H&S News January 2007

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Rochester Motor Co has been fined £10,000 with £28,000 costs, in the first prosecution for exposure to vibration.  Despite medical warnings of early stage VWF, employee Martin Bennett was required to use hand-held power tools at a daily usage of around double the recommended exposure set by HSE. 

The Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Bill has had its first and second readings in the House of Lords.  It is set to go before a Grand Committee early this year and could be enacted in the summer.

According to an HSC report, improved H&S in the workplace has saved at least 5,000 lives since the HASAWA 1974.  However, the 212 deaths and 30 million days lost in 2005/6 shows there is still “much more work to do”.

Findings from the EWCS show that the number of European workers who consider their H&S to be at risk due to their work has dropped from 31% in 1991 to 27% in 2005.

Cadbury Ltd paid £20,000 in out-of-court settlement to the family of mesothelioma sufferer, William Webster.  In a separate case, the widow of Ronald Sharp is suing Rank Film Productions following the death of her husband from mesothelioma. 

A best practice OH management standard is due to be published this month, based on the experience of the pilot CBH project in Leicester.  The project included initiatives such as toolbox talks and voluntary health checks.

Following the Buncefield incident, the HSE is due to consult on how it needs to modify the advice it gives to planning authorities on proposed developments around hazardous sites.

Pin Croft Dyeing and Printing Co Ltd fined £100,000 plus costs of £18,895 over an incident in which employee, Daryl Lloyd, was killed by a tow tractor.  No seat belt, cab door missing, insufficient training.

TJ Morris Ltd fined £20,000 and costs of £10,000.  Woman left hanging from the chains of a goods lift after metal plate on which they were standing gave way while attempting to hand-wind the lift with a colleague, who fell 30 feet onto roof of lift. 

Gulliver’s World fined £80,000 plus £90,000 costs after the death of 14-year-old disabled teenager, Salma Saleem, on one of its rides in July 2002.  Deficiencies in design and maintenance of ride, lack of RAs and training.
(We have previously reported on the other two incidents)

Recent legislative and other developments in the area of work-related driving and occupational road risk. (Michael Appleby)

What carbon dioxide is, how it can affect your business, and how practitioners can practicably reduce uncomfortable levels. (Julie Bennett)

The importance of establishing and maintaining H&S competencies within the workplace continues to grow.  How to adopt a systematic approach to the development and delivery of bespoke training programmes. (Rob Cooling)

A company vehicle is likely to be the most dangerous piece of equipment an employee is given to operate in the course of their work.  The case for better regulation - governmental and employer-enforced - of occupational drivers’ eyesight. (Adrian Taylor)

Workplace Health Connect, delivered in partnership with and managed by HSE, has received over 3800 calls since its launch in February 2006.  The service, which recently delivered its 1500th workplace visit, offers free health, safety and return to work advice. 

Asbestos-related disease accounts for over 3500 deaths a year, making it the UK’s biggest work-related killer.  Although the use of asbestos was banned in 1999, it is estimated that more than half a million non-domestic premises and thousands more houses still contain asbestos.

The third edition of HSE’s popular H&S starter pack is now available.  It has been designed to provide a low cost, comprehensive introduction to H&S for new and small businesses.

Photo Me International plc fined £100,000 and £30,000 costs.  Liam Osborne, HSE inspector, has been awarded a Crown Court Certificate of Commendation.  The judge, his Honour Simon Darwall-Smith, cited the investigation as 'tenacious' and 'thorough'.

New risk management guidance for schools is to be launched to address teachers' concerns about litigation in the event of accidents on educational visits.

The importance of assessment and training for people who drive as part of their job is stressed in new guidance from RoSPA.

A dedicated programme to reduce sickness absence in the fire service as a result of back pain/injury has led to a fall in staff absence from 100 days down to 20 days in its first year.

Hearing damage and psychological problems are the two major long-term health consequences (apart from the results of serious blast injuries) reported by people who took part in a study following the London bombings in July 2005.

A new campaign has been launched to help the country's 3.7 million businesses, including nearly 200,000 pubs, bars, restaurants and other leisure outlets, prepare for the implementation of the smoking ban on 1st July.

RoSPA is calling for health professionals to be given specific training in spotting the early signs of CO poisoning.

Royal Mail has announced it is to equip its 70 major mail-processing plants with £8 million pounds worth of anti-terrorist detection equipment to detect any contaminated packages and letters.

