October 2005

PESTICIDE INCIDENTS REPORT PUBLISHED
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE's annual Pesticide Incidents Report, for the period 1st April 2004 to 31st March 2005, has been published.

It details that: HSE inspectors investigated 150 pesticide related incidents (down from 204 in 2003/04); 55 incidents involved allegations of ill health (7 less than 2003/04), the Pesticide Incidents Appraisal Panel (PIAP) concluded that 2 of the reports should not be classified as ill-health incidents¹; the remaining 95 incidents involved environmental and other non-health complaints about the use of pesticides, (47 less than in 2003/04); and 41 enforcement notices (citing 43 contraventions) were issued under the pesticide legislation and a total of 12 Informations (charges) were laid before the Courts. Convictions were secured in all cases, with an average fine of £1,650 for each offence (compared with £1,824 for 2003/04).
Complaints from the public about spray drift from the application of agricultural pesticides comprised the largest category of incidents investigated.

¹ Of the remaining incidents, the panel was unable to confirm that any were linked to pesticide exposure, although 5 incidents involving 8 persons were assessed as having a 'likely' link. None of these 'likely' incidents were considered directly related to work activity. All involved either members of the public or people who were incidentally exposed whilst at work.

RISE AND RISE OF RETAIL CRIME
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) is dismayed at the ever increasing reporting of incidences of physical violence and verbal abuse perpetrated against its members while at work.
The latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) crime survey shows an increase in physical violence of 14% since 2003.

COMMENT
“These figures are very disturbing as it seems a small section of criminals and irresponsible consumers think shopworkers can be treated as physical and verbal punchbags. We’ve been running a hugely successful Freedom From Fear campaign designed to combat these problems so it’s frightening to think that the problem could be even worse without our efforts.
Violent offenders have to get the message that shops have a zero tolerance policy for violence and we will continue to work with retailers, police, local authorities and consumer groups to make sure every store is as secure as possible. Our members can rest assured we will campaign for tougher measures, including the increased use of ASBOs and tougher sentencing, to protect them from thugs.
Our own research shows shoplifting and refusing to serve underage drinkers are flashpoints for violent incidents in stores and we will continue to work with all the major retailers to make sure visible security is on hand to deal with shoplifters who often suffer from drink and drug dependency issues.
We are also enthusiastic supporters of the Prime Minister’s respect agenda, as the BRC are right to say our society has lost a sense of treating shopworkers decently and our members have a right to go to work without the daily terror of being attacked or verbally abused.
Our message to frustrated shoppers who think it’s ok to scream abuse at shop staff is quite simple. There is no circumstance in any store in the UK where a shopper has a right to verbally abuse a shopworker who is just doing their job.
The figures for violence and verbal abuse may be the highest for a decade but there is a lot of good work being done to address this problem and we will not rest until we significantly reduce the levels of abuse our members have to endure on a daily basis. We will win this battle and make working with Freedom From Fear a reality rather than an aspiration.” - ,” Usdaw General Secretary.

"Over the past 5 years retailers have spent more than £3.5 billion on crime prevention, yet the losses over the same period have been more than double the value of this investment – more than £7 billion. This is an alarming figure.
However, the most disturbing figure is the growing trend of verbal and physical violence experienced by retailers. Retail crime is not victimless; it leaves deep scars not only on business viability and retail staff, but also on the community with the significant costs of prevention often passed on to all threads of society.
With the current culture of under reporting of retail crime, these figures may well only be the tip of the iceberg, which is why the BRC has recently launched the SCAR (Stop Crime Against Retail) campaign. We will be calling for Police to modify the system of crime reporting to encourage victims to report crimes and ensuring the Government works with the sector to raise awareness of the real impact of crime and violence against retail." - BRC Director General.

"The figures confirm that retailers are facing challenging times. From corner to department stores the industry needs to ensure it addresses crime prevention in a holistic and integrated way – protecting staff and profits alike. This means implementing appropriate technology and using its data effectively through to training staff to deal with threatening behaviour. Crime prevention must be at the top of a retailer's agenda and these results highlight the ongoing pressures they face to implement ever more innovate ways of tackling the issue." - National Accounts Director at ADT.

