DICING WITH DANGER IN QUARRIES AND LANDFILLS
Posted Saturday, August 16, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Recent accidents where children came to grief playing in landfill sites has prompted HSE Eastern region to warn parents of the dangers of quarries or landfill sites being used as playgrounds.
In Hertfordshire during July three boys were injured playing in a landfill site off the A4147 between Hemel Hempstead and St Albans with one boy, aged 11, falling off his bike (facial injuries), one aged 10 sustaining a broken leg and another boy a broken collar bone.
Sally Fisher, HSE Quarries Inspector said: "Although they've suffered painful injuries, these boys got off quite lightly. Quarries and landfill sites may seem like fun places to play, but the reality is very different. The risk of being killed or very seriously injured is high - it's just not worth it.
Quadbiking or scrambling in quarries is particularly dangerous. You could easily collide with heavy machinery, or come off the bike on the rough ground. Either could lead to an abrupt end to your summer fun. If parents know that there is a quarry or landfill site nearby it would be a good idea to warn their children that it is off limits."
Don't dice with danger
The message is 'Don't dice with danger in quarries' The dangers of playing in quarries include:
Deep water - quarry lakes look inviting but may be more than 15 metres deep and icy cold, with hidden equipment and obstructions;
Sand - children have died when the tunnels they dug in vast stockpiles of sand collapsed on them;
Steep cliff faces - the temptation to climb puts children at risk of falling or of being hit by loose rocks;
Machinery - the danger of being struck by moving vehicles or injured when climbing on plant.
The Quarry Products Association website has information about children and quarry.
CPS UNHEALTHY PLACE TO WORK
Posted Saturday, August 16, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The Crown Prosecution Service is apparently not the healthiest of workplaces given the extent of long-term sickness leave incurred. Last year it is reported that 915 of its 6,000 employees required at least 4 weeks sickness absence.
According to staff union First Division Association, who represent the more senior employees, workload considerations may be the cause of the rising absence rates, a matter compounded by the effect of absences on remaining staff.
Conservative member for Buckingham, John Bercow, described the absence rate as "breathtakingly high" and "exorbitantly expensive" for the public to fund.
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY STRUGGLING TO DEAL WITH FALLS FROM HEIGHT
Posted Saturday, August 16, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Latest annual figures for fatal accidents in construction show that 71 (80 fatalities in 2001/02 and 105 fatalities in 2000/01) died in the sector last year (2002/03). This represents the second lowest figure recorded. The rate of fatal injuries to workers also fell, with a drop of 9% to 4.0 per 100,000 workers in 2002/03, also the second lowest on record. Once again falls from height remain the single biggest cause of death (47%).
HSE says however that to understand the overall trends consideration will also need to be given to the major injury and three- day injury statistics for 2002/03, which won’t be available until later this year.
COMMENT ON THE CONSTRUCTION STATISTICS BY KEVIN MYERS, HSE CHIEF INSPECTOR FOR CONSTRUCTION:
“Every fatality is one too many, most are preventable, each a tragedy for those affected. However it is encouraging to see a further reduction in the number of people killed while at work in the construction industry during 2002/03, compared with previous years. This reduction demonstrates that, despite the hazardous nature of much construction work, it is possible to manage the risks and to reduce the number of fatal injuries to construction workers.
The breakdown of the fatal injury statistics in 2002/03 indicates that the industry is still struggling to deal with falls from height, the single biggest cause of death in construction. HSE remains committed to working with industry on falls from height and the other main causes of death through initiatives such as ‘Don’t Fall For It’, the national falls from height inspection campaign, taking place once more in September.”
CURRENT YEAR
“Unfortunately, the reduction of fatalities in 2002/03 has so far, not been carried forward into the current year. There were 27 deaths associated with the construction industry reported to HSE in the first three months of this reporting year, which started in April.
It is too early in the year to assess whether the recent deaths indicate a reversal of the overall downwards trend in the last three years.
However the early figures for the current year should act as a warning against complacency and a stark reminder that a sustained effort is required across and down the industry over a long period to drive the necessary cultural change. That was the commitment made by the industry at the Health and Safety Summit in 2001 as part of a 10 year plan. Two years on, we should not take our eye off the ball because we have identified what needs to be done – continued effort is required within this fragmented industry to make it happen”.
