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| LATEST
NEWS |
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain:
Strike threat over victimised safety rep
Around 2,500 Tube infrastructure workers at Metronet are to be
balloted for industrial action following the victimisation of
an RMT safety rep. RMT is also angry at the company’s “dangerous
plans” to reduce signals maintenance and attempts to impose
rosters.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Pakistan: The darker side of glittering
bangles
Behind Pakistan’s burgeoning glass bangles industry, is
a story of child labour, poverty, deprivation and hardship. An
occupational health and safety study in the industry commissioned
by the ILO highlighted the risks of working in proximity to the
furnaces used in the moulding and joining processes, and also
from toxic chemicals during coating and painting.
ILO
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)
• Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain:
Bonus scheme fingered in vibration case
A council roadworker who was forced out of his job aged 25 after
developing two related occupational diseases has received a £262,000
compensation payout. UNISON member Adrian Bideau, now aged 28,
developed Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS – also known
as vibration white finger) and carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful
repetitive strain injury, as a result of using vibrating tools
such as breaker packs, whacker plates and saws.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
India: Stressed Indians leave call
centres
A 23-year-old man, barely out of college, has been recovering
from a heart attack in hospital. According to a report on the
BBC News website, his doctor lays the blame with stress and odd
hours of work at a Mumbai call centre.
Who moved
my job? • More
on work-related heart attacks •
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Gloves off in vibrating tools
campaign
Urgent action to protect workers from Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome
(HAVS) is needed, with dozens of workers affected at one council
alone, public sector union UNISON has said. The union was speaking
out after securing £3,000 compensation for Joseph Beale,
a council worker from Bridgend; a Freedom of Information request
to Bridgend County Borough Council found that more than 40 staff
had developed the condition working at the council.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain:
Homicide charges call after tug tragedy
Clydeport should face culpable homicide charges relating to the
deaths of three tug crew, a top union official has said. Unite
Scottish secretary John Quigley called for immediate action after
the release this week of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s
(MAIB) report into the sinking of the Flying Phantom.
MAIB
report • Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Safer firefighters mean safer
communities
Firefighters’ union FBU is stepping up its campaign to protect
services. A lobby of the Westminster parliament on 12 November
will press for action on the safety of firefighters and the public.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Union victory for vicars
Church of England ministers are set to get the biggest improvement
in their terms of employment since the Reformation nearly 500
years ago. Clergy union Unite says the Church of England has conceded
for the first time that its ministers are employed by the Church
– and not by God.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Pilots warn of laser beam
crash risk
Airline pilots have warned a serious crash is “likely”
unless people are stopped from shining laser beams into the cockpits
of planes during landing. Balpa, the pilots’ union, said
beams dazzled pilots and users were “effectively playing
Russian roulette” with passengers' lives and could damage
pilots’ eyes.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: End asbestos ‘compensation
limbo’
Thousands of people with a condition caused by exposure to asbestos
during their working lives are stuck in 'compensation limbo' as
a result of a House of Lords ruling on negligence, according to
the union Unite. It wants the government to overturn a disastrous
2007 Law Lords’ ruling to end a 20 year right for pleural
plaques victims to receive compensation.
Unite
news release • Unite
submission • Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Association of Personal
Injuries Lawyers news release [pdf]
• Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Unions united on pleural
plaques
Unions have taken a common line on pleural plaques compensation
– the condition is caused by asbestos and caused by employer
negligence, so should be compensated.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Inquiry over mercury poisoning
An investigation is under way after workers at a West Yorkshire
recycling firm were exposed to mercury. The Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) said staff at Electrical Waste Recycling Co Ltd
in Huddersfield had been put at risk of mercury poisoning.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Australia: Hardie 'set out to mislead
investors'
Former directors and executives of Australian building giant James
Hardie issued inaccurate, misleading and deficient public announcements
about the company's ability to compensate asbestos victims, the
country’s corporate regulator has claimed. The Australian
Securities and Investments Commission this week launched its assault
on former Hardie directors and executives in the NSW Supreme Court,
which was overflowing with dozens of asbestos victims and their
supporters.
The
Australian plus follow
up story • Sydney
Morning Herald • Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: University radiation cancer
probe begins
An occupational health specialist is to investigate a possible
cancer cluster in a Manchester University building. Professor
David Coggon from the Medical Research Council will carry out
an independent review of health risks at the university's Rutherford
Building; the deaths from cancer of five people have been linked
with the building, which is where Nobel prize-winning nuclear
physicist Ernest Rutherford experimented with radon and polonium
in 1908.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Global: Unions say no more to transport
pressures
Transport workers are facing increasing pressures as a result
of attempts to speed up the movement of goods, a top global union
leader has said. ITF general secretary David Cockroft told delegates
at a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) conference
in Greece last month that pressure to deal with growing volumes
of international trade were translating into “intolerable
pressures” on transport workers.
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Call for tighter ship cargo
rules
Accident investigators have called for hazardous cargo on ships
to be more tightly regulated following the deaths of two seafarers
in the Channel. The pair suffocated when oxygen levels dropped
in a storage area of their vessel, the Sava Lake, in the Straits
of Dover in January this year.
MAIB
report • Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Inadequate training led to
forklift death
Two firms have been fined after a poorly trained worker was killed
when the forklift truck he was driving overturned. Shane Neal,
34, was killed on 2 May 2003 when he was crushed by a truck in
Hangar no.1 at the former RAF Cardington, Bedfordshire.
