Health and safety news and updates
safety4business produces this completely free monthly update on health and safety news for distribution to selected clients. The update is not intended to be comprehensive, as that would clearly involve a very long and unwieldy communication. Instead, it aims to identify the most relevant items, providing you with the option to investigate further if needed.
We hope you find the news and update both interesting and effective in helping you to keep abreast of what is happening in the world of health and safety.
News
Report Rejects EMFs and Breast Cancer Link
The independent Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR) has just published a report, Power Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, Melatonin and the Risk of Breast Cancer , ISBN 0 85951 573 3, which examines whether EMFs associated with the supply and use of electricity can influence the risk of breast cancer.
It has been suggested that sources of exposure such as overhead power lines, electrical wiring and domestic appliances could, somehow, reduce melatonin levels which may increase the risk of breast cancer. The report, however, concludes that
"overall the evidence does not support the hypothesis that exposure to EMFs is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. In addition, EMFs do not appear to affect the production or biological action of the hormone melatonin."
HSE and EEF to Promote Health and Safety Management
The Health and Safety Executive has signed a 'groundbreaking partnership agreement' with EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, which it says will promote effective health and safety management across manufacturing industries.
HSE says the agreement is the first of its kind between the safety watchdog and another organisation. This type of deal is already common in the US, however, where safety agency OSHA has almost 200 current partnerships. HSE claims that the agreement will improve HSE's communications, allowing EEF members across England, Wales and Scotland to 'receive the latest information and guidance from the regulator, as well as offering opportunities to feedback issues, concerns and examples of good practice.' Launching the pact, Bill Callaghan, chair of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC), said:
"I am sure that the EEF/HSE partnership will help us achieve our vision of being a modern, 21st century regulator. I hope all here at the partnership launch recognise the great benefits that regulation can bring in protecting people at work. But we all know that ill-designed regulation can bring unnecessary burden. Getting the balance right can be tricky but you have already helped us on difficult issues."
Unions Claim Directive Threatens Health and Safety
UK trade unions are calling on the government to withdraw their support from a European directive that threatens safety and employment rights.
The threat comes from the controversial Services Directive, which would allow workers from other European countries to work in Britain with the wages and safety standards of their home country. The draft directive says service providers will only be subject to the laws and conditions applying in the country where they are based, rather than those of the country where they provide the service, under the 'country of origin principle'. European companies working in Britain, for example, would only be expected to abide by safety standards in place in their own country, enforced in the UK by their own safety enforcement agency.
Flawed Industrial Noise Measurement
Work by academics at the Ålborg University Denmark suggests that standard A-weighted noise measurement in dB underrates the potential damage caused by certain types of industrial noise, typically 'short noise peaks from rattling bottles, compressed air blasts, and metal on metal noises'.
The researchers recommend that alternative methods for measuring noise in the workplace should be developed.
Safety Week 2006 - European Good Practice Awards
Safety Week 2006 is dedicated to young people, and efforts made to try to ensure them a safe and healthy start to their working lives.With this theme, nominations for the 7th European Good Practice Awards in Occupational Health and Safety are now being invited by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Businesses, trade and professional organisations, schools, colleges and training providers from EU Member States, making outstanding and innovative contributions in this area, can submit entries which should show good management practice, particularly the effective use of risk assessment and implementation of its findings, and should be focused on the successful prevention of risks to young people. Winners will be announced at the campaign's closing event in March 2007 in Bilbao, gaining recognition across Europe for their good practice solutions.
PPE Related Accidents
High tech consultancy Bomel Ltd have produced a Health and Safety Executive commissioned report, Evidence base for identifying potential failures in the specification, use and maintenance of PPE at work, which aims to develop methods of extracting and analysing information from RIDDOR to provide an evidence base for planning interventions to reduce PPE-related accidents.
Around 9,000 PPE-related accidents are reported annually under RIDDOR, costing industry £252m. An estimated £96m of this total is classified as 'not preventable or mitigatable' by the PPE provided. Failure to consider PPE resulted in costs of around £49m, whilst not using the PPE provided resulted in costs of around £65m.
Legislation Update
EU Optical Radiation Directive Approved
The European Parliament has approved an EU directive designed to protect workers from exposure to optical radiation.
The new rules lay down minimum standards for prevention and early diagnosis of damage to the eyes and skin from sources such as lasers and infrared lamps. They set limits for the level and duration of exposure, and require employers to carry out risk assessments, including on the design and layout of workplaces and on appropriate protective equipment.The European Parliament's key demand that the directive should cover only artificial sources of radiation was accepted by the Council of Ministers, so protection from natural sources, such as sunlight, is now not included in the final text. The directive also does not cover x-rays or gamma rays, or electromagnetic fields, such as microwaves and radio frequencies.EU member states will have four years to put the new rules into domestic law.
This is the fourth and last directive in a series of health and safety rules covering protection from so-called 'physical agents'. The previous directives covered vibrations, noise and electromagnetic fields.