STATISTICS OF FATAL INJURIES 2002/03, WHEN SUBJECT TO A FURTHER BREAKDOWN SHOW THAT:
Of the 71 fatal injuries that occurred falls from height remain the single biggest cause of death (47%), followed by struck by an object other than a vehicle (15%), electricity (10%), transport (7%),
collapse (7%) & other kinds (10%).
This breakdown of type of injury is consistent with previous years, although there has been a slight rise in the number of electrical accidents.
NEW WEBSITE ON MVR SAFETY GUIDANCE
Posted Saturday, August 16, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
A new HSE website, covering the motor vehicle repair (MVR) industries has been provided, that will advise employers, the self-employed, employees, safety representatives and health professionals on health and safety in activities such as: motor vehicle maintenance and repair (including tyre, exhaust and windscreen replacement), body repair and refinishing, MOT testing and roadside recovery and repair.
FACTS ABOUT MVR IN THE UK
Employs over 170,000 people in around 44,000 businesses, the industry is dominated by small and medium-sized companies with over half the workforce employed in either zero-employee enterprises e.g. sole traders or partnerships, or businesses employing less than 10 people.
Companies with less than 50 employees accounted for about 80% of the workforce.
Visitors to the site can: learn of the main causes of injury and ill health in MVR and the precautions to prevent them, read case studies,
gain access to guidance on many of the current issues, access valuable links to many other useful websites & obtain free publications about safe practices in MVR.
"I am pleased to launch HSE's new MVR webpages. Sadly, the motor vehicle repair industry has fatal and ‘all injury’ accident rates higher than the average for the whole of manufacturing and the spraying of 2-pack isocyanate paints is one of the biggest causes of occupational asthma in the UK.
Over the last 5 years there have been over 30 fatal accidents to motor vehicle repair workers and on average about 2,000 injuries per year reported to the HSE and Local Authorities. The HSE and MVR Health and Safety Forum have been working together to publish best practices within the industry and the site will be a prime source of easy to understand and up-to-date information.” - John Powell Head of Engineering in HSE’s Manufacturing Sector and Chair of the MVR Health and Safety Forum.
UPGRADE OF SIMPLY WORKWEAR WEBSITE
Posted Friday, August 15, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Due to the popularity of www.simplyworkwear.co.uk we now need to carry out a programme of essential maintenance & upgrading. Whilst we hope to keep disruption to a minimum we will be closing our ONLINE STORE from:
0900hrs Monday 18th August until 0900hrs Friday 5th September
This closure will ONLY affect the online ordering process & visitors will continue to be able to browse the remainder of the site as well as the catalogue pages of the ONLINE STORE. Telephone ordering is unaffected by this closure, so please feel free to phone your order through to our Sales Department on 0191 420 2809.
We apologies in advance for any inconvenience this may cause
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
Posted Friday, August 15, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Due to the popularity of www.simplyworkwear.co.uk we now need to carry out a programme of essential maintenance & upgrading. Whilst we hope to keep disruption to a minimum we will be closing our ONLINE STORE from:
0900hrs Monday 18th August until 0900hrs Friday 5th September
This closure will ONLY affect the online ordering process & visitors will continue to be able to browse the remainder of the site as well as the catalogue pages of the ONLINE STORE. Telephone ordering is unaffected by this closure, so please feel free to phone your order through to our Sales Department on 0191 420 2809.
We apologies in advance for any inconvenience this may cause
YARMOUTH CARBON MONOXIDE TRAGEDY GIVES RISE TO MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Two men are facing manslaughter charges over the deaths during March by carbon monoxide poisoning of Keith Reynolds, 17, and Michael Frosdick, 19, in a Yarmouth flat.
The deceased's landlord, Stanley Rogers, 61, and Barry Stone, 38, who it is alleged installed a gas appliance at the property, were charged at a police station in the town and will appear at the Magistrates' Court this week.
Both men face other charges that they breached requirements of health and safety legislation including gas regulations.
