Archive News
2023
December 2023
The HSE has reminded employers that temperatures in indoor workplaces are covered by the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. The Approved Code of Practice suggests the minimum ‘reasonable’ temperature should normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius, or at least 13 degrees Celsius for work involving rigorous physical effort:
Staffordshire-based lift maintenance company Lift Monitoring Systems Ltd has been fined £200,000 after an employee died while working on a goods lift at a factory run by Muller Yogurt and Desserts:
Comprehensive analysis ranking 38 member states of the OECD according to the environmental impact of their waste management has been published:
sensoneo.com/global-waste-index/. The UK comes 18th. The report also draws attention to the fact that high recycling rates for plastic waste are misleading as the number is taken from the volume of waste that arrives at the recycling plants, but not everything is recycled through material recovery.
A look at how the European waste industry is preparing for the challenge of recycling millions of discarded e-vehicle batteries, and the revision of the EU Battery Directive:
The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) is launching a new series of occupational hygiene qualifications as part of a significant overhaul of pathways into the profession:
Cider manufacturers H Weston and Sons Ltd of Ledbury has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and fined £1.4 million plus £26,756.50 in costs after a driver was killed by a horizontal security barrier:
The HSE has issued an Improvement Notice to Apache North Sea Ltd after finding nearly 26,000 hours of safety-critical maintenance work left outstanding across seven Apache North Sea platforms:
On 30 November 2023, Directive (EU) 2023/2668 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 November 2023 amending Directive 2009/148/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work was published in the Official Journal of the EU:
The HSEs annual statistics on work-related ill health and workplace injuries report that of the 1.8 million UK workers suffering from work-related ill health, 875,000 said they had suffered stress, depression or anxiety; 473,000 were suffering from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder; there has been 2,268 mesothelioma deaths due to past asbestos exposures; and 135 workers killed in work-related accidents.
Entry is now open for The Safety & Health Excellence Awards. Free to enter, the deadline is 16 February 2024. The winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony at the NEC Birmingham on 1 May 2024:
she-awards.com/award-categories
November 2023
A report from Advance Market Analytics shows strong growth in the Environmental Health and Safety Market between 2022 and 2027. The report covers EHS Software:
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) explain why the King’s Speech failed to include societal wellbeing legislation that would deliver decent living and working conditions. They highlight seven key measures - ‘The Secret Seven Go Missing’:
A landmark scientific article, ‘Work-related causes of mental health conditions and interventions for their improvement in workplaces’, presents sound epidemiological evidence based on large-scale international cohort studies that adverse working conditions contribute to an increased risk of onset of depressive disorders:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a warning to Stena Drilling of Aberdeen relating to potential risks of legionella bacteria exposure on its Stena Don installation:
www.energyvoice.com HSE guidance on Legionella and legionnaires' disease is here: www.hse.gov.uk
KPMG has released its 2023 Net Zero Readiness Report. It concludes that governments and industry are hamstrung by significant barriers to delivering transformative change on net zero, including global public debt, domestic tensions, increased opposition to decarbonisation plans, and the need to guarantee energy supply:
Electric vehicles (EVs) may reduce emissions, but the lithium-ion batteries on which they run pose a unique sustainability challenge. Here are five innovators working on making them more sustainable:
An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) report on Preventing Fire and/or Explosion Injury from Small and Wearable Lithium Battery Powered Devices:
On 25 October ACAS launched a consultation on a draft Code of Practice on handling flexible working requests, which is intended to sit alongside the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023. The consultation ends on www.acas.org.uk. ACAS has also launched a “Flex at Work” toolkit which includes guidance, resources and training to support the implementation of the Act: www.acas.org.uk/flexible-working
A survey by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has revealed that more than two-thirds of neurodiverse workers have not told their current employer about their condition. It is estimated that as many as one in seven people are neurodiverse, with conditions including ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia:
iosh.com/news/two-thirds-of-workers-won-t-disclose-neurodiversity-to-bosses. IOSH webinars on neurodiversity are free to view on YouTube: iosh.com/health-and-safety-professionals/improve-your-knowledge/events/webinars/webinar-recordings/#neurodiversity
October 2023
If you are a ‘Responsible Person’ on whom duties are imposed under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, find out what new responsibilities you have as the result of amendments made to the Fire Safety Order by Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022. These new requirements came into force on 1 October 2023:
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has opened entries to its flagship Health and Safety Awards. Award categories include: Industry Sector Award, Achievement Award, Fleet Safety Award and Leisure Safety Award:
Bin Busy Recycling Limited, of Erith, Kent, has pleaded guilty to breaches of Regulation 9(3) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 after a worker was fatally crushed in July 2019:
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there were an estimated 1 million serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs) in 1999 and 2.78 million in 2017. It is a global problem overly represented in agriculture, construction, forestry, fishing/hunting, manufacturing, mining, and transportation/warehousing. Dr. Dom Cooper investigates:
From 6 April 2024, it will become law for all businesses, charities and public sector organisations in Wales to sort their waste for recycling. It also applies to all waste and recycling collectors and processors who manage household-like waste from workplaces:
Workplace recycling | GOV.WALES
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued its second warning in six months to the offshore oil and gas sector in the wake of the investigation into an incident involving 50-year-old Jason Thomas. The worker went missing from the Valaris 121, 100 miles off Aberdeen, during a rig move in January. It is believed he fell through a hole in the deck arising from a dislodged grating:
Crediton Dairy Ltd, of Crediton, admitted two charges under the 2012 Control of Asbestos Regulations and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 relating to the storage, distribution and spread of asbestos, and has been fined £300,000 plus £3,215.25 in costs and statutory surcharge:
On 3 October 2023, the European Parliament plenary session formally adopted at first reading a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2009/148/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work. 78% of occupational cancers recognised in EU member states are related to asbestos exposure, killing more than 70,000 people a year in Europe:
Research by the Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD) has led to calls for more supportive working cultures to reduce employee absence - which is at the highest rate in more than a decade. UK employees were absent an average of 7.8 days over the past year, compared to the pre-pandemic rate of 5.8 days:
On 6 September 2023, at Loughborough Magistrates’ Court, Valencia Waste Management Limited, formerly known as Viridor Waste Management Limited, was prosecuted for two fatalities. In relation to the first, it admitted breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £1 million. In terms of the second, it pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £2 million:
August 2023
Louise Hosking, Executive Director at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), says a strong collaboration between the health and safety and environmental health sectors could create safer, cleaner and healthier environments for the benefit of all:
HSE guidance on working with electric and hybrid vehicles (E&HVs):
Electric and hybrid vehicles (hse.gov.uk)
BP Exploration Operating Company Limited has been found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 after a worker died when he fell about 22m into the sea through an open grating on the Unity installation, about 112 miles (180km) north-east of Aberdeen, on 4 September 2014. The company has been fined £650,000:
www.bbc.co.uk & www.scottishlegal.com
How plastics are poisoning us: They both release & attract toxic chemicals, and appear everywhere from human placentas to chasms thirty-six thousand feet beneath the sea:
A total of 135 workers died in work-related accidents in Great Britain in 2022/23, according to the HSE’s latest data. The figure is an increase of 12 on the 123 workers who sustained fatal injuries in 2021/22:
Nick Wilson, Director of Health & Safety Services at WorkNest, attributes the latest figures on work-related fatalities in Great Britain to a combination of factors, including a culture of complacency and poor leadership:
This HSE alert aimed at wind farms and off shore platforms is worth reading if you have industrial polymer floor grating systems:
An HR alert from law firm Taylor Wessing on employees’ entitlements during heatwaves:
In the survey Gender Disparity in HSE, collated by HSE recruitment Network, which canvassed 200 health and safety professionals about gender imbalance in the sector, 71% said there was an issue. Download the report:
info.executivenetworkgroup.com/genderdisparity-hse
IOSH have called for action to improve & enforce laws around human trafficking. Download their free report “Tackling #modern #slavery together: the roles of governments, employers, professionals and the public’
July 2023
6th July marked the 35th anniversary of the 1988 Piper Alpha production platform explosion in the North Sea 120 miles NE of Aberdeen in which 167 men died. Subsequent legislation sounded the death knell of ex-side trawler standby vessels close to rigs. By 1992 these had been almost entirely replaced by ex stern trawlers, and these in turn have been superseded by purpose-built Standby Safety Vessels:
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) documents have exposed a series of concerning safety failures on 15 North Sea platforms, with operators receiving warnings. A freedom of information request has unveiled 28 inspection letters sent by HSE to North Sea firms since October.
A “devastating” flat fire that killed a woman and two young children in Cambridge in June was started by an e-bike that had been left charging:
There is significant fire and explosion risk associated with lithium-ion batteries. TÜV SÜD provide safety guidance for their use in commercial and industrial environments:
The independent UK Covid-19 Inquiry has launched a listening exercise, ‘Every Story Matters’, which seeks individual’s stories about experience of the pandemic. The stories will be submitted to each relevant investigation as evidence:
Just launched, the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) Global Safety Report 2023, covering 2012 - 2022 data, analyses the main causes of serious injuries and fatalities occurring when using powered access machines to conduct temporary work at height:
Optimising Offshore Renewables Projects, is a new guide from Black & Veatch to help organisations reduce risk and ensure successful outcomes for offshore wind and marine energy projects.
HSE inspectors have begun a targeted inspection initiative focusing on manufacturing businesses where materials that contain respirable crystalline silica are used. This will include brick and tile manufacturers and foundries:
Should occupational mental health and wellbeing form part of the role of OSH professionals? That’s one of the questions posed in the 2023 Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) member survey which all members are urged to complete:
A summary of key points made by Alison Margary, British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) Past President, at the Safety & Health Expo in May this year, on why she feels women’s workplace health is neglected:
According to the HSE, an estimated 2 million tonnes of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling (WEEE) items are discarded by householders and companies in the UK every year. This article explores why recycling it is so important:
June 2023
In response to a written question from Baroness McIntosh of Pickering to the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and rural Affairs, the Minister of State Lord Benyon estimated the cost to the UK chemical industry of simultaneously (1) adapting to the UK REACH programme, and (2) maintaining compliance with the EU REACH programme, as £2bn over six years:
questions-statements.parliament.uk
The OECD has reported on two projects to support the socio-economic analysis of chemicals by helping to better quantify and monetise their morbidity and environmental impacts, the so-called “Surveys on Willingness-to-Pay to Avoid Negative Chemicals-Related Health Impacts (SWACHE)” and “Socio-economic Analysis of Chemicals by Allowing a better quantification and monetisation of Morbidity and Environmental impacts (SACAME)” projects:
The North Sea Chapter of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) is developing a mental health charter after research by the International SOS Foundation found 40% of North Sea onshore and offshore rotational workers experienced suicidal thoughts some or all of the time while on duty, and that offshore workers are 15x more likely to commit suicide than those onshore:
A global workplace insights report by Unispace, which surveyed 9,500 employees and 6,650 employers across 14 industries in 17 countries, has found that 72% of firms surveyed have mandated a return to the workplace and that this approach risks higher levels of employee attrition and reduced ability to recruit:
PSV Glass & Glazing Limited, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after a worker was crushed beneath a 700kg crate in June 2021. The company was fined £200,000 plus £4,897.05 in costs.
The University of Edinburgh’s School of Biological Sciences, with funding from the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC), have created a SIM card-sized technology that could be used in sectors such as food and drink manufacturing, water monitoring, pharmaceutical development, agriculture, and aquaculture to detect toxic chemical contamination in liquids:
Details of an Oxford-based clinical trial into the efficacy of neurodynamic exercises for patients with a diagnosis of mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome:
beta.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05859412
Illegal vapes confiscated from school pupils in Kidderminster have been found to contain 2.4 times the stipulated safe exposure level to lead, 9.6 times the safe amount of nickel, and 6.6 times the safe amount of chromium, amongst other toxic substances including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde:
Every year, millions of tonnes of waste are dumped in UK landfill sites. Panorama reporter Amber Haque investigates a Staffordshire landfill which residents claim has affected their health and examines the potentially toxic legacy of historic landfill sites:
Gates Engineering & Services UK Ltd of Cramlington, Northumberland, has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 after a worker trapped his arm in an unguarded 60-metre lathe. The company was fined £200,000 plus £3,653.70 in costs:
Pesticide companies, including Syngenta, Bayer, Nissan Chemical Corporation, and ISK failed to disclose a series of studies assessing brain toxicity to European regulators, according to research by Stockholm University, despite the same studies having been submitted to US regulators:
The idea of circular economy in the plastics industry is often cited as the magic bullet, but a report by Greenpeace has found that recycled plastic can be even more toxic than it was prior to recycling, and is no fix for pollution:
A new report, “Global Corporate Social Responsibility Software Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report by Deployment, Application, Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022-2028”, states that the market is expected to reach $1.4 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 9.7% CAGR during the forecast period:
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is calling on businesses to ensure they use the new workplace standard BS 30416 designed to support employees experiencing menopause or menstruation:
May 2023
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released its report “Health and Safety at Work - Summary statistics for Great Britain 2022”. It shows that 123 workers were killed in work-related accidents in 2021/22; 565,000 workers self-reported they had sustained a non-fatal injury; 61,713 employee non-fatal injuries were reported by employers under RIDDOR; and 6mn working days were lost due to non-fatal workplace injuries.