HSE
news release and workplace
transport webpages • Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Director banned for asbestos
crimes
A company director has been banned from running a firm for four
years after removing and transporting asbestos without a licence.
Robert McCart must also pay over £44,000 in fines, costs
and compensation after being prosecuted by the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA).
HSE
news release and asbestos
licensing webpages • Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Tories will ‘sweep
aside’ safety laws
Conservative plans for education that include “sweeping
aside” health and safety legislation have been condemned
by teaching union NASUWT. In a speech this week to the Conservative
Party’s Birmingham conference, shadow spokesperson for children,
schools and families Michael Gove said “we will act to give
teachers the power to take children beyond their comfort zone
by sweeping away absurd health and safety regulations which attempt
to squeeze all risk out of life.”
Speech
by Michael Gove MP • Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Toolkit to tackle retail
violence
The Health and Safety Executive has published an online toolkit
to help reduce the risk of work-related violence in licensed or
retail premises. The online resource and accompanying leaflet
provide a detailed backgrounder, and make welcome incursions into
common sense areas like union involvement and staffing levels
often missed in official safety guidance.
HSE
violence toolkit and summary leaflet [pdf]
• Risks 376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Health and safety and agency
workers
A new health and safety briefing from the union Unite provides
detailed guidance on health and safety and agency workers. There’s
a detailed summary of relevant health and safety law, too, and
how this relates to other employment laws. On top of this, there
are case histories, a listing of sources of further information,
a detailed checklist for union safety reps and a pin-up-at-work
‘make sure you’re protected’ poster to direct
workers to these reps.
Unite health and safety briefing: Focus on agency workers [pdf]
• Unite
agency workers campaign •
Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain:
NUJ launches major anti-stress campaign
Journalists’ union NUJ has launched a major campaign to
combat stress. The union says as media organisations continue
to cut back on investment in journalism, it has been receiving
increasing reports from members that pressures have become so
great they represent a risk to journalists’ health and safety.
NUJ
news release and campaign, Stressed
Out: Putting a stop to stress at work
• Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
South
Africa: Miners ‘dying like flies’
The horrific death rate in South Africa’s mines is seeing
workers ‘dying like flies’, unions have said. The
Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said 127 had died
already this year, adding it “fully supports the NUM’s
policy of downing tools every time a worker dies, as both a mark
of respect and a protest at the excessive loss of life.”
Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain: Scottish councils put school
kids at risk
Some Scottish councils risked children's safety by trying to open
schools when key members of staff were on strike this week. School
staff union UNISON said opening schools with untrained workers
covering fire and other health and safety situations had left
parents worried over whether or not they should send their children
to school.
Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain: Asbestos victims targeted
by ‘greedy’ insurers
A “greedy scheming” insurance industry is plotting
to deny asbestos victims their rightful compensation, according
to UCATT.
Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
India:
‘Devastating’ asbestos cancer epidemic looms
Record and rising asbestos imports to India will translate to
thousands of asbestos-related cancer deaths each year and are
already responsible for “a hidden epidemic,” according
to an expert report published this week. The authors say the report
exposes the Indian government's collusion with asbestos stakeholders
at home and abroad, and call for an immediate national ban on
all asbestos use.
IBAS
news release • India's
asbestos time bomb, September 2008 [pdf]
• Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain: Migrant detainees used as
cheap labour
Detainees at the Campsfield House immigration prison in Oxfordshire
are being “exploited for cheap labour” due to staff
cuts, a union organisation has revealed. Oxford and District Trades
Union Council said the rejected asylum seekers, who are locked
up for lengthy periods pending their deportation, are being paid
£5 for six-hour shifts of cleaning and kitchen work.
Corporate
Watch news report •
Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain:
Bosses jailed for fireball death cover-up
Two directors of a Dorset firm that broke criminal safety laws
leading to the death of an employee, then pressured staff to give
“false and erroneous evidence” to cover their tracks,
have been jailed along with an employee. Reliance Scrap Metal
Merchants (Parkstone) director David Matthews, was sentenced to
three years for perverting the course of justice, fellow director
Michael Anderson received 15 months, while employee David Lomas
was jailed for six months, after admitting the same charge.
Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain: Teenage exposure caused asbestos
tragedy
A Greater Manchester family has obtained £205,000 in compensation
after their dad was exposed to asbestos as a teenager. The granddad-of-seven,
whose name has not been released, died of the asbestos cancer
mesothelioma following exposure to the dangerous dust while working
during the 1950s for a company which became part of British Telecom
(BT).
Risks 375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain: Most workers turn in when
sick
Nearly threequarters (72 per cent) of UK employees go to work
despite feeling so ill they could legitimately stay at home, a
survey has revealed. The poll of 2,000 workers by medical insurance
provider Axa PPP healthcare indicated that reasons for this 'presenteeism'
was people saying they didn't want to let down their colleagues,
too much work and fear of losing their job.
Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain:
Corus in court again for safety failings
Steel maker Corus has been fined again for serious safety failings.
It the latest in a long sequence of prosecutions, the firm was
this week fined £15,000 at Hartlepool Magistrates’
Court and ordered to pay £6,248 costs after a crane operator
was crushed and seriously injured.
HSE
news release • Hartlepool
Mail • Northern
Echo •
More on recent
Corus deaths and prosecutions •
Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain: Leg loss costs firm £20,000
NYK Logistics has been fined £20,000 and £5,941 costs
after an admin worker lost her leg after being hit by a forklift
truck.
Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Global:
Warning sounds on mobile phone makers
Young workers are being exploited in Asia’s mobile phone
factories, facing hazardous conditions, exhausting hours and brutal
suppression of any dissent. A new report from labour rights campaign
MakeITfair says the electronics workers handle chemicals without
protective gear, work inhumane overtime hours to scrape a poverty
wage and are punished if they make mistakes.
MakeITfair
news release and Silenced to deliver report [pdf]
• Risks 375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain:
Unilever doesn’t care for workers’ skin
A UK multinational with a multimillion pound trade in skin care
products has been fined after trashing the skin of its own staff.
Unilever was ordered to pay £28,000 in fines and costs after
25 Merseyside workers contracted dermatitis.
Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain: Laundry fined after neck-trapping
incident
An Essex laundry has been fined £30,000 after an employee
was seriously injured when his neck and hands were trapped in
a conveyor. After pleading guilty to safety offences, Eastern
Counties Laundries Ltd, of Coggeshall, Essex was also ordered
to pay £15,000 costs at Colchester Crown Court.
Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Europe:
Campaigners target worst chemicals
A coalition of environmental, consumer and union safety organisations
has published a ‘Substitute It Now!’ list of ‘high
concern’ chemicals. The aim of the ‘SIN List’
is to speed up implementation of REACH, the new EU chemicals law,
by encouraging companies to make sound substitution decisions.
ETUI-REHS
news item • SIN
List 1.0 • ChemSec
• Substitution 1.0 – the art of delivering
toxic-free products [pdf]
• Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain: TUC guide to risk assessment
The TUC has produced a guide to risk assessment. It says the new
resource provides safety reps with the tools to ensure their employer
has done a suitable risk assessment and taken appropriate measures
to implement the measures required, and adds the guide “should
also help safety reps to challenge the employer if they do not
do a suitable assessment or do not act to remove the hazards identified
in the risk assessment.”
TUC
publication alert and TUC guide to risk assessment [pdf]
• TUC guide to inspections [pdf]
• Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain: Future of safety enforcement
conference
A major conference organised by the Centre for Corporate Accountability
(CCA) is to examine ‘The future of safety enforcement’.
The event, which is supported by the TUC, will take place in London
on 24 November.
The future of safety enforcement, Hamilton House, London, 24 November
2008. Cost: £50 (individuals/trade union representatives);
£100 (public bodies); £150 (lawyers, private companies);
£20 (unemployed). Conference
programme and registration
form • Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Language classes make workers
safer
Refuse workers in Brighton are being given English lessons in
a union-backed initiative that has led to a dramatic improvement
in safety. So many of the 400 staff at Brighton and Hove City
Council’s Hollingdean depot were being injured that bosses
and union officials teamed up to run the language classes; as
a result of the training, the accident rate has plummeted.
Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
USA: Experts slam work cancer ‘manslaughter’
The US authorities are doing little to protect workers from occupational
cancer and as a result are “bystanders to industrial manslaughter”,
top experts have warned.
SUNY
Downstate Medical Center news release • The
Record • Industrial carcinogens: A need for action [pdf]
• Contributions
to the President’s Cancer Panel are available on the CHE
website • Global
Unions zero cancer campaign • Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Campaign against ‘terrorising’
journalists
A national union campaign against the “terrorising”
of journalists by police has gained European support. The European
Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has said it is backing efforts
by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) to defend journalists
covering protests and demonstrations.
NUJ
news release and video • IFJ
news release • Marc
Vallée, photojournalist • Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Japan: Chinese ‘slaves’
injured in Japan
Female migrants from China’s Hubei province who were discovered
working in ‘slave-like’ conditions in a laundry in
Japan have been injured after trying to escape. The three injured
women, who worked 15 hours a day, seven days a week, were part
of a group of six who went to Japan in late 2005 through a Chinese
job agency and who believed they would be working in the garment
industry as skilled seamstresses.
Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Union action call after shootings
An armed attack on a security van in which a guard and a member
of the public were seriously injured has prompted a renewed call
from the union GMB for action to protect cash handling staff.
The security guard, who is a GMB member, was shot in the leg during
a raid at Tesco in Tring.
Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Australia: Trackers ‘drive employees
over edge’
Employers are fitting out company vehicles with invasive GPS tracking
systems despite claims the technology unnecessarily invades staff
privacy and contributed to the suicide of a telecommunications
engineer last year. One such tracker, the GoFinder Reporter, sends
employers detailed daily time sheets showing every stop made,
parked time, driving time, distance covered, maximum speed and
even an estimate of the amount of fuel used.
Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Report calls for focus on
‘good work’
A package of policies designed to create more ‘good jobs’
is needed to create healthier, more worthwhile jobs, a new report
has concluded. The Work Foundation’s ‘Good work’
report says the government cannot make serious progress towards
the reduction of health inequalities unless it has policies to
improve job quality for the most disadvantaged. The Work
Foundation news release •
‘Good work’: Job quality in a changing economy [pdf]
• Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Global: Insecure jobs have more health
problems
Workers who do not have job security develop more physical and
mental health problems compared to their full-time counterparts.
Research conducted by Dr Carles Muntaner from the Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto confirmed that job insecurity
can lead to anxiety and depression, which can then cause cardiovascular
and other physical ailments.
Risks
374
Hazards
news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Bootful of cement causes
burns
An Oxford building company has been fined £500 after one
of its employees sustained burns to his legs after wet concrete
poured into his Wellington boots. In addition to the fine, O'Brien
& McIntyre LLP was ordered at Stratford upon Avon Magistrates'
Court to pay £150 prosecution costs after pleading guilty
to breaching the Control of Substance Hazardous to Health Regulations
2002 (COSHH).
Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Boss escapes jail for silica
use
A company boss whose firm used deadly silica despite the process
being banned for 58 years has received a £26,000 fine but
has escaped jail. Andrew Thomson, trading as Thomson Sandblast,
of Great Harwood, was also ordered to pay £24,000 costs
and was told that magistrates had considered a custodial sentence.
Global
Unions cancer campaign • Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Trust fined for hospital
shock
A hospital trust has been fined after a cleaner suffered severe
injuries from an electric shock suffered as he operated a steam
cleaner. East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust pleaded guilty at Hastings
Magistrates’ Court and was fined £8,000 and ordered
to pay costs of £8,466.71 for breaching the Electricity
at Work Regulations 1989 and the Management of Health and Safety
at Work Regulations 1999.
Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Global: Revamped safety site for journalists
The International News Safety Institute (INSI) website has a new
look and a new address. It says: “The site provides guidance
for those covering international or local conflict, crime and
corruption, natural disasters and disease.”
INSI
website • Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Firm fined after ignoring
falls warnings
A Liverpool construction firm that ignored repeated stop work
alerts relating to unsafe work at height, even after a serious
injury to a site worker, has been fined £15,000. J&D
Property Services Limited was also ordered to pay £5,000
in costs after pleading guilty to two breaches of safety rules.
HSE
news release and falls
webpages • Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Sickness absence and disability
discrimination
The TUC has published an online ‘trade union negotiator's
guide to the law and good practice’ on sickness absence
and disability discrimination. It says ignorance of the detail
of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) remains widespread,
adding that unions have reported that employers are continuing
to get rid of disabled workers by using their sickness absence,
capability or other procedures, without taking due account of
the disability.
Sickness
absence and disability discrimination: A trade union negotiator's
guide to the law and good practice, TUC • Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain:
Tribunal win for safety conscious post workers
Postal workers’ union CWU has secured payouts from Royal
Mail for 27 workers who had their pay docked after taking part
in a safe work campaign. The 27 postal staff at London’s
Streatham delivery office had up to two days’ pay stopped
after participating in a CWU ‘Do the job properly’
campaign in August last year.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
USA:
Second consumer popcorn lung case
A second US man may have developed ‘popcorn lung’
as a result of microwave cooking and consuming bags of popcorn.
Larry Newkirk has been diagnosed with the sometimes fatal lung
disease called bronchiolitis obliterans.
Seattle
Post-Intelligencer • Hazards
diacetyl webpages • Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain: Unions reduce long hours
burden
UK workers still work the longest hours in Western Europe, but
UK unions have been particularly effective in winning shorter
hours for their members. A report last week from Eurofound - the
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working
Conditions - revealed that full-time employees in the UK put in
41.4 hours per week.
Eurofound
news release and full
report • Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain: Vulnerable workers need better
protection
Unions have called for a tranche of measures to provide better
protection for vulnerable workers. A motion from retail union
Usdaw agreed at the TUC Congress 2008 this week said there must
be effective enforcement of rights to protect vulnerable and agency
workers.
TUC
CoVE • Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Australia: Uniforms recalled after
adverse reactions
An Australian energy firm has recalled thousands of newly issued
flame-retardant uniforms after hundreds of workers complained
they made them sick, and high chemical levels were found. The
workers’ union, ETU, also reported that strong fumes emitted
when ironing the uniforms had caused some people to vomit.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain: Councils must learn asbestos
lessons
Construction union UCATT has warned local authorities they must
not weaken their asbestos removal procedures, in the wake of problems
experienced at a Doncaster firm. St Leger Homes has disciplined
a number of managers and suspended its chief executive after it
was discovered that contractors had been disturbing and removing
asbestos without being trained and without protective equipment.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain: Insurers face further asbestos
flak
An insurance industry bid to block a proposed Scottish law which
would reinstate the right to claim compensation for an asbestos-related
condition has attracted further criticism. Construction union
UCATT has added its condemnation of statements by insurers in
their efforts to evade payouts for pleural plaques, shadows on
the lung caused by asbestos exposure.