HSE Update
Commencement Dates Confirmed
The HSE has confirmed in its latest Statement of Forthcoming Regulations in 2006 that the 2 ‘common commencement dates’ for domestic health and safety legislation will be the 6th April and 1st October, including legislation arising from Europe. The statement details changes to occupational health and safety law and practice scheduled for the next 12 months.
New HSE Websites
Noise and Vibration Presentation Material on HSE Website
The HSE has published the noise and vibration roadshow presentation material on its website. The presentations are available for viewing, downloading and printing but they cannot be altered.
HSE Leaflets, Books and Guidance
New Guidance on Employers’ Liability Insurance
The Health and Safety Executive has published a revised guidance leaflet - Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 Aguide for employers - HSE40 (rev1) 01/06 C800.
The guidance offers good practice suggestions, though not legal interpretation, and sets out to answer key questions and clarify common confusion about employers’ liability insurance.
HSE Campaigns
HSE Launches Workplace Transport Campaign
The Health and Safety Executive has launched a Workplace Transport Campaign, featuring awareness-raising adverts on independent local radio stations, with site and depot managers and drivers in mind.
HSE makes the point that it often doesn't take much organisation or money to put in place measures which can make a huge difference to people's working environment and even save lives. It says that this is particularly true for risks arising from the operation of workplace transport, which results in the loss of 70 lives each year and 205 serious injuries nationally.
'Good Order' Construction Campaign
The Health and Safety Executive Good Order Initiative commences in February with a programme of targeted inspections. Construction Division Inspectors will visit construction sites to establish how effectively the following issues are managed:
• Traffic/pedestrian segregation
• Procurement of materials to minimise storage
• Communication to site personnel of site policy for managing the movement and storage of materials and the removal of waste from work areas
National 'Watch Your Step' Campaign
February sees the HSE conducting its construction Watch Your Step national inspection initiative. The last campaign in October 2005 resulted in enforcement action at around 11% of the sites visited. Visiting inspectors will look for evidence of:
• Deliveries being planned to minimise the quantity of materials stored on site
• Systems for managing waste materials
• Footpaths, walkways, stairways safe to use and clear of obstructions
Downloadable campaign packs are available at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/slips/index.htm
In Court
Fire-walking Fine
Business services firm Deloitte has banned staff from walking on hot coals after a fire-walking incident at a staff confidence-building exercise.
A senior accountant burned her feet walking on hot embers, was taken to hospital and ended up taking a fortnight off work, after taking part in the exercise in a car park in Southwark, south London, reports the Times. In properly controlled conditions, fire-walking is supposed to be safe, and thousands of workers have done it. The accountant, however, had been given a pedicure a few days before the course and it is thought that some of the chemicals used had made her feet more sensitive to the heat. The motivational course was conducted by Si Group, a corporate development firm that has carried out fire-walking exercises for five years.
At Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court, Si Group was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £4,655 in costs after admitting that it had failed to carry out an adequate risk assessment.
Unguarded Band Saw
Newcastle Upon Tyne manufacturer WYKO Electro-Mechanical Services Ltd. has been fined£10,000, with £2,480 costs, after it admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The prosecution arose from an accident which occurred when an employee operated a band saw which was inadequately guarded and, as a result, lost several fingers.
Inadequate Guarding and Risk Assessment
DS Smith Packaging Ltd. of Louth, Lincolnshire, have been fined £75,000, with £13,200 costs, at Lincoln Crown Court for breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The prosecution arose from the death, in August 2004, of an employee in an industrial accident. The deceased worker was crushed in an inadequately guarded press when it suddenly activated whilst he was removing materials from it. The prosecution maintained that the accident was foreseeable and should have been prevented by the risk assessment process.
Compensation for Tripping Over Files
Insurance underwriter Linda Riley reached an out-of-court settlement having claimed £5,000 damages against Norwich Union parent company Aviva after she tripped and fell over a pile of accident claim forms.
Her writ claimed:
"The accident was caused through the fault of Aviva. It was its duty to take reasonable care for the safety of its employees and to avoid exposing them to unnecessary risk of injury. It was its duty to provide her with a safe system of work. It was its duty to ensure there was safe access and egress within the work premises. It was reasonable that if items such as files were left on a traffic route they would present a danger to persons such as Miss Riley. They ought to have known or anticipated an accident would be likely to occur. In each and all of their duties Aviva failed."
Ms. Riley claimed that £5,000 was a fair sum to act as compensation for the loss and injury she suffered as a result of the accident. The level of compensation she accepted, however, was not revealed in court yesterday.
Note: The information contained within this document is intended as a summary of selected items of health and safety news and information. As such, it is not offered or intended as complete, exhaustive and accurate reporting of such news and information. Safety4business accepts no responsibility for the completeness of the information, and no liability for actions resulting from it.
