DEADLY BUSINESS NEWS
2012 stories
2013 stories
Britain: Crane driver drowns in icy river
A crawler crane driver drowned while dredging an icy river in Cambridgeshire when his machine tipped into the freezing water. The Environment Agency was fined £220,000 and ordered to pay £28,584 costs after admitting a catalogue of errors led to the employee Simon Wenn, 43, losing his life.
HSE news release and cranes safety guidance • Construction Enquirer • Risks 587
Hazards news,
22 December 2012
Britain: Skip firm fined following death of worker
A skip company has been fined for a criminal safety offence at a West Bromwich site where an employee was killed when he was run over by a 13-tonne shovel loader. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Need a Skip Ltd at Wolverhampton Crown Court for failing to ensure that workers and vehicles were safely segregated on the site.
HSE news release and workplace transport webpages • Risks 587
Hazards news,
22 December 2012
Britain: Herdsman died after falling through dairy skylight
A herdsman died after carrying out unplanned and unsupervised repair work on a dairy roof and falling through a plastic skylight, a court has heard. William Luscombe, 65, was carrying out the work for his employer, TRD Griffin and Son Partnership at Willsworthy Farm, North Tamerton on 14 October 2010.
HSE news release and falls webpage • Risks 587
Hazards news,
22 December 2012
Britain: Dangerous scaffold leads to life-threatening fall
A plumber suffered life-threatening injuries in a fall at an outdoor activities centre after proper scaffolding was replaced with a defective tower scaffold. The 64-year-old man from Llandovery, who has asked not to be named, was working on the refurbishment of an accommodation block at the site near Gwynfe in Carmarthenshire when he fell three metres on 15 March 2012.
HSE news release and construction webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 587
Hazards news,
22 December 2012
Australia: Xmas rush is fatal for truck drivers
A spate of fatal truck crashes on Australian roads in the run up to Christmas is a reminder of the pressures facing truck drivers every day when they step into the cab, their union has warned. Speaking on 17 December 2012, Tony Sheldon, national secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) said: “These incidents should be investigated not only by State road authorities and coroners, but also by workplace accident investigators, because the roads are a workplace for truck drivers.”
TWU news release • Risks 587
Hazards news,
22 December 2012
Global: Union pressure on Walmart after fire
Three powerful global union organisations are demanding that Walmart acts to prevent deadly working conditions persisting in its supply chain. The call from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), UNI and IndustriALL comes in the wake of a 22 November 2012 fire at Tazreen Fashions in Bangladesh, a firm producing Walmart’s ‘Faded Glory’ brand clothing, in which over 100 workers died.
IndustriALL news release • Wall Street Journal • The Guardian • BBC News Online • Risks 587
Hazards news,
22 December 2012
Japan: Fukushima nuke plant operator admits blame
The operator of a Japanese nuclear power plant that blew up after the 2011 tsunami has admitted its lack of a safety culture and bad habits were behind the world's worst nuclear incident in 25 years. The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), said it accepted the findings of a parliamentary inquiry into the Fukushima nuclear disaster that accused the company of collusion with industry regulators.
The Guardian • Morning Star • Risks 587
Hazards news,
22 December 2012
Korea: Samsung job did cause breast cancer
A South Korean government agency has accepted that working at a Samsung Electronics factory caused the breast cancer of a worker who died in March 2012. The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, a part of the labour ministry, ruled there was a “considerable causal relationship” between the woman's cancer and her five years of work at a semiconductor plant near Seoul.
SHARPS news release • CBS News • Risks 587
Hazards news,
22 December 2012
USA: Low wage workers hurt most by work
Low waged workers injured or made ill at work face multiple disadvantages, with poor employment protection and health care costs compounding their suffering, a new study has found. ‘Mom’s off work ‘cause she got hurt: The economic impact of workplace injuries and illnesses in the US’s growing low-wage workforce’, found workers earning the lowest wages are the least likely to have paid sick leave, so missing work to recuperate from a work-related injury or illness often means smaller pay cheques.
Mom’s off work ‘cause she got hurt: The economic impact of workplace injuries and illnesses in the US’s growing low-wage workforce and related reports • The Pump Handle • AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 587
Hazards news,
22 December 2012
Bangladesh: Managers arrested after deadly factory fire
Three managers at a Bangladeshi clothing factory have been arrested and accused of locking a main gate of the facility hampering people trying to flee a 24 November 2012 inferno that killed more than 100 workers and left at least 200 injured. The arrest of the mid-level managers at Tazreen Fashions , situated in the industrial zone of Asulia, about 30 kilometres north of Dhaka, did not stop the continued protests of thousands in the capital city on 28 November, as many mourned and called for a full investigation into what happened.
IndustriALL news release • Walmart statement • CNN News • Equal Times • BBC News Online • Labor Notes • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
New Zealand: Union safety reps need more power
Union health and safety representatives must be given increased powers if New Zealand’s poor workplace safety record is to improve, unions have said. The Council of Trades Unions (CTU) is urging an Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety to act on the recommendations of a Royal Commission which called for an expanded safety role for union reps (Risks 581).
NZCTU news release • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
USA: Unsafe construction sites squander billions
Occupational injuries and fatalities in the construction industry cost California residents $2.9 billion (£1.8bn) between 2008 and 2010, according to a new report. ‘The price of inaction: A comprehensive look at the costs of injuries and fatalities in California’s construction industry’, quantifies the estimated costs of deaths and injuries in the state’s construction industry by considering an array of factors.
Public Citizen news release and report, The price of inaction: A comprehensive look at the costs of injuries and fatalities in California’s construction industry • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
Britain: Builder ignored stop work warning
A Lancashire builder has ended up in court after he ignored a formal warning to stop working at the top of a dangerous scaffolding tower. Jack Sanderson and another builder were spotted carrying out work to the roof of a two-storey building in Bacup by a passing inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on 26 January 2011.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
Britain: Companies sentenced after worker’s fatal fall
A major construction company and a concrete structures firm have been sentenced after a worker died following a fall from height at a Swansea building site. Carillion Construction Ltd and with Febrey Ltd were jointly prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at the Meridian Quay apartment development in Swansea on 22 January 2008.
HSE news release and falls webpages • GMB news release • Morning Star • Construction Enquirer • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
Britain: Pub chain fined after cleaner’s death
Major pub chain Mitchells and Butler has been fined £235,000 plus £65,000 costs for the criminal health and safety failings that contributed to the death of a cleaner. Richard Pratley, 65, died from a fractured skull after falling from a ladder as he tried to clean the roof of the "boathouse" inside the Snuff Mill Harvester in Bristol. Bristol Crown Court heard the restaurant's only stepladder was “unfit for service” and was too short for the job, damaged, dirty, greasy and rusty.
Bristol Post • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
Britain: Firm fined for worker's forklift injuries
An employee Smurfit Kappa Corrugated UK Ltd suffered leg injuries when a reversing forklift truck struck him. Michael Jones, of Abercarn, was inspecting production in an area of the factory when the incident happened on 11 April 2011. Although the forklift was travelling at a slow speed when it struck him, he suffered a broken ankle and fractured heel and subsequently developed deep vein thrombosis.
HSE news release and forklifts safety guidance • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
Britain: Injury after plastics firm failed to add guards
An employee at a Burnley plastics firm narrowly avoided severing his fingers when his hand came into contact with a rotating blade, a court has heard. The 43-year-old from Bury, who has asked not to be named, suffered damage to the index finger on his right hand in the incident at Industrial Anti Corrosives Ltd in Dunnockshaw, which trades as IAC Plastics, on 2 April last year.
HSE news release • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
Britain: Laundry fined after worker is ironed
A commercial laundry in Southend has been fined after an employee crushed and burned his arm when it was pulled into an industrial ironing machine. Badrul Islam, 23, lost two fingers on his right hand as a result of the incident at Exclusive Cleaners UK Ltd on 25 August 2011.
HSE news release and laundries guidance • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
Britain: Call for an inquiry and action on blacklisting
Unions and safety campaigners are demanding an inquiry and justice after a convicted blacklister undermined construction industry attempts to distance itself from the systematic victimisation of grassroots union and safety reps. The calls came after Ian Kerr, who headed the covert industry-financed blacklisting organisation The Consulting Association (CTA), gave evidence to the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Select Committee on 27 November.
Transcript of the HoC Scottish Affairs Committee hearing, 27 November 2012 • UCATT news release • Union News • The Independent • Financial Times • Construction Index • Construction Enquirer • Building • SHP video report • Morning Star • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
Britain: Government's ‘shame’ as crime victims are hurt
Compensation payments to people injured in violent crimes have been slashed or withdrawn completely after the government railroaded through changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The changes took effect on 27 November, scrapping five payment levels.
USDAW news release • CWU news release • Blog by Labour MP Michael McCann • BBC News Online • Risks 584
Hazards news,
1 December 2012
Global: Documents ‘make a mockery’ of Walmart fire assurances
Two news reports have undermined Walmart’s efforts to distance itself from the Bangladesh factory where at least 112 workers died in a 24 November 24 fire. One shows the role of the world’s largest retailer in defeating a proposal for retail corporations to pay for safety improvements; the other shows that multiple Walmart suppliers used the factory this year.
New York Times • The Nation • Risks 586
Hazards news,
15 December 2012
Syria: Execution threat highlights media safety crisis
Fears are mounting for the life of Anhar Kochneva, a journalist who was kidnapped in October by the Free Syrian Army (FSA). At least three other journalists and media staff are either missing or held by warring factions in Syria.
IFJ news release • BBC News Online • Kyiv Post • Risks 586
Hazards news,
15 December 2012
USA: Site workers fear reporting injuries
There are layers of disincentives to reporting work-related injuries in the construction industry, a new report has concluded. It says the routine under-reporting hampers the understanding of risk and poses a threat to workplace safety and productivity.
EHS Today • CPRW website • Risks 586
Hazards news,
15 December 2012
Britain: Firm didn’t report chainsaw maiming
A Burton upon Trent builder has been fined for criminal safety offences after failing to report an incident where a worker seriously injured his hand on a chainsaw. The worker, from Swadlincote, who does not want to be named, caught his left hand on the moving teeth of the chainsaw after it snagged during work to cut felled trees. His thumb was cut to the bone, breaking the joint, and he also injured his fingers.
HSE news release and guidance on working safely with chainsaws • Risks 586
Hazards news,
15 December 2012
Britain: Site worker ‘will never recover’ from injuries
Construction companies Parkstone Group Limited and Galliford Try Construction Limited have been fined for serious criminal safety failings after a Coventry worker suffered “life-changing injuries” when he fell more than six metres through a badly-covered hole in a floor. Contract worker Ian Howells, 33, punctured his lung, broke every rib on the left hand side of his body, shattered all the bones in his left hand and fractured his pelvis in three places when he stepped onto what he thought was a pile of wood covered by plastic.
HSE news release and falls webpage • Construction Enquirer • Risks 586
Hazards news,
15 December 2012
Britain: HSE rethink on legionella inspections
Businesses and organisations with cooling towers in the west of Scotland are facing checks to ensure they are managing legionella risks, in a pilot that is expected to be rolled out across Britain. After a dramatic decline in legionella inspections in recent years and two major deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in 2012, HSE is now liaising with councils on plans to visit all cooling towers and evaporative condensers in Britain over the next 18 months.
HSE news release • EHN • Risks 586
Hazards news,
15 December 2012
Britain: Plastics company fined after worker is hurt
A Suffolk plastics company has been prosecuted for safety breaches after a worker crushed a finger on a poorly guarded printing machine. Robert Waters, 62, caught his left hand between two rollers as he was cleaning the machine at Tenza Technologies Limited in Saxmundham on 12 October 2011.
HSE news release • Risks 586
Hazards news,
15 December 2012
Britain: Firm fined for loco risk assessment job
The owner of a Norfolk aggregate site has been prosecuted for failing to complete an adequate risk assessment for moving rail wagons without a locomotive. King's Lynn Magistrates' Court heard that during a site visit to Sibelco Ltd, in Leziate, near King's Lynn, in November 2010, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified that although a risk assessment had been completed, it was unclear and failed to address all the hazards associated with the activity.
HSE news release and risk webpages • Risks 586
Hazards news,
15 December 2012
Britain: TUC condemns council inspection freefall
The TUC has expressed grave concern after the HSE revealed that estimated figures for 2012/13 indicate that Local Authorities will have reduced their unannounced proactive inspections to 16,400. This is a drop of 86% since the baseline year of 2009/10.
HSE report • Risks 585
Hazards news,
8 December 2012
Britain: Union calls for justice for explosion victims
The Fire Brigades Union have called for justice for two firefighters, who were killed at an explosion six years ago. The two firefighters, Geoff Wicker and Brian Wembridge, were killed and a further nine firefighters were injured at an explosion at Marlie Farm fireworks factory in December 2006.
FBU press release • Risks 585
Hazards news,
8 December 2012
Britain: Rail union warns of 'another Hatfield'
Rail union RMT has warned that we could face another Hatfield crash because of track faults. It came as they released a picture showing 5 inches of rail head that had crumbled away to nothing on the InterCity East Coast Mainline where trains normal travel at 125mph.
RMT press release • Risks 585
Hazards news,
8 December 2012
Britain: Fines not a deterrent warns union body
The TUC has warned that the levels of fines being imposed by magistrates’ courts are generally too small to act as a deterrent. Despite unlimited fines being available to the courts fines for incidents that do not involve a fatality are often only a few thousand pounds.
HSE news release • HSE news release • HSE news release • Risks 585
Hazards news,
8 December 2012
Britain: Worker injured in fall into sewage well
A company has been fined after a worker fell and slid seven metres into a sewage well stuffed with nappies and other debris. The 34-year-old from Walsall, who has asked not to be named, was clearing a blockage in the Halesowen sewer for Tardis Environmental UK Ltd when the incident occurred on 26 August last year.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Halesowen News • Risks 583
Hazards news,
24 November 2012
Britain: Two tonne slab lands on excavator driver
A demolition firm has appeared in court after part of a stand collapsed onto an excavator driver at Old Trafford Cricket Ground. The 33-year-old worker from Warrington, who has asked not to be named, suffered serious injuries when a two-tonne concrete slab landed on his vehicle's cab.
HSE news release and construction webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 583
Hazards news,
24 November 2012
Britain: Some firms need more than persuasion
A construction firm that failed to remedy serious safety breaches despite six visits from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and seven stop work notices has been fined. Peak Construction (London) Ltd was working on a redevelopment project in Bristol city centre.
HSE news release and construction webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 583
Hazards news,
24 November 2012
Britain: Lords criticise plans to end strict liability
Injured workers will be disadvantaged if the government goes ahead with a plan to end the strict liability of employers for safety offences, the House of Lords has heard. An amendment inserted in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill by the government seeks to change safety law to remove the right of individuals to make civil compensation claims for criminal breaches of statutory health and safety duties.
Report of House of Lords debate on the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, Hansard, 14 November 2012. Unite news release • TUC briefing • IER briefing •
Sign the petition opposing the changes • Risks 583
Hazards news,
24 November 2012
Britain: Rail warning on tragedy’s anniversary
Unions have called on the government to heed the lessons of a rail tragedy 25 years ago that claimed the lives of 31 people. This week relatives of those who died in the fire at King's Cross Underground station on 18 November 1987 were joined by firefighters and union members at a commemoration.
RMT news release • ASLEF news release • BBC News Online • Huffington Post • Risks 583
Hazards news,
24 November 2012
Global: Concern at targeting of journalists in Gaza
UK journalists’ union NUJ is backing international union calls on the international community to investigate deliberate attacks by Israeli military against media buildings in Gaza. Three journalists were killed on 20 November when their cars, marked with press signs, were hit in two separate incidents in Gaza city.
NUJ news release • IFJ news release and earlier related news release • TUC news release • Risks 583
Hazards news,
24 November 2012
Britain: Dock deaths expose ‘low risk’ folly
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) decision to treat dock work as low risk and not subject to routine preventive inspections is being called into question by two recent deaths in the North East. In March this year Hazards magazine queried HSE’s ‘low risk’ rating for dock work, pointing out the industry last year had a death rate several times the all industry average.
Northern Echo • The Gazette • Hartlepool Mail • Risks 582
Hazards news,
17 November 2012
Britain: Defence firm fined over explosion death
Wallop Defence Systems Ltd (WDS) has received a six figure fine for the criminal safety failings that caused an explosion that killed one worker and injured several more. Anthony Sheridan, 37, died from injuries sustained in the blast at WDS when ovens contained high levels of nitroglycerin (NG) exploded, the blast destroying the factory.
HSE news release • Risks 582
Hazards news,
17 November 2012
Britain: Untrained scaffolder suffered horrific brain injury
An untrained scaffolder had to have part of his brain removed after suffering severe head injuries in a 2.5m fall. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Paramount Scaffolding Ltd and director Luke Jessop following the incident at a property in Meopham, near Gravesend, on 25 January this year.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 582
Hazards news,
17 November 2012
Britain: Drinks firm ignored ozone dangers
A soft drinks manufacturer has been fined after a contractor developed career-ending asthma caused by ozone exposure. Richard Sharp, 49, from Wetherby, West Yorkshire, wasn't told that ozone was present in the plant room when he was given a permit to work at Cott Beverages in Kegworth.
HSE news release • Risks 582
Hazards news,
17 November 2012
Britain: Leaked report warns of ‘catastrophic’ legionella risk
Poor management of cooling towers and evaporative condensers could lead to a ‘catastrophic’ legionella outbreak in London, according to an unpublished Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report. “The headline to arise from this project is the poor level of compliance,” it states, warning an outbreak in London would be far worse than the legionella outbreak in Edinburgh in June, where over 100 people were infected and three people died.
EHN Online • The Guardian • Risks 582
Hazards news,
17 November 2012
Britain: HSE clarifies big enforcement fall
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provisional figures show 680 prosecution cases were heard in Great Britain in 2011/12, with 1,165 offences prosecuted, a drop of 3 per cent from the previous year. The fall is explained by a dramatic decline in local authority prosecutions and in cases brought in Scotland.
HSE statistics revisions and HSE statistics 2011/12 • Risks 582
Hazards news,
17 November 2012
Britain: Construction deaths still high
Construction deaths remain appallingly high and are set to get higher still, a union has warned. New research conducted by construction union UCATT found that fatalities in 2011/12 were highest in the Midlands, north-west England, eastern England, south-east England and south-west England.
UCATT news release • Morning Star • Risks 582
Hazards news,
17 November 2012
Britain: Boris challenged to support construction safety
Construction union UCATT is calling for a meeting with London mayor Boris Johnson after he refused to answer a straight question about whether would support the direct employment of construction workers to reduce deaths and injuries. The union says sites where workers are directly employed rather than ‘falsely’ self-employed are safer because workers are better organised, safety laws are more likely to be properly observed and there is a stronger likelihood of independent safety reps working on sites.