LADDER SAFETY MATERIAL PUBLISHED
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
With ladder safety week a feature of November 2005, now may be the time to view and consider possible uses of several excellent free publications advising on the safe use of a common and too frequently misused item of work equipment.
Financial and contractual pressures continue to oblige some self-employed individuals and contracting organisations to select the ladder, inappropriately, as a place of work or for access to it.
The following guidance should be required reading for clients and planning supervisors concerned with advising on the award of contracts where work at height is a risk: Safe use of ladders and stepladders: An employers' guide; A toolbox talk on leaning ladder and stepladder safety; Top tips for ladder and stepladder safety.

CALL FOR WIDER OWNERSHIP OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR SLIPS AND TRIPS
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
HSE observes that 'double standards' are exacerbating the incidence of workplace falls, evidenced by an opinion survey published by it as part of the Watch Your Step campaign.
The survey discloses that an object left on the floor is the most common cause of a slip or trip incident, accounting for nearly 25% of workplace falls - a hazard that can easily be removed and costs the business nothing to do so.
It is the biggest cause of workplace injuries, for example, in the West Midlands 4,209 such incidents were reported to the authorities last year, the opinion survey reveals that an attitude of 'It's not my responsibility' is to blame for ignoring slip and trip hazards at work, with almost 50% of those surveyed admitting that they are more likely to clear up a spillage or mess in their own home than at work. Furthermore, 1 in 3 people find it easier to turn a blind eye than remove or report a risk.

FINES UP, PROSECUTIONS AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY DOWN IN 2004/5
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE Acting Chief Executive has provided explanations behind some of the figures in its 6th annual Offences and Penalties Report 2004/5 which discloses that during that period: HSE brought 712 prosecutions; the convictions rate was 95%; 8,445 enforcement notices were served; average fine per case rose to £18,765 (from £14,303 in 2003/2004); average fines from higher courts, per offence prosecuted, rose to £46,388 (from £32,216 in 2003/2004); and
average fines in the lower court rose to £4,767 from £4,052 the previous year.

COMMENT
"Firm, properly targeted and proportionate enforcement underpins the action we need to take to deliver the HSC’s health and safety strategy published in 2004. Our powers to take enforcement action amplify all that we do to deliver a sustainable, long-term reduction in occupational injury and ill health.
This year’s figures show we have prosecuted in fewer cases and served fewer notices than in previous years. We have identified 2 major factors behind the drop. One is the steady decline in the number of accidents and ill health reported to us, the other is our better targeting of resources to investigation. We are investigating fewer incidents, but a greater proportion of these are leading to prosecution.
HSE is also devoting an increasing amount of resource to working with the police on manslaughter investigations, and estimate that this is taking up about 10% of our investigation and enforcement resource. We believe that this is the right and appropriate use of resources.
We are pleased to see that the courts are prepared to impose larger fines but they still do not always fully reflect the seriousness of these criminal offences. The case studies contained within the report remind us why HSE’s work is so important. And why no one should be in any doubt that, where appropriate, we will take enforcement action." - HSE’s Acting Chief Executive.
"Last year 220 workers were killed in the UK, over 150,000 people were injured and 2.2 million people are suffering from an illness that was either caused or made worse by their work. All these accidents, injuries and diseases are avoidable and most are caused by employers ignoring health and safety laws.
We don't want to see HSE inspectors spending all their time in court, but at the moment it's very easy for employers who've put their employees' health and safety at risk to escape punishment.
If the UK is to get to grips with its extremely poor safety record, we have to see more inspectors out there visiting workplaces, more targeted prosecutions of offending employers and more use of enforcement notices. The Government should also provide the HSE with extra resources so that it can do its job properly.
Good employers have nothing to fear but the bad ones do. TUC research has shown that when an enforcement notice is issued, over two thirds of employers not only comply, but also end up reviewing health and safety practices elsewhere in their organisation.
Without a doubt, enforcement is the single most effective tool the HSE has at its disposal for improving health and safety standards in UK companies and organisations. When the HSC launched its new strategy for improving workplace health and safety last year it promised that enforcement would still be a key part of this. Today's report shows that this is clearly not the case." - TUC General Secretary.