Risk safety consultancy Salus Technical has collated 147 inspection letters the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued during 2019, revealing recurring safety problems for the UK North Sea. A total of 1,062 non-compliances were found across 18 different inspection topics from the letters issued to 56 operators:
Trucking company GCS Johnson Limited of Richmond, North Yorkshire, has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £140,000 plus £18,355.07 in costs after the death of a worker in August 2018:
E-bike and e-scooter fires have injured at least 190 people in the UK and killed eight in a more than quadrupling in blazes since 2020. Overheating lithium-ion batteries create fierce fires, releasing toxic smoke, and are now occurring at the rate of at least six a week:
Hawkeswood Metal Recycling Limited and Ensco 10101 Limited (previously Shredmet) of Birmingham have been found guilty of breaching section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 after a wall collapsed killing five agency workers in July 2016. They have been fined a total of £1.6mn plus £775,000 in prosecution costs. Two company directors have been jailed for nine months:
Work Right, a campaign by the HSE aimed at helping smaller businesses and workers, has issued guidance on asbestos. Around 5,000 people in Great Britain die every year from asbestos-related diseases as a result of past exposure, making asbestos the single greatest cause of work-related deaths:
A comprehensive look at the environmental impact of forever chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)) and the urgency of finding replacements for the aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) used in firefighting to tackle flammable liquids or Class B fires:
An article on the numbers of UK workers affected by poor or non-existent local exhaust ventilation (LEV); there are estimated to be around 13,000 UK deaths each year linked to past exposure to oil mist, dust, and fumes at work:
Throughout May, June and July HSE is undertaking a respiratory health intervention initiative which will focus on respiratory risks from exposure to dusts including from wood and silica:
At the Safety & Health Expo on 16th May, James Ramsay spoke about his headfirst fall from 7m on a North Sea oil platform which left him with a lifelong brain injury:
safety-health-expo.co.uk and shponline.co.uk
April 2023
UK unions and campaign groups have called for an overhaul of whistleblowing legislation to close loopholes which mean many offshore workers receive next to no legal safeguards when raising alarms:
www.energyvoice.com
The University of Strathclyde is to launch the Strathclyde Centre for Occupational Safety and Health (SCOSH), a new centre focused on education, research, and professional development in occupational health and safety:
The HSE inspected more waste sites than planned under its waste and recycling sector workplan for 2022-23, with 610 visits against a planned 500. Inspectors discovered material breaches at 43% of sites:
Trucast Limited, of Ryde, Isle of Wight, a manufacturer of turbocharger wheels for the automotive industry, has pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for failing to assess the health risks to employees using vibrating equipment, failing to control employees’ exposure to vibration, and failing to put in place an adequate health surveillance programme to monitor its workers’ health:
PD Ports, which owns and operates Teesport, the sixth largest port in the UK, as well as 11 other key ports and logistics centres nationwide, has earned Gold Status from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for the third consecutive year:
A survey of 250 facilities managers commissioned by Watco, a leading manufacturer of industrial strength paint, repair, and maintenance materials, has identified concerns around health and safety and the role it plays in productivity and output:
Mike Stevens, CEO of H&S specialists Praxis42, writes on ways Health & Safety specialists can confidently lead conversations at board level to drive safety culture objectives:
IOSH Research Programme Lead Dr Karen Michell writes on how organisations can meet government aims to safely retain people in the workplace as the number in the economically active age group who are no longer in employment continues to rise: iosh.com/news/six-steps-to-healthier-workforce - and yet The Treasury has been accused of hypocrisy after figures showed the average age of its staff is 33.6, while it is currently pushing for more over-50s to return to the workforce:
www.personneltoday.com/hr/treasury-average-age/
Terrill Bros. (Founders) Limited, of Hayle, Cornwall, has admitted breaching Regulation 9(1) of the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017, and Regulation 8(1) of the preceding Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 after putting its employees at risk of exposure to high dose rates of ionising radiation over a ten-year period:
HSE guidance can be found at: Health and Safety: Ionising Radiation (hse.gov.uk)
Almost half UK oil spills breach permitted limits, far more than the government’s safety benchmarks, and beyond safe levels for marine life. The top five spillers were Dana, Repsol Sinopec, CNR, Shell and Apache, with each of these spilling at least half of their spilled oil beyond the limits of the permit:
March 2023
The TUC has released a report, co-authored with Long Covid Support Employment Support, into 3,000 workers’ experiences of Long Covid. It reveals that they face lack of reasonable adjustments, discrimination and unfair treatment, and one in seven lost their jobs because of the condition. They call for everyone with Long Covid to be recognised as disabled under the Equality Act 2010, and for it to be recognised as an occupational disease:
Honeywell has released Safety Watch, a real-time wearable location tool for industrial applications that uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to monitor an employee’s health, detect and sound an alarm if they have gone idle for a long period of time, and identifies if they have entered a restricted area:
According to research by Unchecked UK with support from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) among others, seven in 10 (69%) businesses are not willing to accept lower health and safety standards as part of the Retained EU Law Bill which is in the House of Lords at committee stage:
Former HSE Employment Medical Adviser and Consultant Physician, Dr Chris Ide, sets out some of the key physiological issues for employers to be aware of at a time when approximately one-third of the UK workforce is over the age of 50, pushing the average retirement age beyond 65:
A Norwegian study of offshore oil workers found those on “rollover” shift patterns working both day and nights had a markedly higher risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer to colleagues who worked only days:
Exolum Pipeline System Ltd (formerly CLH Pipeline System (CLH-PS) Ltd), a major pipeline transportation company, has been fined £2.3mn plus costs of £157,431 after workers were exposed to a leaking pressurised petrol pipeline near Holme, Lincolnshire in March 2018 in breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and an offence contrary to Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. (HSE)
A prosecution against the owners of the UK's largest power station has been dropped by the HSE. HSE alleged health and safety failings at the Drax plant relating to workers' exposure to wood dust with five employees developing asthma. However, a causal link between the occupational asthma and handling of the biomass could not be established to the criminal standard:
In celebration of 70 years of preventing worker ill health, the British Occupational Hygiene Society’s Faculty of Occupational Hygiene has brought together for the first time free technical guidance on occupational hazards for scientists, health and safety professionals, and industrial disease lawyers:
The British Metals Recycling Association is urging the government to lead a new campaign as figures show that the number of fires caused by exploding lithium-ion batteries in e-scooters and e-bikes soared by almost 150% in 2021:
Glasgow South West SNP MP Chris Stephens has called for the government to do more to ensure people with disabilities can work from home. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), people with disabilities make up c. 1bn, or 15% of the world’s population, about 80% being of working age:
2022
November 2022
‘Personnel Today’ has provided a helpful guide to the workplace implications of the World Cup in Qatar which will see 32 nations taking part in 64 matches from Sunday 20 November until Sunday 18 December. It covers staff mental health and morale, flexible working, productivity, human rights concerns, race discrimination, and behaviour outside work:
A call from Dr Iván Williams Jiménez, IOSH policy development manager, for urgent attention to climate change within OSH standards and frameworks. ‘A joint effort will be needed – from regulators and public health surveillance systems, to employers. We will also need to integrate OSH into long-term planning, systems and practices.’:
To make people aware of the current state of knowledge about our changing climate, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has produced a straightforward summary from one of their recent assessment reports:
ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/outreach/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SummaryForAll.pdf
Mandatory wellbeing reporting could stimulate action to support employee mental health, but it could also encourage undesirable ‘box ticking’ behaviours, employee wellbeing experts said during a session at the 5th annual MAD World Summit in London in October: personneltoday.com/hr/mandatory-employee-wellbeing-reporting-mad-world-summit-2022 On a similar theme, in the past month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has released new guidelines for employers on preventing work-related mental health conditions and promoting mental health at work: work.kooth.com/hr-guide-managing-change
An investigation has been launched by the Petroleum Safety Authority after a worker suffered a serious crush injury on an offshore drilling rig in ConocoPhillips-operated Tommeliten field in the North Sea on 10 November:
As many as 6.8 million workers are concerned about their personal safety every week. This doesn’t just apply to lone and vulnerable workers but extends to every part of life, including commuting. A watch-on-demand ‘Personnel Today’ webinar asks how this affects employee wellbeing and retention:
app.livestorm.co/p/65f643dd-beae-4c93-a06c-52008fcebe09
Logistics company Eddie Stobart has been fined £133,000 after excavation work at its freight port in Widnes exposed staff to asbestos. No asbestos survey or staff training had been carried out, and the company failed to report the incident under RIDDOR 2013. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5 of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and Regulation 11(1) of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. (HSE)
Sheffield-based transport firm Arnold Laver & Company Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and fined £400,000 plus costs of £19,841.99 after one of its drivers was struck and killed by his vehicle’s crane during unloading in November 2020. (HSE)
Dutch decommissioning specialist Petrodec has been taken to task by the Petroleum Safety Authority after it failed to remove oil from the Rose pipeline ahead of decommissioning the Amethyst A2D platform in the Southern North Sea. A release of “condensate and fire” subsequently arose:
July 2022
The latest release of workplace fatalities by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) showed that between April 2021 and March 2022, 123 workers died in work-related accidents in Great Britain. The industries with the highest deaths were construction (30), agriculture, forestry, and fishing (22), and manufacturing (22). A further 80 members of the public were killed following a work-related accident:
The HSE also published figures for Mesothelioma, a cancer that can be caused by past exposure to asbestos. The figures show that 2,544 people died from the disease in 2020. Current mesothelioma deaths reflect exposure to asbestos primarily occurring pre-1980s and annual deaths are expected to decline during the next decade.
Midland Steel Reinforcement Supplies (UK) Ltd, of Motherwell has pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Regulations 5(1) and 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Regulation 9(3) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 after HSE inspections in 2019 revealed injuries to two workers on separate occasions. The company was fined £450,000 plus £41,23.51 in costs:
HSE
The Work and Pensions Committee published its Sixth Report of Session 2021–22, The Health and Safety Executive’s approach to asbestos management (HC 560) on 21 April 2022. The Government’s Response was received on 18 July. The government has rejected the Committee’s key recommendation that policy makers should commit to removing all asbestos from public buildings within 40 years
Given the record-breaking temperature attained in mid-July, employers must make sure indoor workplaces remain at a reasonable temperature (there is no maximum) and manage the risk of working outdoors in hazardous heat. Indoor temperatures are covered by the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to undertake a risk assessment. (HSE)
Around 110,000 people are missing work because they suffer from long Covid, according to the think tank Institute for Fiscal Studies. According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people in the UK with long Covid hit 2 million in May – or 3% of the population:
Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company has been fined £3mn with costs of £90,000 after pleading guilty to charges under sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, and regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations after a fatal accident involving the release of ammonia gas at its main UK brewery in Northampton in 2016:
The HSE recently published the UK REACH Work Programme 2022/23 which sets out the activity that HSE, supported by the Environment Agency and other relevant agencies, will carry out to operate UK REACH. To complement this, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published the rationale used for identifying particular substances for potential regulatory action under UK REACH in 2022 to 2023:
Steve Rae, a survivor of the 1988 Piper Alpha explosion, the world’s worst ever offshore disaster, spoke at the Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) HSE conference in Aberdeen in June. He urged energy bosses to share impactful ‘personal stories’ to inspire a safety culture, and alternative energy technologies must not suffer the “harsh lessons” that oil and gas has learnt:
SafetyOn, the health and safety organisation for the onshore wind sector, has released its incident data report for 2021. 593 incidents were reported across a total of 7,083,375 worked hours. There were no fatalities. 71 incidents occurred during routine maintenance; 59 working with electrical systems; and 56 working with access/egress:
June 2022
More hot weather is forecast. Employers are advised to refresh their understanding of their obligations under The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 which deal with the control of temperature and ventilation, and with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which place an obligation on the employer to carry out a risk assessment of the workplace and act accordingly:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its 10 year strategy ‘Protecting People and Places: HSE strategy 2022-2032’ which sets out its objectives with regard to enforcement for the next decade:
hse.gov.uk/aboutus/assets/docs/the-hse-strategy.pdf.
This was supplemented by the publication of the HSE Business Plan 2022/23 which covers the first transitional year of the strategy:
hse.gov.uk/aboutus/assets/docs/hse-business-plan.pdf
The senior managers of UK food waste recycling site Greenfeeds Ltd, which is now in liquidation, have been jailed and the firm fined £2mn after being found guilty of two counts of corporate manslaughter following the deaths of two workers in a tanker of pig feed in December 2016:
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has expressed disappointment about the lack of engagement and collaboration from the HSE with its key regulatory partners, particularly local authorities, as the HSE developed its new 10-year strategy to help cultivate safer workplaces:
The HSE has published its Annual Science Review. This year’s review illustrates the mix of activities that has helped to ensure that HSE’s response to the pandemic was informed by the best available evidence. It has also assisted HSE as an enabling regulator, and to secure justice against those who breach the law:
A study by the Co-Op and New Economics Foundation found that loneliness costs UK employers more than £2.5 billion a year: from increased sick days and time off to care for others, to lower productivity and staff retention levels. Three in five employees admitted to feeling lonely at work:
The HSE has warned TotalEnergies over a series of failures in its maintenance processes on the Gryphon Alpha Platform, leading to risks of “fire and explosion”:
In the year since Amazon pledged to become “Earth's Safest Place to Work,” the serious injury rate at the company's American warehouses rose 15%:
Seafood processing company QA Fish Ltd of Scalloway, Shetland has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and fined £80,000 after a worker died following injuries sustained when she was run over by a forklift truck in January 2018:
press.hse.gov.uk
April 2022
A brief run-down of April’s changes to employment legislation, including increases to National Minimum Wage, National Living Wage, SSP, maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental and parental bereavement pay; the gender pay gap reporting deadline; the right-to-work checking process for biometric residence card holders; new limits on employment statutory redundancy; and IR35 checks:
The European Commission’s long-awaited proposal on corporate sustainability due diligence has been published. Under the draft law, companies with more than 500 employees will be required to prevent and mitigate harm to people and planet – such as child labour and pollution – throughout their global value chains:
A case study on Brisko Scaffolding in Ipswich, which pleaded guilty to multiple safety failings and was ordered to pay more than £515,000 after an employee sustained a life-changing crush injury in November 2019 while using a forklift truck to move a bundle of steel weighing around 1.1 MT:
Innovations in health and safety training is the topic of the first in a new series of free webinars offered by IOSH and the European Network of Safety and Health Professional Organizations (ENSHPO). It is on 7 April at 1 p.m:
BW Offshore has been served an improvement notice by the HSE after crew on the Harbour Energy’s Catcher field floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel were put in serious danger of exposure to lethal levels of toxic gas:
Research shows that women are more susceptible to burnout caused by the stresses of coping with the COVID pandemic, and one in three women has considered downshifting or leaving the workforce in the past year. Occupational health professionals need to work proactively to support women to thrive in the workplace:
The Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) has taken an important step towards the possible inclusion of occupational safety and health as a fundamental principle and right at work. The matter will be discussed at the 110th International Labour Conference in June:
Able UK Limited of Cleveland has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2(1) of The Health and Safety at Work act 1974 and been fined £200,000 with £20,991.24 costs after a contractor suffered life threatening injuries in a fall during the dismantling of the Brent Bravo, a former North Sea oil and gas platform:
A quick look at five serious books for HR and Occupational Health professionals - with subjects ranging from tackling stress with mental resilience, creating successful hybrid workplaces and tackling worker isolation, confronting racism by encouraging anti-racist leadership, and how to embed purpose as a business ‘must-have’ at a deep level into organisations:
ACAS have published useful advice on Long-COVID for employers and employees.