Elimination is always the number one option in the risk control hierarchy, which is all very well in a factory where the risk may be a trip hazard arising from cables.  But if the trip hazard is a mountain or cliff, elimination is not always the practical option.  (Nick Cook)

Every year around 5,000 workers are injured when using machinery as part of their job.  In 2005/06, there were 23 fatalities.  Employers, manufacturers and machinery suppliers all have legal duties to ensure the equipment is operating safely. (Edward Hodson)

Each year in the UK, over one million employees experience levels of noise which put their hearing at risk.  179,000 of these will experience severe impairment.  (Elizabeth Gates)

Is a merger of the HSC and the HSE simply an efficiency move or is it a rejection of the social dialogue model that has underpinned H&S for so long? (Roger Bibbings)

The HSC has revealed that last year approximately two million people claimed they had job-related illnesses.

Building inspectors are warning companies to take extra precautions during projects involving tower cranes, following several serious incidents on sites.

Ergonomic measures to reduce the risks of musculoskeletal problems among staff can provide substantial financial benefits for firms, reveals new study, Better Backs.

During RoSPA Scotland's Safety and Health at Work Congress this year the Society relaunched its Going Public on Performance website (GoPOP).

Five different parties, Elmsgold Haulage Ltd and MD John McSweeney, Excavation & Contracting (UK) Ltd (Principal Contractor) and former MD Bernard O'Sullivan, and Elmsgold Haulage's site foreman Dennis O'Connor fined £87,000 and £57,228 costs.  Elmsgold Haulage employee, David Moran, fell eight metres to his death when he stepped on a fragile roof light in 2002.  No safe system of work, inadequate training and supervision.

Droylsden company, Centura Foods Ltd, fined £60,000 and £5,724 costs.  Employee Margaret Shaw was hit by a reversing forklift truck on the Manchester site, suffering severe injuries to her left leg and ankle.

The HSE's NII has granted consent for the re-start of the THORP facility at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant.

New guidance has been published on the arrangements that have been developed to assess generic designs for any new nuclear power stations that may potentially be built in the UK.

The HSE has served a Prohibition Notice on Falcon Crane Hire Ltd of Norfolk requiring them to take out of service all tower cranes in their fleet which have not had a thorough examination by an independent competent person.

Public opinion on plans to modernise the structure of Britain’s H&S authority is being sought by the HSC.

Festival Fireworks UK Ltd fined £1,000 under its previous name, Sussex Fireworks and Displays.  The Sussex fireworks firm whose depot exploded killing two firemen, Brian Wembridge and Geoff Wicker, were fined for storing explosives without a licence.

Those responsible for London’s 2012 Olympics have promised that H&S will be the ‘number one priority’.

Maintaining Britain’s high-speed roads is a risky business so the Highways Agency is bringing in the latest technology to help protect workers.

Lee Smith, employee of Premier Storage, fined £1,000 for an accident involving horseplay with a forklift truck that left teenagers, Timothy and Stephen Whitton seriously injured.

Cementation Foundations (Skanska) Ltd fined £100,000 plus £32,607 costs.  Banksman David Clark was crushed when a piling rig collapsed on him.  Poor maintenance.

Former RJ Crompton plant in Lydney escaped with a £200 fine for the death of Dean Thomas.  Investigations into the death uncovered ‘crucial failings’ in RA.

Aggregate Industries and Tripod Crest fined £25,000 each plus costs of over £9,000 to split.  Stephen Bood was painting lines on a road surface when driver William Bartlett reversed over him, shattering his leg and hip bones.  No banksman for guidance, no warning bell.

Thomas Powley and Son Ltd fined £3,500.  Arthur Graham killed and Brian Rielly injured when a wall collapsed as they were building a slurry pit.  No safe system of work.

Portal Power fined £10,000, £4,000 compensation and £607 costs.  Stephen Edkins fell through a fragile roof light while dismantling a warehouse.  Taken on after ten-minute interview, no formal training.

The HSE has issued special advice to anyone operating skip lorries.  The warning comes after three recent incidents in which conventional bin type skip lorries have ‘run away’ when lifting skips on slopes.

Abusive patients in the A and E department at the Royal Bolton Hospital could face on-the-spot fines under a new pilot scheme to reduce the number of violent incidents towards hospital workers.

The RCP has found that one-in-six junior doctors has had a road accident in the last two years.  The College is calling for shorter shifts, saying exhaustion from working long hours is increasing doctors’ risk of accidents when commuting.

The public have a vital role to play in driving down infection rates within the NHS, beginning with simple procedures such as proper hand washing.  (Andy Kerr)

Retail union Usdaw has issued a ‘Checkout Checklist’ to help till operators avoid back pain.