UCATT news release • Risks 582
Hazards news,
17 November 2012
Britain: Sign the petition to oppose ‘sneaky’ law change
Health and Safety Executive inspectors’ union Prospect is urging members to sign a petition calling on the government to remove an amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (ERR) Bill that would make it harder for workers to claim legitimate compensation for injuries at work.
Prospect news release and e-petition • TUC briefing • The Guardian • Risks 582
Hazards news,
17 November 2012
New Zealand: Mine deaths report calls for radical changes
A New Zealand coal mining company ignored 21 warnings that methane gas had accumulated to dangerous levels before an underground explosion killed 29 workers two years ago as official regulators failed to provide the necessary oversight, a Royal Commission has concluded. Its report into the Pike River mine blast in November 2010 said “the drive for coal production before the mine was ready created the circumstances within which the tragedy occurred,” adding that “warnings were not heeded.”
Royal Commission report • New Zealand Herald • Three News • Morning Star • The Guardian • TCE Today • Risks 581
Hazards news,
10 November 2012
New Zealand: Unions welcome recommendations on rights
Unions have welcomed the Royal Commission report into the Pike River mine disaster, which concluded workers must be given more safety rights, information and an expanded role. The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (CTU) said that the report of the investigation into the tragedy, which killed 29 miners in a 19 November 2010 explosion, “is a damning indictment of both the company and weak regulation of health and safety by government and brings shame to this country that now must be addressed.”
NZCTU news release and Pike River Phase 4 NZCTU submission • EPMU news release and submission • Risks 581
Hazards news,
10 November 2012
Britain: Pupil hurt in design and technology lesson
A Solihull school has been fined after an 11-year-old pupil suffered serious hand injuries in a design and technology lesson. The year seven student from Alderbrook School was using a bench sanding machine when his hand became trapped between the rotating face of the sanding disc and the machine's table edge.
HSE news release • Risks 581
Hazards news,
10 November 2012
Britain: Man arrested over death of shopkeeper
A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a shopkeeper who was fatally stabbed in his Renfrewshire store. Lee Anderson, 30, made no plea during a brief appearance at Paisley Sheriff Court this week and was remanded in custody.
Scottish Daily Record • BBC News Online • Hazards magazine • Risks 581
Hazards news,
10 November 2012
Britain: Council safety spending and prosecutions slashed
New figures have revealed spending on local authority environmental health and trading standards services in England has fallen by 32 per cent since 2009, with ‘regulation and safety’ spending particularly hard hit, and has been accompanied by a similar drop in safety prosecutions.
IFS briefing note • EHN Online and related story on falling local authority health and safety prosecutions • Risks 581
Hazards news,
10 November 2012
Britain: Second conviction after roof fall death
The boss of a maintenance firm has been fined after one of his employees fell to his death through the fragile roof of a Fife warehouse. Boyd Lamont from Buckhaven, Fife, was fined £20,000 at Dunfermline Sheriff Court following the death of Thomas Sturrock on 29 September 2008; the prosecution came nearly two years after the owner of the site received a six figure fine for criminal safety offences related to the 32-year-olds death.
COPFS news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 581
Hazards news,
10 November 2012
Britain: Gas cuts will lead to ‘explosions and loss of life’
A dramatic cut in the number of gas distribution workers “will lead to major gas explosions and loss of life”, the union GMB has warned. The union believes up to 3,000 workers could lose their jobs as a result of funding cuts proposed by the regulator Ofgem.
GMB news release • Risks 581
Hazards news,
10 November 2012
Britain: Construction giant's safety failings
Construction company Balfour Beatty has been fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,347 for criminal safety failings after an unsupported floor deck collapsed during work at the Plymouth Life Centre. Plymouth Magistrates' Court heard that two workers fell two-and-a-half metres in the incident on 8 July last year, and were lucky to escape with only minor injuries. Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Britain: Quad bike death probe
Farmer Eric Simpson, 41, died in a quad bike incidenct at Newhall Farm near Innerleithen, Scotland. There have been a growing number of quad bike deaths in farming and safety campaigners have called for more enforcement in the sector.
BBC News Online • Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Britain: Workers loose end of fingers
Two workers each had the ends of fingers sheared off while operating inadequately guarded guillotine machines at a Hampshire filtration company. The two incidents happened just weeks after one another at Porvair Filtration Group Ltd in Segensworth, Fareham, last year.
HSE news release • Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Europe: Anti-regulation official is tobacco lobbyist
The man leading the attack on safety regulation in the European Union has been exposed as a lobbyist for tobacco interests. Edmund Stoiber, a German politician who heads the European Commission's high-level group on cutting administrative burdens and has been a vigorous opponent of safety rule, lobbied former Health Commissioner John Dalli on the controversial tobacco directive during one of his group's meetings according to an investigation by EurActiv.
EurActiv release • Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Australia: Docks protest after employers jeopardise safety
Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) members from Sydney, Newcastle and Port Kembla have taken to the streets to protest over 'industry inaction' on safety issues following the recent death of a fellow dockworker. They were calling for the introduction of a national safety code in response to the reaction of employers who blocked a new code of practice the day after Greg Fitzgibbon was crushed to death on the dockside by 20 tonnes of aluminium in September.
MUA news report • Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Britain: New workplace statistics published
New HSE health and safety statistics show an estimated 1.1 million people said they were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by their work, down from 1.2 million in 2010/11. Of these, 452,000 were new illnesses occurring in-year and a further 700,000 people were suffering from an illness which was caused or made worse by their past work.
HSE statistics 2011/12 • Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Britain: Workers trafficked and beaten
A gangmaster has had its licence revoked after a joint operation by Kent police, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority and the Serious Organised Crime Agency to liberate more than 30 Lithuanian workers who are alleged to have been trafficked in to the UK. The Guardian. • Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Britain: Violence rises as cuts bite
UNISON in Scotland have claimed that a "toxic cocktail" of cutbacks and violence against public-service workers has resulted in a huge increase in the number of violent incidents reported to employers. In their annual survey of violence, Unison Scotland revealed that 34,739 staff reported violent incidents last year.
UNISON news release • Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Britain: Union says cuts to reporting could cost lives
Trade union Prospect, which represents over 16,000 HSE inspectors and specialists, has warned that plans to simplify regulations for reporting injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences must not be used as a vehicle to cut back on this vital reporting, The union said it was "alarmed at the signals" sent out by an HSE consultation calling for an end to employers' obligation to report occupational health absences from diseases such as lead poisoning and many disabling lung and skin diseases of which many workers are at risk. Prospect response • APIL news release • Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Britain: Justice for rail workers involved in Grayrigg tragedy
The RMT rail union has repeated the call for justice for all of the rail workers caught up in the Grayrigg derailment five years ago and specifically those wrongfully accused of playing some part in the incident and who were later fully exonerated by official investigations. The call came as a BBC documentary highlighting the treatment of two RMT members who “were left to hang out to dry by the company.”
RMT news release • Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Britain: Union renews safety call after latest helicopter ditching
The RMT has launched a joint, industry-wide campaign on safety with Norwegian union colleagues after the latest ditching of a Super Puma helicopter off Shetland in late October. This ditching, where due to prompt action by crew all on board were rescued, followed a similar gearbox related emergency in the North Sea in May.
RMT news release • Risks 580
Hazards news,
3 November 2012
Guatemala: Aluminium workers face abuse
When Emeterio Nach suffered a shoulder injury at his job, he asked his supervisor at the Ternium aluminium processing plant in Villa Nueva, Guatemala, for time off to see his doctor. In an interview with the US union backed Solidarity Center, he says the supervisor continued to refuse, finally telling Nach he would be fired if he kept asking - and if he was sick, he'd be fired anyway because the factory needed healthy workers.
AFL-CIO Now blog • Solidarity Center interview • SITRATERNIUM facebook page – tell the union you ‘like’ it.
Take action now: Write to Paolo Rocca, chair of Ternium SA • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
USA: Pesticide threat to farmworker families
The children of US farmworkers are facing deadly health risks from exposure to pesticides. An analysis by the Pesticide Action Network North America (PAN) has found while public concerns have centred on pesticides in food, it is the children in farmworker communities that are facing the greatest risk.
Working In These Times • A generation in jeopardy: How pesticides are undermining our children’s health and intelligence, PAN North America, 2012 • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
Britain: Paper firm fined after ‘foreseeable’ fatality
A paper mill in Devon has been fined £200,000 after a worker was crushed to death. Richard Zebedee, 45, from Ivybridge, died after being trapped in machinery at the Arjowiggins plant in the town.
HSE news release and guidance on paper industry machine safety • BBC News Online • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
Britain: Builder in hot water after fall into bath tub
A building worker broke his leg and had to be airlifted to hospital after falling from a roof and hitting a disused bath tub. Andrew Hosking, 34, broke his left femur in the incident at Glascoed Lane, Glascoed, on October 17 2011 and has been off work since.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
Britain: Hoof-friendly floor saved roofer
A facilities and cleaning company has been fined after one of its employees fell six metres through a riding school roof on the Longcross estate in Surrey. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the worker, who does not wished to be named, ‘miraculously escaped’ with only minor injuries in the fall because a sand-covered floor cushioned his impact.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
Britain: Man survives six metre roof fall
A Somerset construction company has been fined after a worker plummeted six metres from a roof he was working on in south-west London. Wayne Bird, 28, was cleaning dead leaves from the gulleys of a building in Feltham on 18 January 2011 for AR Berry Design and Build Ltd.
HSE news release • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
Britain: Waste firm injures two in a week
RG Wastecare Ltd’s criminal disregard for safety saw two workers injured in just one week. One worker fell ten feet into a skip as he clung to a conveyor belt that began to operate; the other suffered serious injuries to his arm when it was drawn into the rollers of a large crushing machine.
HSE news release and waste and recycling webpages • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
Britain: Grinding wheel left bone fragment touching brain
A company that manufactures metal components has been fined after a young worker was seriously injured at its Lincoln factory. The 20-year-old agency worker at Wyman-Gordon Ltd suffered a fractured skull and severe facial injuries when the grinding wheel broke on the hand-held grinder he was using.
HSE news release and manufacturing webpages • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
Canada: ‘Grave concern’ over imported coal miners
An ‘abuse’ of a temporary foreign worker scheme risks jeopardising safety in British Columbia’s mining sector, trade unions in the Canadian province have warned. In an open letter to prime minister Stephen Harper, the Bargaining Council of BC Building Trade Unions said it has ‘grave concerns’ about plans by Canadian Dehua International Mines Group Inc to bring in more than 200 workers from China to mine coal in northern British Columbia.
Bargaining Council BCBTU • BC Federation of Labor news release • Global and Mail. OHS Canada • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
Britain: ‘Savage’ fire and rescue cuts put lives at risk
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is raising the alarm over unprecedented risks to public safety posed by “deep and dangerous” cuts to the fire service. Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, is urging the public to join firefighters in defending stations threatened with closure.
FBU news release • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
Britain: Union praises pilots of ditched helicopter
The pilots of a faulty helicopter that ditched in the sea off Shetland have been praised by their union BALPA after executing the ‘extremely challenging’ manoeuvre with no casualties. BALPA said the incident “again highlights the importance of trained flight crew.”
BALPA news release • AAIB incident report • BBC News Online and follow up story • Risks 579
Hazards news,
27 October 2012
Britain: HGV firm banned from the road for two weeks
A Yorkshire firm has had its HGV licence suspended for two weeks after its director failed to disclose convictions for health and safety offences to the Traffic Commissioner. In a written decision issued after a public hearing in Leeds, North East of England Traffic Commissioner Kevin Rooney said he had been persuaded “by the finest of margins” to allow Birstall Demolition and Plant Services Ltd director, Virginia Walker, to keep running HGVs in connection with her plant and demolition business.
Huddersfield Daily Examiner • Risks 578
Hazards news,
20 October 2012
Britain: Worker buried by poles as lorry topples over
A worker unloading scaffold materials from a flatbed lorry was thrown from the vehicle and hit by its load of boards and tubes when it overturned. Martin Sapec, 54, of Edwardsville, Treharris suffered a broken pelvis and ankle in the incident at Bryntirion, Mountain Ash, on 15 August 2011.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Britain: Worker crushed to death by girder
A South Yorkshire firm has been fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £42,471 costs after a worker died when he was crushed by a one and a half tonne steel girder. Steelworker John Mott, 47, who had worked in the steel industry since leaving school, received fatal injuries in the incident at the Bespoke Precast plant in Barnsley on 30 March 2009.
HSE news release • Irwin Mitchell news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Britain: Injury robs caretaker of his healthy retirement
A school caretaker was left with permanent disabilities when he fell through the school hall ceiling five days before his retirement. David O'Hanlon, 62, was putting a new light bulb in a roof void of the old Beckfoot School in Bingley so he could empty it safely before demolition.
HSE news release and falls webpage • Telegraph and Argus • BBC News Online • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Britain: Waste worker crushed under quarter tonne bales
A worker had his lower body crushed when a stack of bales, each weighting a quarter of a tonne, collapsed on him as he sorted waste in a processing shed in Somerset. Aleksandras Fomenkouas, 40, suffered serious injuries in the incident on 8 September 2011 while working at the recycling and processing yard of Cannington Enterprises Ltd. HSE news release and waste industry webpages • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Britain: Cardboard company crushed worker
A Leigh cardboard box manufacturer has appeared in court after one of its employees almost lost his right arm when it became trapped in a machine. The 26-year-old from Leigh, who has asked not to be named, was trying to retrieve a piece of card to clear a blockage when his arm was dragged under a roller, causing severe crush injuries.
HSE news release and manufacturing webpages • Wigan Observer • Bolton News • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Australia: Unions call for quad bike safety measures
Mandatory crush protection devices must be installed on all new quad bikes in Australia to prevent any more fatalities from rollovers, Australian unions have said. Ahead of a national forum on quad bike safety this week, Michael Borowick, the assistant secretary of national union federation ACTU, said the death of a 58-year-old man in a quad bike incident last week was the 160th quad bike fatality since 2001, and the tenth in Australia this year.
ACTU news release and follow-up action call • ABC News • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Global: Work to blame for substance misuse
Work factors including stress, work pressure and injuries sustained at work are the root cause of much drug and alcohol misuse, new reports indicate. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) said employers must recognise stressful, unsocial, monotonous or highly pressurised work environments can contribute to drug or alcohol misuse by employees and US researchers have found another factor in drug misuse which would normally result in the worker being blamed – dependency on the strong painkillers prescribed to work injury victims.
ICTU news release and guidelines for negotiating fair and legal drug and alcohol policies • WCRI news release and report • The Pump Handle • TUC drugs and alcohol webpages • TUC guide on drugs and alcohol policies [pdf] and drug testing in the workplace [pdf] • Hazards drugs and alcohol webpages • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Global: Retailer urged to compensate fire victims
A German retailer is being urged to compensate the bereaved relatives of the workers killed when a fire ripped through a garment factory last month. At the time of the fire the Karachi factory was producing jeans for the German low cost retailer, KIK, which has more than 3,000 stores in eight European countries.
Clean Clothes Campaign news release • Sign the CCC Urgent Appeal • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
India: Compensation breakthrough for dead shipbreakers
A three-year union struggle had succeeded in securing landmark compensation payouts for the families of workers killed in the shipbreaking yards of Alang, India. Global union federation IndustriALL says when it started a shipbreaking organising project in 2003, it was common knowledge that whenever a shipbreaking worker was killed the body was tossed unceremoniously into the sea.
IndustriALL news report and report on the 6 October deaths • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Britain: Government in new attack on safety
A government amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill is “completely illogical” and “also sends a clear signal to bosses that the safety of workers is no longer to be considered a priority,” according to a not-for-profit legal group. Karl Tonks, the president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) said changing the law on civil liability could not be justified.
APIL news release • Hansard report of 16 October 2012 House of Commons debate. BIS updates on the progress of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill • ASLEF news release • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Britain: Concern over self-employed site deaths
A dramatic increase in the proportion of construction fatalities involving self-employed workers must be addressed by the government, construction union UCATT has said. Latest provisional Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures show 49 construction workers were killed in 2011/12 of which 23 were self-employed workers - 47 per cent of all construction fatalities.
UCATT news release • HSE fatality statistics 2011/12 • Morning Star • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Britain: Offshore unions call for caution on offshore flights
Flights to and from the UK’s oil platforms should be stopped in extreme weather conditions rather than opting to rely on a cargo retrieval system to pluck crash victims from the sea, unions have said.
Sign the Unite petition • For more information and video clips of the Dacon Scoop in use, see the Unite website • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Britain: NUJ calls for safer media workplaces
The government and media employers must acknowledge the extent of sexism and harassment in the media industry and take action to combat it, the leader of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has said.
NUJ news release • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Britain: Usdaw takes crime fight into Parliament
Shopworkers' union Usdaw has taken the fight to save compensation for victims of violent crime to Parliament. A House of Commons meeting on 17 October organised by the union saw MPs brought face to face with victims of violent crime, including shopworkers who had been stabbed, beaten and brutalised in attacks at work.
Usdaw news release • New Usdaw Stopping violent crime at work poster • Risks 578
Hazards news, 20 October 2012
Ukraine: Miners at risk as union is frozen out
Neglected safety regulations, outdated equipment and low safety standards make the Ukraine one of the world’s most dangerous countries for miners. But unions are warning a recent law excluding them from accident investigations is making a deadly situation worse.
Equal Times • Risks 577
Hazards news,
13 October 2012
Bangladesh: Toxic tanneries harm child workers
As workers as young as 11 fall sick in tanneries in Bangladesh, the government is standing by and doing nothing, according to a new report. Research by Human Rights Watch (HRW) reveals workers in many leather tanneries in the Hazaribagh neighbourhood of Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital become ill because of exposure to hazardous chemicals and are injured in horrific workplace accidents.
Human Rights Watch news release and report, Toxic tanneries: The health repercussions of Bangladesh’s Hazaribagh leather • Risks 577
Hazards news,
13 October 2012
Britain: Fatal fall-related infection costs builder £548,000
A building contractor has been convicted of a criminal safety offence after a worker died of an infection over two years after he fell through a roof while working on a shopping centre construction project. Thomas Whitmarsh, 21, fell nearly six metres through an unguarded opening in the roof to the floor below, sustaining serious head injuries, and subsequently contracted acute meningitis.
HSE news release and falls and construction webpages • Risks 577
Hazards news,
13 October 2012
Britain: Fireball firm ignored official safety warnings
A Doncaster solvents firm destroyed in a huge fire had ignored two official warnings about the potentially deadly procedure that led to the inferno. Employees were transferring highly flammable toluene from a bulk container into a smaller drum at Solvents With Safety Ltd, when a build-up of static electricity in the drum ignited the vapour and sparked a fire that quickly took hold and spread to other containers of flammable and dangerous solvent mixtures at the site, some of which exploded.