Firstly, advice on sickness and absence because of Long-COVID: acas.org.uk and, secondly, whether Long-COVID is treated as a disability: acas.org.uk
Scientific evidence from Dr Theo Compernolle explains that since our thinking brain can only focus on one thing at a time, for work that requires sustained attention and concentration, all task-switching and distractions should be eliminated – especially those coming from walkie-talkies, phones and screens:
ioshmagazine.com
Regulations have been published which will amend the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (PPEWR). Certain self-employed workers not previously entitled to free PPE will need to be provided with it by the business that they work for:
A & S Metal Recycling Limited of Stourport-on-Severn has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, fined £66,000 plus costs of £8,192.55 after a 15-year-old employee suffered 22% burns following an explosion and flash fire. (HSE)
International SOS, the world's leading health and security services company, and the Workforce Resilience Council, commissioned Ipsos MORI to survey c. 1,000 risk professionals across 75 countries on health, security, and COVID-19 risks in 2022:
internationalsos.com/risk-outlook
A study of a million individuals in Rome over a 15-year period identified a positive association between long-term exposure to air pollution (NO2, PM10 and PM2.5) and risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism:
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 16 studies identified that people residing less than 5 km from a petrochemical facility (refinery or manufacturer of commercial chemicals) had a 30% higher risk of developing Leukaemia than residents from communities with none:
January 2022
Experts warn that post-Brexit UK rule changes on chemicals would change the way ‘substances of very high concern’ are dealt with by the regulator:
The Policy paper “Approach to including substances of very high concern on the UK REACH candidate list”, which was published on 9 December 2021, is available here:
AeraMax Pro AM3 and AM4 air purifiers manufactured by Fellowes have been proven to be effective in eliminating aerosolised concentration of SARS-CoV-2 by 99.9999% through a single air pass test of the purifier:
Employers need to consider any additional risks to water hygiene arising from adopting hybrid working:
Safety & Health Practitioner present their annual video round-up of the 10 biggest health and safety prosecutions of 2021:
The Society of Occupational Medicine have a large number and range of free recordings and slides of previous Webinars on key topics of interest to occupational health professionals:
There remains no removal plan in place for the cold-stacked oil rig “Ocean Princess” in the Cromarty Firth which has been boarded by thrill-seekers posting videos on YouTube:
More than 20 past and present employees of PSV Glass and Glazing Ltd of High Wycombe diagnosed with hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) have instructed specialist lawyers after the HSE brought criminal proceedings against the company for breaching the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005:
2021
December 2021
The Essar Stanlow Manufacturing Complex at Ellesmere Port has maintained its ‘Gold’ status in the renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards:
The UK government’s chief medical adviser Professor Chris Whitty has told businesses to invest in better ventilation to improve workers’ health in general, help to protect against future health emergencies, as well as aid recovery from the pandemic:
Research by the insurer QBE reveals that senior leaders fear claims as a consequence of Covid-driven decisions. Other concerns include financial turmoil and health and safety:
The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has approved two final reports on accidents that killed six workers. The reports concerned AB Specialty Silicones of Waukegan, Illinois, and an Evergreen Packaging paper mill in Canton, North Carolina. As the CSB’s board had only one member, and another 18 unfinished accident investigations stretching back 5 years, President Joe Biden nominated three more people to the board:
RoSPA has welcomed the government’s announcement on its ban on using handheld mobile phones for any purpose whilst driving. Drivers holding their phone are four times more likely to crash. In 2020, there were 368 collisions of all severities where use of a mobile phone was a contributory factor:
Finally, we wish all our customers and website visitors a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year.
November 2021
The UK government’s plan for managing COVID-19 through the winter is available in full here:
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
Consultancy Dekra has made available a Focus Article, Optimising Safety for the Renewable Energy Sector (sign-up required):
The Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) in the UK is calling for universal access to occupational health (OH) provision by a) increasing the proportion of employers providing access to OH, and b) providing an NHS offer to ‘mop up’ those who do not those who do not have access through smaller employers (16m) and self-employed workers (4.4million):
SOM recently held an online Summit on the topic, and the recordings and accompanying slide presentations are available here:
The HSE has issued an improvement notice to Ensco Offshore UK Limited, part of Valaris, following an incident in September on one of its jack-up rigs in which a 2.3-tonne object fell from a drill pipe elevator, posing risk of “serious injury” to rig workers. The company has until 30 November 2021 to comply with the notice:
A helpful article reminding employers that reasonable adjustments can significantly improve the chances of meeting the needs, and maximising the potential of, those with disabilities:
Professor Jin Xuan, director of the UK Research and Innovation (URI) Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy, explains the centre’s ambition to transform the UK’s £32bn chemical industry into a fossil-independent circular industry by developing sector-wide solutions for efficient recycling and recovery of chemical resources, such as olefins:
October 2021
Almost a million people in the UK are suffering from Long Covid, which has potentially huge implications for Occupational Health staff. The Society of Occupational Medicine has launched a new Podcast series and provided other resources which may prove valuable:
A report on a workshop organised by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (HSE Report number: RPS/20/03) to evaluate the impact of climate change on establishments subject to the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (COMAH Regulations), in preparation for the new UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) published in June 2021:
76% of UK utility, telecoms engineering and construction companies have experienced an incident involving a lone worker in the past three years, with a fifth of these incidents described as severe or very severe. Lone worker solution provider StaySafe have produced a useful report on this under-researched subject:
Andrea Fried, Associate Professor in Business Administration at the Linköping University, Sweden, and author of “Understanding Deviance in a World of Standards” Why do companies deviate from standards and what shall we do about it?
September 2021
The results of a new YouGov survey show that the majority (59%) of people in the UK who had to work from home at least some of the time due to coronavirus want to continue to do so. A separate survey of London workers found that 66% want to be able to work from home once the crisis is over, including 19% who want to do so full-time:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has updated its advice on keeping workplaces safe. This section covers ventilation and air conditioning:
Lincolnshire-based potato processor AH Worth Ltd has been fined £300,000 plus c. £10,000 in costs for breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after several employees were exposed to sulphur dioxide (SO2) gas:
Researchers at Airotect have developed a new personal air-sampling system that can detect more than 100 different compounds in one device that is worn as a badge:
Medical and safety technology company Dräger Safety UK, which assesses the impact of COVID-19, Brexit and workplace culture on health and safety in UK workplaces, warns of a rising use of drugs and alcohol:
Royal Dutch Shell, which employs 86,000 workers in more than 70 countries, is considering making it mandatory for workers in some operations to have COVID-19 vaccinations or risk being fired:
reuters.com
The HSE intends to prosecute Drax Power for failing to properly control the exposure of its workers to wood dust from the biomass pellets used as fuel at its Selby power station:
According to a report from the WHO, traffic noise alone is responsible for the loss of more than one million healthy life years annually in Western Europe as a result of noise related disability and disease, including cognitive impairment such as dementia:
August 2021
Cases of suicide clearly linked to work are going uninvestigated, unrecorded and ignored by the UK workplace safety regulator, new research by Leeds University has found. The research authors recommend including suicide in the list of work-related deaths that must be reported to the HSE under the RIDDOR reporting requirements:
Mario Possamai, a former senior adviser on the Canadian SARS outbreak, wants the WHO investigated for its failure to address the airborne nature of Covid-19 for more than a year, dooming the world to a preventable level of death and disease:
EU-OSHA has published a report “Prolonged constrained standing postures: health effects and good practice advice” on protecting workers from the health risks of prolonged standing:
EU-OSHA has published a report “Prolonged static sitting at work: health effects and good practice advice” on protecting workers from the health risks of prolonged sitting:
The recordings and resources from the Hazards Campaign Hazards Conference 2021, which took place on the weekend 31 July to 1 August are now available online. They include discussion sessions, all the workshops, plus resources posted in the Zoom chat by participants:
July 2021
The UK government’s decision to temporarily extend the number of hours that heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers can legally work has come in for criticism from several industry bodies:
In the light of new understanding of the crucial role of occupational health and safety, the European Commission is renewing its commitment to update occupational safety and health rules by adopting the EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027:
The first global standard to provide employers with practical guidance on how to manage psychosocial risks to staff in the workplace has been published. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has made ISO 45003 free to read:
A new research report launched by medical and safety technology company Dräger Safety UK assesses the impact of Covid-19, Brexit and workplace culture on health and safety in UK workplaces, and warns of an impending crisis:
SAFETYON, the health and safety body for the onshore wind industry, has published its inaugural Annual Incident Data Report 2020. Out of the almost 7 million worked hours reported, 532 incidents were reported. There were no fatalities:
Many companies are responding to the climate crisis with ‘green’ marketing, while their core business remains fossil fuels. The Greenwashing Files highlight how advertising doesn’t always match up to reality:
A year-long Australian population study has found that full time workers employed by organizations that fail to prioritise their employees' mental health have a threefold increased risk of being diagnosed with depression:
Over 2 million adults in England may have had long COVID according to survey data from the Imperial College London-led REACT-2 study, collected from random samples of the population:
June 2021
As part of the Government’s commitment to move towards a circular economy and net zero emissions, Defra is consulting on how to increase consistency in the collection of recyclable materials from domestic and non-domestic premises in England with the aim of raising recycling levels to an overall rate of 65%:
LED strip-light specialist Mineglow has launched what it says is the world’s first IECEx-certified explosive-proof LED strip light designed to improve safety in high-risk areas:
It is essential that employees suffering from Long Covid symptoms are provided with personalised and early support if their health issues are not to be unnecessarily prolonged:
May 2021
A new study by the University of York and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science has revealed that household aerosols now emit more harmful volatile organic compound air pollution than all UK vehicles:
The Good Law Project has renewed its application for a judicial review against the government’s refusal to hold an urgent public inquiry into the hundreds of frontline NHS staff who lost their lives to Covid-19:
The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimate that 2.78 million workers die every year from work-related injuries or diseases. Now, the UN’s Guiding principles on business and human rights: implementing the United Nations ‘protect, respect and remedy’ framework (UNGP) aim to set a global standard for curbing the adverse impacts from business on human rights:
Official workplace fatality figures are hiding thousands of COVID deaths, said the GMB Union on 28 April, Workers’ Memorial Day, and the official statistics should reflect this in all forms, regardless of whether a RIDDOR notification was made or not:
The pandemic has brought occupational safety and health from the margins to the centre and should provide the context for a reinforcement of OSH and greater investment, not least because every euro invested in OSH pays back more than double for an organisation:
April 2021
Important material on the six key areas where the UK must increase research scale to maintain resilience against Covid-19 - the National Core Studies:
In relation to CSR, the most important of the six is Transmission and Environment, looking at how Covid-19 is spread on transport and in the workplace:
Sanofi has announced several major projects to increase the impact of its Corporate Social Responsibility. These include environmental conservation, and the creation of Sanofi Global Health, a global non-profit unit to provide 40 of the world's poorest countries access to essential medicines:
Lancashire-based Enterprise Managed Services Ltd (EMSL), owned by Amey, has been fined £1,020,000 plus costs of £60,476 after a worker was killed by tripping or falling under the reversing waste lorry in April 2016. The company pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974:
Although the UK has left the EU, guidance from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) can be immensely helpful, i.e. their latest material on chronic musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in the workplace as working populations grow older and retirement ages rise:
In June 2020, Culture Change specialists Tribe published a report on how c. 125 mostly large organisations in many different sectors could develop more resilient health, safety and wellbeing cultures out of the Covid-19 crisis. Now they have released an update with more evidence on crisis culture insights and outcomes. Both reports can be downloaded here:
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded £2m to a project that will use satellite technology to detect methane emissions. The technology has already revealed dramatic increases in large methane leaks around the world. In related news, a new study has revealed that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is underestimating methane emissions from oil and gas production by up to 90%:
March 2021
More than ever, it is important for all types of businesses to have authentic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives that are not a publicity spin. A new book demonstrates that CSR is the future of business:
The British Safety Council has launched a new Safety Management app, which allows readers to browse news on the go and keep abreast of the changing UK and international health and safety landscape:
An international group of scientists are backing the creation of an international body to oversee chemicals and waste:
Stephen Wood, Professor of Management, University of Leicester, and a Fellow of the British Academy of Social Science and Academic Fellow of the CIPD, outlines some of the ways working from home has impacted people's wellbeing:
Check out the IOSH Magazine podcast with regulatory lawyer Rhian Greaves on the impact the pandemic has had on the service safety, health and environmental regulatory agencies are providing:
February 2021
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 7 March to 28 December 2020 reveal that the mortality rate from COVID-19 in the UK working age population peaked in manual workers in processing plants, security guards and those in ‹elementary occupations› including construction and care work:
Safety & Health Expo, the UK's largest dedicated event for health and safety professionals, has been scheduled to take place from 12-14 July 2021 at ExCel London. You can now register your interest in attending:
The EU’s Occupational Safety and Health Agency (EU-OSHA) report, Workforce diversity and musculoskeletal disorders: review of facts and figures and case examples, shows the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and associated physical, psychosocial, individual and organisational risk factors in women, migrants and LGBTI workers.
Although the UK has left the EU, sector-specific guidance from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) helping employers and workers to stay safe and healthy on their return to work during and after the pandemic is immensely helpful:
Hazardex 2021, the conference and exhibition for those in the high hazard and process industries, will be held on June 16th & 17th at the Hilton Majestic Hotel in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. There will also be a virtual access option to all streams for any delegates unable to attend in person:
Working remotely: How to spot signs of struggling employees by Dr Nick Zygouris, consultant clinical psychologist and director of mental health at Maximus UK:
Pontrilas Sawmills Limited of Pontrilas, Hereford has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 after a worker was fatally crushed in December 2017. The company was fined £200,000 plus costs of £22,016.
HSE
The European Commission has launched Re-open EU mobile app to provide regular updates on coronavirus health, safety and travel measures across Europe:
Dublin-based Doyle Shipping Group has been fined €850,000 following a fatal incident in June 2018. It pleaded guilty to Section 8(2)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 contrary to Section 77(9)(a):
Safety and Health Practitioner has produced a guide to help home workers beat the “January Blues”:
Food manufacturer Müller UK & Ireland LLP has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision of Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 after an agency worker at its Shropshire site required finger amputations in July 2016. The company was fined £66,000 plus costs of £5,024.20:
Sellafield Ltd has been fined £320,000 plus £12,079 in costs after an electrician suffered 15-20% burns while working without adequate training or supervision on high voltage equipment in April 2020:
2020
December 2020
A new report on the Environment, Health and Safety Market, Revenue, Global Prospects by Future Growth, Cost, Key Participants and Emerging Trends predicts robust growth between 2020 and 2027:
The oil and gas industry has committed to the new Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP) framework to monitor, report and reduce anthropogenic methane emissions:
Richard Vann, CEO of specialist engineering consultancy RVA Group, looks at waste and asks whether some demolition professionals could raise their environmental game:
Food factories could be Covid-19 “super spreaders” this Christmas. TUC demand that Ministers update health and safety guidance and place a legal duty on employers to publish their risk assessments:
The European Commission has reported on the implementation of Directive 2013/30/EU on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations:
uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com (requires signing up for a free trial of Practical Law).
Rhian Greaves of Pannone Corporate outlines how to help the clinically vulnerable remain safe at work from COVID-19 after research by disability charity Scope found that 22% of disabled employees have had their requests to alter working patterns declined:
A look at how wearable and smart technologies can improve safety, including exposure to hazardous environments:
The UK’s Health and Safety Event has once again been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will now take place on 7-9 September 2021 at the NEC, Birmingham. Registrations are open:
November 2020
Ambitious new measures to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to ensure that large businesses and public bodies tackle modern slavery risks in supply chains have been announced by the UK government:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is carrying out spot checks and inspections on all types of businesses in all areas to ensure they are COVID-secure. As well as participating in the phone calls and visits, take a look at the HSE guidance on ensuring a COVID-secure workplace:
HSE
The draft Chemicals (Health and Safety) and Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 were laid before Parliament on 15 October 2020:
uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com
On 29 October 2020, the European Commission adopted a Roadmap announcing the adoption in Q2 of 2021 of a Communication on a new EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work for the period 2021-2027:
uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com (requires signing up for a free trial of Practical Law).