TRANSCO PLC FINED £1M
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
Transco plc has been fined £1,000,000, with costs of £134,000, by Manchester Crown Court. The company pleaded guilty to breaching of S.3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in the circumstances of a November 2001 gas explosion at a 5-storey residential building, Cavendish Mill, in Ashton-under-Lyne, in which a resident sustained serious injuries to which he later succumbed.
HSE and Transco investigation established that a leak of gas from a fractured mains in front of the building, but not supplying it, entered the block via void spaces below some of the ground floor rooms, forming an explosive mixture which was ignited.

RESIDENTS ALLOWED TO RETURN
Transco responded to the initial gas escape report and evacuated Cavendish Mill. Transco engineers ventilated the building and carried out numerous tests of individual flats using gas detectors to ensure any residual gas was removed, but critically failed to identify all voids in the building, including ones under the ground floor flats at the front and above ceilings, and did not test them for gas.
Late in the evening Transco decided it was safe to allow the residents to return, but as the deceased entered his room, gas in the room as well as gas in one of the voids was ignited, inflicting serious burns.
Last month Transco was fined £15m at Edinburgh High Court for breaching health and safety legislation for failings that led to the 1999 deaths of a family of 4 in a massive explosion at a dwellinghouse in Carlisle Road, Larkhall, Lanarkshire.

COMMENT
"The explosion at Cavendish Mill, which led to Mr ____'s death, highlights the importance of effective management arrangements for dealing with high volume gas escapes into complex buildings. Transco identified some of the voids where gas could accumulate; but their identification and the fact that unusual void spaces are common in converted buildings did not prompt Transco to carry out a more thorough assessment of the building for similar spaces. This failure led to the tragic consequences at Cavendish Mill." - HSE investigating inspector.
"Incidents such as this are uncommon but entirely foreseeable. HSE will continue to work with Transco and gas transporters to help them identify opportunities to improve their emergency response procedures." - Principal Inspector, HSE's Hazardous Installations Directorate.

NO STANDING BACK AND ALLOWING PEOPLE TO BE WRITTEN OFF
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
A report this week published jointly by the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and the HSE has set out government strategy relating to health and employment, providing some detail on ways this will contribute to its wider welfare reform agenda set out in the Government’s White Paper, Choosing Health: Making Healthier Choices Easier.
Entitled Health, work and well-being - Caring for our future. A strategy for the health and well-being of working age people, ISBN: 1-84388-680-4, it explains how stakeholders can: improve the health of the working age population and minimise the risk of employees becoming ill in the first place; improve employee retention by supporting them during periods of transition; and build a world which rehabilitates rather than rejects people when they experience illness or disability.

The alternative - 'a greater burden on those of working age in supporting others. Neither our economy nor our society as a whole can afford for us to stand back and allow people to be written off.'

MASSIVE SLAB OF ROCK FELL ON QUARRY WORKER
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
Lafarge Aggregates UK Limited has been prosecuted and fined £200,000, with £31,000 costs, for breaching S.2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in the circumstances of a fatal accident on August 11th 2003 at its Dowlow Quarry on Sterndale Moor, Derbyshire. Lafarge pleaded guilty to the charge.
The deceased worker was operating a hydraulic breaker when a 70-tonne slab of rock detached and fell on top of his cab, killing him instantly.
At Derby Crown Court, it was related that geotechnical engineers Babtie had surveyed the quarry in 2000 and recommended that the company reduce the height of work at the faces to 15 metres. By doing this they had calculated that the risk of rock falls would be halved. At the time, the quarry face was being worked at between 22 and 32 metres. HSE investigation established that there had been a spell of hot weather, followed by heavy rain, which could have contributed to the instability of the rock face.