HSE news release • The Star • Risks 577
Hazards news,
13 October 2012
Britain: HSE accused of burying gas enforcement call
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been accused of sitting on a report backing stringent enforcement of gas safety laws. PHCA, the umbrella organisation for plumbing and heating contractor trade groups across the UK, made the charge in a 4 October open letter to HSE.
PHCA news release • Enforcement Review 2010, undertaken by Frontline for the Health and Safety Executive • Risks 577
Hazards news,
13 October 2012
Britain: Minister defends scaled back Legionella inspections
New health and safety minister Mark Hoban has defending the scaled back legionella inspection levels criticised after two major and deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks. Critics say in the absence of preventive inspections it is impossible for enforcement agencies to identify which businesses present the highest risk.
EHN Online • Public Health Wales news release • BBC News Online • Risks 577
Hazards news,
13 October 2012
Britain: Government wants workers to give up their rights
Unions have angrily attacked government plans to use employee ownership schemes to encourage workers to give up hard won employment rights. Chancellor George Osborne told this week’s Conservative Party conference businesses will be allowed to remove “gold-plated employment rights” in exchange for handing out shares to employees.
BIS news release • TUC news release • GMB news release • UNISON news release • The Guardian and Guardian articles on facilities time comments from Eric Pickles and Francis Maude • The Independent • BBC News Online • Risks 577
Hazards news,
13 October 2012
Britain: Prime minister spouts deadly nonsense
The prime minister, in a throw away sound bite in his conference speech, said he wanted he wanted “less nonsense about health and safety.” Bereaved relatives group FACK responded: “As the families of people who went to work hard to provide for their families, but never came home, we know that treating health and safety as ‘nonsense’ is deadly.”
FACK news release • Risks 577
Hazards news,
13 October 2012
Global: World Bank backs stronger safety enforcement
The World Bank has released the jobs-themed 2013 edition its World Development Report, its flagship annual policy research publication. The report notes: “Health and safety at work also necessitate attention by governments and employers… Strengthening institutions for enforcement and grievance redress is another necessary building block.”
World Bank news release, overview and full report, World Development Report 2013, Jobs • Stronger Unions • Touchstone Blog • ITUC analysis • Risks 576
Hazards news,
6 October 2012
Britain: Plastics firm fined after machine death
A plastic recycling company has been ordered to pay £240,000 in fines and costs after a worker was killed at a St Helens factory. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted JFC Plastics Ltd, previously known as Delleve Plastics Ltd, after Steven Bennett died at the company's former premises in Bold.
HSE news release and manufacturing webpages • Risks 576
Hazards news,
6 October 2012
Britain: Row over HSE diminishing workplace health role
A dispute over the Health and Safety Executive’s perceived inability to oversee effectively workplace health issues looks set to escalate. A 2 October article in the Daily Mirror, headlined ‘Will work be the death of you?’ was refuted by HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger, whose rebuttal was then refuted by the Hazards campaign which said it “did not stand up to scrutiny.”
Daily Mirror • HSE rebuttal • Hazards Campaign rebuttal • Risks 576
Hazards news,
6 October 2012
Britain: Safety regulation is ‘good for business’ – official
The work of frontline Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been backed by the chief executive of the Department for Business's Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO). Graham Russell, BRDO chief executive, wrote in his online column this week that a series of “powerful stories” compiled by HSE inspectors’ and specialists’ union Prospect “caught my eye because it perfectly illustrated how a regulator’s approach can make such a huge difference,” adding “I thought it could do with a wider airing.”
BRDO blog • Prospect news release • Risks 576
Hazards news,
6 October 2012
Britain: HSE starts to bill law breakers
The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) new £124-per-hour cost recovery scheme came into force 1 October. Under The Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2012, those who break health and safety laws are liable for recovery of HSE's related costs, including inspection, investigation and taking enforcement action.
HSE news release, FFI guide and basic mistakes pointers • Construction Enquirer • Risks 576
Hazards news,
6 October 2012
Global: Voluntary factory audits aren’t enough
The textile factory in Karachi, Pakistan, in which nearly 300 workers burned to death on 12 September had received the coveted Social Accountability International's (SAI) SA8000 certificate in August, wrongly suggesting it was in compliance with the standards on working conditions and safety standards.
IUF news report • SAI statement • RINA statement • New York Times • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
USA: Why cost-benefit analysis gets it wrong
The use of ‘cost-benefit analysis’ to inform safety rulemaking in the US has skewed the costs calculations and put the public and the workforce at risk, an independent watchdog has warned. Washington DC-based OMB Watch warned the system fails because it relies on information “provided by regulated businesses,” adding: “If these businesses are resisting the need to change their production processes or business practices to comply with a new standard or regulation, they will tend to overestimate the compliance costs of the rule.”
OMB Watch • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Britain: HSE action not enough on deadly Legionella risk
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) safety notices urging employers to do more to prevent Legionnaires’ disease risks have been dismissed as “too little, too late”. Specialist lawyers representing 48 survivors and the families of four victims who died in two major outbreaks in Stoke-on-Trent in July and Edinburgh in May have repeated a call for a public inquiry into the problems.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release. Stirling University case history on HSE enforcement and Legionnaires’ disease, September 2012 • EHN survey of HSE Legionella inspections, EHN, 8 August 2012 • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Britain: Site firm fined after explosion death
A construction company has been ordered to pay £210,000 in fines and costs after employee Ioan Boboc, 22, died of his injuries over three weeks after an explosion on a construction site in central London. The explosion occurred when an 11,000 volt live cable within an excavation was damaged.
HSE news release and construction webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Britain: Worker was soaked in corrosive caustic chemicals
A Tyneside firm has been fined after a worker was soaked with a concentrated, corrosive chemical and suffered serious burns. Michael Reid, 66, was employed as an electroplater at DMI (UK) Ltd when the incident happened on 30 January 2011.
HSE news release • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Britain: Head crushed in pneumatic press
A West Midlands company has been fined after a worker suffered severe head injuries when his head was crushed in a pneumatic metal press. Wayne Hill, a maintenance engineer at H&E Knowles (Lye) Limited, was repairing the press when it unexpectedly started working and clamped on his head.
HSE news release • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Canada: Voluntary safety rules ‘ineffective’
An unpublished voluntary action plan to address horrific injury rates on Alberta farms is a “19th century” strategy that evidence shows will fail with deadly consequences, academics and unions have warned. The director of the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research said that his group’s advice to a government-appointed committee - that the Canadian province introduce health and safety regulations on farms like those in operation in every other jurisdiction in the country - was ignored.
AFL news release • The Calgary Herald • Alberta Diary blog • Alberta Labour blog • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Britain: Health at risk as watchdogs are neutered
The effective enforcement of workplace health standards is being undermined by government cost-cutting measures packaged as recession-busting cost-benefit calculations, a new independent report has concluded. Regulating Scotland, a detailed Stirling University analysis of environmental and workplace health and safety enforcement trends, warns that ideology rather than evidence is behind cuts in enforcement agencies including the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Stirling University news release • Regulating Scotland: What works and what does not in occupational and environmental health and what the future may hold, Research Report from the Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group, Centre for Public Health and Population Health Research, Stirling University, September 2012. Executive summary • Sunday Herald • The Scotsman • SHP Online • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Britain: IOSH tells parties to end safety ‘distortion’
Politicians have been urged to quit “distorting perceptions” of workplace health and safety – or risk lives. At the start of the political party conference season last week, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) called for a shift in the way the “political elite” talk about protecting people at work.
IOSH news release • London Evening Standard • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Britain: Safety breaches implicated in mine death
The family of a miner crushed to death by a giant boulder has received compensation. After a lengthy legal battle, union solicitors were able to prove his employer’s failure to follow health and safety rules contributed to the tragedy. NUM member Steve Cosh from Bath was 37 when he died in September 2006 after a roof collapse at Stoke Hill Mine, owned by Bath Stone Group.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Britain: RMT to ballot for action over driverless Tube
Tube union RMT has confirmed it is to ballot for strike action and action short of a strike in a dispute over plans to “rip up the safety rule book” and begin the testing of driverless trains on London Underground. Initially, RMT will be balloting all members who are test train drivers but the union has also made it clear that it will be looking at other grades that could be called upon to test-drive units with a view to balloting those staff as well.
RMT news release • London24 • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Britain: Drivers have no truck with driverless trains
Train drivers’ union ASLEF has told London Underground its members will play no part in development tests relating to driverless trains. A letter from general secretary Mick Whelan has informed the company that ASLEF members who are Test Train Operators and Duty Team Leaders will not work on any project to test driverless trains from 29 September.
ASLEF news release • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Britain: Teachers angry at official ‘work harder’ jibe
Teachers already facing a pay freeze have expressed anger after England’s chief inspector of schools called on them to ‘work harder’ or face further hardship. The comments from Ofsted head Sir Michael Wilshaw, in a 22 September interview with The Times newspaper, reignited union concerns that the Ofsted chief is fronting government policy and ignoring the serious and damaging stresses of the job.
NASUWT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 575
Hazards news, 29 September 2012
Global: Garment firm adopts fire safety programme
A German retailer has become the second firm to sign up to a union-backed fire and building safety programme at its suppliers in Bangladesh. The global union body IndustriALL, working with international labour rights campaign groups and Bangladeshi trade unions, reached the agreement with Tchibo to implement a fire and building safety programme in the Bangladeshi garment factories.
IndustriALL news release • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Mexico: At least 26 dead in gas plant blaze
A huge blaze erupted at a Mexican gas plant near the US border on 17 September, leaving at least 26 people dead and dozens injured or missing. The site, operated by the state-run Pemex energy firm, is located near Reynosa, a city in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas that sits across the border from the Texas town of McAllen.
Global and Mail • The Telegraph • CNN • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
New Zealand: Action call on work injuries ‘disgrace’
New Zealand’s workplace injury record is a ‘disgrace’ and would be improved dramatically by beefed up enforcement, worker participation and union representation, the country’s top union body has said. The Council of Trade Unions (CTU) was commenting as a government commissioned Taskforce published a consultation on how to reduce the toll.
NZCTU news release • NZ Department of Labour news release • Business Day • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Australia: Workplace death toll on the rise
Workplace deaths in Australia have hit a three-year high and middle-aged men working in transport or trades have been identified as the most likely victims. The rise has triggered union calls for tougher fines and more official safety inspections.
Safe Work Australia worker fatalities webpage • Herald Sun • Workplace relations minister news release • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Britain: Life-threatening fall when mobile scaffold moved
CME Ceilings Ltd has been sentenced after a worker received life-threatening injuries when he fell from scaffolding at a Croxteth sports centre. The 43-year-old man from West Derby, who has asked not to be named, suffered a brain haemorrhage, fractured skull and collapsed lung in the incident on 18 January 2011.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Britain: Roof fall worker saved by bush
A roofer narrowly escaped death when his six metre fall from a roof was broken by a bush. Refurbishment company Newlook Roof Coatings Ltd was fined after the incident in Cirencester. Cheltenham Magistrates' Court heard 26 year-old Lee Hanson, from South Shields, was using a roof ladder as he replaced tiles on 28 October 2011.
HSE news release and roof work guide • Construction Enquirer • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Britain: Snack giant crushed worker’s leg
Walkers Snack Foods Ltd has been fined after a 400 kilogramme block of compacted snack waste fell on a worker, breaking his leg. The employee, who has asked not to be named, was working as a forklift truck driver at the company's site in Lincoln, when the incident happened on 17 December 2010.
HSE news release • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Britain: Recycling firm fined over lost finger
A worker lost a finger when it was crushed in machinery as safety procedures were ignored at a recycling centre in Wales. GLJ Recycling Ltd appeared before Caerphilly Magistrates Court in a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive and was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs after pleading guilty to a criminal safety offence.
HSE news release and waste webpages • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Britain: Tories back dangerous boss
An employer whose criminal neglect left his workers at risk of serious occupational disease is being presented by the Conservatives as a champion of their safety deregulation plans.
Hansard report of prime minister’s questions 12 September 2012. UNISON news release • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Britain: Asbestos criminal escapes jail
The director of a south London firm has been given a suspended jail sentence, a curfew and community service after removing asbestos from a house without a licence and deceiving the householders by providing a doctored air test saying the room was safe to re-enter. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the circumstances of the incident and brought the prosecution against Peter Horrey under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Britain: Concerns raised about hands-off Legionella strategy
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging firms to do more to prevent Legionnaires’ disease, as concerns heighten about the government-driven removal of official scrutiny by the safety regulators. New research found nearly half of English local authorities responsible for cooling towers have not carried out any proactive legionella risk inspections within the past five years.
EHN News • Legionella, Hansard report 10 September 2012 • HSE news release, Legionella safety notice and guidance • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Global: TUC calls for action after Pakistan tragedies
The TUC has backed calls for an independent and impartial inquiry into last week’s factory fires in Pakistan and is demanding justice for the victims. And the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has “pledged to support the families of the victims of the Karachi garment factory fire and announced a plan to strengthen workplace safety, to prevent a similar tragedy from happening in the future.”
TUC letter • ILO news release • Risks 574
Hazards news,
22 September 2012
Pakistan: Justice demand after hundreds die in factory fires
Unions are calling for justice and safety action after more than 300 people were killed in two fires that tore through factories in Pakistan. The tragedies have again raised questions about inadequate safety checks and rampant corruption in the country. IndustriALL news report • The Independent • BBC News Online • Sign the Labourstart/Industriall letter to the Pakistan prime minister calling for safety improvements and justice • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
Britain: Warning over surge in waste and recycling deaths
A massive surge in deaths in the already notoriously hazardous waste and recycling industry has prompted a warning from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The watchdog is calling on industry to renew efforts to improve worker safety, following a spate of deaths over the summer.
HSE news release • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
Britain: Death of factory worker was ‘entirely preventable’
The death of a Bradford factory worker who was crushed beneath an unsecured racking system was ‘entirely preventable’, a court has heard. Jim Murphy, 61, died from head injuries when the 'A' frame metal racking unit, weighing more than a quarter of a tonne, toppled over and pinned him underneath.
HSE news release • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
Britain: Worker survives giant drill horror
A worker survived serious internal injuries after he became trapped in an industrial drilling machine, a court has heard. Joseph Spencer narrowly avoided being paralysed when a rotating drill passed through his overalls and jeans, and became lodged close to his spine.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
Britain: Concrete pump sprayed the public
A concrete pumping company has been fined after members of the public and a police car were sprayed with concrete when a delivery pipe ruptured. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted London Concrete Pumping Limited over the poorly maintained equipment that caused the incident on 24 May 2011.
HSE news release, concrete webpages and guidance on pipeline maintenance • Construction Enquirer • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
Britain: Firm fined after fall from cherry picker
A Shropshire plant hire firm that specialises in equipment for working safely at height, has been fined after a worker fractured his skull when he fell from a cherry picker. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted UK Platforms Ltd following the incident at the company's depot in Halesfield, Telford.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
Global: Enforcement cuts raise disaster risks
Cutbacks in safety enforcement agencies and a shift towards voluntary systems and self-regulation could lead to a repeat of earlier catastrophic mistakes, a study has found. ‘Safety failures the offshore oil industry: from Piper Alpha to Deepwater Horizon’, a report of a study by Linköping University Professor Charles Woolfson to be published in 2013, provides a siren warning about the UK government’s current anti-regulatory, business-friendly shift in safety enforcement.
Linköping University news release. • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
Britain: TUC warns Cable his deregulation plans will kill
A renewed government drive to abolish official safety inspections in hundreds of thousands of businesses and to force regulators to take a hands-off approach will put the health of millions of workers at risk, the TUC has warned. Vince Cable, the business secretary had said: “Removing unnecessary red tape and putting common sense back into areas like health and safety will reduce fears and costs for businesses.”
TUC news release • BIS news release • CBI news release • BCC news release • FPB news release • BBC News Online • Morning Star • Personnel Today • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
Britain: Government ‘will have blood on its hands’
Government plans to leave most workplaces exempt from unannounced, preventive safety inspections have been condemned by unions. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “It is simply absurd to describe the health and welfare of people at work as a burden.”
PCS news release • UNISON news release • GMB news release • NASUWT news release • CWU news release • BECTU news release • UCATT news release • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
Britain: As enforcement goes down, injuries go up
A marked decline in Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspections and enforcement activity has been accompanied by a sharp rise is fatal and major injuries at work, new research has found. An investigation by the union-backed workers’ health journal Hazards found the chances of HSE investigating a major injury had dropped by 40 per cent in five years.
Give up, Hazards magazine special report, September 2012 • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
Britain: Nine out of 10 workplace health inspections to go
An estimated 90 per cent of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) occupational health inspections will cease as a result of a planned change to the law, the union Prospect has warned. It says the proposals to amend RIDDOR - the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 – will mean the safety watchdog will ditch all occupational health-related inspections unless they relate to a biological agent at the workplace.
Prospect news release and 40&40 case histories • Morning Star • Risks 573
Hazards news,
15 September 2012
China: Deadly blasts highlight mine dangers
A coal mine explosion in eastern China on 2 September has killed at least 14 people just days after a blast in the country’s southwest left 44 dead. Official figures show that 1,973 people died in coal mining incidents in the country last year.
Washington Post • BBC News Online • Risks 572
Hazards news,
8 September 2012
Britain: New worker badly hurt at milking firm
A worker was hit on the head by an 80kg steel beam and suffered a fractured skull at a Derbyshire farm just a day after he started his job. The 49-year-old employee, whose name has not been released, was asked to help an experienced engineer install a milking parlour at Brookley Meadows Farm, Thurvaston, Derbyshire, on 5 July 2011, his second day at work for Shropshire-based United Milking Systems Ltd.
HSE news release • Risks 572
Hazards news,
8 September 2012
Britain: Engineering firm sentenced over severed fingers
A Skelmersdale firm that makes outdoor shelters has appeared in court after a 36-year-old employee lost parts of three fingers when his hand became trapped in a forklift truck. PRF Engineering, which manufactures shelters for bikes and supermarket trolleys, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident on 19 May 2011.
HSE news release • Risks 572
Hazards news,
8 September 2012
Australia: Deregulation will put miners at risk
A “frankly ludicrous” industry bid to weaken Queensland’s strict mine safety laws is “dangerously naïve” and could endanger the Australian state’s mineworkers, the union CFMEU has warned. The union says it will fight any attempt from industry or government to tamper with the state’s best practice occupational health and safety regulations, including a threat to reduce the powers of union-appointed safety inspectors. CFMEU news release • CQ News • Risks 572
Hazards news,
8 September 2012
Britain: Union warns of dangers of recycling cuts
A reduction in opening hours for Sheffield’s five recycling centres is leaving workers and the public at deadly risk, the union GMB has warned. GMB’s Peter Davies said there were serious safety implications of limiting access to the centres, including “queues that could, quite frankly, result in serious incidents affecting the public and the workforce alike.” GMB news release • Morning Star • The Guardian • HSE waste and recycling webpages and related transport movements webpages • Risks 572
Hazards news,
8 September 2012
Britain: Union says air safety must be the priority
Pilots’ union BALPA has said the controversy over the impact of prime minister David Cameron’s reshuffle on the chances for a new runway at Heathrow is diverting attention from the big issue, the looming threat to air safety. Patrick McLoughlin, the new secretary of state for transport, should put the EU's pilot fatigue proposals at the top of his pile, the union said.