Work-related cancer claims 742,000 lives a year worldwide. The No Time to Lose campaign from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), aims to explain the causes of occupational cancer and help businesses take action:
The HSE has provided guidance on RIDDOR reporting of COVID-19:
HSE
October 2020
A UK government COVID-19 prevention strategy based on an assumption the disease was transmitted by close contact with viral-loaded droplets was wrong, latest Public Health England (PHE) guidance suggests:
COVID-19 testing company The Doctors’ Laboratory (TDL) has been found guilty of multiple health and safety breaches. The firm, part of Sonic Healthcare and the largest independent provider of clinical laboratory diagnostic services in the UK, is a key provider of COVID-19 testing and couriers to the NHS and the Department for Health and Social Care:
The government has launched a new call for evidence on which public bodies should assist local authorities to cut air pollution. Under this new approach, public bodies who carry out duties of a public nature, are responsible for a local source of pollution or who are able to take actions to cut local air pollution, could become designated Air Quality Partners:
Andrew Willis, Head of Legal at Croner, offers legal guidance on what to do if employees refuse to socially distance at work:
The Health and Safety Executive is reminding employers and others in control of premises, such as landlords, to identify and control the risks associated with legionella when a building has been closed or had reduced occupancy:
HSE
Digital safeguarding of physical workspaces can help employees return to ‹normal› - and health and safety is the prime accelerator towards its adoption:
September 2020
Professor David Coggon of MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, and others have developed a risk model to provide estimates of personal vulnerability to Covid-19 according to sex, age, ethnicity, and various comorbidities. Employers can explore using the model to determine the ‹covid-age› of their workers and assess their fitness for a return to the workplace. A paper on the model can be downloaded here:
Adhesive tape manufacturer Scapa UK Limited of Ashton Under Lyne, Manchester, has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and fined £120,000 plus costs after a worker was fatally injured while operating a rewind slitting machine in April 2018:
HSE
The Environment Agency has published an update on its consultation on draft technical guidance for permitted facilities that transfer or treat chemical waste:
consult.environment-agency.gov.uk
A public consultation on the international standard ISO/DIS 45003, ‘Occupational health and safety management - Psychological health and safety at work: managing psychosocial risks - Guidelines’ is open until 3 October 2020:
standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com
Biodegradable, compostable and bio-based plastic products like shopping bags, packaging or drinking cups are being increasingly promoted as greener solution than traditional plastic products for consumers. But how environmentally-friendly are they:
The UK government has released its proposals for new Environmental Targets which will be set through the Environment Bill in four priority areas: Air Quality, Resource Efficiency and Waste Reduction, Biodiversity and Water. It is unclear how these new ‘targets’ will relate to the existing statutory limit values contained in the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010:
The latest ‹Risks› newsletter for safety reps from the TUC:
August 2020
COVID-19 is driving worldwide change. Will industrial Environment, Health, and Safety Change as well?
DeltaNet International, which specialises in health and safety and compliance, reports on the eight health and safety laws businesses could be breaking now, many carrying the potential of an unlimited fine or jail sentence:
Emma Hammett, founder of training company First Aid for Life, talks through reducing the risks of COVID-19 infection while administering first aid - including CPR:
Bruce Craig, partner, litigation & health and safety expert at Pinsent Masons, asks whether Brexit will hamper the UK’s health and safety. The answer, it seems, is that it depends on the sector:
Social distancing is making public transport worse for the environment than cars but researchers at the University of Cardiff have created a new app to help fix the problem:
July 2020
A package of changes to Britain's health and safety system designed to support the Government's growth agenda and to ease regulatory burdens on business have been announced by employment minister Chris Grayling. The TUC has expressed grave concerns over the proposals:
New research into injury incidents in the UK conducted by law firm Fletchers Serious Injury has revealed that 27.6% of people have suffered a serious injury from an accident in the workplace in the last five years:
Exposure to air pollution is likely linked with the occurrence or severity of COVID-19 infection, according to a report published by Defra, the Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG), and the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP):
The Health and Safety Event and its co-located shows have once again been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will now take place on 27-28 April 2021 at NEC in Birmingham:
June 2020
The UK government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published eight guides to help employers, employees and the self-employed in England understand how to work safely during the coronavirus pandemic:
“Lessons from the crucible of crisis”, a timely article from Marcia McNutt, president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, USA:
American startup Strongarm Tech has developed wearable technology to track social distancing and contact-tracing to assist employers with return to work planning:
Oil giant BP has been handed an improvement notice by the HSE following an incident on February 18 which led to the evacuation of 66 workers from ETAP, its Central North Sea asset:
Details released by the Scottish Greens following a Freedom of Information request revealed the HSE had serious concerns over the running of the ExxonMobil Ethylene plant complex at Mossmorran, Fife in August 2018. The Party is calling for the closure of the site:
May 2020
The HSE and the Police are considering prosecution of employers who have failed to provide proper protection for key workers, including corporate manslaughter prosecutions:
A report on research undertaken by the Institute for Employment Studies and Shell on the physical and psychological health among workers in safety-critical sectors such as maritime, aviation, nuclear and construction:
In a message marking her first International Workers’ Memorial Day on 28th April, HSE Chief Executive Sarah Albon reiterated the HSE’s mission that no-one should get ill, be injured or die because of work in Great Britain:
Figures compiled by the House of Commons Library for Labour show that the number of health and safety inspectors has dropped by a third under successive Conservative governments. Funding was slashed from £239m to £136m between 2009/10 and 2017/18:
Due to Covid-19 RoSPA have extended the 2020 RoSPA Awards registration deadline to June 1, 2020:
The latest IOSH Covid-19 webinar, The role of the OSH professional – supporting your business throughout the Covid-19 crisis, which took place on 23rd April, is available to view in full on YouTube:
April 2020
Find UK Government guidance about coronavirus (COVID-19) for health professionals and other organisations here:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-guidance
The shortlist has been announced for the Safety and Health Excellence Awards and the winners will be announced at a gala dinner on 22 September 2020:
Safety & Health Expo 2020 and its co-located events, which were originally scheduled to be staged in May 2020, will now be held at ExCeL London on 8–10 September 2020:
T M Telford Dairy Ltd of Telford has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and fined £600,000 plus costs of £14,379.45. In January 2016, two employees sustained serious injuries after a faulty valve blew off under pressure, releasing 1% nitric acid solution at 650°C:
Health and Safety Laboratory tests on three tool systems designed to reduce workers’ exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) have revealed large variations in their effectiveness. Download the summary report Assessment of dust extraction system solutions on hand-held electric diamond cutters to BS EN 50632:
The UK will leave the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on December 31, when the transition period ends for the country’s departure from the EU. This dashes the hopes of the UK’s aviation industry, which has collectively expressed a strong preference for staying within the EASA's jurisdiction:
March 2020
The UK government has declared coronavirus a “serious and imminent threat” to public health. Safety & Health Practitioner has published useful Coronavirus advice for employers:
The Health & Safety Executive is running a course on “Human Factors in Accident and Incident Investigations” on 17th-18th March (and other 2020 dates) in Buxton. With an estimated 90% of incidents involving Human Factors causes, effective investigation of the Human Factors within accidents and incidents is an essential part of improving human performance, personal safety, management systems and loss control. (HSL)
More than 600 Amazon workers have been seriously injured or narrowly escaped an accident in the past three years, prompting calls for a parliamentary inquiry into safety at their UK warehouses:
Free tickets are available for the Safety & Health Expo 2020 to be held at ExCel, London on 19-21 May:
February 2020
Employer health and safety standards will not change because of Brexit. To support the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018, three HSE-led Statutory Instruments convert current EU regulation into domestic law. (HSE)
The government has responded to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 1 report, setting out the steps being taken to implement the report’s recommendations as well as the wider work to make buildings safer:
The Top 10 health and safety prosecutions of 2019 include Chevron, DHL, Celsa, 2 Sisters Food, Clancy Docwra and Veolia:
Prosecutions for breaching health and safety laws are at record low levels, but health and safety cases are routinely taking 3 to 4 years, often longer, to get to court:
Wembley-based McGee Group has been found guilty of a breach of Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and fined £500,000 plus £66,236.22 costs after a worker fatality in April 2014:
Deloitte’s report “Mental health and employers - Refreshing the case for investment”, released this month, shows that poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45bn a year, with work-related stress, anxiety, or depression now accounting for over half of all working days lost due to ill health. Download the report:
January 2020
CSR Performance Ltd wish all our customers a safe and healthy 2020.
HSE 2018-19 statistics on Health and Safety in the United Kingdom: information on fatalities, accidents and illnesses by occupation, industry, region and country, plus international comparisons:
researchbriefings.parliament.uk
2019
December 2019
The Environment Agency has prosecuted Weetabix for polluting the River Ise in Northamptonshire with 23,000 litres of diesel fuel in November 2016. The company has been fined £140,000.
See: theguardian.com
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust has launched ‘Suzy’s Charter for Workplace Safety’ to help employers of all sizes, and their employees, identify and mitigate personal safety risks.
See: suzylamplugh.org
Marcus Shepheard, a senior researcher at the Institute for Government, says a royal commission is not the answer to complex policy questions such as updating health and safety legislation.
See: instituteforgovernment.org.uk
The HSE has warned that a major incident at the Stanlow oil refinery could kill students at a nearby department at the University of Cheshire.
See: cheshire-live.co.uk
October 2019
From ‘moon-germs’ to motion sickness: health and safety on NASA’s 1969 lunar landing mission. Broadcaster and writer Dr. Laura Dawes looks back.
See: historyextra.com
UK charity Hazards Campaign has released its manifesto to improve health and safety at work, claiming that health and safety must no longer be demonised as ‘pointless red tape’ and a ‘burden on business’. It is calling for the HSE to collect statistics on all work-related deaths, injuries and illnesses across all sectors and publicise this alongside the cost to individuals, employers, society and the economy.
See: ehn-online.com
September 2019
Sarah Albon, the new chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive, took up her new post on 2nd September. Her Twitter handle is @CEO_HSE.
People who have sustained serious workplace injuries are at increased risk of suicide or fatal overdose, according to a study by Boston University’s School of Public Health published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
See: ioshmagazine.com
Brighouse-based manufacturing company Siddall and Hilton Products Ltd has been fined £16,000 plus £4831.45 in costs after breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 when a worker suffered severe crush injuries from a mesh welding machine. (HSE)
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has received almost 1,400 complaints over flaring from chemical plants owned by ExxonMobil Chemical Ltd and Shell Fife NGL at Mossmorran, Fife.
See: BBC
Potential occupational exposure risks at recycling and reuse centres are discussed in a new online video released by the IAQ Video Network and Cochrane & Associates. See: YouTube
Thirty-seven years after it was first published, the advice in William Edwards Deming’s “Out of the Crisis” seems as relevant as ever.
See: ioshmagazine.com
July 2019
Organisations that commit to ISO 45001 must focus on health as well as safety says Martin Cottam, Group technical assurance and quality director at Lloyd’s Register
Grain storage company Camgrain Stores’ in Linton, Cambridgeshire has been fined £180,000 plus £20,000 costs for breaching s 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act following the death of a worker who was hit by a lorry.
See: ioshmagazine.com
Electromagnet company Tesla Engineering of Storrington, West Sussex, has been fined £400,000 plus £7,546 costs for breaching s 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act after an employee was fatally crushed by a crane.
See: ioshmagazine.com
Fife's Mossmorran chemical plant is being investigated by the HSE for a prolonged leak of highly-flammable ethane.
See: scotsman.com
A report from the G+ Offshore Wind Health and Safety Organisation shows the total number of health and safety incidents among its members fell in 2018.
See: energylivenews.com
Luminous Group, a virtual reality company, has provided global manufacturer Morgan Advanced Materials plc with injury prevention training software that virtually simulates dangerous situations that could occur when operating heavy machinery.
See: bdaily.co.uk
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has revealed the current Inspector General and Chief Executive of the Insolvency Service, Sarah Albon, will become its new CEO on 1 September, replacing outgoing Acting Chief Executive David Snowball.
June 2019
Fuel company Valero Energy UK and tank cleaning specialist B&A Contracts have pleaded guilty to breaching ss 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act following the Pembroke refinery explosion in June 2011 which killed four workers. They have respectively been fined £5m plus £1m costs, and £140,000 plus £40,000 costs. The refinery’s former owner Chevron will pay the £5m fine.
See: ioshmagazine.com
Find out how the EU is improving workers’ rights and working conditions across Europe, from working hours and parental leave to health and safety at work:
Monsanto’s own emails and documents reveal a disinformation campaign to hide its weedkiller’s possible links to cancer.
See: theguardian.com
In 2015, there were more than 475,500 estimated respiratory disease deaths from exposure to hazardous substances. World Clean Air Day falls on 20th June.
ioshmagazine.com
Property maintenance firm T Brown Group and flooring manufacturer Altro have been fined a combined £750,000 over the death of a floor layer in September 2015. He was exposed to dichloromethane (DCM), a restricted substance under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation.
ioshmagazine.com
The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) has published a report on health risks for workers exposed to crystalline silica and is revising existing occupational disease tables. ANSES is also warning that powerful LED lights, such as those used in streetlamps and car headlights, were phototoxic and could cause lasting damage to the retina.
See: anses.fr/en/content/exposure-crystalline-silica-poses-high-risks-worker-health & anses.fr/en/content/leds-anses%E2%80%99s-recommendations-limiting-exposure-blue-light
Singapore is the safest country in the world when it comes to fire risk, according to the FM Global Resilience Index. Two years on from the Grenfell Tower fire the UK remains in 35th place out of 130 countries assessed (the same position it occupied in 2015, 2016 and 2017).
See: ifsecglobal.com
Marathon Oil has been fined £1.16m after more than two tonnes of methane gas escaped from a corroded pipe on its Brae Alpha oil rig on 26 December 2015. The company admitted breaching reg 4(1) of the Offshore Installations (Prevention of Fire and Explosion, and Emergency Response) Regulations and s 33(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
ioshmagazine.com
Sanders Plant and Waste Management of Morpeth, Northumberland has been fined £500,000 plus £14,042 in costs for breaching reg 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. A site labourer was struck and killed by a wheeled front-loading shovel in June 2015.
ioshmagazine.com
May 2019
Morpeth-based waste and recycling company Sanders Waste and Plant Management has been fined £500,000 plus £14,042 in costs after a site labourer was struck and killed by a wheeled front-loading shovel in June 2015. The company pleaded guilty to breaching reg 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
See: ioshmagazine.com
The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work was marked on 28 April. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), stress, excessively-long working hours and disease contribute to the deaths of nearly 2.8 million workers every year, while an additional 374 million people get injured or fall ill because of their jobs.
See: ilo.org
The 19th annual “Health and Well-being at Work” report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and health insurance provider Simplyhealth, found just 48% of businesses have carried out a staff stress risk assessment or stress audit, down from 58% in 2018.