COMMENT
"Simple measures such as proper planning and a safe system of work were not employed by Lafarge Aggregates. They ignored a geotechinical survey by working on rock faces higher than 15 metres and failed to manage the risks associated with carrying out this type of work." - HSE inspector.

CALL TO SMES - HELP REDUCE ILL-HEALTH IN CONSTRUCTION
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
HSE has succeeded in enlisting the help of construction businesses to test an Occupational Health Management Model (OHMM) it has developed, but needs others to take part in the pilot project with the aim of reducing ill-health in construction.
Construction companies have an ongoing battle with issues such as manual handling, hand-arm vibration, noise induced hearing loss and dermatitis, the industry employs up to 2 million people, an estimated 96,000 workers, whose current or most recent job was in construction, suffered from ill-health caused or made worse by their work.
The model is in the form of a flow chart, volunteer companies would help evaluate the model's content and structure and provide feedback. Those testing the model will be able to look at their current health management processes and decide what, if any, changes need to be implemented.
Participants will receive a detailed paper explaining the OHMM in detail, a CD containing a draft of the OHMM, contact details for ongoing HSE support and a confidential baseline questionnaire.
For more information before signing up, visit OHMM.

APRIL 2007 IMPLEMENTATION OF NI SMOKING BAN
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
It has been announced by the Northern Ireland Health Minister that the Province's workplaces and enclosed public spaces are to become tobacco smoke-free in April 2007.
The recent consultation exercise recorded the public's considerable expression of its wish for a total ban along the lines of the legislation drafted by the Scottish Parliament which is to be implemented next year.
An announcement by the Health Secretary on the extent of any ban contained in legislation to be introduced in England and Wales is awaited.

COMMENT
"This is an historic decision for Northern Ireland. This is not about banning smoking. People have that freedom of choice. What this decision is about is where people smoke. I have looked extensively at all the arguments for and against smoking controls. I visited New York and the Republic of Ireland to find out if their smoking controls had worked. They did work. In fact, there was overwhelming support from the public and workers in both countries which was why the introduction of smoking controls was so successful.
My specific focus has been on the health of those who do not smoke. To protect them from the hazards and dangers of second-hand smoke and passive smoking.
Yes, people have a right to smoke. But no-one has a right to subject the public, colleagues and workmates to the dangers.
The rights of workers are very much to the fore of my decision. I engaged with Trade Unions on this issue and 10 out of 11 supported the decision to move to total control on smoking.
From my visit to New York, I learnt the staggering fact that a non-smoker on an 8-hour shift in a bar could inhale the equivalent of 10 cigarettes a day!
People arguing against total control point to ventilation being a solution. Ventilation doesn't work.
So a partial ban would have meant protecting workers in some workplaces but not in bars and pubs. Where's the social justice in that?
Smoking is also a major cause of health inequality in Northern Ireland. It is the principle cause of the gap in life expectancy between rich and poor. And since many of those working in the hospitality industry tend to be poorly paid, it means we continue to expose second-hand smoke to the poorest people. Is that fair?
I have no doubt this legislation will help save lives. Thousands of unnecessary deaths and smoking related illnesses. It will give people the incentive they need to give up smoking. This has already happened in the Republic, where the numbers of smokers has fallen from 1-in-3 to less than 1-in-4." - Northern Ireland Health Minister.

“The NI Health Minister’s excellent decision will lead to the most important advance for public health in Northern Ireland for thirty years. Non-smokers will be protected from the health damage caused by second-hand smoke and many smokers in the province will be prompted to give up.
But this welcome move throws into stark relief the protracted dithering by the UK Cabinet about a decision for England. Over the next two years, enclosed public places in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will all become fully smoke free. Anything less for England would be a timid and unworkable bodge. It is past time for Ministers to make up their minds – England must be smoke free too.” -Action on Smoking and Health Director.