MEASURING BIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT DERMAL EXPOSURES
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Occupational dermal exposure to hazardous substances is known to cause a variety of diseases, including skin cancer and dermatitis. Many chemicals such as pesticides and some solvents may pass into the body through unbroken skin which in combination with inhalation exposures can result in disease that can have important personal, social, and economic consequences for the country. Until now attempts at standardisation of techniques for sampling skin exposure have met with little success.
The results of an attempt to develop a dermal sampler, which will mimic the uptake of solvent through the skin, has been produced as an HSE research report.
Fraser Lindsay, John Cherrie and Alastair Robertson of the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) investigated the feasibility of using a prototype sampler to measure biologically relevant dermal exposure to toluene, a common solvent which is used widely in industry.
Dermal exposure sampler
The report - Development of a Method to Assess Biologically Relevant Dermal Exposure, RR117, evaluated the performance of the sampler in a controlled laboratory situation and two field studies in workplace situations. Studies showed that it is possible to produce a practical sampler of simple construction that is sufficiently robust to be used in workplace situations. IOM also observed a relationship between inhalation exposure and dermal exposure to toluene, depending on which part of the body the sampler was placed.
It was concluded that, although there is further work to be done in refining the components of the sampler, there exists a real opportunity for developing a dermal exposure sampler that will mimic the sampling and transfer properties of the skin in relation to volatile inorganic compounds.
Such a device will be a valuable tool for assessing the risks to health from skin exposure to chemicals in the workplace.
Copies of Development of a method to assess biologically relevant dermal exposure, RR117, price £20, ISBN 0 7176 2223 1, are available from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2WA, tel:
01787-881165 or fax: 01787-313995.
ALERT OVER POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS RUBBER COATING PROCESS
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The British Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (BRMA) is acting to discover and inform any member or other company implementing a rubber coating process that is believed to have been implicated in an explosion at a West Pharmaceutical Services plant in North Carolina.
BRMA believes PP dust from a coating may have led to the explosion but say the process used there is uncommon here.
LEGAL CHALLENGE TO HSE POSITION ON FATAL ACCIDENT
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The High Court has opened a door to a legal challenge to HSE's position over the fatal accident to Christopher Pullen, 12.
No prosecution of the local authority or housing association stemmed from the investigation into the accident on 8th September 2000, in which Christopher sustained fatal crush injuries from a heavy door which fell on him at flats on the Market Estate, Islington. Mr Justice Moses has deemed the HSE position should now be subject to a High Court judicial review.
One outcome of the review may offer a further clarification of the use of the defence of 'reasonable practicality'.
METHICILLIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS (MRSA)
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
UNISON has produced a very informative guidance sheet on the subject of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) dealing with the threat to all present in the workplace where sufferers are cared for.
Note that this group can include those whose workplace can be the home of a discharged MRSA patient, who may require dressings to be changed and disposed of.
As usual, risk assessment is a critical factor.
CONSTRUCTION SITE DEATHS OCCURRING AT A 'HORRIFIC' RATE - UCATT
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
UCATT has noted with horror that there were 26 deaths in the construction industry during the three months April 1 to June 30 - a 44% increase commensurately on 2001.
George Brumwell, HSC Commissioner and General Secretary of the construction workers' union UCATT has arranged an urgent meeting with Nigel Griffiths M.P., the new Minister with responsibility for the construction industry.
Twelve of the fatalities were falls from height, four were people struck by a moving vehicle, four were people trapped by something collapsing or overturning on them, and six were other causes.
"This is truly horrific. If things go on this way we will have a record number of deaths this year. The construction industry is supposed to be bringing down the numbers of deaths and injuries through a number of new initiatives, but clearly something is going badly wrong. I am sick to the back teeth of hearing the employers' representatives complaining about bureaucracy and health and safety rules being biased towards unions, when what they should be doing is making sure their members are doing everything possible to prevent this carnage.
NO SUPRISE
The provisional figures for 2002-2003 will be out soon, and they are going to come as a nasty shock.