A study by SOMO has revealed that workers making mobile telephones in Asia for leading companies are being poisoned.  No proper H&S protection.

A trial of magnifying window lenses to address lorry ‘side-swiping’ accidents is being conducted in south east England.  The Fresnel lenses offer drivers of left-hand vehicles a wider field of vision through the passenger window.

Poor fire safety management is once again to blame for a series of care home fires.  (Rupert Gilbey)

Craig Dugdale of Throstle Nest Mill fined £2,450 for a series of fire safety failures in one of the last prosecutions under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. 

The need for good fire safety management in healthcare premises.  (Ken Bullas)

Given the delays that fire departments face in responding to emergency calls, isn’t it time that residential sprinklers were made mandatory?  (Don Pamplin)

The threats to public safety posed by hazardous materials - and the steps responders are taking - were outlined at the Hazmat 2006 conference.

New research from the FPRF has cast doubt on how effective the high frequency alarm signal typically used in smoke alarms is at waking people.

Spire Homewares Ltd fined £50,000 and £19,798 costs after machine operator Darshan Panesar’s hand was crushed while checking the machine’s parts.  Inadequate safety maintenance system.

After seven years the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have decided to go ahead with the controversial REACH directive.  The directive will affect 30,000 substances and comes into force this June.

Safety campaigners have stepped up their calls for the Corporate Manslaughter Bill to be amended after ministers again ruled out the possibility of introducing individual liability for company directors.

Katsouris Fresh Foods has been given an HSE Improvement Notice after employee Dimple Mulgi severed her finger.  Inadequate guarding of machinery.  Eighth enforcement notice Katsouris has received since 2000.

A recent HSE inspection ‘blitz’ of construction sites across the Borders region of Scotland led to action being taken in one of every three visits.

New research has revealed that only a quarter of companies with more than 250 employees are currently reporting on H&S issues.

Safety campaigners, trade unions and employer organisations have called for an end to the ‘unremitting and unfounded criticism’ of the HSE.

Drain Busters (NW) Ltd fined £16,000 and £5,508 costs after pensioner Patrick O’Regan was paralysed by falling 18 feet down a manhole.  No formal training for ensuring suitable barriers around hazards.

Magnet Ltd fined £8,000 and £1,259 costs after employee Brian Moran injured his hand while operating a rotating circular saw.  Faulty safety mechanism, no maintenance system for work equipment.

Christopher Lucas, who traded as Four Seasons Double Glazing, was fined £15,000 for the death of Steven Sinclair.  Lucas hired Sinclair who fell over a window ledge, 36 feet to the ground.  Window ledge too low, no safety harness.

Migrant workers can be among the most productive and hard-working of any staff, but safety managers may feel that to employ them is to take on a risk.  (Jeremy Bevan)

The HSE estimates that as many as 3,000 people a year develop asthma as a result of exposure to harmful substances at work.  The steps employers can take to prevent this.  (Paul Nicholson)

Chemical suppliers have a legal duty to provide information on the hazards posed by their products in the form of safety data sheets.  However, this data should not be relied upon when deciding on chemical safety precautions.  (Chris Packham)

With the HSC recently lowering the exposure limit for silica dust, the trade union Amicus is calling on employers to take action to reduce exposure to the substance.  (Bud Hudspith)

Fire authorities and local councils throughout the UK will be putting new joint enforcement schemes to the test this year as the Government attempts to ease administrative and legal requirements for businesses.

Updated guidance on the European directive dealing with the supply of biocides is now available in a local authority circular.

European Commissioners have adopted a new strategy for the use of pesticides that complements existing rules on which chemicals can be sold in the EU.

The new Control of Asbestos Regs, which replace three sets of UK regs, prohibit the importation, supply and use of all forms of asbestos.  Workers should benefit from reduced exposure limits and mandatory training.

A study by the H&S Laboratory has shown that presses or conveyors were implicated in half the machinery accidents notified under RIDDOR in 2003/4.

Thermoluminescence dosemeters will be supplied to people working with radiation as part of the Health Protection Agency’s plan to update its dosimetry service.

Businesses are working with health professionals to bring down the incidence of job-related skin problems.  The ‘It’s in your hands’ campaign warns people about the risks involved in using hazardous chemicals and wet working.

Guidelines for young workers and their employers are available from a website set up by RoSPA in response to the EU’s campaign to protect inexperienced and vulnerable staff.