PROPOSED NEW RULES FOR LICENSING GANGMASTERS - CONSULTATION
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
A public consultation by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), seeking the views in particular of those involved in the supply of labour to the arable, horticultural or shellfish gathering businesses, concerns the proposed new rules for licensing gangmasters.
Views are sought on the proposed application process, fees, enforcement activities and licensing standards and conditions.
The consultation is to feature a number of regional events, and a dedicated GLA website at http://www.gla.gov.uk/ has the details of these, the consultation paper and event information.
Typically, gangmasters supply teams of casual labourers, often migrant workers, to farms, beaches and agricultural processing and packaging businesses.
Once the licensing arrangements are in place, the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 will prohibit anyone from acting as a gangmaster in the licensable sectors without a licence, also making it an offence to enter into an arrangement with an unlicensed gangmaster.

COMMENT
"Agriculture, horticulture and shellfish gathering are vital businesses whose nature means they are dependent on the supply of labour - much of it seasonal - to operate efficiently and competitively. Most of this labour is supplied in a perfectly legal and proper way by Labour Providers (Gangmasters). But the industry has a reputation of non-compliance and exploitation that derives from a small but steady stream of actual and anecdotal evidence of this, a few of which have hit the headlines. Our aim is to curb this continuing level of exploitation. And we will do this, not by tying the whole business up in more red tape, but by introducing a relatively simple licensing system that will define those operating in the business, and will allow us to identify and target the offenders.
This consultation process and events will give both labour providers and those with concerns for workers the chance to give their views on a new approach to licensing gangmasters." - Chief Executive of the GLA.

NO MANSLAUGHTER PROCEEDINGS OVER POTTERS BAR
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says that there is no realistic prospect of conviction for an offence of gross negligence manslaughter against any individual or corporation arising from the circumstances of the Potters Bar train derailment. However, it is still possible that a Coroner may decide to refer the case back to CPS for further consideration of a manslaughter charge.
HSE also announced yesterday that any decision on prosecuting for health and safety offences will not be made until the Coroner's Inquest has passed because additional, influencing, information may be revealed.
HSE set up an independent Investigation Board under S.14(2)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to oversee the investigation into the train derailment.

COMMENT
"HSE and British Transport Police have kept the bereaved families and those injured in the derailment fully informed on the progress of the case. After the conclusion of a Coroner's Inquest we will inform them of our decision on whether any prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act is appropriate before making that decision public." - Director of Rail Safety, HSE.

TUC SURVEY FINDS SAFETY REPS LOT IS NOT BEING MADE EASIER
Posted Saturday, October 29, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The work of safety representatives is not being made any easier by some of their employers, a TUC survey has disclosed.
Safety reps, in their voluntary role, are obliged to become involved on occasion with health and safety issues in the workplace that are complex, and have to do so without the benefit of the lengthy training and education acquired by safety professionals.
It has been established that, in general, their work benefits both colleagues and employer, but the TUC notes trends in survey responses: poor relations with employers and supervisory management;
job conflict, where difficulty was experienced fitting in safety rep. duties with normal paid employment; and inhibition in fully utilising e-mail and the internet.

COMMENT
"Most employers are sensible enough to realise the business benefits that come from a good working relationship with a union. But those that fear unions seem to be trying to do all they can to prevent reps from doing their work. Stopping reps from going on training courses and not giving them time of for union work are common complaints.
That's why the proposed Government review of time off, support and facilities for union reps is so important, and why the TUC has pushed for this review to be carried out as soon as possible.
Our new bargaining to organise campaign aims to help unions provide their reps with even greater levels of support and encourage them to recruit lots of new members in workplaces that already have union recognition." - TUC General Secretary.

NEW GMO LEGISLATION NOW IN FORCE
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
From Saturday 1st October, the Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2005. Guidance on the 2005 regulations came into force. For information on this and how it relates to existing legislation visit HSE's GMO pages.

2 CONFIRMED LEGIONNAIRES' CASES AT MORAY FOOD PROCESSORS
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
Production at the Baxters of Speyside food processing plant in Fochabers, Moray, has ceased and the company is co-operating with NHS Grampian following confirmation that 2 employees there have contracted Legionnaires' disease.
The company has also closed its popular visitor centre, an Outbreak Control Team comprising NHS Grampian, Moray Council and the HSE is monitoring the situation.