But I have to say I am not surprised by these figures. All over the country members tell us of construction companies cutting corners to boost profits at the expense of workers' safety. The Government has promised us a law, which will fine companies who are negligent, but this does not go far enough. We have to have laws, which put directors of negligent building firms in prison. There has been far too much posturing on this issue." - George Brumwell
SLIPSHOD APPROACH RESULTED IN FATAL ACCIDENT
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Municipal and Commercial Vehicles Ltd of Beaconsfield, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, has been prosecuted at Aylesbury Crown Court for a fatal accident in which their employee, Ross Tompkins, was crushed under a truck mounted crane assembly he was working on. The company was fined £20,000 with £11,844.05 costs after pleading guilty to a charge alleging a breach of Section 2(1) Health & Safety at Work etc., Act 1974. Mr Tompkins was lying underneath the crane, correcting a fault on the equipment, when it collapsed following the failure of a locking mechanism.
Judge Crawford QC commented on what in his view amounted to a slipshod application of the principles of engineering management in that simple precautions were not taken as they should have been. The company has since invested heavily in remedial action.
"This tragic incident illustrates the serious risks in working under equipment supported only by hydraulic systems. Employers must devise safe methods of work to avoid such risks and monitor and train employees in the safety aspects of their work." HSE Investigating Inspector David Metson.
COUNTY COUNCIL FINED IN CROWN COURT
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Cambridgeshire County Council, who earlier this month admitted breaching health and safety legislation at Peterborough Magistrates' Court in the circumstances of the death of Ivy Gardner, 93, who died from injuries sustained in a fall from an unsecured window at Queen's Court care home in Bottisham in June 2001, has been sentenced at Crown Court.
The authority was fined £20,000 for breaches of legislation at its Queen's Court home, £10,000 for breaches at a young persons' centre and £5,000 for a breach at another Cambridge care home.
The Council must also meet costs of £16,345. Judge McKittrick criticised the Council for its inaction for so long a time saying: "The serious aspect of the breach in my judgment is that the local authority had its attention drawn to matters as long ago as 1996."
NEW HEALTH SERVICE H&S WEBSITE
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The health and safety performance of the organisations in which more than one million people earn their living, the NHS in England, Wales and Scotland, is likely to have a bearing on the achievement of Revitalising targets. The Health Service is the subject of one of 8 HSC Priority Programmes. Some of the main occupations such as nurses and ambulance crews have extremely high rates of accidents and sickness absence resulting from: manual handling (mainly of patients); slips and trips; violence; and stress.
To meet a demand for advice and guidance for employers, safety representatives, health professionals and members of the public, HSE has set up a new and developing source of sector relevant guidance on health and safety at http://www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices .
CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE?
Site visitors can view video clips, read case studies, download the 2003/4 programme of work and gain access to guidance on many of the current issues and valuable links to many other useful websites.
HSE would like to involve all parts of the industry and the public in further developing the pages over the coming months. Comments or suggestions can be emailed at: health services priority programme@hse.gsi.gov.uk
"I am delighted to launch HSE's new health services pages. I want this site to become our prime source of easy to understand and up-to-date information on health and safety in this large and important sector.
The website's contents will be regularly updated, starting with new information on workplace violence and pages devoted to the independent sector. With that in mind, I would welcome feedback from those who visit the pages - workers, patients and others who are involved or interested in improving safety standards." - Priority Programme Manager Murray Devine.
MIDLANDS CHARITY AVOIDS CROWN COURT SENTENCING
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Birmingham City Mission, a homeless persons' charity, has been fined £5,000 with £1,000 costs at the city's Magistrates' Court for breaching health and safety legislation in the circumstances of the death of a resident, Bridget Rogers, 33, in February 2001. She died as a consequence of a defective gas boiler.
Despite the gas installation giving rise to previous incident and a report from an engineer in 1999 making it aware of the need for a boiler service, the charity had failed to act.
Even though the culpability was described as stemming from a very serious breach, having regard to the ongoing work of the charity a decision was made not to have sentencing taken to the Crown Court.
EUROPEAN SAFETY WEEK 2003
Posted Monday, August 4, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Action Pack orders and a number of relevant downloads for this year's Health and Safety Week are now available directly from the Safety Week page on the HSE website.