Scottish parliament Justice Committee’s Damages
(Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill webpage
• Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Canada: Inquiry call after mushroom
farm deaths
The head of the union umbrella organisation in the Canadian province
of British Columbia has called for an investigation into the deaths
of three mushroom farm workers. “We need a public inquiry
that's going to find out how we stop these deaths,” said
Jim Sinclair, head of the BC Federation of Labour.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain: Union vigil for killed site
worker
A minute's silence has been held in memory of a construction worker
who died after an horrific incident on a building site in Oxfordshire
last month. Altin Balla, 28, from Aberystwyth, died after he became
trapped by steel girders against his neck.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Australia:
Concern at paramedic drug exposures
An Australian ambulance union is calling for a commonly used pain
killer to be assessed for potential risks to paramedics. Ambulance
Employees Australia state secretary Steve McGhie said he had written
to Ambulance Victoria asking for a risk assessment into penthrane,
which it says has been banned in America due to concerns it may
be carcinogenic, and it is also no longer used by West Australian
paramedics.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain: Unions reach Olympic agreement
London 2012 and the TUC have agreed to continue to work together
for a safe Olympic and Paralympic Games with fair employment practices
and good industrial relations. The London 2012 Organising Committee
(LOCOG) and Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) announced this week
a set of overarching 'Principles of Cooperation' with the TUC.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain:
HSE passes on on-the-spot penalties
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has waived its right to
apply for new civil sanctions open to enforcement agencies under
the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill, which gained Royal
Assent at the end of July. The bill allows regulars to apply to
the minister for new powers to impose fixed monetary penalty notices
- on-the-spot fines, variable fines or enforcement undertakings,
legal agreements where the offender has to carry out specific
activities to improve health and safety.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain: Companies fined after crane
calamity
Two companies have been fined a total of £20,000 following
an incident at a Lancashire construction site that could have
ended in a multiple fatalities. The firms were prosecuted at Warrington
Magistrates’ Court after a 35 tonne truck-mounted telescopic
crane overturned.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain: Firms fined over animal
feeder deaths
Two Lanarkshire companies have been fined a total of £63,750
after two men were killed while cleaning an animal feeder which
started up unexpectedly. Hamilton Sheriff Court heard the deaths
of Charles Lee Hinshelwood and Peter Brown in 2005 could have
been avoided if the power supply had been isolated; Galloway and
MacLeod Ltd and Barr Electrical Contractors Ltd received penalties
reduced by 25 per cent after entering guilty pleas.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain:
Fine after second blast at Glaxo plant
Multinational drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline has been fined £50,000
after a second explosion at its Ayrshire factory – but received
the cut down fine because it pleaded guilty. Two workers suffered
serious burns and others were treated for shock after the blast
– but the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which says
bad publicity is part of the punishment facing errant firms, issued
no press release on the case.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain:
Death fall after protection was removed
A construction company has been fined £125,000 for health
and safety breaches after the death of a Polish worker. Witold
Jellen, 56, died in July 2007 after falling eight metres during
work to convert the former ABC cinema in Falkirk into a sports
bar – but the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which says
bad publicity is part of the punishment facing errant firms, issued
no press release on the case.
Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain: Small fine after big fall
A Hampshire company has been fined just £234 after an employee
was seriously injured in a workplace fall. Profile Construction
& Interiors Ltd, based in Alresford, pleaded guilty this week
at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court and was also ordered to pay
£200 costs and a victim surcharge of £15 for a breach
of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
HSE
news release and falls
webpages • Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain: Council guilty after school
asbestos blunder
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning employers they
must ensure all relevant employees are aware of the location of
asbestos in the workplace after a school caretaker was exposed
to hazardous dust. North Tyneside Council this week pleaded guilty
to five breaches of the asbestos regulations and was fined £17,005
and ordered to pay £3,911 costs.
HSE
news release and asbestos
webpages • Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Britain:
£75,000 fine after quarry worker dies
A quarry company has been fined £75,000 after a man died
at its plant in Cornwall. Robert Bickley, 42, died from head injuries
in July 2004 after he became entangled in the fixed guard on a
rock crushing machine – and the firm, Aram Resources Ltd,
was reprimanded by the judge after it tried to pin the blame on
the worker.
HSE
news release and quarrying
webpages • Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 6 September 2008
Britain: Leigh,
28, succumbs to asbestos cancer
The asbestos cancer mesothelioma has claimed the life of Leigh
Carlisle, 28. Leigh, who was featured in a global Zero Occupational
Cancer Campaign poster, died in hospital on 27 August, two years
after being diagnosed with the incurable condition.
Zero
Occupational Cancer Campaign website and poster
• Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain:
Overwork and stress are top work concerns
Overwork and stress are the top problems facing workers, according
to new TUC research. Its 'What workers want' report is based on
an extensive YouGov poll of more than 2,500 people at work in
Britain, and identifies safety as both a top three concern and
an action priority.
What workers want - an agenda from the workplace, for the
workplace, full report [pdf]
and poll figures [pdf]
• Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
USA: Toxic mine whistleblower wins
appeal
A federal review panel has ruled that a US government agency illegally
dismissed a manager overseeing the cleanup of a toxic mine site
for raising serious worker safety, radiation, air and water pollution
problems.
Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain: Safety must be built in to
housing plan
The government must demand that house builders directly employ
staff and train apprentices in return for new public money, a
construction union has said. The union says housebuilding is the
most casualised and dangerous construction sector and comprises
15 per cent of the industry.
Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
South
Africa: Doctors fired for diagnosing work
When specialist doctors diagnosed at least 10 cases of manganese-specific
chronic illnesses at a factory in Cato Ridge, the Assmang manganese
company dumped them “like hot potatoes”. Evidence
to a government enquiry revealed the firm then replaced them with
a new team of doctors that revised the diagnoses to suggest the
sick workers might be alcoholics, drug abusers or victims of Aids.
Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain:
Asbestos condition ‘is a good thing’ outrage
The trade union Unite has accused the insurance industry of fighting
a “virulent” campaign against recognition of the asbestos-related
condition pleural plaques. Insurance lawyers and MSPs clashed
at a Scottish parliament Justice Committee evidence session over
an insurance industry expert’s claim that pleural plaques
could be a “good thing” because they proved the body's
defences were working.
Scottish Parliament Justice
Committee Official Report, 2 September 2008 • The Herald
on the union
criticism and lawyer
attack • Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain: RMT action call on assaults
‘tidal wave’
Urgent action to stem a 'tidal wave' of violence against transport
workers has been demanded by the union RMT. The call came as the
union launched a campaign to establish an industry-wide code of
protection for workers in the rail, bus and ferry sectors.