CONTROL OF VIBRATION AT WORK REGULATIONS 2005 - GUIDANCE
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
Comprehensive guidance on Hand-arm vibration (HAV) - Hand-arm vibration: Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, L140, ISBN 0 7176 6125 3, priced £13.95, has been published. Replacing Hand-arm Vibration, HSG 88, it advises on what needs to be done to reduce and control the effects of HAV, offering practical guidance on: risk assessment; estimating vibration exposure; and arranging health surveillance.
It also contains technical and medical guidance for vibration technicians and medical and nursing staff.
A series of HSE/EEF noise and vibration roadshows (visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/vibration/events.htm) is underway to raise HAV awareness, for decades the health of workers using power tools in industries such as construction, mining and manufacturing has been affected.

COMMENT:
“Hand-arm vibration syndrome is a serious and widespread occupational disease affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Britain. I very much welcome the new Regulations and believe they will boost our efforts in reducing the risks to acceptable levels.
Most employers in industry understand that regulation is necessary and accept that hand-arm vibration syndrome is a major occupational health problem that needs to be addressed. I find it heartening that many industries and employers have already made serious efforts to adhere with the requirements of these new regulations even before they have come into force. HSE and industry have together done much to tackle the problem of vibration in the workplace over the past 10 years and have achieved a lot of success through helpful guidance and industry wide campaigns.
I am optimistic that by continuing to work closely with industry, we can get closer to our goal of eliminating new cases of disabling disease.” - Head of Injuries Reduction at HSE.

IMPROVEMENT EVIDENT IN HEALTH AND SAFETY REPORTING SAY RESEARCHERS
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
An HSE-funded study report, prepared by System Concepts - The public provision of health and safety information by UK top companies and major public bodies for 2004/2005, has been published.
It is the 3rd in a series, analysing the extent and content of health and safety information made public by the UK’s major companies, Government Departments and Agencies, NHS Trusts and Local Authorities.
In particular the study aimed to reveal the issues and quality of information contained in the reports in terms of health and safety principles, performance and targets.
The study concluded that, encouragingly, the level and quality of reporting has generally increased since 2002, but that the following groups are lagging in making this information public:
insurance, speciality and other finance; diversified industrials and general retailers' sectors; local authorities; special health authorities; and government departments.
The researchers wish to see:
improvements in terms of the type and overall quality of health and safety issues reported, particularly performance and target-related issues; companies and public bodies reporting higher quality health and safety performance information; and further research on the relationship between health and safety reporting and performance.

SCOTTISH HIGH PERFORMERS URGED TO HELP OTHERS ACHIEVE
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is challenging Scottish businesses and organisations with excellent health and safety records to help others improve their workplace health and safety performance.
The launch of the initiative - Scottish High Performers Challenge, takes place today at the RoSPA Scotland Safety and Health at Work Congress which is sponsored by National Semiconductor. The initiative feeds into, and supports, the new HSE Partnership on Health and Safety in Scotland, those signing up will agree common approaches and themes on how to reach out to other businesses.
The ways to help others include: acting as good neighbours on health and safety issues, and providing access to small firms to their in-house training schemes and information services; ensuring that all their contractors and suppliers are competent to manage the health and safety of their own employees and those affected by their operations; and supporting safety and health education in schools, and for trainees and young people, including those involved in work experience schemes.
Already listed as supporters are Aberdeen College; British Energy Hunterston 'B'; Devro (Scotland) Ltd; Dunfermline Building Society; EKC Dupont; ESS; FMC Energy Systems; John Dewar & Sons Ltd; Motherwell College; Mowlem; National Semiconductor (UK) Ltd; Renfrewshire Council; the Scottish Executive; Scottish Water Solutions; and UKAEA.

COMMENT:
“There are massive human, social and business benefits to be gained by raising standards of health and safety management in Scotland. Organisations which themselves have achieved higher standards of performance in health and safety have a duty to motivate and assist others to do likewise. The idea already has support from some of the big names in Scotland, but now we need more to come forward to take up the challenge.” - RoSPA Occupational Training Manager for Scotland.