See: cipd.co.uk
A crew from PR Marriott Drilling lost control of an operation to lower the vent pipe of a mud treatment rig during demobilisation in February this year at Rathlin Energy’s West Newton-A site in East Yorkshire, breaching two sections of the Lifting Operations Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER).
See: drillordrop.com
Malaysian firm Hibiscus Petroleum has given clarity on a health and safety prohibition notice served to oilfield services firm Petrofac’s North Sea Anasuria floating production vessel in February.
See: energyvoice.com
The Advocate General of the European Union Court of Justice has suggested that employers should keep records of actual hours worked by full time employees in order to comply with the Working Time Directive.
As of 6th April, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) increased its fee for intervention (FFI) hourly rate from £129 to £154.
Devonport Royal Dockyard, the largest naval base in western Europe, is facing prosecution from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) after it breached reg 8 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) on 19 September 2018.
ioshmagazine.com
Negotiators from more than 180 countries are nearing agreement on a global ban on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) linked to cancer and other health issues, but China is pushing for an exemption for use in firefighting foams.
reuters.com
April 2019
A study published in the journal Jama Psychiatry has shown that young people living with the higher levels of air pollution in England and Wales are significantly more likely to have psychotic experiences.
See: The Guardian
Public Health England’s latest Public Health Dashboard enables users to compare a range of public health data by local authority. For a sample regional analysis (East Cambridgeshire) of mortality attributable to particulate air pollution.
141 people a year (c. three people a week) on average have died in workplaces over the past eight years, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). What should safety professionals and their organisation do if an employee dies at work?
ioshmagazine.com
2 Sisters Food Group Limited of Wakefield has been fined £1.4 million with £38,000 in costs for breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 after an employee suffered multiple crush injuries while cleaning a blockage on a conveying system in September 2012. (HSE)
The ‘Noise and Wellbeing at Work 2019’ survey conducted by The Remark Group shows that noise in the workplace is having a negative impact on the wellbeing of employees and impacting significantly on their productivity.
See: remark-group.co.uk
Faiveley Transport Tamworth Ltd of Burton on Trent has been fined £90,000 plus costs of £45,000 for failing to consider the risk to employees and agency workers of exposure to hand transmitted vibration (HTV) tools in breach of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. (HSE)
Car parts manufacturer Faltec Europe Limited, whose cooling tower triggered Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in Boldon, Sunderland, between October 2014 and June 2015, has had its health and safety fine cut by almost £400,000.
See: sunderlandecho.com
Research by Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health has found that prolonged sedentary behaviour can be linked to c. 10% of deaths each year in the UK.
See: jech.bmj.com
Yorkshire-based Karro Foods Ltd has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company has been fined £1,866,000 and ordered to pay £8,019 in costs after two workers suffered serious injuries from falling through a roof light in April 2016. (HSE)
March 2019
The Court of Appeal has reduced fines imposed by lower courts under the Sentencing Council's Definitive Guideline for Health and Safety Offences ('the guideline') in two recent cases. The first is the case of NPS London Ltd, fined £370,000 in July 2017 for a breach of section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) relating to an asbestos survey, identification and removal. The second is the related case of NPS London’s subcontractor, Squibb Group Ltd.
See: Out-law.com
Balfour Beatty Group Employment, a division of Balfour Beatty, has pleaded guilty to breaching reg 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 following the death of an employee on the third Don crossing site in Aberdeen, Scotland in January 2016.
IOSH Magazine
Article: Caroline Criado Perez on how a world built for the 'default male' (from body armour to crash-test dummies) can have fatal consequences for women.
See: The Guardian
Birmingham-based Landor Cartons have been fined £200,000 plus over £12,500 in costs following the death of a contractor who fell through a broken skylight in October 2017. The firm pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005. (Print Week)
Food manufacturer 2 Sisters Food Group has been fined a total of £274,000 after two workers sustained hand injuries at its poultry factory in Flixton, Suffolk. (IOSH Magazine)
The Health and Safety Executive’s science division is now working through 870 tonnes of evidence related to the partial collapse at Didcot Power Station on 23 February 2016 in which four men died. (IOSH Magazine)
Chemical manufacturers Fine Organics Ltd (now trading as Lianhetec), Seals Sands, Teesside, have been found guilty of breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for multiple failings in their handling of hazardous substances. Workers were repeatedly exposed to skin sensitising chemicals from October 2013 to December 2016. (HSE)
A more robust system of reporting workplace falls overseen by a new independent body, and a major review of work at height culture that will consider the introduction of tough financial penalties for safety breaches, are just two of the key findings of an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).
See: IPAF
Lifting and handling equipment manufacturer Jost (UK) Limited of Bolton has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and fined £134,000 plus costs of £4,572 after a worker’s arm was pulled into a metalworking lathe in June 2017.
See: This Is Lancashire
Safety & Health Expo 2019 will be held on 18-20 June at ExCeL London. Registration for free tickets is now open.
See: Safety Health Expo
Two companies have been fined after a contract worker was fatally crushed at a Welsh paper mill in February 2017. C M Downton pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, fined £350,000 plus costs of £6,614. UPM-Kymmene was also fined £350,000 plus £6,712 costs after it admitted breaching Section 3(1) of the same act. (IOSH Magazine)
February 2019
The threat of a no-deal Brexit has prompted more than 50 chemicals companies to move regulatory approvals from the UK to the EU. The companies, which have operations in the UK, have applied to use European Union regulators for critical authorisations to protect their ability to do business legally.
See: The Guardian
Research by the University of Greenwich and Glasgow Caledonian University, and published in the latest edition of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s (IOSH) Policy and Practice in Health and Safety journal, shows that recycling and waste collection systems used throughout the UK could be causing significant long-term musculoskeletal issues for refuse collection workers.
See: HSM
Union leaders are calling for stronger workers’ rights protection – including on health and safety – to be drafted into a revised EU Withdrawal Agreement. (Health & Safety At Work)
Veolia Environmental Services (UK) of London, has been found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, fined £1m and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £130,000 following a fatality at its Ross Depot Waste Transfer Station in Folkestone, Kent in October 2013. (Health & Safety At Work)
2020 will be the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s 75th anniversary. To mark the event, IOSH is launching its Pioneers of Progress project “to right some wrongs and tell the story of our great profession, its past, present and how we think we will shape safer, healthier workplaces in future”. (IOSH)
EDF Energy Nuclear Generation has pleaded guilty to breaching s 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and been fined £200,000 following serious injury to a worker in a fall at Hinkley Point B power station in Bridgwater, Somerset in April 2017. Engineering firm Doosan Babcock has been fined £150,000 after it admitted breaching reg 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations in the same incident.
See: IOSH
The cladding used on Grenfell Tower was 55 times more flammable than the least flammable panels on the market according to new research by academics at the University of Central Lancashire published in the Journal for Hazardous Materials.
See: Science Direct
“A manifesto for a health and safety system fit for workers: Decent jobs and decent lives” has been launched by the UK charity The Hazards Campaign.
See: Hazards Campaign
On 29th January, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached a provisional agreement on the Commission's third proposal to broaden the list of recognised cancer-causing chemicals in the workplace. With this agreement, 5 additional cancer-causing chemicals will be covered by the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive.
See: OSHA
January 2019
Mental Health at Work is a superb online resource for documents, guides, tips, videos, courses, podcasts, templates and information from key organisations across the UK, all aimed at helping companies to manage workplace mental health.
See: www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk
The 2016 Safety & Health Expo will be held at ExCel London on 18-20 June. For details on registering as an exhibitor or visitor
Representatives of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) have attended a cross-border forum on health & safety hosted at the EU Parliament in Strasbourg, France, concerned with sharing best practice and comparing regulatory regimes in Germany and France.
See: IPAF
Steel company Celsa Manufacturing (UK) Limited will stand trial later this year after two of its employees died in an explosion at its Splott, Cardiff plant in November 2015. The company faces one count under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
See: walesonline.co.uk
The UK government is investing £26.6m from its Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) in projects to develop robots and unmanned aerial vehicles to substitute for human workers in hazardous environments such as pressure vessels, offshore wind farms and end-of-life nuclear facilities.
ioshmagazine.com
February 2018
ISO 45001 is due to be published this month. Although businesses certified under British Standard OHSAS 18001 will have three years to transition to the new standard, plans to do so should be put in place as soon as possible as the changes will require adaptation of current management systems.
See: out-law.com
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has recommended adding seven substances of very high concern (SVHCs) to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation (REACH) list for authorisation.
See: ioshmagazine.com
Tata Steel has been fined £1.4m after a maintenance electrician was crushed to death by an overhead crane in April 2010. Tata pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 and Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £1.4 million with costs of £140,000. (HSE)
The Environmental Services Association (ESA), has launched a new health and safety report examining the “contrasting performance” across the waste industry. Recent HSE statistics revealed fatalities in the waste and recycling sector to be around 15 times higher than the all-UK industry average, with 39 worker fatalities recorded since 2012.
See: ciwm-journal.co.uk
Total Lindsey Oil Refinery (LOR), the owner of the Lindsey Oil Refinery in Killingholme, North Lincolnshire, has been sentenced after tonnes of flammable butane gas escaped from the plant in March 2015. Total LOR pleaded guilty to breaching reg 4(1) of the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999, and was fined £400,000 plus £15,975 costs.
See: ioshmagazine.com
Booking is now open for the British Safety Council’s The Health & Safety Event to be held on 10 - 12 April 2018 at the NEC, Birmingham. Attendance is free.
See: healthandsafetyevents.co.uk
Belper-based RMB Contractors has been found guilty of breaching s 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and fined £75,000 plus £24,483 in costs after a worker was crushed to death in December 2014.
See: ioshmagazine.com
Dr. James M Melius, a nationally-recognised advocate for US workers’ safety and health rights, has died. Dr. Melius was one of the architects of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which established an extensive programme of medical monitoring and healthcare services for first responders, volunteers and survivors of the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks.
See: ioshmagazine.com
Cisco is to work with startup Cortexica in an Innovate UK-funded project to improve physical safety in the workplace through the use of artificial intelligence.
See: computerweekly.com
A useful overview of health and safety sentencing for organisations under the Definitive Guideline is provided here by Pinsent Masons LLP:
Shell UK has been issued with an improvement notice by the HSE over a gas leak on the Brent Bravo North Sea platform in November 2017 which was caused by lack of maintenance on valves. The company has also been granted an extension to the date by when it must improve safety procedures at its St Fergus gas plant in Aberdeenshire.
See: ioshmagazine.com
January 2018
The British government may have breached a major “environmental democracy” law by failing to consult the public when drawing up Brexit legislation. A UN-backed committee has confirmed it is considering a complaint from Friends of the Earth that the government’s EU withdrawal bill breached the Aarhus convention, which requires public consultation on any new environmental law.
See: unece.org
Rodent Service (East Anglia) Ltd of Lowestoft has pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after storing non-approved biocides and pesticides. It was fined £100,000 plus costs of £10,000. (HSE)
The environment secretary Michael Gove has acknowledged that China’s restrictions on the import of secondary materials will “cause some issues” for recycling in the UK and noted that affected businesses are now exporting plastics and paper to other markets including Turkey, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia.
See: mrw.co.uk
Spanish firm Porvi Construcciones y Contratas, appointed by Befesa Salt Slags as principal contractor to demolish redundant processing machinery at a salt slag recycling facility in Wales, has been convicted in absentia and fined £3m after one of its workers died in a crush incident.
See: ioshmagazine.com
Birmingham-based Mercian Recycling Ltd has pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and has been fined £80,000 plus costs of £2,498.34 after an employee was paralysed by being trapped inside a moving conveyor. (HSE)
The Health & Safety Event (exhibition and conference) will be held at the NEC, Birmingham from 10th-12th April. It is free to attend. For visitor and exhibitor details, and to register, see:
Countrystyle Recycling Ltd of Maidstone has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and to breaching Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 after a worker suffered life threatening head injuries. The company has been fined £666,700 plus costs of £8,424. (HSE)
The “Assessing the impact of Brexit on the UK waste resource management sector” (July 2017) Report funded by Cardiff University aims to discuss potential policy pathways for the waste sector after Brexit.
The number of people aged 25 and under studying health and safety qualifications has more than doubled in the last five years according to the latest information from NEBOSH, the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health.
October 2017
Any company subject to REACH needs to be aware of the implications of Brexit. Following the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee inquiry into the future of chemicals regulation post-Brexit, Peter Newport, Chief Executive of the Chemical Business Association (CBA), comments on the Committee’s findings.
See: Reach and Brexit – Select Committee provides a reality… - www.chemicalindustryjournal.co.uk
The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has published the results of its inquiry into the future of chemicals regulation post-Brexit.
Horley-based waste collection and recycling company United Grab Hire has pleaded guilty to breaching ss 4(1) and 17(1) of the Workplace (Health and Safety Welfare) Regulations after the death of a worker hit by a reversing telehandler in July 2016. The firm was fined £500,000 plus £5,968 costs.
See: www.ioshmagazine.com
Scottish Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse has promised to ensure the health and safety of offshore workers remains “paramount” after a suspected leak shut down production on BP’s Glen Lyon floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel at the end of September. The Glen Lyon is currently the biggest oil production ship in the world and works on the Schiehallion field west of Shetland.
See: www.energyvoice.com
The 5.4 million people in the UK who have asthma should be aware of air quality on a daily basis according to Asthma UK. The issue has been highlighted by the Saharan dust driven across parts of the UK by Hurricane Ophelia. Anyone concerned about air pollution should check uk-air.defra.gov.uk/forecasting
Swindon-based scaffolding company Boundary Scaffolding Limited has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and fined £80,000 plus costs of £1415.10 after a scaffolder was electrocuted by 33KV overhead power lines. The electrocution led to severe burns and the subsequent amputation of the employee’s left arm above the elbow, right arm below the elbow and both of his feet. (HSE)
Three companies, Sembcorp Utilities (UK) Limited, Central Industrial Services (Northern) Ltd and R & A Kay Inspection Services Ltd, have pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 after an employee suffered serious fractures to his leg which led to amputation after a boiler pressure test at a Biomass power station in Cleveland in December 2013. Fines and costs to all three companies combined were in excess of £1.5 million. (HSE)
The final ISO 45001 international standard for occupational safety and health management systems is likely to go to a final draft before publication next year, following a meeting to discuss comments on the current draft. ISO 45001 is expected to replace the British Standard OHSAS 18001. A three-year transition period is anticipated after publication of the final standard.
See: www.ioshmagazine.com
Spanish construction company Porvi Construcciones y Contratas has been found guilty of two health and safety charges following the death of a worker near Whitchurch in July 2015 during demolition work at an aluminium recycling plant. The company did not attend the trial nor was it represented by lawyers. Fines have not yet been specified.
See: www.leaderlive.co.uk
Contractors who cut through a pipe at Stanlow Oil Terminal in Cheshire and caused an explosion in an oil treatment tank in January 2015 had been issued a permit to work copied from the previous week’s, although the hazard profile had changed.