RMT Charter for Protection of Transport Workers [pdf]
• Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
France:
Missing cases could cost 1bn euros
Official French statistics massively under-estimate the extent
of occupational accidents and diseases in the country, with tens
of thousands of cases missed each year. An expert report submitted
to the government in July estimated the cost of these unacknowledged
cases to the French health insurance system was between 565 million
and 1.015 billion euros a year.
Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain: More enforcement needed on
opencast sites
A union leader who represents opencast mining workers in Scotland
has called for a significant rise in the number of health and
safety inspectors to patrol what he describes as “the most
dangerous jobs in the country.” Jim Walls, a regional convener
was the union Unite, was speaking after Scottish Coal was fined
£400,000 for safety breaches in connection with the deaths
of two men killed in an accident at the Pennyvenie opencast mine
in Ayrshire.
Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain: Most workers won’t
blow the whistle
Fewer than one in every three workers would blow the whistle on
their employer if they broke health and safety laws, according
to the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). A
YouGov poll commissioned by IOSH found that only 28 per cent of
people would report their company or organisation to the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) if it was in breach of health and safety
legislation.
Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Australia: Sleepy shift workers on
crash course
Sleep-deprived shift workers are driving themselves to car crashes,
trauma surgeons and early graves. While only 14 per cent of Australians
are regular shift workers, they make up half the road trauma patients
treated at one hospital.
Herald Sun and related story on fatigued ambulance workers. Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain: BAE fined after worker badly
burned
A major munitions company has been fined £50,000 after a
21-year-old agency worker was severely burned when pyrotechnic
substances ignited. BAE Systems Land Systems (Munitions and Ordnance)
Ltd was also ordered to pay costs of £15,000 at Cardiff
Crown Court.
Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain: Demolition director done
for fall
A director of a Surrey demolition firm has been fined £5,000
after an electrician was seriously injured in a fall. Nicholas
Anderson was also ordered to pay £1,657 costs after pleading
guilty to a safety offence and Wooldridge Ecotec Ltd was fined
£15,000 and £4,971 costs.
Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Global:
Carbon nanotubes cancer review
Friends of the Earth Australia (FoEA) has released an overview
of the key studies investigating the potential for carbon nanotubes
to cause asbestos-like disease. FoEA says despite health concerns,
commercial use of carbon nanotubes is growing rapidly –
in sports goods, car and aeroplane parts, reinforced plastics
and electronics.
FoEA
publication note and full report, Mounting evidence that carbon
nanotubes may be the new asbestos [pdf]
• Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain: No-one is safe from asbestos
The recent mesothelioma deaths of a plumber’s wife, a TV
producer, an office worker and a railway worker demonstrates how
no-one can be considered entirely safe from asbestos.
Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain: End ‘insensitive’
treatment of meso families
Campaigners are calling for more considerate treatment for families
bereaved by the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. The British Lung
Foundation (BLF) says it has been approached by a number of families
who have been treated “insensitively”.
BLF
news release • Sign
the BLF petition to the Prime Minister • Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain: TUC response to health promotion
TUC has issued guidance for safety reps on health promotion initiatives
at work. It says ‘lifestyle’ initiatives introduced
by employers have their role, but says most of us spend most of
our waking hours at work in conditions created by the employer,
so employers should first make sure that work hazards are addressed.
Promoting
health at work: Guidance for safety representatives •
Related information: Hazards magazine ‘futile
exercise’ guide, safety
reps’ checklist and work
and health webpages • Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 30 August 2008
Britain:
Advice shortfall for vulnerable workers
Hard pressed employment advisers are struggling to meet the needs
of the UK's most vulnerable workers, a TUC report has revealed.
The news comes as the government is seeking to reduce safety enforcement
cover to many of the sectors identified in the report as particularly
badly affected by employment abuses.
CoVE
research webpages • Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
USA: OSHA fiddles while workers die
A top US union safety official has accused the government of fiddling
workplace death figures. Workplace fatalities figures released
last week showed a 6 per cent fall in 2007, but a union official
says the government had wrongly attributed the fall to its business
friendly policies.
Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: Millions now ‘jittery
about their jobs’
More than 3.3 million workers, 13 per cent of the workforce, are
not confident they will still be in their job in a year’s
time, according to a new YouGov poll commissioned by the TUC.
Workers in medium sized businesses are the least confident with
18 per cent of staff in firms with 50 to 249 workers saying they
are not confident of being in their jobs in a year, compared to
12 per cent in big workplaces (more than 1,000 employees).
Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Thailand:
Paralysed migrant worker fights for victims
A migrant worker seriously injured on a Thai construction site
is challenging the country’s compensation agency for denying
compensation to migrant workers. Nang Noom Mai Seng, 37, this
week started a Supreme Court legal action against the Social Security
Office's (SSO) continued refusal to provide her accident compensation
from the Workmen's Compensation Fund (WCF).
Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: Injury costs care assistant
her job
A care assistant who was hurt whilst lifting a resident at a residential
care home in Darlington has been awarded £8,000 compensation
from her former employer after losing her job as a result of the
injury.
Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
South Africa: Mine union protest at
rash of deaths
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa has said
a rash of deaths at mining giants AngloGold and AngloPlatinum
are pivotal proof that the country is in need of rigid safety
regulations. The spate of fatalities came earlier this month,
in the same week the Chamber of Mines lobbied against tougher
criminal penalties and corporate liability for workplace safety
crimes during public hearings of the proposed Mine Health and
Safety Amendment Bill
Risks 371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: RMT condemns Tube’s
‘cavalier’ attitude
London Underground union RMT has condemned the company’s
“cavalier” attitude to safety after it emerged that
23 passengers, including a child, were trapped in a lift at Elephant
and Castle station for nearly an hour-and-a-half on Friday night,
22 August. The union says the passengers' ordeal, which began
at around 21.30pm, was prolonged unnecessarily because “inexperienced
and inadequately trained managers” were drafted in to replace
striking station staff.
Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Nepal:
Union victory for murdered bus driver
A planned national strike by transport workers in Nepal was called
off after the government agreed to provide the family of a murdered
bus driver with compensation. On 16 August, after eight days of
strike action, the government and unions agreed on a six-point
plan, which includes providing the family of Khawas with 1 million
Nepalese rupees (£7,800) and arranging free education for
his children; as part of the agreement, the government also agreed
to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice and to step
up security for transport workers, particularly along highways.
Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: Angry asbestos activists
doorstep ministers
Asbestos activists have taken their campaign for justice for workers
with pleural plaques directly to the seats of two prominent Cabinet
ministers. The two constituencies targeted on 29 August were the
Blackburn seat of justice secretary Jack Straw and the Leeds Central
constituency of environment secretary Hilary Benn.
UCATT news releases on the actions at Hilary
Benn’s and Jack
Straw’s constituencies. Building • Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: New bank holiday would benefit
businesses
Nearly one million UK businesses could benefit from a new bank
holiday with workers also benefiting from improved health and
well-being, according to a new TUC report. TUC is calling for
a ‘Community Day’ bank holiday in late October “to
celebrate and encourage volunteering and community activity.”
Community
Day campaign • Why the UK can afford a Community Day,
TUC report [pdf]
• Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain:
Call to link safety fines to share price
A simple change in the law to vary the powers open to Scottish
judges in cases of death or injury at work could dramatically
change the climate of corporate responsibility, a member of the
Scottish parliament has said. SNP MSP Bill Wilson this week launched
a consultation on a proposed Member's Bill to allow judges to
fine companies on the basis of their share price rather than their
running costs, and to give courts the power to scrutinise company
books.
Bill
Wilson MSP news release and Criminal Sentencing (Equity Fines)
Bill – consultation [pdf]
• The
Herald • Press
and Journal • The
Scotsman • Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: Scottish Coal fined over
deaths
Scottish Coal Company Ltd has been fined £400,000 for health
and safety breaches over the deaths of two miners in Ayrshire.
It admitted failing to ensure a safe system of working at Pennyvenie
open cast mine near Dalmellington.
Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: Site boss denies teen manslaughter
A building site boss has appeared in court to deny the manslaughter
of a 15-year-old Essex boy crushed to death at work. Adam Gosling,
from Latchingdon, was killed during the demolition of a brick
wall at the site in Hadley Wood, Enfield, on 23 April last year.
Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Global:
Social injustice is a major killer
Social factors including poor working conditions are to blame
for huge variations in ill-health and life expectancy around the
world, an international commission has concluded. The World Health
Organisation (WHO) convened commission’s report identified
poor work as major contributory factor to health inequities.
WHO news release and Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity
through action on the social determinants of health, WHO
report webpages • Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: Firm fined after groin injury
A Lincoln firm has been fined after a worker suffered a severe
groin injury while moving a 96 kilogram oven. Catering equipment
manufacturer Lincat Limited was fined £19,400 and ordered
to pay £4,800 costs at Lincoln Magistrates Court after pleading
guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and two
contraventions of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations.
HSE
news release and manual
handling assessment guide • Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain:
Action against rogue gangmasters soars
The number of gangmasters whose licences have been revoked has
soared. Figures released this week by the Gangmasters Licensing
Authority (GLA) reveal from April to mid-August 2008, 22 gangmasters’
licences were revoked; this compared to 33 in the 2007 financial
year, and 15 in 2006.
GLA news release [pdf]
• Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: The asbestos industry’s
deadly lies
The deaths of tens of thousands of UK workers from asbestos disease
was not an unanticipated tragedy, but resulted from a sophisticated
political and public relations campaign to prolong the use of
the deadly fibre.
New
Statesman • Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: Payout plans for injured
officers
Proposals that would dramatically increase payouts to ‘totally
disabled’ police officers but that could see many injured
officers lose out have been announced by the government.
Review of Police Injury Benefits • Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: Police fear officer death
charge
Police bosses in Manchester have set up a £1m ‘contingency
fund’ to pay for possible fines and legal costs after an
officer was shot dead by a colleague during a training session,
according to a report by the Manchester Evening News (MEN). A
probe by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, with support
from the Health and Safety Executive, is expected to identify
a series of blunders which led to the death in June of Pc Ian
Terry.
Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
Britain: TUC Organising at Work guide
It’s unions that brought you the weekend, safer workplaces,
shorter hours, better wages and leave entitlements and greater
equality at work. But winning and maintaining better working conditions
is only a possibility if people are organised – and that
means unions recruiting new members and increasing the effectiveness
of organised workplaces.
Organising at work - Building stronger unions in the workplace
[pdf]
• Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 23 August 2008
USA:
How manufacturing doubt kills workers
It happens all the time. When a study is published linking a workplace
chemical to serious disease, a scientist working for the industry
disputes the finding. Writing in the current issue of Hazards
magazine, US academic David Michaels reveals industry has taken
its lead “directly from the tobacco industry’s playbook”,
employing the same tactics and the same public relations firms.