S LONDON LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE SOURCE REMAINS UNDISCOVERED
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
Another confirmed case of Legionnaires' disease has been recorded in South London. There have now been 13 cases since mid-Summer, the Health Protection Agency, HSE and environmental staff of local councils in South London, are engaged in the search to find a likely source of the bacterium throughout Wandsworth, Lewisham and Bexleyheath, and now Southwark, where the latest victim resides.
The significance of the cases can be measured against the 300 or so total of reported cases each year in England and Wales, given that around 50% of these are associated with travel abroad. Most of the remaining cases are sporadic cases with no specific source identified as a cause.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE WATCH YOUR STEP CAMPAIGN
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE and 7 local authorities - Cotswold District Council, Cheltenham Borough Council, Forest of Dean District Council, Gloucester City Council, Stroud District Council, Tewkesbury District Council and South Gloucestershire Unitary Authority will begin, on 3rd October, to engage in a month of inspections as part of the Watch Your Step campaign.
The campaign, focussing on food manufacturing and catering, aims to encourage people to become aware of this workplace issue and the cost-effective measures that can be put in place to reduce the human and financial burden of accidents.

COMMENT:
"We know that slips and trips in these sectors account for a significant proportion of workplace slip and trip accidents and believe that by working together and sharing expertise and resources we will be better placed to bring about improvements. During the campaign we want to persuade caterers and food manufacturers that there are sensible, practicable precautions that they can take to eliminate the causes of slips and trips. Companies will save on the costs of absenteeism and individual employees will avoid injury." HSE Principle Inspector South West region.

RECYCLING COMPANY SUFFERS SECOND FATALITY IN WEEKS
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
Another person has lost his life in an industrial accident in recycling work, this time at the SITA UK recycling facility at Garstang, Lancashire.
The employee, in his 20's, was fatally injured in an accident apparently with a vehicle and a skip.
On Tuesday 16th August, an employee of the company died in an accident involving cardboard baling equipment at its premises near Cricklade, Wiltshire. SITA UK, a division of the multi-services group SUEZ, is the UK's leading provider of recycling and waste management services. The company provides a wide range of services to businesses and residents, through consultancy services, waste and recyclable collections, and treatment facilities. It employs 5,000 people and has an annual turnover of £500m.

HIGHEST FATAL INCIDENT RATE
The waste management and recycling industry has the highest fatal incident rate, figures that are well above both construction and agriculture. The HSE and other recycling stakeholders will be bitterly disappointed at the continuing high level of fatalities this year, the Environmental Services Association (ESA) initiative, the Accident Reduction Charter, aims to reduce the incidence rate of RIDDOR reportable accidents by 10% every year until 2007 (baseline year 2002) and to eliminate fatalities by the end of that period.
The Charter, endorsed by the HSE, has been incorporated into ESA's Code of Conduct, and is supported by a Health and Safety Action Plan prepared to assist ESA's Members in reducing accident rates. ESA is the UK's sectoral trade association for waste and secondary resource management

COMMENT:
"SITA UK takes its health and safety obligations very seriously. The events leading up to yesterday’s incident are now a matter for investigation by ourselves and the HSE. Until this has been concluded we are unable to comment further." Statement from SITA UK.

HSE UNHAPPY WITH ASBESTOS RISK ON COUNCIL'S HOUSING REFURBISHMENT PROJECT
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and its contractors, G & J Seddon Ltd, have been served with prohibition notices by HSE relating to a project to upgrade Council owned properties on the Offerton Estate in Offerton, Stockport.
The notices, which required refurbishment work to be stopped, followed observations by HSE inspectors who found damaged asbestos-containing materials in houses 108 to 196 Lisburne Lane. In the opinion of the inspectors the work principally created an unacceptable risk to the health of the project workers, and investigations into the circumstances are continuing.
Stockport MBC and G & J Seddon are to survey the housing to identify all asbestos-containing materials and set up safe systems of work, the contract involves replacement of doors, windows, roofing bargeboards and soffit boards. The soffit boards are asbestos insulating board and contain amosite (brown) asbestos, and these were damaged when the workers replaced the wooden bargeboards that were attached to them.