BALPA news release • Risks 572
Hazards news,
8 September 2012
Britain: Just 1-in-20 know they were blacklisted
Only 194 of the 3,213 workers on a construction-industry run blacklist exposed by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in 2009 know they were targeted three years on, the union GMB has said. The situation is an “indictment” of the ICO, the union said, describing the privacy watchdog’s excuses for not contacting blacklisted workers as “so weak as to be a joke.”
GMB news release • Risks 572
Hazards news,
8 September 2012
Britain: Grim reaper visits Carillion death hearing
Workers employed by Carillion who were blacklisted after raising safety concerns have protested outside a court in Swansea where the firm is being prosecuted after a site death. Protesters, one dressed as the grim reaper, carried placards bearing the words ‘Carillion blacklisted health and safety representatives says GMB’ and ‘Carillion corporate bullying risks death and injuries on sites.’
GMB news release • Risks 572
Hazards news,
8 September 2012
Australia: Poor safety laws fuel offshore dangers
The deaths of two workers on a drilling rig off the Australian coast on 27 August underlines the need for offshore petroleum workers to be given the same workplace health and safety rights as those on dry land, national union federation ACTU has said. It is believed the men died when part of a 40-year-old drill dislodged and struck them as they worked on the Stena Clyde rig, which was involved in exploration for a new gas field.
ACTU news release • AWU news release • NOPSEMA news release • ABC News • Herald Sun • Risks 571
Hazards news,
1 September 2012
New Zealand: Deadly forestry industry slammed
The New Zealand forestry industry has a death rate 34 time higher than the UK’s but is a ‘one trick pony’ when it comes to prevention, concentrating on testing its workers for drugs. National union centre CTU said despite ‘massive’ drug testing programmes, the forestry industry had failed to arrest sky-high fatality and injury rates.
NZCTU news release • Forestry Industry Contractors Association news release • New Zealand Herald • Risks 571
Hazards news,
1 September 2012
Venezuela: Chávez orders deadly refinery blast probe
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has ordered an urgent investigation to find the cause of a huge explosion at the country's biggest oil refinery. At least 41 people died in the 25 August blast at the Amuay plant in Falcon state, in the north-west of the country.
BBC News Online • The Guardian • Risks 571
Hazards news,
1 September 2012
Australia: Office work can really harm you
Better workstations and posture are not delivering the anticipated benefits as computer-bound office workers creak under the strain of escalating workloads. A new study has found even good posture and ergonomic office equipment do not prevent back, neck, wrist and shoulder injuries and are failing to protect overburdened sedentary workers from a raised risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
Karin Lindgren Griffiths and others. Prevalence and risk factors for musculoskeletal symptoms with computer based work across occupations, Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation, volume 42, number 4, pages 533-541, 2012 [abstract] • The Age • Risks 571
Hazards news,
1 September 2012
Britain: Fall firms fined after subbie is seriously injured
A construction firm and a roofing company have been fined after a self-employed subcontractor suffered serious injuries in a fall at a Lincoln retail park. Taylor Pearson Construction Limited was the principal contractor building a new retail unit, and sub-contracted roof cladding work to Roofwise (Bourne) Limited, which in turn engaged a sub-contract labour team of its own.
HSE news release • Risks 571
Hazards news,
1 September 2012
Britain: Leg gets crushed in poorly guarded brick maker
A brick-making firm has been prosecuted after one of its employees suffered ‘life-changing’ crush injuries to his leg in a poorly-guarded machine. Nikoloz Demetrashvili, 42, was in hospital for three weeks with a multiple fracture of his right leg after the incident at Michelmersh Brick and Tile Company Ltd on 12 October 2011.
HSE news release • Risks 571
Hazards news,
1 September 2012
Global: Company safety record challenged
One of the world's leading oil companies, Chevron has had its reputation for having a good safety record challenged in a leading US newspaper. The San Francisco Chronicle pointed to a number of serious and fatal accidents in recent years and asked if something has gone wrong with Chevron's vaunted safety culture. Chevron is a strong proponent of behavioural safety systems.
San Francisco Chronicle • TUC Behavioural safety guide • Hazards Behavioural safety webpages • What are we to make of safe behaviour programs? A. Hopkins, Safety Science 2006 • Risks 570
Hazards news,
25 August 2012
Britain: Worker off for two years after bank injury
Another worker has won compensation for a serious injury received in an industry deemed by the government to be 'low risk'. Bank cashier, Mary Deller, who has not worked for almost two years after suffering a back injury while lifting bags of money, has been awarded more than £18,000 from former employer NatWest.
Kent online • Risks 570
Hazards news,
25 August 2012
Britain: Runaway trolley crushes leg
Multinational company Cape Industrial Services employee Colin Fletcher has received £70,000 after his leg was broken when working at Drax power station. He needed an operation requiring a bone graft from his hip and a metal plate inserted into his knee and still suffers on-going pain. Cape Industrial Services admitted liability and settled out of court. Thompsons news release • Risks 570
Hazards news,
25 August 2012
Britain: Firm fined after waste site injury
Waste company, Rugeley Environmental Waste Services Ltd, has been fined £5,000 with £4,306 costs after a worker was injured. The 23-year-old employee was handpicking waste from a skip at Rugeley Environmental Waste Services Ltd on 5 September 2011 when a skid steer loader reversed into him, pinning him against the skip. He suffered soft tissue injuries to his groin. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed the vehicle was being used in a relatively confined space and no measures were in place to segregate vehicles and pedestrians. The investigation also revealed the company had failed to carry out a risk assessment of its workplace transport activities.
HSE news release • Risks 570
Hazards news,
25 August 2012
Global: Nanotech dangers outlined
It has been known for some time that inhaling tiny fibres made by the nanotechnology industry could cause similar health problems to asbestos. This is borne out by new research by the University of Edinburgh published in Toxicology Sciences. Research on mice, suggests the longer nanofibres are even more dangerous. Some of these fibres are similar in shape to asbestos fibres, which cause lung cancers such as mesothelioma. Ken Donaldson, Professor of Respiratory Toxicology at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Concern has been expressed that new kinds of nanofibres being made by nanotechnology industries might pose a risk because they have a similar shape to asbestos.”
The threshold length for fibre-induced acute pleural inflammation: shedding light on the early events in asbestos-induced mesothelioma, Schinwald et al. Published online: May 12, 2012 Toxicological Science TUC nanotechnology guidance • Hazards nanotech webpages • Risks 570
Hazards news,
25 August 2012
Britain: Fraudsters put children at risk
Two men have been prosecuted for making false claims to have removed asbestos from a school. They colluded to commit fraud by falsifying a record stating that a school in Abingdon had been properly cleaned of asbestos. Ricky Gray, of Hoddesdon, was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs; and David Gray of Botley, was fined £1,000 with £250 costs after both pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act.
HSE news release • Risks 570
Hazards news,
25 August 2012
Britain: Prefab firm fined after back-breaking fall
A company making modular timber buildings has been fined after an employee was seriously injured when he fell from a canopy at a Shropshire school. RG Stones (Buildings) Ltd had been contracted to replace the canopy between two temporary buildings at Lakelands School in Ellesmere when the incident happened on 8 August 2011.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 569
Hazards news,
18 August 2012
Britain: ‘Blatant disregard’ shown for site safety
A property developer has been fined after the routine inspection of an Essex construction site discovered safety failings that endangered the lives of workers. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors visited Stefano Di Piazza's construction site in Waltham Abbey during a 10 February 2011 inspection blitz.
HSE news release and construction webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 569
Hazards news,
18 August 2012
Britain: Safety takes a holiday on horror site
A routine inspection at a construction site in Wales revealed no-one was running the dangerously substandard job. T Richard Jones (Betws) Ltd was operating the site in Manselton, Swansea on 10 August 2011 when Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors visited as part of a routine inspection.
HSE news release • Risks 569
Hazards news,
18 August 2012
Colombia: Hunger strike by injured GM car workers
Workers injured at a subsidiary in Colombia of the US multinational General Motors (GM) have gone on hunger strike a year after being fired. The members of ASOTRECOL, an association of ex-workers and injured workers at Colmotores, say they have been fired illegally and their medical records have been handled illegally.
AFL-CIO news release and AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 569
Hazards news,
18 August 2012
USA: Child labour rife on farms
Children are being hurt, brutalised and poisoned toiling for long hours on US farms, an investigation has found. Introducing an NBC News multi-part investigative series, ‘Children in the field: American kids pick your food’, the channel’s anchorwoman said: “They are too young to drive, work in an office, or even a local fast food joint, but thousands of them work long hours in brutal conditions to make sure we eat well, and on the cheap.”
Children in the field: American kids pick your food, NBC News • The Pump Handle • US National Library of Medicine on green tobacco sickness • Risks 569
Hazards news,
18 August 2012
USA: Groundbreaking law to protect temporary workers
Temporary staffing agencies in Massachusetts will no longer be allowed to send temporary workers to jobs without informing workers of the name of their employer, the wages they will be paid, or the basic safety training they need to protect themselves from jobs that are often hazardous. The law, which will come into effect in January 2013, has been welcomed by safety campaigners, who say it shines a light on those temp agencies operating in the darkness of Massachusetts’ underground economy, where worker injuries are often unreported and millions of dollars in overtime and minimum wages are unpaid.
Governor of Massachusetts Office news release • MassCOSH news release • Temporary Worker Right to Know Act • Boston Globe • Risks 569
Hazards news,
18 August 2012
Britain: Jobcentre strike over oppressive targets
Jobcentre staff took strike action this week over oppressive working conditions and unrealistic targets. On 13 August, more than 6,000 PCS members in 32 call centres in England, Scotland and Wales reignited industrial action first taken last year against “draconian conditions” they say prevent them from providing the kind of service callers require and deserve.
PCS news release • Risks 569
Hazards news,
18 August 2012
Britain: Topshop gets a dressing down over press ‘arrest’
Top managers of Arcardia-owned Topshop have asked for talks with journalists’ union NUJ after a photographer was manhandled by security guards and police while covering a demonstration in the retail giant’s flagship Oxford Street store. Photographer Jess Hurd had been attempting to photograph arrests of peaceful UK Uncut protesters in Topshop, Oxford Circus in March 2012.
NUJ news report • Jess Hurd Photography • Risks 569
Hazards news,
18 August 2012
Britain: Firms ‘vicariously liable’ for worker-on-worker assault
Public sector union UNISON is calling on its safety reps to take ‘active steps’ to tackle violence at work after a court said employers can be held liable for worker-on-worker violence. The Court of Appeal ruled that, where an employee inflicts violence on another employee or third party, there can be vicarious liability of the employer for the employee’s violent act where the incident is linked somehow to the employee’s job. UNISON news release • Court of Appeal case transcript • It’s not part of the job, UNISON’s health and safety guide on tackling violence at work [pdf] • Risks 569
Hazards news,
18 August 2012
USA: Construction injuries cost the public a fortune
Injuries and fatalities in the construction industry cost residents of the US state of Maryland $712.8 million (£456m) between 2008 and 2010, a study has found. ‘The price of inaction’, a report from the thinktank Public Citizen, concludes public construction contracts should only be awarded to companies that have strong safety records.
Public Citizen news release • The price of inaction: A comprehensive look at the costs of injuries and fatalities in Maryland’s construction industry, Public Citizen, August 2012 [pdf] • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
France: Researcher snubs top honour over 'industrial crimes'
A top researcher and campaigner on occupational health issues has refused France's highest honour in protest at official inaction over what she described as “industrial crimes”. Annie Thebaud-Mony, director of research at France's National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), turned down the Legion d'Honneur in a letter to housing minister Cecile Duflot made public last week.
France 24 • Herald Sun • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
Britain: HSE wants to take diseases out of RIDDOR
A dramatic revision of the legal system for reporting workplace injuries, dangerous occurrences and diseases is being proposed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The HSE’s consultation document would mean an end to the current duty under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 to report conditions including certain strain injuries, poisonings, vibration diseases, dermatitis and occupational cancers, dust diseases and asthma.
HSE news release and consultation document 243 [pdf] • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
Britain: HSE wants to leave some self-employed lawless
A controversial move to exempt many self-employed workers from safety laws is being pushed forward by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This week the safety watchdog opened a three-month consultation on the proposal, which it says would limit the exemption to people whose work activities pose no potential risk of harm to others – however, the situation is confused, as some sectors identified as high risk in the consultation document, notably docks, are classified by HSE for its enforcement purposes as ‘lower risk’ and exempt from preventive inspections.
HSE news release and consultation document 242 • Hazards magazine • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
Britain: Worker's legs amputated at ‘low risk’ dock
An Essex dock firm has been fined £20,000 for criminal safety failings after an employee had both legs amputated. William James, 73, was working on Stanton Grove Limited's berth 47 within the Port of Tilbury his legs were crushed by a cargo container on 26 March 2010.
HSE news release • Hazards magazine ‘Safety in the dock’ report • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
Global: Olympic projection spotlights Adidas ‘exploitation’
On 5 August - the night Olympic champion Usain Bolt won the fastest 100m race in history - campaigners projected a huge reminder on a building overlooking London’s Olympic Park that the Olympic sportswear partner Adidas is “making millions out of the exploitation of workers who make its clothes.” The anti-poverty charity War on Want beamed the 65 feet high image – which proclaimed “exploitation – not OK here, not OK anywhere” underneath the Adidas three-striped logo - as the sell-out 80,000 crowd left the stadium after the Olympic highlight, the men’s 100 metres final.
War on Want news release and Not OK Anywhere campaign • Playfair 2012 report [pdf] • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
Britain: Deaths mar offshore ‘improvements’
Two workers died in the UK offshore industry last year, the first deaths since 2007. Steve Walker, the head of the Health and Safety Executive’s offshore safety division (OSD), said a continuing decline in hydrocarbon releases was welcome, but expressed regret at the deaths.
HSE news release and offshore statistics bulletin [pdf] • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
Britain: Tata guilty after worker dies in molten slag
Global steel giant Tata has been fined £500,000 for serious criminal safety offences after employee Kevin Downey, 49, died when he fell into a channel carrying molten slag waste. Covers over the channel had been removed for maintenance and not replaced.
HSE news release and molten metals webpages • This is South Wales • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
Britain: Workers survive four storey lift shaft horror
Three companies have been fined for criminal safety offences after two workers on an Exeter building site suffered severe injuries when the platform they were working on collapsed and fell four storeys down a lift shaft. Exeter Crown Court heard the men were working on a site building new student accommodation for Exeter University when the incident happened in February 2008.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Western Morning News • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
Britain: Council fined after road worker is crushed
Dumfries and Galloway Council has been fined after a subcontractor suffered severe crush injuries when a tar tipper lorry reversed into a paver machine he was driving while carrying out road repairs. The 20-year-old, who does not wish to be named, was one of two subcontractors working for Hamilton Tarmac alongside a squad of men from Dumfries and Galloway Council to undertake repairs on a minor road.
HSE news release • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
Britain: FBU attacks government refusal to act on flood risks
The firefighters’ union FBU has attacked a government decision it says will risk public safety by refusing to require fire and rescue services in England and Wales to respond to flood emergencies. Although the fire service routinely responds to serious floods, it is not mandated to do so by law.
FBU news release • Risks 568
Hazards news, 11 August 2012
USA: Walmart delivers low prices and high pain
Walmart might be the world’s largest retailer, but that is little consolation to the bruised and broken workers toiling in the warehouses supplying its stores. These “lumpers”, required to work inside dark, hot, metal shipping containers with little ventilation or water under pressure to meet high quotas, filed a complaint with the state agency responsible for workplace conditions.
New York Times • Guardian news report and related commentary by Juan de Lara • Warehouse Workers United website and news release • Risks 567
Hazards news,
4 August 2012
Britain: Safety call after sea deaths rise
Marine accident investigators have called for improved safety in the fishing industry, after the number of fatal incidents rose last year. Eight fishermen lost their lives in 2011, up from five the year before, while the number of vessels lost at sea, 24, increased to its highest level since 2005, the annual report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) reveals.
MAIB annual report 2011 • The Herald • Risks 567
Hazards news,
4 August 2012
Global: BP bemoans $multibillion burden of being unsafe
A much worse than anticipated decline in the fortunes of the UK-based oil giant BP can be explained in a large part by its safety-related woes, the company has admitted. Commenting on publication of its ‘weak’ results for the second quarter of 2012, chief executive Bob Dudley said factors including a fall in oil prices had hit the industry as a whole, but added the results that prompted a steep drop in the company’s share price were down to “a combination of factors affecting both the sector and BP specifically.”
BP news release and Stock Exchange announcement • The Telegraph • The Guardian • The Independent • Risks 567
Hazards news,
4 August 2012
Britain: Chemical firm’s management was ‘abysmal’
A North Wales company handling high volumes of extremely hazardous chemicals has been criticised by a judge for its “abysmal” management and “incompetence”. Judge Philip Hughes fined Euticals Limited £100,000 plus £8,344 prosecution costs, noting: “An aggravating feature is the defendant company’s reckless regard for adhering to the law and somewhat dismissive attitude to those in the HSE trying to guide them and neglecting to take preventative measures to reduce the risks.”
HSE news release • Daily Post • Risks 567
Hazards news,
4 August 2012
Britain: HSE tells firms to tackle Legionnaires’ risks
Businesses are being told to do more to protect workers and members of the public from Legionnaires’ disease. The safety notice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which warns of the dangers of reducing planned maintenance and cleaning schedules, came as Britain’s second outbreak in three months claimed its first life.
HSE news release, guidance and safety notice, Management of the risks from legionella in cooling towers and evaporative condensers • Health Protection Agency news release • BBC News Online and update on the Staffordshire death • Risks 567
Hazards news,
4 August 2012
Global: First blood to gold miners in Anglo fight
Anglo American South Africa Ltd (AASA) has been ordered by a High Court judge in the UK to disclose an array of documents to ex-gold miners who are suing the company after developing the debilitating occupational lung disease silicosis. London law firm Leigh Day & Co is representing more than 1,500 claimants who worked in Anglo's mines in South Africa up to 1998.
Leigh Day & Co news release • Risks 566
Hazards news,
28 July 2012
Japan: Officials probe bogus radiation readings
Subcontracted workers at Japan’s earthquake wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station may have been forced to submit bogus reports on their radiation exposures so they could remain on the job longer. An official investigation began last week after media reports of a cover-up at the plant, which suffered multiple meltdowns following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disasters.