See: www.ioshmagazine.com
Chevron has been served with an improvement notice after a worker suffered a serious injury on the Alba Northern installation on 6 May this year during lifting operations.
See: BBC
September 2017
The Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes on his mission to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been released - with a damning assessment of the current situation and the risks of Brexit. To download the report see:
According to new estimates from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other bodies, published in “Global Estimates of Occupational Accidents and Work-related Illnesses 2017”, there are 2.78 million annual work-related fatalities. These result in the loss of 3.9% of GDP, at an annual cost of roughly €2 680 billion.
See: www.ioshmagazine.com
Vinyl Compound Ltd of High Park, Derbyshire has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 after an employee died when his fork lift truck overturned. The company has been fined £450,000 and ordered to pay costs of £71,778.20. (HSE)
Food manufacturer Greencore Grocery has pleaded to breaching s 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act after a contract electrician sustained fatal injuries after falling from a stepladder. It was fined £1m plus £30,000 costs.
See: www.ioshmagazine.com
Thomas Panels & Profiles Limited of Southern Avenue, Leominster has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 after an employee was fatally crushed. It has been fined £285,000 and ordered to pay costs of £29,961.48. (HSE)
Shell was ordered to shut down the Armada platform, 132 miles east of Aberdeen, by health and safety inspectors in June over concerns that corroded pipework in the flare system could cause an explosion. Production was resumed on 9th July. The company has been served with six safety notices for incidents in the North Sea since May.
See: BBC
Heathcoat Fabrics Limited of Tiverton, Devon has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 after an employee had to have four fingers partially amputated in a rotating roller incident. It was fined £300,000 plus of £2862.30. (HSE)
August 2017
Three companies working in a consortium on London's Crossrail project have been fined a combined £1m for three separate failures, plus costs of £42,337.28. One of the incidents led to the death of a construction worker who was killed in 2014 by a tonne of wet concrete being poured onto him. Bam, Ferrovial and Kier (BFK) admitted the health and safety breaches at Southwark Crown Court on 28th July.
See: IB Times
Oil & Gas UK has revealed an improvement in performance in the latest annual health and safety data report into the UK offshore industry operating in the UK Continental Shelf. The Health & Safety Report 2017 highlighted the collectively lowest level for dangerous incidents such as oil and gas releases, dropped objects, fires, and explosions.
Signature Flight Support, which handles private jets at London Luton Airport, has pleaded guilty to breaching s 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act after an employee was crushed by a hangar door on 28th April 2015. The company was fined £250,000 penalty plus costs of almost £20,000. The employee remains in a vegetative state.
See: ioshmagazine.com
Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, has warned that individuals responsible for the Grenfell Tower disaster could face gross negligence manslaughter charges. The crime carries a maximum life term and, under sentencing guidelines, a “starting point” of at least 12 years for offenders with a “very high” level of culpability.
See: standard.co.uk
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has stated that a new report, “The Need for Standardized Sustainability Reporting Practices” by the Center for Safety and Health Sustainability (CSHS), demonstrates the need to improve corporate reporting practices for occupational illnesses, injuries and fatalities.
See: IOSH
The value of fines collected for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities has doubled in a year, according to a research report from global law firm Clyde & Co. The report is available here as a PDF:
The business benefits of maintaining a healthy and happy workforce will be the focus of IOSH’S 42nd National Safety and Health Conference which will be held at the Nottingham Belfry on 14th September.
See: IOSH
Soft toy filling company The Stuffing Plant Ltd (TSP) of Mexborough has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and has been fined £35,000 with £2,486 costs after a worker lost his left hand in an unguarded carding machine on 8th March 2016. (HSE)
January 2017
PSL Worldwide Projects Ltd of Bridgewater Lane, Washington, Tyne and Wear, has been found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 after two workers were seriously burned by Sodium Hydroxide granules during cleaning of a pipework system in July 2014. The company was fined £150,000, but no costs were awarded due to it being in liquidation. (HSE)
ConocoPhillips (UK) Ltd has failed in its bid to reduce the level of fine (£3 million plus over £159,000 towards costs) handed down after an offshore multiple gas release incident on the Lincolnshire Offshore Gas Gathering System (LOGGS) installation in the North Sea in November 2012. At the appeal hearing on 11 October 2016, Lord Justice Treacy dismissed the appeal. (HSE)
AMG Superalloys UK Ltd of Rotherham has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and fined £240,000 with £22,794 costs after a worker was dragged into exposed machinery and lost his left arm in September 2014. (HSE)
Three companies have been sentenced after a worker’s leg was broken in six places in a trench collapse in March 2012. Kier MG Ltd (formerly known as May Gurney Ltd), pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. They were fined £1.5 million and ordered to pay £23,327.83. John Henry & Sons (Civil Engineers) Ltd of Cambridge were found guilty of breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. They were fined £550,000 and ordered to pay £166,217. Lawless Civils Ltd of Lincoln, pleaded guilty to the same breach. They were fined £40,500 and ordered to pay £53,346. (HSE)
SmithKline Beecham Ltd has been fined £55,000 for health and safety failings following an explosion at the Irvine plant in July 2013 which left two employees injured after exposure to potassium clavulanate.
See: dailyrecord.co.uk
The majority of offshore workers believe health-and-safety standards have dropped in the last six months, according to a survey completed by 780 workers in late 2016 (93% of them Unite members). Just over a third of the workers said they felt they were unable to report concerns due to fears of victimisation, and Unite is calling for a confidential helpline to be set up.
See: energyvoice.com
A new book investigating the changing context of health and safety policy and concerns arising in the OSH profession, has been published. Health and Safety in a Changing World (2017, Routledge) is the result of a major five-year research programme funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
See: IOSH
Volvo Group UK Limited of Warwick has been fined £900,000 plus costs of £5,820 after a worker fell from a stepladder and suffered serious head injuries in September 2015. At the time of the incident, Volvo UK had not trained their staff to select, inspect and use access equipment for work at height.
See: shponline.co.uk
December 2016
A £1.8 million fine for health and safety failings imposed on ports operator C.RO Ports in January this year was "manifestly excessive", according to the Court of Appeal, which has reduced the amount due to £500,000. C.RO Ports operate ports in the Netherlands and at Killingholme, Sutton Bridge and Purfleet in the UK.
See: out-law.com
Three companies have been jointly fined over £1m after a worker died and two others were badly injured at a construction site in Putney, when a temporary platform collapsed. All three companies (St James Group Limited of Cobham, Surrey; Mitchellson Formwork and Civil Engineering Limited, of Slough, Berkshire; and RGF Construction Limited of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire) pleaded guilty to breaching parts of the Construction (Design and Management) [CDM] Regulations 2007. (HSE)
Liverpool-based plastic processing and reprocessing company Centriforce Products has been fined £200,000 plus £9,230.00 costs after a worker suffered serious injuries when his arm was caught in rollers on a recycling line in March 2015.
See: The Business Desk
The Health and Safety Executive’s Health and Safety in the Waste sector in GB report shows there were six fatalities to workers in the waste sector over the period 2015/16. This brings the figure up to thirty waste worker fatalities over the past five years.
The reasons why process safety systems must be followed when dealing with flammable substances and dusts were demonstrated on 9th November to safety and health professionals by the Hazardous Industries Group of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL).
See: IOSH
Amtek Aluminium Casting of Witham has been fined £250,000 after a worker had his hand mangled in a rotary drill. The company admitted failing to provide training, instructions and a risk assessment.
The TUC and BOHS, the Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection, have produced a new guide explaining the importance of occupational hygiene and the role it plays in controlling occupational health hazards.
Download the guide here: TUC
Uxbridge-based Martin Baker Aircraft Company Limited, a manufacturer of ejector seats, has been fined £800,000 after three workers developed extrinsic allergic alveolitis (hypersensitivity pneumonitis) after years of exposure to working metal fluid mist. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974) and Regulation 6(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended) (COSHH) and were fined £800,000 plus costs of £36,912.36. (HSE)
November 2016
RoSPA celebrate their centenary in 2017. To mark the occasion, they have launched the Patron's Award, a new level of award for organisations that have achieved 25+ years of gold awards.
See: RoSPA
Tesco Stores and Tesco Maintenance have been prosecuted by the HSE and received fines totalling £500,000, after a worker fell through the skylight of one of the retailer's stores in Liscard Village, Wallasey, in June 2014.
See: pfmonthenet.net
IOSH have published a new free guide aimed at safety and health professionals in organisations of all sizes with responsibilities to manage employee health. It contains checklists, flowcharts, templates and links to further resources.
See: IOSH and download the guide here
A male employee of BAM Nuttall died on Friday 28th October after sustaining as-yet unspecified injuries at Blackhillock electricity substation in Moray, Scotland. The company is working in joint venture with Siemens under a five-year framework for SHE Transmission to upgrade substations in the region.
October 2016
Valero Energy UK Limited (formerly ChevronTexaco), of Pembroke Refinery, Pembrokeshire, has pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after a worker suffered fractures and lacerations to both legs in an incident in March 2012. The company was fined £400 000 and ordered to pay costs of £60 614.
See: shponline.co.uk
The nation's best health and safety officer has been announced as Helen Edwards, lead safety representative at Sellafield's operations division. She was awarded the Health and Safety Representative Award at the Trades Union Congress Awards.
See: in-cumbria.com
Network Rail has been fined £4m plus £34,000 in costs for health and safety breaches which led to a woman’s death on a level crossing near Needham Market in Suffolk in 2011. An investigation by the Office of Rail and Road found Network Rail had failed to act on "substantial evidence that pedestrians were exposed to an increased risk of being struck by a train".
See: itv.com
Nearly half of UK workplaces have never had a health and safety inspection – including more than 80 per cent of construction workplaces – according to a new Trades Union Congress (TUC) survey of health and safety representatives published on 19 September 2016.
See: tuc.org.uk
G4S Cash Solutions (UK) Ltd has been fined £1.8m plus Harlow Council costs of c. £34,000 for failing to protect its workers from the risk of Legionnaires’ disease. The cash handling arm of the security contract company pleaded guilty to two charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
See: professionalsecurity.co.uk
Food processing company Baxters Food Group has been fined £70,000 after it admitted that serious health and safety failings had caused a worker’s hand to become mutilated in a pie machine.
The Scrappers Ltd (formerly Metro Salvage), which featured in a BBC TV programme, has been fined £30,000 plus £26,687 in costs after a worker suffered severe facial injuries from a steel saw he was using to cut a catalytic converter.
See: theboltonnews.co.uk
September 2016
Anglian Demolition and Asbestos Limited of Attleborough, Norfolk, has been found guilty to an offence under Regulation 11(2) of the REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008. The company sold on a boiler containing an asbestos gasket from the boiler house at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Ely.
See: ely-news.co.uk
The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), a not-for-profit members’ organisation, has a wealth of resources to promote the safe and effective use of powered platforms. It has released updated guidance on exiting platforms at height: what hazards should be considered in the risk assessment, and what control measures should be taken.
See: ipaf.org
August 2016
The HSE has published its provisional annual data for work-related fatal accidents in the UK. They show that 144 people were killed while at work in 2015/2016 – up from 142 in 2014/5. A more detailed assessment of the data will be provided as part of the annual Health and Safety Statistics release in early November. The provisional figures are summarised here:
Not included in the HSEs provisional figures for work-related fatal accidents in the UK are the deaths of five workers at the Hawkeswood Metal recycling site in Birmingham on 7th July.
See: BBC
Tata Steel has been ordered to pay more than £2 million after two workers suffered serious injuries to their hands in separate incidents at its Corby, Northamptonshire, plant in September 2014 and February 2015. Both incidents involved inadequate guarding on machinery.
See: theguardian.com
Glasgow-based Scottish Power Generation Limited is to challenge a £1.75 million fine for health and safety failings which led to a worker's horrific scalding at the now-shut Longannet Power Station in October 2013. The HSE investigation revealed that the company was aware of a defective valve but failed to repair or remove it.
See: dunfermlinepress.com
The winner of the country’s most prestigious occupational health and safety award, RoSPA’s Sir George Earle Trophy, is Wessex Engineering and Construction Services, part of Wessex Water. The company was judged to have unique, interesting and transferrable lessons to contribute to the rest of the UK industry. The industry sector award winners in the RoSPA Awards 2016 can be seen here:
See: pwemag.co.uk
Manchester-based Stone Superstore Ltd has been fined almost £40,000 plus £9,221 costs after a fatal incident at its warehouse in October 2010. A 27 year old employee was crushed by around a tonne of stone floor tiles that spilled from a forklift truck. None of the company’s forklift truck drivers had ever received formal training despite it being required by the HSE’s code of practice.
Bev Messinger has been announced as the new chief executive of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). Commencing her role in October, Ms. Messinger has previous experience of organisational transformation at Ofwat and Coventry City Council.
See: IOSH
July 2016
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has stated that, post-Brexit, the UK now has less influence over EU law. It is, however, vital the UK continues to apply our successful risk-based health and safety system which includes laws from EU directives, because it's respected and imitated across the world.
See: IOSH
A new global model for defining competency in occupational safety and health has been developed by IOSH and a cross-sector group of industry experts. IOSH Blueprint is a competency framework, designed for both the OSH professional and any organisation. Announcements will be made later this year on the phased roll-out of IOSH Blueprint.
See: IOSH
Shell has been reprimanded by the HSE for failing to carry out a suitable risk assessment after workers were placed in danger in December 2015 following a nine-day gas leak on the normally-unattended installation (NUI) Caravel in the UK southern North Sea, operated by Shell’s ONEgas business unit. The release likely to be classed as “major” category under HSE classification – and no enforcement action has yet been taken.
See: Energy Voice
IOSH and the International SOS Foundation have collaborated to produce a new guide on mobile workers' safety when travelling for work, or on international assignments. After outlining the principles of assessing risk, the new publication makes the case for dynamic risk assessment, in which risk is constantly re-assessed in line with changing health, security and political conditions.
See: IOSH
The IOSH 2017 Conference will take place on November 20-21 at the International Convention Centre (ICC), in Birmingham.
See: IOSH
The number of individual points (almost 3,000) raised at a consultation on the ISO 45001 draft international standard (DIS) for occupational safety and health has led to its publication being delayed until - probably - June 2017. However, it is anticipated that a further draft reflecting any changes can be produced by October 2016, the month originally planned for publication.
See: IOSH
John Pointon and Sons Limited, a food waste disposal and recycling business, has been fined £250,000 plus costs of £37,362 after three employees were affected by toxic gases, including hydrogen sulphide, and a reduced oxygen atmosphere, at an animal waste facility in Stoke-on-Trent in April 2014. The company breached Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Regulation 5(1) of the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997.
See: wamanagement.co.uk
June 2016
IOSH is inviting members to apply to join the Institution’s team of Vice-Presidents. Two new members are required to take on the role for a period of three years, beginning in November 2016 at IOSH’s AGM. Applicants will need to be either a Chartered Member on an IOSH committee or a Chartered Fellow, and have their CPD, if being undertaken, up-to-date. For a job description and application form, contact Laura Miles at laura.miles@iosh.co.uk. Completed forms must be returned by Friday 15 July.
