
INTERNET VERSION OF COSHH ESSENTIALS A GREAT SUCCESS
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The internet version of COSHH Essentials, the source of simple practical advice for employers on how to control hazardous substances tailored to the tasks they carry out and the chemicals they use, has enjoyed remarkable success since launch in April last year. Electronic COSHH Essentials, which is at the heart of HSC’s chemical strategy, had over one million ‘hits’ which equates to 89,000 visitors with around 38,000 assessments completed since its launch in April 2002.
CONTROL GUIDANCE SHEETS
In a new development with the commercial and retail sectors in mind, HSE has been developing ‘control guidance sheets’ giving advice on good practice in a range of tasks typically found in these activities. The new sheets will probably be available on-line towards the end of 2003 as part of a planned extension to electronic COSHH Essentials (Phase 2). More details on this are available in the latest Toxic Substances Bulletin.
The Bulletin explains that - the ultimate goal is that COSHH Essentials should be further developed into a 'one-stop-shop', ie incorporating safety aspects such as flammability or explosiveness as well as environmental aspects into the system. Employers have already made clear what they wish - simple, integrated advice to help them to comply with the law.
UNION POLL SUGGESTS CORPORATE KILLING LEGISLATION WOULD BE POPULAR
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
According to a MORI survey sponsored by the Transport and General Workers’ Union two-thirds of persons polled believe that there should be a new law of corporate killing.
The findings are highlighted in the Union's report A hard day’s work never killed anyone - negligent bosses did.
T&G General Secretary Bill Morris comments: “Last year some 300 people went to work and never returned home again - they were killed at work because of their employer’s negligence. Workers are daily burned, crushed or asphyxiated in fatal accidents which are the result of some failure by senior management. This is not acceptable. Employers, businesses and governments cannot be above the law. The Labour Party’s 1997 manifesto said they would act in government. Since then we’ve had delay upon delay. That is also unacceptable