Washington Post • The Guardian • Risks 566
Hazards news,
28 July 2012
USA: Agency work can kill
Lax regulations, loose enforcement and employer resistance to union health and safety committees inflict a ghastly toll of illness, injury and death on the job, the global foodworkers’ union federation has warned. IUF was commenting after the grisly death of a contract worker at a US Nestlé plant, a tragedy it says provides further evidence that agency workers face even greater risks due to their precarious employment status.
IUF news release • MASSCOSH news report • Risks 566
Hazards news,
28 July 2012
USA: Oil industry ignored lessons of tragedy
Safety lessons from a deadly 2005 BP oil refinery explosion that could have helped prevent the 2010 Deepwater Horizon tragedy were not learned by either oil firms or the regulators, an official investigation has concluded. Noting the lack of sustained focus on process safety, US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) investigator Cheryl MacKenzie described an “eerie resemblance” between the 2005 explosion at the BP Texas City refinery and the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon.
CSB news release • The Guardian • Risks 566
Hazards news,
28 July 2012
Britain: ASLEF concern at upturn in high risk incidents
A marked upturn in potentially high risk train accidents must be tackled, train drivers’ union ASLEF has said. The union was commenting after this week’s publication of the annual safety report from the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR).
ORR news release and ORR annual health and safety report 2011/2012 • ASLEF news release • Hazards magazine • Risks 566
Hazards news,
28 July 2012
Britain: Six figure fine for corporate manslaughter
A company has been fined nearly £500,000 over the death of a maintenance worker who fell more than 40ft (12m) from a factory roof in Greater Manchester. Lion Steel Equipment Ltd admitted corporate manslaughter over the death of Steven Berry, 45, at its factory in Hyde on 29 May 2008.
R -v- Lion Steel Equipment Ltd - Judiciary, full Lion Steel manslaughter judgment [pdf] • BBC News Online • Morning Star • Risks 566
Hazards news,
28 July 2012
Britain: Deadly roof support warning not sent to UK mines
A dodgy UK-made roof support that had been the subject of a manufacturer’s safety warning in Australia failed and claimed the life of a Yorkshire miner, a court has heard. UK Coal and global machinery supplier Joy Mining Ltd were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court last week for serious criminal safety failings that led to the death in October 2009 of Kellingley Colliery worker Ian Cameron.
HSE news release • York Press • Risks 566
Hazards news,
28 July 2012
Britain: Stories from safety’s frontline
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) union Prospect is celebrating the 40th anniversary of a ‘ground-breaking’ report that transformed the UK’s health and safety landscape. Members of the union’s HSE branch have shared 40 ‘stories from safety’s frontline’ to mark the anniversary of the 1972 Robens report, which laid the foundations for the Health and Safety at Work Act and the creation of the HSE.
40@40: health and safety stories from the frontline • Read the tweets at hashtag #40at40 • Risks 566
Hazards news,
28 July 2012
Britain: Stabbed social worker wins right to sue
A social worker stabbed by a psychiatric patient has won a Court of Appeal case giving her the right to sue two health authorities responsible for her attacker’s care. UNISON member Claire Selwood worked for Durham County Council and was responsible for the care of the patient’s child.
UNISON news release • Community Care • Risks 566
Hazards news,
28 July 2012
Britain: Scandal of workers forced to pay for protection
More than one in five workers is being forced to pay for lifesaving personal protective equipment (PPE), despite laws that say employers must provide it free of charge. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The fact that so many employers are flaunting the law is an absolute scandal,” adding: “Safety equipment is needed to ensure that workers are protected from injury or disease, yet there appears to be very little enforcement of the law.”
TUC news release • Risks 566
Hazards news,
28 July 2012
Europe: Policymaking is ‘captured’ by big business
Expert groups set up by a European Commission’s enterprise and industry directorate are dominated by industry experts and corporate lobbyists, a new study has found. The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) examination of the composition of DG Enterprise and Industry expert groups found they involve 482 corporate lobbyists versus only 11 union representatives.
ALTER-EU news release and full report: Who’s driving the agenda at DG Enterprise and Industry?, ALTER-EU, July 2012 [pdf] • Sajjad Karim MEP news release • The Parliament • Risks 565
Hazards news,
21 July 2012
Guatemala: Unions condemn rising tide of violence
Anti-union violence in Guatemala has reached untenable proportions, the global union confederation ITUC has warned. It was commenting last week after the latest murder, which claimed the life of trade union leader Enrique Linares from the Río Chiquito community.
ITUC news release and letters • Risks 565
Hazards news,
21 July 2012
South Africa: Fatal crash highlights poor farm transport
South African unions have called for action after a devastating collision between a train and truck claimed the lives of at least 25 farmworkers. The Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (COSATU) said it was “shocked and angered” by the deaths, which happened in Mpumalanga province on 13 July when a truck believed to have been transporting 45 workers to an orange farm failed to stop at a railway crossing and collided with a train.
IUF news release • COSATU news release • San Francisco Chronicle • The Telegraph • Risks 565
Hazards news,
21 July 2012
USA: BP agrees to massive refinery safety penalty
BP has agreed to pay over $13m in safety penalties for ‘wilful violations’ at its Texas City refinery. The official US safety watchdog OSHA announced that it had reached an agreement with BP Products North America Inc under which BP will pay $13,027,000 in penalties, and already has abated or will abate all existing violations by the end of 2012.
OSHA news release, timeline on OSHA actions regarding BP and final agreement [pdf] • More on BP’s safety record • Risks 565
Hazards news,
21 July 2012
Britain: Two directors fined after teen’s death
A Northumberland firm and its father-and-son directors have been fined after a teenage worker died following a fall from a barn roof. Jamie Lee Duddin, 18, and another Scotts of Whittington Ltd employee were carrying out repairs to the roof lights of the barn at Heddon Low Farm at Heddon on the Wall when the incident occurred on 23 July 2010. HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 565
Hazards news,
21 July 2012
Britain: Demolition director fined for ‘staggering’ failings
A demolition firm and its director have been fined for endangering workers at a site in Lancing, West Sussex. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Rabbit Demolition and Excavation Ltd and its director, Colin Bell, for not providing a safe means for working on a roof during the demolition of the Ball Tree Inn in Sompting, between the 12 and 21 September last year.
HSE news release • Risks 565
Hazards news,
21 July 2012
Britain: Dangerous builder ignored verbal warning
A Lincolnshire builder who ignored both verbal and written advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been fined for running an unsafe site. Andre Wilkin, trading as Hillen Projects, was the main contractor on a refurbishment scheme when an HSE inspector visited the Lincoln site as part of a national construction safety initiative on 1 March 2011.
HSE news release and construction webpages • Risks 565
Hazards news,
21 July 2012
Britain: HSE pulls the plug on rock show lies
A claim by a rock show promoter that stars Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul McCartney had the plug pulled on them at a Hyde Park concert for ‘health and safety’ reasons has been rubbished by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Kevin Myers, HSE’s deputy chief executive and a self-confessed ‘longstanding Bruce Springsteen fan’, attended the gig and said: “The fans deserve the truth: there are no health and safety issues involved here.”
HSE statement • Wall Street Journal blog • The Telegraph • CME • NME • BBC News Online • Contactmusic.com • Risks 565
Hazards news,
21 July 2012
Britain: RMT exposes secret driverless train plan
A ‘shocking’ London Underground (LU) internal document obtained by the rail union RMT exposes a ‘secret agenda’ to move the entire Jubilee Line to driverless operation within three years, the union has said. The document reveals the system will be trialled later this year, with the other deep level Tube lines to follow.
RMT news release • Risks 565
Hazards news,
21 July 2012
USA: Black lung surge linked to long hours and lax laws
Black lung diagnoses in the US have doubled in the last decade, and a new investigation blames a combination of factors, including operators longer working hours and lax enforcement by regulators. “This is clearly a public health epidemic,” said epidemiologist Scott Laney of the US government’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, adding: “This is a rare disease that should not be occurring.”
Center for Public Integrity’s i-Watch News • Charleston Gazette • San Francisco Chronicle • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Canada: Miners down tools to protect safety rep
Almost half the day shift at a Canadian copper mine downed tools last week in support of a health and safety representative who was disciplined after raising safety concerns. The 300 United Steelworkers (USW) members at Highland Valley Copper in Kamloops, British Columbia (BC), got their union safety rep’s suspension lifted, along with the safety investigation he was calling for.
Kamloops Daily News • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Canada: Immigrants face greater injury risk
Recent immigrants who take jobs for which they are over-qualified are more than three times as likely to sustain an injury at work as their appropriately qualified peers who have been in the country for some time, Canadian researchers have found. Those who are over-educated may not have the knowledge and skills required to perform their job safely, say the authors, and language barriers and lack of familiarity with the country may get in the way of being able to understand or voice health and safety concerns, they suggest.
Stephanie Premji and Peter M Smith, Education-to-job mismatch and the risk of work injury, Injury Prevention, Published Online First: 9 July 2012 [abstract] • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Britain: Firm prosecuted after two injured in platform fall
A West Midlands vehicle engineering, design and testing firm has been fined after two employees were injured when they fell over 2 metres from a platform. Mira Ltd pleaded guilty to a criminal safety offence and was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £9,305.
HSE news release and falls webpage • Leicester Mercury • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Britain: Fingers cut off after machine guards are disabled
Stockport engineering firm Hayles Pressings Ltd has been fined £2,500 for criminal safety offences after one of its employees lost four fingers when his hand was crushed in a power press whose safety guards had been disabled days earlier. The 62-year-old from Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire, who has asked not to be named, had been using the machine to cut electrical components from a thin strip of steel when his hand became caught between the unguarded cutting tools.
HSE news release • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Britain: Cheshire manufacturer fined over severed finger
A Cheshire firm which makes large steel containers has been sentenced after one of its employees lost part of a finger at a factory in Ellesmere Port. Greif UK Ltd, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following an investigation into the incident on 23 September 2011.
HSE news release • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Britain: Warehouse workers could have been killed
Three Wirral employees could have been killed if they had fallen while carrying out work to a warehouse roof in Birkenhead, a court has heard. The Davidson Williams (Merseyside) Ltd employees wore hard hats and high-visibility jackets, but that neither of those items would have saved their lives if they had fallen through one of the fragile panels or off the edge of the roof.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Britain: Nearly half refurb sites are run by safety criminals
Almost half of the refurbishment construction projects around North East London have failed health and safety spot checks. A day-long inspection initiative by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) last week saw a small team of inspectors visit 22 construction sites in Haringey, where the criminal breaches of safety law were observed.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Britain: Safety body opposes scrapping safety laws
Ministers are rushing to scrap the tower crane register without giving it long enough to prove itself, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has warned. CIEH, the professional body for the environmental health officers who undertake official safety inspections in local authority-enforced workplaces, echoed calls made by unions and safety campaigners, who last week protested outside the Department for Work and Pensions’ London HQ.
EHN Online • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Britain: Firefighters want deadly lessons to be learned
Firefighters’ union FBU has said it will ensure key lessons are learned from a tragedy that claimed the lives of two firefighters. A four week inquest that concluded this week into the deaths of Jim Shears, 35, and Alan Bannon, 38, in a Southampton tower block fire returned a verdict of death by misadventure.
FBU news release and Hampshire FBU statement • BBC News Online • Southampton Daily Echo • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Britain: Fire brigades could refuse flood role
Firefighters’ union FBU is warning that this month’s floods threaten to expose the impact of frontline cuts and the absence of a legal duty on fire services to respond to flooding. It says nearly 3,000 frontline firefighter posts have been axed since the 2007 floods, which stretched the fire service to breaking point.
FBU news release • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
Britain: UCATT says site deaths still ‘far too high’
Construction union UCATT has said the latest construction fatality figures are a worrying sign site ‘deaths are likely to increase substantially.’ The provisional figures published by the Health and Safety Executive, show that there were 49 construction fatalities in 2011/12, compared to 50 deaths in the previous 12 months.
UCATT news release • Statistics on fatal injuries in the workplace 2011/12, HSE, 5 July 2012 [pdf] • Risks 564
Hazards news,
14 July 2012
USA: Watchdog steps back from voluntary programmes
The official US workplace safety enfor cer OSHA is stepped back from the controversial Voluntary Protection Programmes (VPP) that reward workplaces reporting lower-than-average injury and illness rates, and is supporting greater employee involvement and whistleblowing instead.
Testimony by Jordan Barab, OSHA, to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Committee on Education and the Workforce, US House of Representatives, 28 June 2012. i-Watch news • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Lawbreaking firms to face £124-an-hour charges
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed its delayed cost recovery scheme, Fee for Intervention (FFI), will now start on 1 October 2012. The new approach, which is subject to parliamentary approval but has already got the green light from ministers, could see HSE recover costs of £124-an-hour from firms who break health and safety laws.
HSE news release and guidance on the fee for intervention scheme • Construction Enquirer • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Regulation low on burdens hitlist for business
In a marked contrast to government claims, regulations are not a big concern to business, who would much rather see ministers take action to drum up business and free up cash, an official survey has concluded. The Business Perceptions Survey 2012, published last week by the government’s business department (BIS), found while only 14 per cent of businesses cite regulation as the main barrier they face, 45 per cent say that attracting and retaining customers is their biggest challenge and 16 per cent cite access to finance.
TUC Touchstone blog • BIS Business Perceptions Survey 2012 [pdf] • Update on review of health and safety guidance, paper to the March 2012 HSE board meeting [pdf] • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Firm guilty of manslaughter but bosses go free
A company has admitted the corporate manslaughter of a worker in a 40ft fall - but three of its bosses have walked free from court after manslaughter and criminal safety charges were dropped. Maintenance worker Stephen Berry, 45, died while working on a leaky roof at the premises of Lion Steel Equipment Ltd in Dukinfield in May 2008.
CPS statement • Oldham Chronicle • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: AMEC convicted over worker's fatal fall
Construction giant AMEC has been convicted of criminal safety offences after a worker fell 22 metres to his death in Manchester. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted principal contractor, Amec Group Ltd, and employer Shawton Engineering Ltd after 25-year-old Christopher Heaton suffered fatal injuries after falling approximately seven storeys on 29 April 2004.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Manchester Evening News • Construction Enquirer • Hazards magazine • Shawton Engineering • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Company boss fined after worker left paralysed
A demolition boss has been prosecuted after a worker was left paralysed following a fall from the roof of a Sunderland pub. The 67-year-old injured man from Sunderland, who has asked not to be named, was working for David Brian Riseborough, trading as The North Eastern Demolition Company, when the incident happened on 29 June 2010.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Sunderland Echo • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Blacklisters face professional abuses charges
Top construction industry managers implicated in a blacklisting scandal are facing allegations they are guilty of serious professional misconduct. The first complaints referred to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD), whose new Code of Conduct came into effect on 1 July, were submitted this week by the Blacklist Support Group (BSG).
Blacklist blog • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Global: Outrage at new asbestos mine in Canada
Asbestos victims have joined a global chorus of disapproval at a decision by authorities in Canada to underwrite the development costs of a giant new asbestos mine. On 29 June, the provincial government in Quebec announced it would provide a multimillion dollar loan guarantee to allow the reopening and expansion of the Jeffrey Asbestos Mine.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) • National Post • Toronto Star • Globe and Mail • Mineweb.com • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Piece work increases the work injury rate
Almost twice as many piece rate workers suffer from workplace injuries as those on standard contracts, according to research from Lancaster University Management School. The increased productivity gained by employers from piece rate work is lost through increased absence and the cost of compensation, the authors note.
Keith A Bender, Colin P Green and John S Heywood. Piece rates and workplace injury: Does survey evidence support Adam Smith?, Journal of Population Economics , volume 25, number 2, 2012 [abstract] • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: TUC alert as work death rate stays up
The TUC has called for a change of direction from the government after statistics on deaths at work showed the rate had remained the same for a second year, up over 17 per cent on the record low figure in 2009/10. Deaths normally dip in a recession as a result of reduced activity in the economy.
HSE news release and statistics website • TUC news release • Morning Star • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Scottish workplaces more likely to kill
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has expressed concern at an ‘unacceptable increase’ in workplace fatalities in Scotland. New Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures show the number of fatalities in Scotland in 2011/2012 was 20, up from 14 the previous year; the fatality rate of 0.8 deaths per 100,000 workers in the country compares to 0.6 per 100,000 in Britain overall.
STUC news release • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Protest at government attack on safety rules
Protesters demanding the government ‘Stop it, you’re killing us’ gathered outside the London HQ of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) on 3 July. The event, attended by over 50 placard and banner waving union and safety campaigners who want the government to stop eroding legal safety protection, came a day before the end of a government consultation on 14 measures that could see some safety rules, including the cranes register, axed.
GMB news release • Demotix.com • SHP Online, including video clips of the demonstation • Stop it, you’re killing us poster • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Unions demand a halt to coastguard cuts
Unions representing coastguards and seafarers have demanded a halt to the government's planned cuts and closure programme to coastguard and maritime rescue centres. The move by unions PCS and RMT came as it emerged one of the threatened rescue facilities, Clyde, is set to be closed in December this year even though a planned new national Maritime Operation Centre is not due to open until 2014.
PCS news release • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Union no to relaxed train breakdown plan
Network Rail plans to relax train breakdown safety procedures during the London Olympics have been condemned by train drivers’ union ASLEF. Last week Network Rail management told union representatives they wanted to introduce ‘temporary working arrangements’ for the duration of the London Olympics, which start on 27 July.
ASLEF news release • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Britain: Rail emergencies show need for safe staffing
Travel emergencies and a safe evacuation after a fire on a Virgin train last week demonstrate the crucial role of the train guard and other safety-critical staff, rail union RMT has said. The union said last week’s weather-related travel chaos, including the safe evacuation of a Virgin Voyager train after a fire, “are the most graphic recent demonstration of the kind of emergency situations that are thrown at rail and transport staff without any notice and which only skilled and trained staff in adequate numbers can safely deal with.”
RMT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 563
Hazards news,
7 July 2012
Global: Union action on ‘Black Sea of shame’
Trade unions from Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine say they intend to shame governments into action over the shocking condition of shipping on the Black Sea. Steve Cotton, maritime coordinator with ITF, the global union federation that published the report, commented: “Our inspectors and our member unions are dealing with the human costs of unsafe and ageing shipping, and managements who consider crews a dispensable luxury, to be paid at whim and undeserving of basic protections, including insurance against death and injury.”
ITF news release and report, Black Sea of Shame • Risks 562
Hazards news,
30 June 2012
Britain: Roads are workplace too, MP says
An MP has criticised an enforcement anomaly which means workers killed or injured on the roads do not come under the Health and Safety Executive’s enforcement umbrella. Sheffield MP Meg Munn, speaking in a Commons debate last week, said even a government “underestimate” suggesting 24 per cent of serious injuries and 30 per cent of road deaths in 2010 could be linked to work-related road traffic accidents meant “on average, 11 deaths and 105 serious injuries every week.”