Spin
cycle: Product defence – how industry money protects killer
chemicals, Hazards magazine, August 2008 •
Project
on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP)
Doubt
is their product: How industry's assault on science threatens
your health, David Michaels, Oxford University Press,
2008. ISBN: 978-0-19-530067-3, £14.99 (hardback) •
Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain:
Work asthma caused mental problems
Electrical engineer Mark Lawrence has been awarded £100,000
– more than six times the original offer - after he developed
occupational asthma which led to a psychiatric disorder. The Unite
member was working for Lydmet Limited, now Federal Mogul Camshafts
Limited, when he experienced shortness of breath at work in April
2001.
Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Canada:
How to kill a UN convention
It's not every day that Canada gets to kill a UN convention. Writing
in the Toronto Star, one of Canada’s most respected newspapers,
Kathleen Ruff reveals that with the Rotterdam Convention, which
controls trade in the world's most hazardous chemicals and pesticides,
Canada is coming close to achieving this result.
Toronto Star article
by Kathleen Ruff and editorial
backing a ban and just transition •
Rightoncanada.ca
• Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Council staff ‘too
scared’ to go sick
Workers at Coventry City Council are scared to call in sick because
of a “draconian” sickness and “health at work”
policy, according to a trade union official. UNISON’s Sarah
Ferguson, quoted in the Coventry Telegraph, said one union member
even cancelled a medical appointment because they were too frightened
to take time off to attend.
Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: CWU demands dog attack law
The postal workers’ union is pressing for a change in the
law to help reduce the number of dog attacks on delivery staff.
CWU said up to 6,000 out of 70,000 staff were attacked each year,
some seriously and added the Dangerous Dogs Act is not offering
protection, because of extreme difficulties prosecuting owners
of dogs that attack on private land.
Risks 370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Union delivers the truth
on post perils
Postal union CWU has condemned a media over-reaction to Royal
Mail’s safety-based decision to suspend postal services
to the North Yorkshire village of Booze. CWU national health and
safety officer Dave Joyce said: “Five years ago we ended
up with 40,000 accidents a year, 8,000 of them serious, 25,000
road accidents and 250,000 days lost annually because of accident
related sick leave.”
You
and Yours webpages • Risks 370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Action plan cuts cash van
attacks
A partnership between the police, the security industry and the
union covering the security sector has led to a dramatic fall
in attacks on cash vans, latest figures suggest. British Security
Industry Association statistics “show that the proactive
partnership work between the Home Office, Police, the GMB trade
union, and the banking, retail and security industries to reduce
cash-in-transit crime is continuing to bring results,” GMB
said.
BSIA/GMB campaign to reduce cash-in-transit crime •
Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Nursery nurse gets back payout
A nursery nurse from Newcastle has secured £75,000 damages
following a serious back injury at work. Gillian Scott, 42, a
member of UNISON, was working at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria
Infirmary when the contents of a box slipped as she was placing
it in a cupboard, causing her to fall against the door which sprung
back on her.
Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Electrician gets £250,000
for back injuries
A Unite member working as a contract electrician has been awarded
£250,000 for the back injuries he sustained when he fell
at a Tarmac site in 2003. Union law firm Rowley Ashworth rejected
the insurer’s offer of contributory negligence to agree
liability on a 75:25 split in favour of the member and issued
court proceedings; instead, a final settlement of £250,000
was achieved three weeks before the scheduled trial.
Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Asbestos cancers lead to
six figure payouts
An asbestos cancer widow and a worker diagnosed with the same
incurable disease have both received £190,000 payouts.
Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Trust fined for ‘appalling
mismanagement’
‘An appalling catalogue of mismanagement’ at Boston's
Pilgrim Hospital has resulted in a hospital Trust paying out £18,500
in safety fines. Boston Magistrates’ Court was told how
necessary safety measures relating to the use of glutaraldehyde,
a chemical used to develop film in x-ray machines, had not been
in place.
HSE
news release and COSHH
webpages • Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Company director jailed for
manslaughter
Company director Sharaz Butt, 44, has been jailed for 12 months
for manslaughter and barred from being a company director for
five years after a Chinese builder died while working for him.
Alcon Construction employee Wu Zhu Weng was pronounced dead at
the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital after the fall in
January this year.
Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Scrapyard perjurers cleared
of manslaughter
Dorset firm Reliance Scrap Metal Merchants (Parkstone), where
bosses broke criminal safety laws leading to the death of an employee,
then pressured staff to give “false and erroneous evidence”
to cover their tracks, has been found not guilty of manslaughter.
Thomas Mooney, 64, was helping to cut cylinders of highly dangerous
gases when an acetylene cylinder exploded at the site in Poole,
Dorset, in 2005.
Dorset
Police news release • Morpeth
Herald • BBC
News Online • Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Firms fined for ‘preventable’
death fall
Two firms have been fined more than £100,000 for the “entirely
preventable” death of a Midlands worker and father of two
who fell more than 20ft from a tower scaffold. Darren Handley,
36, died in October 2004. Smethwick-based Spanclad Ltd and its
principal contractor, Derby-based Westminster Building Co Ltd
were both fined at Northampton Crown Court earlier this month
for breaching health and safety laws.
Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Small fine after three are
seriously hurt
A Wolverhampton scaffolding firm has been fined £3,300 after
an incident in which three workers were seriously hurt. Pedley
Scaffolding was also ordered to pay costs of £5,318 at Stafford
Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to safety breaches.
HSE
news release and construction
and falls
webpages • Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Women killed by asbestos
dust
The recent cancer deaths of two women highlight the risks posed
by asbestos even to those in non-industrial jobs.
Norwich Evening News. Nottingham Evening News •
Risks 370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
China: Coal mine explosion kills 26
C | |