See: IOSH
ScottishPower has been fined £1.75 million for serious health and safety flaws which led to a horrific accident at Longannet Power Station. Despite being identified as faulty in May 2009, a valve was not repaired and led to an employee being scalded by high pressure, high temperature steam in October 2013 which resulted in his medical retirement at the age of 51.
See: thecourier.co.uk
May 2016
Tragically, on Worker's Memorial Day (28th April), a construction worker was killed by the moving boom on a Giraffe crane on the Queensferry Crossing’s north tower.
See:BBC
Dame Judith Hackitt, DBE, former Chair of the HSE has received the Institute of Risk Management (IRM) 2016 lifetime achievement award.
See: theirm.org
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced Martin Temple as the new Chair of HSE after Dame Judith Hackitt stepped down.
See: Gov.uk
In early May, IOSH will invite members to take part in a short survey that will inform the Institution’s 2017-2022 strategy.
See: IOSH
Bowmer & Kirkland has been fined by the HSE for breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulation 2005 after a worker was injured in May 2014 falling through a gap in a retail building that was under construction.
See: constructionmanagermagazine.com
The HSE will lead the health and safety stream at the Manufacturing Management Conference at Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire on 15-16 June. Alan Craddock, head of manufacturing, transportation and safety unit, HSE, will talk on hidden hazards in the workplace and ‘long latency’ health risks in a session that will explain how to become an industry leader in health and safety.
Shell has released its Sustainability Report for 2015, outlining its global approach to sustainability and covering its environmental and social performance for the year.
See: shell.com
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has launched the 2016-2017 Healthy Workplaces for All Ages campaign. It aims to promote sustainable work and healthy ageing and the importance of risk prevention throughout working life.
April 2016
Swire Pacific Offshore has been served with a Health and Safety (HSE) improvement notice after a suspected gas leak incident involving Shell’s Curlew FPSO in the North Sea in January 2015. The HSE notice includes an inadequate safe system of work and insufficient risk assessment.
See: energyvoice.com
Marathon Oil has been issued with an improvement notice after determination that a 2148KG gas release on the Brae Alpha North Sea platform on December 26th 2015 was caused by a "catastrophic" failure of pipework which had not been properly inspected for more than 30 years.
See: BBC
A research team at Imperial College, London, has linked thousands of UK cancer deaths with different occupations. It found almost 14,000 new cases of cancer caused by work are registered each year, and around 8,000 deaths a year are caused by occupational cancer. IOSH’s No Time to Lose campaign aims to get carcinogenic exposure issues more widely understood and help businesses take action.
See: notimetolose.org.uk
March 2016
Supermarket chain Aldi has been fined £100,000 plus £5,000 costs for a health and safety violation which resulted in an unsecured smoking shelter lifting into the air and trapping a Darlington employee on 21 October 2014. Contractors Wilkinson Maintenance were fined £20,000 plus £5,000 costs.
Crossrail has launched a knowledge-sharing website to spread lessons learned during its construction. The Crossrail Learning Legacy aims to share knowledge and insight via case studies, technical papers and datasets providing lessons and recommendations to help others. It will also showcase the experts behind the delivery of the Crossrail programme.
See: learninglegacy.crossrail.co.uk
A report from the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Paediatrics and Child Health, Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution, examines the impact of exposure to air pollution across the course of a lifetime. Each year in the UK, around 40,000 early deaths are attributable to exposure to outdoor air pollution which has been linked to cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and changes linked to dementia. The cost of these deaths add up to more than £20 billion every year.
See: rcplondon.ac.uk
The Global Healthy Workplace Awards, dedicated to the recognition of practices and programs in the global workplace, are now accepting applications from around the world for review by an international panel of judges representing five continents with expertise in health promotion, health policy, occupational health and associated disciplines. The application deadline is 22nd March.
See: OSHA
February 2016
Tough new sentencing guidelines on health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences from the Sentencing Council came into effect on 1 February. They introduce three key factors in determining fines: the degree of harm caused, the culpability of the offender and the turnover of the offending organisation. To download the guidelines see:
Watts Group, a Belfast-based consultancy to the property and construction industry, has been fined £30,000 for health and safety breaches which resulted in two construction workers being exposed to asbestos in early 2013 while replacing doors in the service ducts beneath Holywell Hospital, Antrim.
See: insidermedia.com
The history of occupational health and safety in the UK is being preserved on the History of Occupational Safety and Health website. The website, set up by safety charity the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accident’s (RoSPA) National Occupational Safety and Health Committee (NOSHC), charts more than 200 years of industrial history.
See: historyofosh.org.uk
National Grid Gas plc have been fined £1 million and ordered to pay costs of £26,296 for breaching Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act after a worker became trapped in a ruptured gas main in Scunthorpe in June 2014. HSE Inspector Ian Redshaw, said: “This incident could easily have become a fatality… This whole incident should act as a stark warning to all those involved in hazardous work – you can have all the written policies in place but it you do not follow them, if you do not carry out the risk assessments for the task, people could die.”
See: tomorrowshs.com
A new monthly magazine for members of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) was launched on 1 February. It replaces Safety and Health Practitioner as the official monthly publication for IOSH members.
See: IOSH
Bellmoor Construction Limited and Clive Graham Associates Limited (CGA) have each been fined £45,000 plus £6,612 costs after two workers narrowly escaped death when a giant fireball engulfed them when one accidentally cut into a live 11,000 volts electrical cable under the House of Lords in July 2013.
See: independent.co.uk
January 2016
Corporate budgets for environment, health and safety (EH&S) initiatives look set to increase in 2016, according to a new survey from analyst firm Verdantix. The study was based on a survey of 312 EH&S executives around the world.
See: businessgreen.com
French energy giant Total has been fined £1.125 million, the largest ever fine relating to a health and safety issue in the North Sea oil and gas sector. The company pleaded guilty to failings in its installation and repair procedures relating to a major leak from its Elgin platform in March 2012.
See: theweek.co.uk
The HSE and Merseyside Police are investigating the death of a contract worker who was killed in a fall from a roof at Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant on 22nd December 2015.
The National Grid has been fined £2 million after admitting safety failings in relation to the death of an 11 year old boy who fell from a pipeline which ran along the outside of the Dugdale Bridge on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Burnley in April 2014.
See: natwestmentor.co.uk
Scientist Paul Hamey, Head of the Exposure Branch in the HSE’s Chemicals Regulation Directorate, has been as awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours list for services to the regulation of pesticides.
See: hortweek.com
Anglian Water has been fined £400,000 for offences under Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 which led to three workers being injured at the Dunstable and Saffron Walden water recycling centres.
December 2015
UK crane rental company Baldwins Crane Hire has been found guilty of corporate manslaughter and two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act, following the death of an operator at the Scout Moor wind farm in Edenfield, East Lancashire in 2011.
See:
The UK Chemicals Stakeholder Forum has published a short briefing note for companies to help explain the substance registration process before the third and final REACH registration deadline in May 2018. For a free copy, see:
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has welcomed the Government’s pledge to invest extra funds to help people with disabilities and health conditions. This will include extra spending on Access to Work, which will provide specialist IT equipment or support workers to help 25,000 more disabled people remain in work each year.
See:
The newly revised version of ISO 14001:2015, published in September, offers easier integration between ISO 14001, ISO 9001 and the new OHSAS 18001 replacement, ISO 45001, published next year. It also brings with it additional requirements on: leadership, strategic context, interested party analysis and communication, risks and opportunities and lifecycle perspective.
See:
The Sentencing Council has issued new definitive guidelines on the sentencing of health and safety offences. The new guidelines will come into force on 1 February 2016, regardless of the date of the offence, and will alter the way individuals or businesses are sentenced by criminal courts in cases involving health and safety, corporate manslaughter, and food safety offences.
See:
An experimental drone fitted with sensors is being deployed to monitor gases rising from Britain's 200 landfill sites. The drone project, run by the University of Manchester and the Environment Agency, is to find ways of reducing the 830,000 tonnes of methane from the waste sector each year.
See:
The Crown Prosecution Service has announced there will be no corporate manslaughter charges after the storage tank explosion that killed four workers at the Chevron (now Valero) oil refinery in Pembrokeshire in 2011. The HSE investigation continues.
See:
November 2015
CITB-authorised test centres have been caught on camera by a joint BBC London/Newsnight investigation rigging construction health and safety exams for the CSCS skills card. The health, safety and environment test is a basic requirement for people looking to work on most sites.
See:
A report by the all-party parliamentary group on occupational safety and health calls for regulations requiring the safe phased and planned removal of all the remaining asbestos in Britain in workplaces and public buildings. This year, according to official figures, 5,000 people in Britain are likely to die prematurely as a result of asbestos exposure - around three times the number of road accident deaths.
See:
September 2015
On 9th September, the North East of Scotland Branch of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) heard about the potential hazards of nanoparticles and the need for ongoing research into their health and safety implications as they are increasingly being used in healthcare and technology industries.
See:
Anglian Demolition and Asbestos Limited of Attleborough, Norfolk, has been found guilty to an offence under Regulation 11(2) of the REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008. The company sold on a boiler containing an asbestos gasket from the boiler house at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Ely.
See:
Designer clothing company Hugo Boss has been fined £1.2m over the death of a young boy crushed by a free-standing mirror at its Bicester Village store in June 2013.
See:
The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) has launched a new initiative, Asbestos Still Kills, highlighting BOHS’ industry leading suite of asbestos qualifications, and the facts around asbestos and its risks. Asbestos still presents significant risk, killing around 5000 workers each year.
The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), a not-for-profit members’ organisation, has a wealth of resources to promote the safe and effective use of powered platforms. It has released updated guidance on exiting platforms at height: what hazards should be considered in the risk assessment, and what control measures should be taken.
See:
August 2015
A worker for Balfour Beatty, believed to be in his 20s, was killed on the southbound side of the M3 in roadworks between Junctions 1 and 2 near Sunbury, on Monday 27 July.
See:
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has welcomed the parts of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 that require commercial organisations above a certain turnover to produce an annual statement showing how they ensured there is no modern slavery in their business and supply chain.
See:
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is seeking entrants to its 2015 Excellence in Communication Award which recognises outstanding communications in promoting occupational safety and health. The deadline for nominations is 28 September.
See:
A BBC investigation has found that days lost to stress-related sickness by doctors at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust have increased by more than 430% in five years. Stress-related sickness has also risen in other hospital trusts.
See:
The government has agreed to waive new court fees for cases involving asbestos-related disease. The decision follows an application for judicial review lodged by law firm Leigh Day on behalf of the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK.
See:
Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd has pleaded guilty to breaching section 3 (1) of HSWA 1974 and been fined £200,000 with £17,790 costs after a worker contracted to specialist construction company London Fenestration Trades Ltd died in a fall in November 2011.
See:
July 2015
A collection of vintage safety posters from between the 1930s and 1970s found in a Birmingham warehouse are to be published in a book celebrating the centenary of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa). The book, Safety First, by Dr Paul Rennie of Central St Martins College of Art and Design, was published on 18 June.
See:
Cwmbran-based MDS Recycling has been ordered to pay £45,000 plus £3,207 costs. This is the largest ever fine handed to a Welsh company for flouting fire safety regulations.
See:
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust has been fined £50,000 following an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in 2011 that may have hastened the death of an elderly patient. It was also ordered to pay more than £38,000 in costs.
See:
Twenty UK tradespeople, on average, die every week from asbestos related diseases. The HSE has launched a web app to provide simple, practical advice for anyone working with asbestos.
See:
On June 11th, members of IOSH’s Edinburgh branch paid a visit to BP’s Kinneil Terminal, an oil stabilisation and gas separation plant at the end of the Forties Pipeline system, to see the management systems in place to protect worker safety.
See:
May 2015
Glyphosate, the world’s most widely produced herbicide, has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organisation (WHO), as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
See:
This is an interesting article on finding the right balance between encouraging recycling and avoiding re-injecting hazardous substances into the economy as recycled material incorporated in new products or as a secondary raw material:
See:
A record amount of electronic waste was discarded in 2014, with a total of 41.8 million tons of personal electronics and household appliances hitting landfills worldwide, a new report from the United Nations University has found.
See:
A study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B has questioned plastic's non-hazardous ranking, as an estimated 150 million tonnes “disappears” from the global waste stream each year.
See:
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) blog offers comment and opinion on all aspects of the health and safety profession and aims at dispelling popular myths in the media as well as adding an authoritative voice.
See:
EU member states have voted to postpone a ban on inefficient halogen light bulbs by two years - to 2018. It is the first time that the EU has rolled back an agreed product efficiency measure.
See:
March 2015
Sheffield-based Tank Industrial Maintenance Limited has been prosecuted and fined a total of £38,000 after spreading 2,023 tonnes of liquid waste in Doncaster and Worksop without permits in place. The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2010.
See:
The amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment being recycled has increased under the New Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations. The regulations, introduced in 2014 saw a 4% increase in collections compared to 2013 and estimated savings to producers of electrical equipment in excess of £18 million.
See:
Thames Water has been fined £220,000 and ordered to pay costs of £27,500 at Guildford Crown Court for polluting the River Blackwater, a tributary of the River Loddon in Surrey which flows through a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). Illegal discharges of polluting effluent occurred from its sewage treatment works in Camberley.
See:
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has called for sentences that help improve health and safety standards, remedy defects and deter future offending. IOSH stressed the need for sentences to reflect both culpability and societal disapproval and also emphasised the importance of appropriate use of director disqualification for convicted individuals.
See:
February 2015
Research from the University of Exeter reveals some of the complex reasons why health and safety regulations are used incorrectly and blamed for over-the-top decisions. The study analysed over 250 cases submitted by members of the public to the government’s Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Myth Busters Challenge Panel.
See:
The Department for Work and Pensions is claiming that eighty four per cent of health and safety rules will have been scrapped or improved in this Parliament. The Department has taken a ‘One in Two Out’ approach to rules, with - it is claimed - those covering health and safety halved without compromising or diluting health and protection for workers.
See:
Recycling and resource management company SITA UK Ltd has been fined a total of £110,000 and ordered to pay £8,832 in legal costs for exceeding the landfill site’s leachate limit set out in its environmental permit and for failing to comply with an Enforcement Notice for its landfill site at Albury near Guildford.
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The World Environment Center’s 31st Annual Gold Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development will be awarded to SC Johnson. The company is being recognised for its comprehensive, company-wide focus on sustainability and transparency initiatives.
See:
The oil and gas safety organisation Step Change in Safety has announced its independence from the UK's leading industry body Oil & Gas UK and will now be wholly owned by its 137 member organisations. Les Linklater, executive director for Step Change in Safety, said: “While Step Change in Safety's legal entity has changed, our purpose remains the same: to continuously improve the safety of the North Sea.”
See:
Pyranha Mouldings, a Kayak manufacturer, has been found guilty of corporate manslaughter after a worker became trapped and died in an industrial oven in Runcorn in 2010. The HSE investigation found there had been no risk assessments and staff had not received suitable training or instructions.