Meg Munn MP news release • SHP Online • Risks 562
Hazards news,
30 June 2012
Britain: Dye worker in Leek suffers severe burns
A Leek company that makes webbing for seatbelts and harnesses has been fined after an employee trapped both arms in a machine and suffered severe burns. Stewart Wood, a dye machine operative at Marling Leek Limited, was working a night shift on 2 August 2011 when webbing became wrapped around the machine's rollers.
HSE news release • Risks 562
Hazards news,
30 June 2012
Britain: Wood planer shaves off finger
A glazing company has been fined for safety breaches after a worker lost part of a finger in a woodworking machine at its factory in Aldershot. Norbert Pietrzkiewicz's little finger on his right hand was drawn into a cutting block rotating at 7,000 rpm as he worked on reducing the thickness of lengths of timber at the Total Installations Ltd factory on 18 February last year.
HSE news release • Risks 562
Hazards news,
30 June 2012
Britain: Jack fractures fitter’s skull
A Suffolk haulage operator has been prosecuted after one of its workers suffered a fractured skull as he tried to recover a 17-tonne abandoned excavator. Experienced fitter Paul Collins, 51, had worked for Tannington Transport for only three months when he was struck on the head by a heavy-duty vehicle jack when it 'popped' out of position. HSE news release • Risks 562
Hazards news,
30 June 2012
Europe: Firms could benefit from better sick leave rights
Workers who fall sick during their annual leave are entitled to take corresponding paid leave at a later date, the European Union’s top court has ruled. And the ruling could be good news for businesses too, with a forthcoming US study linking paid sick leave to a dramatic reduction in workplace injuries and related costs.
European Court of Justice news release [pdf] and full ruling • BBC News Online • Abay Asfaw, Regina Pana-Cryan and Roger Rosa. Paid sick leave and nonfatal occupational injuries, American Journal of Public Health, 2012, e-view ahead of print.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300482 • Risks 562
Hazards news,
30 June 2012
Britain: HSE admits Legionnaires’ concerns
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has admitted concerns about the possible extent of Legionnaires’ disease risk after inspections at six firms in Edinburgh found two were falling criminally short of the legally required safe practices. So far two deaths have been linked to the Edinburgh outbreak, with three patients in intensive care and the number thought to have been affected by the outbreak had risen to 95, with 48 confirmed cases and 47 suspected cases.
Daily Herald • BBC News Online • Risks 562
Hazards news,
30 June 2012
Britain: UCATT demands answers after site fatality
Construction union UCATT is demanding answers after a site worker was killed and another was seriously in Glasgow in an incident involving a lifting boom it is suspected was defective. A year earlier the fire brigade had to rescue workers from the same machine, provided by Craig Services and Access Ltd, when its boom broke in the same place.
UCATT news release • Daily Record • The Scotsman • STV News • Risks 562
Hazards news,
30 June 2012
Britain: Olympics rail proposals are ‘potentially lethal’
Last minute Olympics rail proposals are designed to cut corners on existing safety procedures in the event of a broken down train “with potentially lethal consequences”, rail union RMT has warned.
RMT news release and 28 June update • Risks 562
Hazards news,
30 June 2012
India: Union concern after deadly steel blast
A massive explosion at a government-owned steel plant in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has killed at least 11 people. The blast occurred at about 8.30pm on 13 June and triggered a fire in the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) plant in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.
IMF news report • BBC News Online • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Britain: Nordex UK fined after teen’s wind farm death
A wind turbine manufacturer has been fined £26,000 after admitting criminal safety failings at a site where a teenage worker fell 100ft to his death. Basilio Brazao, 19, from Brazil, died instantly when he fell down the shaft of a wind turbine at the Earlsburn wind farm near Fintry, Stirlingshire.
BBC News Online • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Britain: Concrete slab kills carpenter on university site
A carpenter died when a large slab of concrete fell on him during construction of a new accommodation block at Bath University. Philip Hames, of Weston-super-Mare, was working for Creagh Concrete Products, which was convicted of a criminal safety offence and was fined £100,000 plus costs of £140,000 at Bristol Crown Court.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • BBC News Online • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Britain: Scaffold collapsed after firm ignored safety pleas
A now defunct Croydon construction company has been prosecuted after a worker fell eight metres from a scaffold tower that he hadn’t wanted to build for safety reasons. Green Acre Homes (South East) Ltd, which ceased to operate a year ago, failed to listen to the concerns raised by handyman John Morgan, who had been instructed to build a tower scaffold on a building site in Peckham, south London.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Britain: Fine after worker has his body ripped open
A West Yorkshire engineering firm has been fined after a worker miraculously escaped death when he became entangled in a rotating machine tool that caught him by the neck. P Craven Engineering Co Ltd employee Tomas Cisarik, 33, suffered a deep gash running 20cm long and 8cm wide on his back, which left his internal organs exposed.
HSE news release • Dewsbury Reporter • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Britain: Teens ‘narrowly escaped death’ at work
A Derbyshire manufacturing firm and its director have been fined after two teenage agency workers ‘narrowly escaped death’ in a fall from a platform above a heap of supermarket trolleys. Derby Crown Court heard that the two 18-year-olds were helping to put scrapped trolleys into a skip using a makeshift lifting platform designed by Storetec Limited director Brian Crossan to fit a forklift truck.
HSE news release • Derby Telegraph • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Britain: Axe-wielding minister hides behind ‘burdens’ lie
The government’s drive to cut health and safety regulation is going to plan, safety minister Chris Grayling has said, reiterating unsubstantiated government claims about safety ‘burdens’ to justify it.
A progress report on implementation of health and safety reforms, DWP, June 2012 [pdf] • DWP health and safety policy updates webpage • SHP Online • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Britain: UK dust standard leaves waste workers in peril
The waste industry must adopt “much lower exposure limits” for dust at work or workers will be left at risk of potentially life-threatening occupational diseases, a study has concluded.
BOHRF project description • Review of health risks for workers in the waste and recycling industry, IOM, 2012 [pdf] • Dust in the workplace, TUC, September 2011 [pdf] • Hazards magazine workplace dust webpages and graphic guide to occupational dust diseases • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Britain: RMT exposes ‘lethal cocktail’ of rail reforms
Rail union RMT has told MPs they should demand the government abandon its support for the “catastrophic course of cuts and profiteering” recommended in an official rail review. RMT general secretary Bob Crow told the a Transport Select Committee inquiry on 19 June the McNulty rail review, whose findings were accepted in their entirety by the government, would create the perfect ‘lethal cocktail’ of conditions for another Hatfield or Potters Bar disaster on Britain’s railways.
RMT news release • Transport Select Committee Rail 2020 inquiry • The Telegraph • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Britain: Health problems rife in call centres
The physical and mental health of the UK’s million call centre workers is at significant risk, a survey by the public sector union UNISON has found. The union says the findings highlight the toll that pressurised, target-driven and closely-monitored working can take on call centre staff, preventing from taking the necessary measures to protect their health and wellbeing.
UNISON news release • Morning Star • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Britain: HSE accused of ‘deplorable’ rogue consultation
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been accused of a ‘deplorable’ attempt to ‘to stitch together a case to scrap regulations which save construction workers’ lives.’ Construction union UCATT said it has caught HSE undermining its own formal consultation procedures by embarking on a ‘rogue’ parallel consultation involving only construction contractors.
UCATT news release • Morning Star • Hazards magazine • Risks 561
Hazards news,
23 June 2012
Australia: Businesses not bothered by safety rules
The common claim by governments that businesses, particularly small businesses, are clamouring for deregulation of safety has taken another knock. The media release accompanying the June 2012 Sensis Business Index notes small businesses have many concerns about ‘red tape’ – contractor management, energy rebates, fair trading – but health and safety does not get a mention.
Safety at Work blog • June 2012 Sensis Business Index [pdf] • Risks 560
Hazards news,
16 June 2012
Global: Union rights violations worsened in 2011
The situation faced by trade unionists across the world grew steadily worse in 2011, according to the annual survey of trade union rights violations published by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). This year's survey, which reported on 143 countries, found that 76 trade unionists were murdered in 2011, with thousands more dismissed and arrested.
ITUC news release and survey findings • TUC news release • IMF news release • AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 560
Hazards news,
16 June 2012
Britain: Network Rail fined after another death
Network Rail has been fined £356,250 after a women died on an unsafe level crossing in Wiltshire. It was the fourth time the company had received a six figure plus fine this year.
ORR news release • BBC News Online • Risks 560
Hazards news,
16 June 2012
Britain: Decorator fell through dodgy guard rail
A Reading building firm has been prosecuted after a decorator was seriously injured when he fell through a substandard guard rail at a housing development in the town. Phillip Williams, 63, fractured his hip, broke five ribs, chipped a bone in his spine and was left with internal bleeding and clotting around his lungs as a result of the fall on 30 August last year.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 560
Hazards news,
16 June 2012
Britain: Prospect says inspection prevents infection
The union representing Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors and specialists says the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Edinburgh, which by 13 June has claimed one life and left 11 others in intensive care, is a stark reminder that cuts to public services can create dangerous and ultimately expensive health-related problems in the longer term.
Prospect news release • Sunday Herald • Risks 560
Hazards news,
16 June 2012
Britain: Over 80 cases suspected in Legionnaires' outbreak
The total number of cases of Legionnaires' disease confirmed in the Edinburgh outbreak had risen to 41 on 13 June, with a further 47 suspected cases. One person, 56-year-old building worker Robert Air, has so far died of the disease.
BBC News Online • HSE news releases on the Macfarlan Smith Ltd and improvement notices and Legionnaires’ disease advice • The Guardian • Risks 560
Hazards news,
16 June 2012
Britain: Cutbacks ‘could have allowed’ disease outbreak
Severe cutbacks in the number of safety inspectors and inspections could have allowed the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Edinburgh and may cause future outbreaks in Scotland, experts have warned. Official figures obtained by Hazards magazine show the number employed at HSE’s Edinburgh office has dropped by 8.5 per cent since 2009, from 102 to 94 staff.
Rob Edwards’ online report • Hazards magazine • Risks 560
Hazards news,
16 June 2012
Britain: Anger at axe threat for cranes register
A proposal to revoke the register of tower cranes, introduced just two years ago, had provoked anger from safety campaigners. The move to axe the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 was announced in a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) consultation document published in April.
CSC/BCDAG demonstration and meeting announcement • Risks 560
Hazards news,
16 June 2012
Britain: Cranes safety protest at DWP HQ on 3 July
In a protest at official moves to axe crane safety legislation, the Construction Safety Campaign (CSC) and the Battersea Crane Disaster Action Group (BCDAG) have called a 3 July demonstration outside the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) London HQ, to be followed by a public meeting in the House of Commons. An HSE consultation on the changes closes on 4 July.
CSC/BCDAG demonstration and meeting announcement
Hazards news,
16 June 2012
Britain: Safety should be an election issue
Health and safety must be put firmly on the election agenda, bakers' union BFAWU delegates has declared. Delegates to the union’s conference this week raised concerns over a phased 35 per cent cut in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This has already led to a dramatic decline in HSE’s activity, including a fall of a third in proactive inspections, with most workplaces now exempted entirely, and has seen the virtual disappearance of HSE’s occupational health wing.
Morning Star • We didn’t vote to die at work campaign and ‘Stop it, you’re killing us’ poster • Risks 560
Hazards news,
16 June 2012
USA: Employers don’t pay injury costs
‘Cost-shifting’ by US employers and insurers is landing the bill for work-related injuries and ill-health on the public purse and the community at large. A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine concludes this cost shifting leads to artificially low workers' compensation premiums for employers and provides little incentive for companies to promote workplace safety.
Paul J Leigh and James C Marcin. Workers' compensation benefits and shifting costs for occupational injury and illness, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, volume 54, issue 4, pages 445–450, April 2012. Harvard Business Review • Medical Xpress • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Britain: Government can’t leave safety to business
The government’s insistence that workplace safety laws hold back the economy and that safety enforcement is a diversion business could and should do without is “a cynical – and ultimately deadly – lie,” a new report has charged. A new issue of the safety journal Hazards magazine examining the government’s safety strategy notes: “Safety regulations and enforcement are out of favour, and for more and more workers, this could mean they are out of luck.”
You lie, we die and Dark hearts, special features in Hazards, number 118, 2012 • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Britain: Multinational recycling firm fined over death
The UK arm of an international recycling giant with a turnover in the billions has been fined £200,000 after a 21-year-old employee died from head injuries at its paper baling site in Tipton. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted SITA UK Ltd after Mark Bate was killed instantly when the arm of a JCB skid steer loader crushed his head on 12 June 2008.
HSE news release and workplace transport guide [pdf] • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Britain: Equipment supplier fined after hand is severed
A worker from County Durham had his hand severed while carrying out maintenance on glass cutting machinery. Equipment manufacturer and installer Lisec (UK and Ireland) Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at Solaglas (Architectural) Ltd, in Bishop Auckland on 12 September 2007.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Britain: Suffolk roofer’s unbalanced power tool exhibition
The director of a Suffolk roofing firm has been fined for safety failings after he was caught on camera using a power tool while balancing on the ridge of a house roof. Anthony Nightingale, the director of 3A Roofing Ltd, was filmed using a petrol-powered disc cutter to cut through a tile while he and an employee worked on the roof without any measures in place to stop them being from falling.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Britain: Furniture firm gets fined for fire breaches
A furniture firm has been prosecuted by the fire service for flouting fire safety laws. CFS Furniture was fined £14,000 for seven offences that put workers at risk.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service news release • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
China: No change for iPad workers
A controversial independent labour standards audit of a key Apple subcontractor in China which led Apple to promise sweeping changes has not so far delivered improvements, a study has concluded. The findings of the Hong Kong labour rights organisation Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) were released on 31 May, two months after the report of an Fair Labor Association (FLA) investigation of Apple supplier Foxconn was published.
SACOM news release and full report • Good Electronics news release • IMF news report • iSick and iTired, Hazards magazine, number 118, 2012 • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Global: Doubt cast on ‘ethical’ production claims
When multinationals are discovered to be using exploited labour to manufacture their products, it doesn’t go down well with consumers. But a study has found their typical responses - codes of conduct, compliance programmes and audits - do not deliver sustained improvements in labour conditions over time, instead identifying problems then leaving them to fester.
The Economist • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Korea: Blood disorder claims another Samsung worker
Campaigners in Korea say another young worker has died as a result of toxic exposures in a Samsung electronics factory. Former Samsung worker Yun Seul-ki, 32, died of aplastic anaemia, a condition she developed aged 18 while working for the company.
SHARPS news report and 5 June 2012 joint statement from SHARPS, Committee for Samsung Leukaemia Victims in Chungnam Province, Federation of Korean Metal Workers Trade Unions and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
USA: Rules on workplace toxics stalled
Workers in the US are suffering slow, agonising deaths from occupational diseases because improved standards on well-established killers like beryllium and silica are being stalled by industry interference and a legislative system that can keep new rules on the back burner indefinitely. Rena Steinzor, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law and president of the Center for Progressive Reform said: “OSHA hasn’t made a serious run at regulating chemicals in the workplace in a couple of decades.”
iWatch News • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Britain: Union concerned over offshore helicopter safety
Pilots’ union BALPA has warned that decisions on which helicopters are used to serve Britain’s oil rigs must be based on safety, not cost. BALPA’s comments came after oil giant Shell decided against entering into a contract with Bond Offshore Helicopters, the aviation firm that has suffered three major safety incidents in three years.
BALPA news release • BBC News Online • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Britain: Whistleblowing law undermined by the ‘back door’
The government is bringing in an amendment which will undermine the law on whistleblowing “by the back door”, an employment law expert has warned – and the protection of safety reps and whistleblowers is in the firing line. David Lewis, professor of employment law at Middlesex University and convenor of the International Whistleblowing Research Network, says the section 12 one-line amendment introduced in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill would mean disclosures made by whistleblowers would have to be “in the public interest” in order to protect the individual if they are made redundant or suffer detriment as a result of doing so.
Public Concern at Work news release and briefing • Personnel Today • The Bureau Investigates • Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill [pdf] • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Britain: Deadly delays on sharps injuries law
The government must end the ‘horror’ caused to NHS nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants and other health workers at risk of bloodborne diseases from sharps injuries, health service union UNISON has said. UNISON head of health Christina McAnea accused the UK government of “dragging its heels” and said: “An EU Directive in 2009 set May 2013 as the deadline for the introduction of safer needles across the European Union,” adding: “But why wait till then to stop the misery of needlestick injuries?”
UNISON news release • Risks 559
Hazards news,
9 June 2012
Thailand: Walmart told to stop abuses
In April 2012, 2,000 migrant workers in a factory in Thailand that processes shrimp for a major supplier to global retail giant Walmart revolted against their abusive and degrading conditions, the global foodworkers’ union federation IUF reports, and were shot at for their trouble. According to IUF, Walmart's internal systems claim to protect against these abuses, some of which have been described by the Bangkok Post as “the equivalent of actual slavery.”
IUF news release and SumOfUs petition • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
USA: Fracking workers in deadly peril
If you work in the hydraulic fracturing industry - better known as “fracking”, a process used to free natural gas and oil from shale rock - you may be exposed to high levels of crystalline silica, putting you at risk of silicosis, lung cancer and other debilitating diseases. The warning comes in a letter sent by US unions to top federal safety agencies. AFL-CIO blog and letter • NIOSH science blog • Bloomberg • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
Britain: Fines imposed following scaffolding fall death
A firm, its director and a supervisor have been sentenced for safety failings after a worker died from injuries sustained in a fall from scaffolding at a construction site in East Sussex. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Apex Scaffolding (Sussex) Ltd, its director, Michael Walsh, and Leslie Hustwayte, a supervisor, for negligence and defects that contributed towards the incident on 10 August 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
Britain: Shopworkers cheat death in building collapse
A Sheffield property developer has been fined after a building partly collapsed and sent tonnes of rubble through a neighbouring shop roof - just missing two shopworkers. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said developer Ghulam Rasul put the lives of the workers and of the local community at serious risk when he deliberated flouted a legal enforcement notice ordering him to halt all demolition work at the site because the building was potentially unstable.
HSE news release • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
Britain: Labour promises clampdown on phoenix firms
A Labour government will stop dangerous companies using a legal loophole to fold and evade safety fines. Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said it was wrong the government was prepared to stand by while negligent businesses evade justice after workplace deaths.
UCATT news release • Morning Star • Construction Enquirer • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
Britain: Accidental death verdict on illicit distillery deaths
An inquest has returned accidental death verdicts on five Lithuanian nationals who were killed when an illicit vodka distillery on a Lincolnshire industrial estate exploded. The inquest was told vapours in the air may have been ignited by a spark when a cigarette was lit inside the industrial unit on 13 July 2011.
Boston Standard • ITV News • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
Britain: Cutting regulations is costing millions
The government is spending more than £10 million annually on efforts to ‘ease the regulatory burden on business’. Top spenders include the Better Regulation Executive (BRE), which develops policies to ‘reduce regulation’, costs £3.9m a year to run and employs 44 civil servants.