DOH AND DWP TO APPOINT A NEW NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
The Departments for Work and Pensions and Health are to jointly appoint a National Director to oversee the implementation of the Health, Work and Wellbeing Strategy. The strategy is to engage the co-operation of all stakeholders to ensure people of working age get the help and support they need to stay in work. The Director's remit will be to provide national leadership and to reflect back to Ministers the views of key stakeholders and to support the successful delivery of the programme
The Government's Welfare Reform Green Paper and its programme on Health, Work and Wellbeing will appear in the coming weeks.

COMMENT:
"The Secretary of State for Health and I are committed to work with the HSC, with business and the Trade Unions, to create a new occupational health programme for Britain. This is a programme to prevent ill-health, to help rehabilitate those in ill-health, to reduce absence from work, and to avoid people relying on benefits out of work.
The health and well being of people of working age is of great importance to our future.
We recognise success will depend not only on engaging actively with stakeholders but also on close cross-Government working, which is why we are announcing today the joint appointment with the Department of Health of a new National Director focussing on occupational health - mirroring the tremendous strides that have been made in public health over the last 100 years.
We want to match the historic work of the Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health with public health reforms, so that we now focus on the workplace and working age population. The new National Director will work with Ministers to build a strategy unmatched in Europe or the World.
This reflects the importance that both our Departments attach to this area and the close and constructive working relationship that we are developing." - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

HSE AND NORTH WALES LAS HELP BUSINESSES WITH HIGH WORKPLACE TRANSPORT RISK
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
A successful seminar, the first of what may become a series in Wales, has been held in Wrexham to assist companies from across North Wales with controlling risks from workplace transport. The free HSE/ North Wales Local Authority event focussed on risk assessment and featured practical demonstrations, a special concern being the reversing activities of vehicles such as vans and articulated lorries with restricted rearward visibility.
A range of the latest reversing aids were on display, such as CCTV camera systems and ultrasonic and radar sensing systems designed to assist drivers when reversing cannot be eliminated and pedestrians cannot be excluded.
HSE and the North Wales Local Authorities will evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy in raising awareness by conducting inspections of attendee and non-attendee companies and to ensure that risks from vehicle movements in their workplaces are controlled.

COMMENT:
"By working together in partnership, the North Wales Local Authorities and HSE have been able to more effectively target a wide cross section of companies. This includes hauliers and distributors, but also those with vehicle movement on their site such as builders' merchants and supermarkets. The seminar provided a neutral setting to give businesses the opportunity to find out how to properly control the risk from vehicle movement on their sites.
The primary message is that companies must have adequate measures to ensure that vehicles move around their premises safely." - Chair of the North Wales local Authority Health and Safety Task Group.

3 DIE IN 1 WEEK FOLLOWING WORKPLACE INCIDENTS IN SCOTTISH COUNTY
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
A tragic succession of events in Aberdeenshire has seen 3 persons die following workplace accidents.
A farmer, aged 57, died when his tractor overturned in Huntly.
Another farmer, aged 49, succumbed to the effects of inhaling vapours when an operation to transfer an acidic liquid by siphoning went badly wrong on his farm at Keithhall near Inverurie.
It is also suspected that a 63-year-old employee of Aberdeen-based Asco UK, who suffered a head injury in a workplace fall some days earlier, may well have subsequently died as a result of this. The man underwent surgery but later succumbed, HSE says it cannot yet confirm if his death and the incident are linked.

CAR SALES GIANT FINED OVER WORKPLACE ACCIDENT
Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Ahmed Khan
Arnold Clark Limited has been prosecuted and fined £3,800 for breaching S.2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in the circumstances of an incident during April 2004 in which an employee sustained major injuries at one of its Edinburgh premises.
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court the company was deemed to have failed to both adequately train its employees and provide them with safe systems of work, the failures were exposed by the incident which involved a car falling from lifting equipment.

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