See:
Five nuclear facilities have been confirmed as potential sites to store waste from decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines. A public consultation process will run from 14 November 2014 until 20 February 2015 to help determine which site is selected. The sites, which already hold radioactive materials, are either owned by MOD, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) or industry.
See:
Health and safety professionals from around the globe met at an IOSH-hosted meeting in Trinidad frpm 19th to 24th January to discuss the latest draft of ISO 45001. The standard is likely to replace OHSAS 18001 and be finalised by October 2016.
See:
November 2014
The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) 2014 Green Ribbon Political Award winners have been announced. HRH Prince of Wales was judged “most inspirational figure internationally”. In addition to NGOs, journalists and politicians, Unilver won the Business Commitment to the Environment award for changing its internal culture to attempt to decouple growth from its environmental impact, recognising environmental impacts are key to its long term growth. The Grey Ribbon Award for environmentally destructive contribution went to Eric Pickles.
For all the award-winners see:
RoSPA have launched the 2015 Occupational Health and Safety Awards. Entrants need to register at www.rospa.com/awards/ by January 9, 2015, for the Birmingham and London ceremonies and April 30, 2015, for the Glasgow ceremony. Running parallel to these awards will be the Guardian Angel Awards. Based on a nomination process, these recognise individuals who have worked tirelessly to promote safety in their workplace or community.
See:
Southern Water Services Limited (Southern Water) has been ordered to pay £500,000 and pay costs of £19,224 after untreated sewage was discharged into the Swalecliffe Brook, polluting a 1.2 kilometre stretch of the watercourse and killing local wildlife.
See:
Skip operator Israr Ahmed, who ran Dial a Skip in March, Cambridgeshire, has been fined £47,000 and given a suspended prison sentence for running an illegal waste site and failing to produce waste transfer notes.
See:
October 2014
FMC Technologies Ltd - Dunfermline have won both the RoSPA Scotland Trophy, which is RoSPA’s top award for organisations based or operating in Scotland, and the Manufacturing Sector Award at the annual RoSPA Scotland Occupational Health and Safety Awards.
See:
Following the Consultation on Proposal for Underground Access for the Extraction of Gas, Oil or Geothermal Energy, the Government has removed barriers to deep underground drilling access (below 300m). This will speed up oil and gas and deep geothermal energy exploration.
See:
Serco Ltd have been made to pay almost £111,000 in fines and costs in relation to the health and safety of workers aboard the barge 1706, which is operated as part of a service contract with the Ministry of Defence. The barge collects waste products from naval vessels moored in Portsmouth, and on 6 July 2011 workers were exposed to dangerous levels of hydrogen sulphide (H2S).
See:
Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has issued its report “Air Pollution in the UK 2013”. The UK is required to report air quality data on an annual basis under the following European Directives: The Council Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (2008/50/EC) and The Fourth Daughter Directive (2004/107/EC) under the Air Quality Framework Directive (1996/62/EC).
The full report can be downloaded from:
The Government Chemist is inviting scientists, trading standards officers, enforcement agencies, manufacturers and importers to a free seminar on 19 March 2015. The seminar ‘REACH and CLP enforcement: measurement and related issues for Public Analysts and Enforcement Authorities’ includes discussions on checking compliance with CLP and CHIP in the laboratory, and safety data sheets. It also covers the importance of measurement science and technology in effective regulation and the role of the Environment Agency in enforcing REACH.
Full details on:
Port operator Clydeport Operations Limited has admitted health and safety failures after three men drowned when their tug boat sank in the River Clyde in thick fog on 19 December 2007. It admitted failing to provide a safety management system and to appoint a suitable individual or individuals as the designated person. Tug boat owner Svitzer Marine was fined £1.7m after it admitted failures.
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Glasgow-based SW Global Resourcing has been fined £200,000 over the death of a worker who was thrown from a cherry-picker on the Annick Water Viaduct, Stewarton, East Ayrshire on 13 April 2010. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) and the Health and Safety Executive found that plinths, put in place to create a level working surface, did not have any end stop or edge protection. The cherry-picker had gone off the edge of a plinth and overturned.
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July 2014
On 2nd July, the European Commission adopted proposals to turn Europe into a more circular economy and boost recycling in the Member States. The proposals mean lower environmental impacts and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The plans ask Europeans to recycle 70 % of municipal waste and 80% of packaging waste by 2030, and ban burying recyclable waste in landfill as of 2025. A target is also included for reducing marine litter along with food waste reduction objectives.
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Every year in the UK over 170 million days are lost to sickness absence. The Government’s Black Review of the health of the working age population reported the cost to the economy is estimated to be £100bn each year. To help employers assess the cost of ill-health in their business, and the return on investment associated with health at work services, see the Health, Work and Wellbeing cross-government initiative:
The Sign up to Safety campaign was launched on 21st June by the Secretary of State for Health. It is designed to strengthen patient safety in the NHS and make it the safest healthcare system in the world. NHS foundation trusts are encouraged to Sign up to Safety and make their services more safe and to dramatically reduce rates of avoidable harm in their hospitals.
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The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has announced the first wave of EU official campaign partners for its 2014–15 Campaign, Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress (#EUmanagestress). The campaign partners come from a variety of sectors across Europe and encompass employers’ and workers’ federations, technology platforms, non-governmental organisations and multinational companies. Campaign partners can fully engage in networking and learning exchange opportunities, and, for the first time, are eligible to apply for the Good Practice Awards.
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May 2014
Severn Trent Water Ltd has been found guilty at Telford Magistrates’ Court of polluting the Pudding Brook in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire with untreated sewage. The company was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £2,232.60 in costs, along with a £15 victim surcharge.
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A UK project to capture CO2 and bury it under the North Sea is set to receive a c. £250m boost from the EU. The European Commission has confirmed that the White Rose carbon capture and storage (CCS) project is in line to win the cash (equivalent to about £250m). The gas will be siphoned off from a new coal-fired power station and stored in undersea rock formations.
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Jarsan Ltd and Thomas Jones have been sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court for offences relating to the deposit of between 21,000 and 31,000 tonnes of waste soil and rubble originating from the construction of a new superstore in Welshpool. The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Regulations 12 (1)(a), 38 (1)(a) and 41 (1) (a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
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The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has launched the 12th edition of the European Good Practice Awards in occupational safety and health. The awards welcome applications from European companies or organisations who are implementing measures to successfully manage stress and psychosocial risks in their workplaces.
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February 2014
The European Commission has launched legal proceedings against the UK for failing to deal with air pollution. This is the first case against a member state for breaching the limits on nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which are “excessive” in many British cities. Britain was supposed to meet EU limits by 2010, but the government admits that London won't achieve this standard until 2025. The UK's problem with dirty air stems from the EU's 2008 Air Pollution Directive.
See:
BBC and ec.europa.eu
A study, published in JAMA Neurology, showed patients with Alzheimer's had four times as much DDT lingering in the body as healthy people. However, Alzheimer's Research UK said more evidence is needed to prove DDT has a role in dementia.
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The RoSPA Manufacturing Health and Safety Conference 2014 will be held on March 18, 2014 at Birmingham Science Museum. Although not traditionally considered a high risk sector, manufacturing accounts for almost one in five workplace accidents.
For further information and online booking visit RoSPA
A coroner has described part of an ejection seat that threw a Red Arrows pilot to his death as “entirely useless”. Flt Lt Sean Cunningham was killed at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, after being accidentally ejected from his Hawk T1 on 8 November 2011. The inquest has heard that the ejection seat firing handle had been left in an unsafe position which meant it could accidentally activate the seat.
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September 2013
The latest report from the UN's climate panel details the physical evidence behind climate change an calls for “substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions”. The report is available in full and summary form on:
Eight senior academics from UK universities have written a letter to The Guardian protesting at false claims by government over health and safety saying there is no evidence that the “burden of excessive health and safety rules and regulations on business has become too great.”
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Construction firm Universal Builders Supply Limited has been fined £125,000 after safety failings led to a worker being crushed to death under a falling metal mast in Kneesworth, Hertfordshire, in 2011.
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Basildon Hospital, where two patients died from Legionnaires' disease and an elderly patient died after a fall from a window, has been ordered to pay £350,000 in fines and costs.
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The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has published a report Priorities for occupational safety and health research in Europe: 2013 - 2020. This report identifies the priorities for OSH research in the coming years in order to promote priority setting at national level, focusing on demographic change; globalisation and the changing world of work; safe new technologies; and new or increasing occupational exposure to chemical and biological agents. The report can be downloaded free at:
July 2013
An additional 2,923 chemicals were registered with the European Chemicals Agency by 31st May as firms rushed to meet the second REACH deadline. Preliminary figures from the agency reveal that it received 9,084 registration dossiers from 3,215 companies by the deadline under the EU REACH Regulation (1907/2007).
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DEFRA has launched a consultation on whether the waste management plan for England, alongside existing policy, fulfills the obligations of Article 28 of the Waste Framework Directive in England.
The consultation closes on 9th August 2013 and can be accessed here:
May 2013
December 2012
From 1st October 2012, the Smoke-free (Signs) regulations 2007 have been revoked. However, at least one legible no smoking sign must still be displayed in smoke-free premises including vehicles.
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The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) has appeared in court over a fire at its Berkshire site in 2010. An investigation by the HSE found issues with the control systems put in place.
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October 2012
Employers now have to pay £124 per hour for the correction of material breaches of health and safety rules under the Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2012.
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An open letter to Chancellor George Osborne, signed by 50 businesses and organisations, calls for a target for how emissions should be curbed by 2030, arguing that a failure to show commitment to reducing carbon emissions may harm the economy and their commercial prospects.
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A 60MW energy-from-waste plant backed by Tata Chemicals and E.ON has been given government approval. The £250m plant will be constructed at Lostock, Northwich, after taking into account concerns around its potential health and visual impacts, as well the implications for traffic safety and the local environment.
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August 2012
The Agency Environment Agency Wales has allowed a change to Tata Steel’s environmental permit that will enable them to operate in a cleaner, more efficient and more environmentally-friendly manner. The company is investing £185 million to rebuild Blast Furnace No. 4 at their steelworks in Port Talbot to reduce PM10 (particulate matter or dust) emissions.
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The government is seeking responses to a consultation on how UK organisations should measure and report on their environmental impacts. The closing date for this consultation is 17 October 2012.
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May 2012
Oil company Total announced on May 15th that the operation to plug the gas leak on the Elgin Platform in the North Sea has been a success. The leak was stopped by pumping heavy mud into the well. The well will now be plugged with concrete, a process expected to take several weeks. Yves-Louis Darricarrère, president of exploration and production at Total, said:
“Safely evacuating everyone from the platform and adjacent drilling rig, preventing any serious environmental impact and recovering control of the G4 well, is a highly commendable effort from the teams involved.”
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The Environment Agency is offering free monthly business environmental updates by e-mail, to keep businesses informed about environmental regulations and guidance. Business can sign up at:
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A report in the journal Nature Geoscience has revealed that scientists have identified thousands of sites in the Arctic where methane is bubbling into the atmosphere. Professor Euan Nisbet from Royal Holloway, University of London, who is also involved in Arctic methane research, says “the Arctic is the fastest warming region on the planet, and has many methane sources that will increase as the temperature rises.”
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February 2012
ExxonMobil was fined £2.8m for failing to report carbon dioxide emissions from its Mosmorran chemical plant in Fife, it has emerged. The fine, believed to be the biggest ever in the UK, dates to 2010 but the details have only just been published. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said there had been no direct environmental impact.
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Gillian Tett, in the Financial Times of 4/5th February, raises some interesting points about the growth in popularity of CSR:
The Government has published the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA), the first assessment of its kind for this country and the first in a 5 year cycle. The report can be downloaded from:
December 2011
https://iosh.com/coronavirNational Grid Gas and Northern Gas Networks have been fined £4.3 million and £900,000 respectively by the regulator Ofgem for not attending to gas leaks in time during the period April 2010 to the end of March 2011.
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EU plans to levy an emissions tax on airlines are valid, according to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). As a result all airlines flying to and from the 27 states of the EU will face a tax on emissions from 1 January 2012.
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The Scottish Sheriff presiding at the enquiry into a 2008 trench death in Scotland described the death as “one more example of health and safety practice, training and procedures being ignored in the interests of expediency.”
November 2011
Researchers claim six-fold increase in the risk of developing Parkinson's following workplace exposure to trichloroethylene
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Veterans involved in Britain's nuclear weapons tests between 1952 and 1958 are beginning the latest stage in their battle for compensation
More than 1,000 ex-servicemen say exposure to radiation has led to ill-health, such as cancer.
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The government's failure to meet EU standards on air pollution is "putting the health of UK residents at risk", says the Environmental Audit Committee
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October 2011
Insurance companies have failed in a legal bid to scrap the right of people in Scotland to claim damages for an asbestos-related condition
The UK Supreme Court dismissed their case, a decision which will enable people with pleural plaques to claim compensation.
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August 2011
Deaths from a cancer caused by asbestos dust are at an all-time high, research by BBC Look East has revealed.
Since the 1980s, the male death rate from mesothelioma has increased more than four-fold in the east of England.
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A man died on 18th August after collapsing in the chemical tank he was working in at Diamond Wheels Technologies in Dundee.
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The first part of the operation to stop the Shell pipeline leaking oil into the North Sea has, according to the company, been successful so far.
Shell has been dealing with the release of what has been estimated as more than 200 tonnes from a leak near the Gannet Alpha.
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Falkirk-based mobile phone recycling firm Redeem has been taken over by an incoming management team backed by a private equity investor.
Curt Hopkins, the new chief executive, states: “Our aim is to create Europe's leading value recycler with the vision of making corporate social responsibility easy.”
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High Street retailer Primark has been criticised by charities for its policy of shredding damaged and unwanted clothes.
The Association of Charity Shops has pointed to the environmental impact of destroying clothes - from the wasted resources in making them to those ending up in landfill.
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Scientists have produced what they say is the first complete map of how the ice moves across Antarctica.
It is built from images acquired by radar satellites and should aid the understanding of how the White Continent might evolve in the warmer world being forecast by climatologists.
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July 2011
EU Commission tightens rules for biofuel use
In July 2011, the European Commission approved seven schemes set up to ensure that biofuels used in the EU are produced in an environmentally sustainable way.
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July 2010
In a recent article in the Times of India, S A Aiyar writes that philanthropic activities labelled as CSR are being used by major corporations to cloak their irresponsible activities in respectability. Clearly the proponents of CSR need to concentrate more on CSR management within their organisations and less on publicity generating greenwash.
Read more:
UK government stops funding its independent environmental watchdog the Sustainable Development Commission.
Read more:
Five companies ordered to pay £9.5 million fine for their part in the 2005 Buncefield UK oil depot fire and explosion.
Read more:BBC News
Local MP considers Buncefield fines inadequate.
Read more:
Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings has become the first UK company to be charged under the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act.
Read more:
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