Environmental Health News • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
Britain: Businesses don’t care if staff suffer
Many employees feel it to be true and now research has proved it – businesses really don’t care how constant change affects their staff. Business failure is directly related to senior managers not understanding or caring that change can knock a workforce off its feet, according to researchers from the University of Portsmouth Business School.
University of Portsmouth news release • Gary Rees and Sally Rumbles. Continuous organizational change and burnout, International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management, Volume 11, Issue 3, pages 179-194, 2012 [abstract] • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
Britain: RMT warning after another Network Rail fine
Rail union RMT has demanded a halt to safety-critical job cuts after Network Rail was fined £150,000 for criminal safety breaches related to the death of a track maintenance worker and devastating injuries to another in two separate incidents in the Thames Valley region. It had already received two seven figure fines for criminal safety breaches this year.
RMT news release • ORR news release • Reading Post • Construction Enquirer • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
Union slams ‘know nothing’ ministers on safety
Ministers who “know nothing” about workplaces should stop attacking safety, a union leader has said. UCATT general secretary Steve Murphy said: “Ministers who know nothing about workplaces claim that red tape is strangling business, that the health and safety monster must be tamed,” but added: “Perhaps they should try telling that to the families of the 47 construction workers who were killed last year.”
UCATT news release • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
Britain: HSE health expertise ‘destroyed by stealth’
The retirement in May 2012 of the chief medical adviser for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has left its Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS) close to collapse, a top HSE trade union rep has warned. Simon Hester, a frontline HSE field inspector and chair of the union Prospect’s HSE branch, said 20 years ago it employed 60 occupational health doctors and 62 nurses but is now down to 2.2 doctors, only one of whom is full-time.
The Guardian • Risks 558
Hazards news,
2 June 2012
New Zealand: Union welcome for ships move
Unions have welcomed a decision of the New Zealand government to ban foreign-flagged fishing vessels in its waters. The move followed a series of labour abuses and tragedies in New Zealand’s waters, in ships under foreign flags and carrying horribly exploited and abused crews.
ITF news release • NZCTU news release • Risks 557
Hazards news,
26 May 2012
USA: Inspections are good for safety and jobs
Stopping those nit-picking safety inspectors turning up at firms without so much as an invitation and then taking action against law-breaking employers turns out to be a seriously bad business move. A May 2012 study led by Professor Michael Toffel of the famously-business friendly Harvard Business School discovered a surprise visit from an official safety inspector is good for both jobs and the bottom line, and the benefits just go on and on.
Harvard Business School news release and related Science paper • AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 557
Hazards news,
26 May 2012
Britain: Adhesive firm comes unstuck as worker loses thumb
An adhesive tape manufacturer has been prosecuted after a 19-year-old agency worker severed his thumb in machinery at a factory in Wellingborough. Joe Reynolds had only been working at Latrave Ltd for three weeks when the incident happened on 25 August 2010.
HSE news release • Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph • Risks 557
Hazards news,
26 May 2012
Britain: Worker injured after safety device is disabled
A component engineering company in Cheltenham has been fined after an employee suffered head injuries on a machine that had a safety mechanism deliberately disabled. Grzegorz Chylenski, 33, was working with a Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machine at PG Components Ltd at the time of the incident on 22 August last year.
HSE news release • Risks 557
Hazards news,
26 May 2012
Britain: Haulage firm punished after warehouse death
A Grimsby haulage company has been fined for criminal safety failings after a worker was killed when a row of steel coils 'collapsed like dominos' trapping him under their five-tonne weight. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted ABC (Grimsby) Ltd after Alan Burr, a warehouseman and forklift truck driver, was fatally crushed when he tried to repair some torn packaging on a roll of coil at the firm's warehouse in Immingham Docks on 27 January 2010.
HSE news release • Grimsby Telegraph • Risks 557 • 26 May 2012
Britain: Government publishes ‘sunsetting’ bill
The government has published a Bill that will build ‘sunsetting clauses’ into new regulations and that includes a presumption the laws will be scrapped unless a government department argues for their survival. The government also says the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill will include measures for “reducing inspection burdens on businesses of all sizes and increasing SME access to reliable, consistent advice on complying with regulations in areas such as trading standards, health and safety and environmental health.”
BIS news release • Risks 557
Hazards news,
26 May 2012
Britain: Safety cuts already causing hurt
The government’s drive to reduce regulation and enforcement of workplace health and safety is already causing harm at work, the union Unite has said. The union has been asking its union reps how the changes are impacting on standards at work, ahead of the government’s own progress report later this year.
Unite report • Risks 557
Hazards news,
26 May 2012
Philippines: Probe demanded after deadly store fire
Authorities in the Philippines must conduct a comprehensive investigation into a 9 May department store fire that killed 18 workers, a top safety body has said. The fire at the three storey Novo Jeans and Shirts department store in Butuan City started at around 3am as around 22 female employees were sleeping on the second floor.
IOHSAD news release • BBC News Online • Risks 556
Hazards news,
19 May 2012
USA: Even nuke safety not safe from Republicans
Some of the USA’s most hazardous job sites are in the Department of Energy’s (DOE's) nuclear weapons facilities. But that doesn’t mean safety rules governing those sites are safe from deregulation-crazed Republicans.
USW news release and letter [pdf] • AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 556
Hazards news,
19 May 2012
USA: How to make injury reports disappear
An official US report has exposed how safety incentive programmes and post-incident drug and alcohol testing can discourage workers from reporting workplace injuries and illnesses. The report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) presents the results of its survey of US manufacturing companies and found that 75 per cent of firms had safety incentive programmes or other workplace safety policies that can affect workers’ reporting of injuries and illnesses.
Workplace safety and health: Better OSHA guidance needed on safety incentive programs, GAO, 2012 [pdf] • USW news release • Risks 556
Hazards news,
19 May 2012
Britain: Recycling firm fined after crushing death
A recycling firm has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a yard foreman was crushed to death. Norman Mayne from Newport died after he became trapped between a container and a skip at Amber Services Ltd's recycling yard.
HSE news release and workplace transport webpages • Risks 556
Hazards news,
19 May 2012
[deadly bus]Britain: Worker crushed to death in mini digger
Two Leicestershire companies have been fined after a worker was killed when a lorry overturned onto his vehicle. Richard Kenny, 48, was killed instantly as the mini digger he was driving was crushed when a tipper lorry suddenly overturned on uneven ground while delivering around 20 tonnes of aggregate to a construction site.
HSE news release • Risks 556
Hazards news,
19 May 2012
[deadly bus]Britain: Printer crushed to death after warnings ignored
A retail marketing company has been fined for serious criminal safety failings after a worker at its Wakefield printing site was crushed to death. Bezier Ltd, which employs some 700 people across nine UK sites, failed to heed warnings that could have saved the life of 49-year-old William Aveyard.
HSE news release • Risks 556
Hazards news,
19 May 2012
[deadly bus]Britain: Firms in the dock over crane collapse
Two construction firms have been fined after a crane collapsed onto a city centre apartment block in Liverpool, resulting in the crane driver being paralysed from the waist down. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the site's principal contractor, Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd, and structural engineering company Bingham Davis Ltd following an investigation.
HSE news release • Risks 556
Hazards news,
19 May 2012
Britain: Disaster risk firms asked how they like their enforcement
The government is asking those British chemical firms with the potential to cause the worst devastation if they go bang how they’d like their safety enforced. Under a Focus on Enforcement initiative announced by the Department for Business (BIS) on 8 May, “the government is inviting companies in the chemicals sector to feed in their experiences of working with national regulators and local authorities on the enforcement of the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) regulations.”
BIS news release and Focus on Enforcement webpages • Risks 556
Hazards news,
19 May 2012
Britain: Union concerns persist after helicopter ditching
Concerns have been raised by unions after offshore helicopter operator Bond Aviation decided to recommence flights less than a week after one if its craft developed a fault and undertook a controlled ditching in the North Sea.
Unite news release • BALPA news release • BBC News Online • Risks 556
Hazards news,
19 May 2012
Canada: Campaign to enforce work deaths code
On the 20th anniversary of Canada’s deadly Westray mine explosion, the United Steelworkers union (USW) has embarked on a renewed effort to ensure enforcement of the 2004 Westray Act. The landmark changes to Canada’s Criminal Code, introduced after a lengthy union campaign, were intended to make corporations, their directors and executives criminally accountable for the health and safety of workers.
USW news release and related YouTube video • CLC news release • CUPE report • AFL news release • BC Federationist • Straightgoods • CBC News • Chronicle Herald • Ottawa Citizen • Death and injury at work: A guide to investigating corporate criminal negligence in the event of a serious injury or fatality in a workplace [pdf], CLC, May 2012 • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
New Zealand: Big increase in safety agency welcomed
Plans to boost the number of frontline health and safety inspectors in New Zealand are a step in the right direction, the public sector union PSA has said. The government, which has seen workplace safety spend months in the headlines throughout a lengthy hearing into a mines tragedy, has announced a full review of New Zealand’s health and safety system along with a 20 per cent increase to the number of health and safety inspectors over the next three years.
PSA news release • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Regulators to face ‘sunsetting’ threat
A law intended to push forward the government’s plans to strip employment regulation and further limit or even abolish regulators will form part a key part of the government’s plans for the next session of parliament. The Department for Business (BIS) said the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, trailed in the 9 May Queen’s Speech, would include measures to “reduce inspection burdens on business and strengthen the legal framework for sunset clauses on regulation” and “repeal unnecessary legislation, cutting the burden on business and citizens.”
BIS news release • TUC news release and related TUC news release • CBI news release • British Chambers of Commerce news release • BBC News Online • Environmental Health News • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Grayling turns again to job killer ‘claptrap’
Employment minister Chris Grayling has told employers he believes “unneeded” workplace safety regulations “stifle” economic growth. Speaking at an Enterprise Forum meeting in London last week, he said: “That's why we are cutting health and safety bureaucracy.”
Morning Star • The Telegraph • The Express • The Sun • The real job killers, Hazards online guide and the We didn’t Vote to Die at Work campaign • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: If retail is low risk, why’s it so dangerous?
A national chain of newsagents has been prosecuted for the second time in 18 months for serious safety offences. The criminal prosecution of Martin McColl Ltd, which has 1,200 stores nationwide, is the latest incident to raise questions about the government stipulation that ‘low risk’ workplaces, include retail premises, farms and docks, should be exempted from routine preventive health and safety inspections by regulators.
Cornwall Council news release • Plymouth Herald • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Cautious welcome for rail safety plan
Train drivers’ union ASLEF has given a qualified welcome to some “very encouraging remarks about health and safety” in the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) business plan for 2012/13. ORR says its plan, published on 1 May, is “focused on bringing the rail industry together to ensure high levels of safety, delivering more for customers and reducing costs.”
ASLEF news release • ORR news release and Business Plan 2012-2013 [pdf] • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Risks posed by debt-ridden private fire firm
Debts at the private company operating London's fleet of fire engines threaten its ability to tackle blazes in high-rise buildings. A report by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, warns that AssetCo, which owns the capital's 500 appliances and 50,000 pieces of critical safety kit, is beset by crippling financial problems that are affecting its aerial operations in particular.
The Observer • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Guilty director fined £2,500 after fall death
The director of a building firm has been prosecuted after a self-employed contractor fell to his death through a fragile roof on an industrial building in Penryn. Paul Gibbons, 59, was carrying out re-roofing work for Acryflor Ltd on 22 September 2008 when he fell eight metres through the asbestos cement roof onto the floor below.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Egg firm fined for broken legs
A Shropshire egg supplier has been prosecuted after a female worker suffered serious injuries falling two metres through a hole in the floor of a poultry barn. The 43-year-old Shropshire woman, whose name has not been released, fractured two bones in her left ankle and the heel bone in her right leg as result of the fall on 26 July 2011.
HSE news release • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Firm convicted after forklift mangles leg
Brookvale Homes (SW) Ltd has been convicted of criminal safety offences after a subcontracted worker suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a forklift truck. Experienced ground worker Paul Daniels, 50, suffered shattered bones and almost lost his foot in the incident on 10 September 2010.
HSE news release • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Fruit packer suffers slashed hand
A horticultural business in Southampton has been prosecuted after a worker injured his hand on an unguarded machine. General labourer Edmund Skweres, 52, suffered a deep cut that required 11 stitches in the incident at AE Roberts (Fruitgrower & Nurseryman) Ltd on 7 February last year.
HSE news release • Daily Echo • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Abuses still exist in Olympic supply chains
Workers making London 2012 Olympic sportswear for top brands and high street names including Adidas and Next are being paid poverty wages, forced to work excessive overtime and threatened with instant dismissal if they complain about working conditions, according to a new report.
TUC news release and action call • ITUC news release • IMF news release • Independent on Sunday • Fair games? Human rights of workers in Olympic 2012 supplier factories, Playfair 2012 report, May 2012 [pdf] • Playfair and Playfair 2012 and what-you-can-do online action call • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Global: Tanker crew finally fed and paid
The Russian and Ukrainian crew of the Liberian registered tanker Leon, which has been stuck at anchor outside the UK Port of Hull since 20 April, finally received their owed wages and fresh food provisions last week following the intervention of the global union federation ITF.
ITF news release • Nautilus news release • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Government set to ignore deadly rail lessons
Rail union RMT has warned the government another tragedy on Britain’s railways is “inevitable” if government plans to bulldoze through the McNulty Rail Review’s proposals go ahead. The union comments came ahead of a commemoration to mark the tenth anniversary of the Potters Bar disaster, which claimed seven lives and injured 76 others when a train in Hertfordshire derailed on a faulty set of points.
RMT news release • BBC News Online • Morning Star • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Unions and MPs slam rail proposals
More than 100 MPs have signed an early day motion (EDM) criticising government proposals for the future of railways in the UK. The EDM warns that the government's plans will “worsen passenger services through the loss of thousands of frontline workers from trains, stations, ticket offices, safety-critical infrastructure and operational roles,” and “will result in higher fares, cuts in services and more crowded trains.”
TUC news release • Risks 555
Hazards news,
12 May 2012
Britain: Electric shock director turns on HSE
A director of a company prosecuted after pleading guilty to criminal safety offences has claimed the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) only took the case to recoup is costs. Derek Offord, 45, suffered serious burns to his left arm and knee and open wounds to his forearm and left palm after receiving an electric shock while working at coating and treatment firm Tecvac Ltd’s factory in Swavesey, near Cambridge.
HSE news release and electricity webpages • SHP Online • Hazards magazine • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Waste giant Veolia burned agency worker
Serial safety offending waste management firm Veolia Environmental Services has been fined after an agency worker was seriously burned by hot ash at an incineration depot in Deptford, London. The Eastern European employee sustained 17 per cent burns to his body whilst cleaning ash from a filtration hopper at the Veolia plant on 29 December 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Global brick maker fined after worker crushed
The world’s largest brick manufacturer has been fined £20,000 after a worker suffered serious injuries when he was crushed on a conveyor belt at its Worcestershire factory. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Wienerberger Ltd, which had global revenues of £1.65bn in 2011, following the incident on 19 October 2009 at the company's site at Hartlebury, near Kidderminster.
HSE news release • Kidderminster Shuttle • Wienerberger 2011 annual report • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Roofing boss tagged for dumping asbestos
The boss of a roofing firm has been electronically tagged after flytipping asbestos. Wallace Sharpless, who runs Advanced Roofcare in Gillingham, attempted to dump the hazardous material at two scrapyards on an industrial estate but both refused to take the asbestos.
Medway Council news release • Kent Courier • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Farm firm partner fined after quad bike injuries
A partner in a Derbyshire farm business has been fined after an employee suffered life-changing injuries when his quad bike overturned. The 42-year-old employee of JD and RL Spalton, who has asked not to be named, was driving the all terrain vehicle (ATV) along a track at Lodge Hill Farm, Barton Blount, on 9 June 2010.
HSE news release • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Contractor fined after demolition tragedy
A building contractor has been fined after a worker was killed by a falling piece of masonry dislodged by his own son during a poorly planned demolition job. Agency workers Jamie Ford, 24, and his father, Stephen Ford, 50, were working under the control of contractor Do It Al to demolish a barn at Dunbury Farmhouse in Winterbourne Houghton near Blandford in November 2008.
HSE news release and demolition webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Worker hurt by Crazy Frog
A fairground ride operator has been convicted of a criminal safety offence after a worker was thrown from a ride during the 2010 May Bank Holiday fair in Barnard Castle. Martin Brown, now 19, was working for Elliot Crow, of ride owners Alan Crow Amusements, as a ride attendant on the Crazy Frog Ride.
HSE news release • Northern Echo • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Asia: Warning over epidemic of workplace deaths
Asia is facing an onslaught of fatal occupational diseases, but this suffering is ignored, unreported and uncompensated, according to a new report by a labour rights group. Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC) says unsafe workplaces are creating untold numbers of “invisible victims of development.”
AMRC news release and report webpage, draft report, postcards and videos • AFL-CIO now blog • The Guardian • CNN • South China Morning Post • Check out what happened worldwide on 28 April • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Global: Top asbestos industry lobby group folds
The organisation that has for decades spearheaded the asbestos industry’s global sales drive has folded. The closure of the Quebec-based Chrysotile Institute has been welcomed by unions and asbestos campaigners.
CLC statement • International Ban Asbestos Secretariat • Chrysotile Institute notice of intention to surrender its charter, Canada Gazette • Montreal Gazette • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Global: Italian widows highlight worker suicides
The grieving wives and family members of more than 25 businessmen who have taken their own lives because of financial woes linked to Italy's economic crisis took to the streets of Bologna on 4 May. The organisers of the march, including the Italian Women's Union, believe there has been too little dialogue and not enough state support for families that have fallen into despair over unemployment, bankruptcies and loan defaults.
ILO news release and full report, World of Work Report 2012: Better Jobs for a Better Economy • TUC Touchstone blog • The Guardian • BBC News Online • Hazards occupational suicide webpages • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
USA: Obama drops child farm labour rules
The Obama administration has scrapped a plan that would prevent some children from working in dangerous farm jobs. The move has provoked a furious response from safety and child welfare advocates, who claim the president caved in to election-year pressure from the farming lobby and Republicans.
Child Labor Coalition news release • CPR blog • Washington Post • Daily Kos • Star Tribune • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Tanker drivers say safety is the top priority
An erosion of safety standards is the number 1 concern for tanker drivers, their union has said. Conditions for drivers - who on average carry 36,000 to 42,000 litres of flammable liquid on board a tanker every time they make a journey - have been eroded for years, Unite says.
Morning Star • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Tube train narrowly escapes disaster
Tube union RMT has demanded an independent investigation into London Underground maintenance and staffing cuts. The call came after photographic evidence emerged suggesting that a train that hit the buckled lining of a Bakerloo Line tunnel during rush hour on Thursday 26 April came within inches of being “ripped open like a sardine can with potentially lethal consequences.”
RMT news release • Daily Mirror • The Guardian • London Evening Standard • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Bad stats and policies add up to deadly workplaces
A government safety strategy ‘built on myth and dogma’ is making the UK’s workplaces more deadly, unions have warned.
Unite news release • UNISON news release • UNISON Scotland news release • PCS news release • NASUWT news release • CWU news release • TUC 28 April Workers’ Memorial Day events listing • ITUC/Hazards Workers' Memorial Day webpages, including a worldwide list of events and resources and the ITUC/Hazards 28 April facebook page • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Unions condemn ‘dangerous’ low risk line
The official decision to abandon official spot-check inspections in ‘low risk’ sectors including docks, agriculture, quarries and retail ignores the real dangers of the jobs and is driven by government-imposed cuts in the safety enforcement budget. Safety campaigners, speaking out on the 28 April, Workers’ Memorial Day, warned the hands-off policy sends a signal to businesses they need not be so concerned about the safety of their staff.
Usdaw news release • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • The Independent • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
Britain: Hull ship’s crew ‘has had enough’
The crew of tanker anchored outside Hull has called for union help after being left without adequate food and water. The owners of the Liberian registered tanker Leon had refused to take on food at the port, claiming UK prices were too high.
ITF news release • Nautilus news release • Risks 554
Hazards news,
5 May 2012
India: Many confirmed dead in blanket factory collapse
At least 23 workers are now believed to have died in a factory collapse in Jalandhar, India. The majority of those killed in the 15 April tragedy were migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Police have arrested the factory owner, Shital Vij, who has been charged with ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’, press reports say.
DNA India • India Express • Risks 553
Hazards news,
28 April 2012
USA: Government contracts go to deadly firms
Throughout the United States, government agencies at the state, local and federal levels routinely award construction contracts to companies known to be unsafe, according to the independent watchdog Public Citizen. Its report, ‘Contract killers,’ highlights cases where companies with suspect safety records win government contracts around the country, often with disastrous consequences.
Contract killers: Government agencies award taxpayer dollars to contractors that disregard worker health and safety, Public Citizen, 2012 [pdf] • The Pump Handle • Risks 553
Hazards news,
28 April 2012
Canada: Action call after sawmill deaths
The United Steelworkers (USW) is calling for urgent action after workers were killed at two sawmills in British Columbia (BC), Canada. USW, which represents the sawmill workers, also is urging provincial authorities to make public information it hopes could prevent further tragedies.
USW news release • CBC News • Vancouver Sun • Risks 553
Hazards news,
28 April 2012
Britain: How did growing mushrooms get so dangerous?
A mushroom grower has been prosecuted after placing its poorly trained migrant workforce at deadly risks. Suffolk Mushrooms Limited, which had spent over £1m on a factory refurbishment, didn’t spend a few hundred pounds to keep its employees safe and housed the 37 migrant workers from Eastern Europe in a disused office block with a potentially unsafe gas boiler.
HSE news release • Risks 553
Hazards news,
28 April 2012
Britain: Drycleaning chain fined for safety failings
A chain of drycleaners in Bedford has been fined after putting workers' lives at risk from a gas boiler a safety inspector described as ‘a disgrace’. Bedford Magistrates' Court heard inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered the gas-fired steam boiler was severely corroded, the flue was cracked and damaged, several burners were not working properly and there was a high risk that workers and members of the public were being exposed to toxic carbon monoxide emissions.
HSE news release • Risks 553
Hazards news,
28 April 2012
Britain: Egg firm shells out after fingers are cut off
Egg company Bumble Hole Foods Ltd has been fined after a worker severed two fingers while cleaning a drain on a production line. Redditch Magistrates' Court was told Bumble Hole Foods Ltd were aware of the risks following a similar incident in 2008.
HSE news release • Bromsgrove Advertiser • Risks 553
Hazards news,
28 April 2012
Britain: Top Tories were behind safety bashing headlines
A series of headlines ridiculing workplace safety rules, some taken up by ministers to justify the government’s deregulatory plans, were part of a strategy cooked up by Tory high command to try and to spin the government out of trouble. Conservative ministers have been ordered by Downing Street to come up with eye-catching right-wing initiatives to deflect media attention from the government's Budget woes.
The Independent • Risks 553
Hazards news,
28 April 2012
Britain: Trustee fined after death of worker
A trustee of an estate Trust has been fined after an employee was crushed to death when a tractor overturned and landed on him. Christopher Fox, 60, from Osberton near Worksop, was killed instantly when the tractor overturned during a tree felling operation. HSE news release • Risks 552
Hazards news,
21 April 2012
Britain: Director fined after scaffold collapse
A former scaffolding company director has been fined after two employees were injured in a scaffold collapse. Robert Leslie Butler, 46, a director of the now defunct company RB & Son Scaffolding Limited at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to criminal safety offences and was fined £3,000 by Nottingham magistrates and ordered to pay costs of £2,000.
HSE news release and HSE falls webpages • Risks 552
Hazards news,
21 April 2012
Europe: Industry opposes strain injury rules
Employers’ lobby groups from across Europe are opposing rules to reduce workplace risks from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). In a letter to Antonio Tajani, vice-president of the European Commission’s Industry Committee, and László Andor, the Social Affairs Commissioner, nine European employers’ associations say the European legislative initiative is “neither necessary nor desirable”.
ETUI news report • Joint Employers' letter on MSD [pdf] • Risks 552Hazards news,
21 April 2012
Finland: Workplace injuries up again
Workplace injuries in Finland are following ‘a fairly alarming’ upward trend, latest figures show. Raili Perimäki, occupational safety expert with the union SAK, said the worsening statistics show those responsible for occupational safety should be required by law to undertake training in occupational safety and there must be more resources for safety inspection.
Trade Union News from Finland • Risks 552
Hazards news,
21 April 2012
South Africa: Anglo American blamed for dust disease
A South African miner who believes he contracted tuberculosis as a result of digging gold on behalf of Anglo American this week used the mining giant’s annual meeting to demand compensation. Daniel Seabata Thakamakau, 66, represents more than 1,200 former miners, many with silicosis and tuberculosis, who are suing Anglo American in a mass tort action.
Leigh Day & Co news release • ACTSA news release • Unite news item [pdf] • The Guardian • Risks 552
Hazards news,
21 April 2012
USA: Concern after oil worker is boiled to death
California's largest oil company failed to warn employees of the dangers in an oil field where a worker was sucked underground and boiled to death last year, state authorities found - and then they fined the firm $350. The small regulatory penalty has angered union leaders and reignited a debate over the risks of the extraction technique that led to the worker's death.
Los Angeles Times • Risks 552
Hazards news,
21 April 2012
Britain: Tube bosses taking ‘cavalier risks’
London Underground (LUL) bosses faced with a self-inflicted Olympics station-staffing crisis are taking “cavalier risks” with passenger and staff safety, the rail union RMT has warned.
RMT news release • Risks 552
Hazards news,
21 April 2012
Britain: RMT fears over Tube strike plans
Rail union RMT is demanding safety assurances from Transport for London (TfL) after the company said it aims to run services during next week’s strike action regardless of whether essential maintenance and repairs work has been being carried out. The safety-critical Emergency Response Unit will be joining the strike action, the union said, heightening its concerns.
RMT news release • Risks 552
Hazards news,
21 April 2012
Britain: TUC cops safety minister in high heels scandal
Health and safety minister Chris Grayling has been criticised for intending to use a story invented last week by the Daily Mail to justify an attack on workplace safety rules.
Stronger Unions • Policy Exchange conference, 18 April and YouTube clip of Chris Grayling’s speech • National Hairdressers’ Federation news release • Daily Mail • Risks 552
Hazards news,
21 April 2012
Britain: Bird-brained Daily Mail tells another hair-raising lie
If you want facts served along with your news and you are a Daily Mail reader, you’ll have been left sadly wanting over the last few days. The paper condemned a supposed ban on high heels for hairdressers in “nanny state proposals being drawn up in Brussels” - but the European Commission has no intention to regulate on high heels and the paper’s claims are based on a scaremongering press release from the National Hairdressers’ Federation, an industry lobby group.
HSE statement • London Fire Brigade statement • National Hairdressers’ Federation news release • Daily Mail getting it wrong on seagulls and high heels • Risks 552
Hazards news,
21 April 2012
Bangladesh: Dangerous work campaigner is brutally killed
A Bangladeshi union rights activist and former garment worker was tortured and murdered last week in the country’s capital Dhaka, according to authorities. Aminul Islam's body was dumped outside of the city and was found by local police on 5 April. ILRF news release • Worker Rights Consortium memo regarding the murder • ABC News • ACTION: Sign up to the ILRF letter to the prime minister of Bangladesh calling for a thorough and impartial investigation • Risks 551
Hazards news,
14 April 2012
India: Taking education into the stone quarries
A union-backed mobile school is providing education for children in India who might otherwise be employed in some of the most hazardous industries around. The school-on-wheels is based in Jodhpur in the Western State of Rajasthan, and will serve families working in the stone quarrying industry.
BWI news release • Risks 551
Hazards news,
14 April 2012
USA: Amazon warehouse jobs push workers to the limit
Claims by web retail giant Amazon that it has an industry beating safety record have been called into question. A former warehouse safety official said in-house medical staff were asked to treat wounds, when possible, with bandages rather than refer workers to a doctor for stitches, a treatment that could require federal reports.
The Seattle Times • Risks 551
Hazards news,
14 April 2012
USA: Regulatory axe aims to speed up chicken plants
A plan to privatise meat inspection in the US linked to a government assault on regulation has been criticised widely for putting public health at risk. But the “despicable plan” will have other casualties, primarily workers in the already notoriously hazardous sector, according to law professor Rena Steinzor, president of the Center for Progressive Reform.
CPR blog • Working in These Times • USDA proposal • Risks 551
Hazards news,
14 April 2012
Britain: Another seven figure fine for Network Rail
Network Rail has been fined £4m over the Grayrigg crash in Cumbria in which an 84-year-old woman died and 88 people were injured. Margaret Masson died after the Virgin train derailed on the West Coast Main Line in February 2007, after going over a “degraded” set of points.
ORR news release • Network Rail statement • ASLEF news release • RMT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 551
Hazards news,
14 April 2012
Britain: Firm fined after driver impaled on steel tube
A Darlington engineering firm has faced a criminal prosecution after a delivery driver was seriously injured when a 6cm diameter steel bar passed through his chest. Jason Ripley, 42, was delivering timber to Henry Williams Group Limited, which pleaded guilty to a criminal breach of safety law was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,424.80.
HSE news release • Report in The Sun, 16 November 2009 • Risks 551
Hazards news,
14 April 2012
Britain: Daily Mail’s insane crowing on gull rescue
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) myth busting challenge panel launched this month to counter the ‘health and safety gone mad’ stories that appear routinely in the press has had an inauspicious start. The Daily Mail, which has a history of running myth-propagating stories about health and safety ‘jobsworths’ and killjoys, wanted HSE’s view on an incident when 25 firefighters called by RSPCA to rescue a gull decided it wasn’t a justified use of resources, but stuck around in case a member of the public got in to difficulty in their own rescue bid.
DWP news release • HSE Myth Busters Challenge Panel • Morning Star • Daily Mail and related story • Risks 551
Hazards news,
14 April 2012
Britain: HSE confirms docks rules are for the chop
A union prediction that essential safety rules protecting dockworkers were to be targeted as part of the government’s drive to cull or revise 84 per cent of workplace safety regulations has been confirmed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The Docks Regulations 1988 are included in the latest list of regulations HSE has lined up for the axe, despite a union warning that this will lead to the removal of safeguards in an industry with a fatality rate at least five times and possibly over 20 times the national average.
Proposals to remove fourteen legislative measures, CD239. Consultation closes 4 July 2012 • Risks 551
Hazards news,
14 April 2012
Britain: Teachers blast ‘reckless’ safety cuts
The government’s ‘reckless’ and ‘simplistic’ attitude to health and safety threatens to put the lives of children and adults in schools and colleges at risk, a teaching union has warned. Delegates at April annual conference of NASUWT condemned the removal of ‘vital’ health and safety protections in the workplace.
NASUWT news release • Risks 551
Hazards news,
14 April 2012
Britain: Action call after another rail runaway
Rail union RMT has renewed its call for secondary protection to prevent rail runaways after another potentially fatal incident late last month. A road-rail dumper truck ran free for a quarter of a mile before hitting buffers at Bradford Interchange station on 25 March.
RMT news release • RAIB investigation notice • ITV News • Risks 551
Hazards news,
14 April 2012
Britain: Lift firm fined after Heathrow death
Lift manufacturer Schindler Ltd has been fined £300,000 for criminal safety failings after an employee was crushed to death while installing a passenger lift at Heathrow Airport. Lift engineer Kevin Dawson, 45, was helping with the construction of Terminal 5A at London Heathrow when the incident occurred on 27 October 2007.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Schindler Ltd safety webpages • Risks 550
Hazards news,
7 April 2012
Britain: Cleaning firm fined over porter's death
A national cleaning company has been fined £175,000 after a hospital porter was killed by an industrial waste compactor in Bolton. ISS Mediclean Ltd employee Peter Bonomy's neck was broken when the lid on the large metal container slammed down on him at the Royal Bolton Hospital in Farnworth in 2006.
HSE news release • Manchester Evening News • Risks 550
Hazards news,
7 April 2012
Britain: Health screening firm left workers at risk
A health screening company has been fined after using unqualified staff to assess the health of workers from dozens of firms across the UK. Audio Medical Services Ltd (AMS) carried out tests for 59 companies over a period of at least four years - but failed to provide employers with information to prevent workers' health deteriorating and did not refer employees to occupational health professionals when required.
HSE news release and vibration webpages • Risks 550
Hazards news,
7 April 2012
Global: Apple hit by China Foxconn factory report
An independent investigation has found “significant issues” including concerns about safety, excessive hours and low pay at Chinese plants making Apple iPhones and iPads. The independent report, however, has been criticised by campaigners for going easy on Apple and ducking issues like subcontractor Foxconn’s notoriously ‘militaristic’ management style.
FLA news release • SACOM news release • SumOfUs.org news release • San Jose Mercury • BBC News Online • New York Times • Al Jazeera • Risks 550
Hazards news,
7 April 2012
Russia: Migrant workers die in blaze
At least 17 migrant workers have been killed by a fire that swept through a market warehouse in southern Moscow. The victims are believed to be market traders from former Soviet states who were staying in a metal storage warehouse at a construction materials market which “was not meant for people to live in,” Sergei Gorbunov of the fire department said.
Itar-Tass report • BBC News Online • Risks 550
Hazards news,
7 April 2012
USA: Bad work is more costly than you think
A study that revealed the annual “economic burden” of occupational injury and illness in the US is at least $250 billion underestimates the true costs, government workplace health researchers have revealed. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) experts, writing on the agency’s blog, note “the national investment in addressing occupational illness and injuries is far less than for many other diseases with lower economic burden even though occupational illnesses and injuries are eminently preventable.”
NIOSH blog • JP Leigh. Economic burden of occupational injury and illness in the United States, Milbank Quarterly, volume 89, number 4, pages 728-772, December 2011 [pdf] • Hazards ‘We didn’t vote to die at work’ webpages • Risks 550
Hazards news,
7 April 2012
Britain: CWU fury over broken danger dogs promise
Postal union CWU has reacted angrily after the government broke its promise “yet again” to strengthen the law on dangerous dogs. The government had said an announcement would be made before the Easter recess but parliament broke up on 27 March and nothing had been debated.
Morning Star • Risks 550
Hazards news,
7 April 2012
Britain: Unite acts on safety problems in fuel industry
A 'turn and burn' culture is forcing fuel drivers to deliver faster for less, raising fears about public safety, Unite’s Len McCluskey has warned. And he added this is why the union has been forced to consider industrial action.
Unite news release and You Tube ‘enough is enough’ clip • Guardian article and Len McCluskey comment piece • Left Foot Forward • Risks 550
Hazards news,
7 April 2012
Britain: Government criticised for petrol panic
Panic-buying of fuel and mixed messages over the safe storage of petrol have exposed the irrational decision to close the government agency that specialised in public information, the union PCS has said. And firefighters’ union FBU has warned a minister’s advice that householders should keep jerry cans of petrol in the garage is “wrong” and “massively dangerous.”
PCS news release • FBU news releases from 30 March and 28 March • Huffington Post • ITV News • Risks 550
Hazards news,
7 April 2012
Global: Workers best at monitoring supply chains
High tech giant Apple must give workers a voice in their future and demand more information about the factories where its components are made, labour and consumer groups have said. In a joint statement issued on 22 March, unions and NGOs called on Apple to rely on workers themselves to monitor the labour conditions in the manufacture of its products, not a top-down auditing approach.
IMF news release and ‘Give Apple workers a voice in their future’ joint statement [pdf] • Risks 549
Hazards news,
31 March 2012
Australia: ‘Red tape ideologues’ must be challenged
The safety profession must challenge the ‘entrenched ideologies’ of conservatives baying for deregulation of workplace health and safety, an Australian expert has said. Kevin Jones, writing in his ‘Safety at work’ blog, says the country’s conservative political parties persist with the “ideological fantasy” that occupational health and safety laws impede growth by disrupting work and adding unnecessary operational costs.
Safety at work blog. TJ Larsson. Safety management systems – Culture, cognition or cash?, Safety Science Monitor, volume 14, Issue 2, 2010 • Risks 549
Hazards news,
31 March 2012
Britain: Deadly print firm ignored warnings
Wyndeham Peterborough, one of the UK's leading printing groups, has been fined £112,500 at Peterborough Crown Court after maintenance engineer Ian Ebbs was crushed to death in a printing press. Earlier incidents that should have alerted the company to the danger had not been acted on, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered.
HSE news release • Risks 549
Hazards news,
31 March 2012
Britain: Shipbuilding firm sentenced over welder death
A Merseyside shipbuilding firm has been fined £120,000 over the death of a welder who became trapped while driving a forklift truck. Robert Dunroe suffered mortal injuries while using the truck to transport heavy welding equipment at Cammell Laird in Birkenhead on 18 August 2010, dying four days later. His employer, Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders Ltd, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found he had not been trained to drive a forklift.
HSE news release and workplace transport webpages • Risks 549
Hazards news,
31 March 2012
Britain: Leisure park worker trapped in trench collapse
A worker at a Devon holiday park suffered serious injuries when a trench he was working in collapsed on top of him. Grzegorz Waluszkowski, 40, was helping to lay a drainage pipe at the park on Lady's Mile Farm in Dawlish on 23 July 2010, when the wall of the two metre deep trench caved in.
HSE news release and excavations webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 549
Hazards news,
31 March 2012
Global: Call for action on safety for journalists
The UK government must do more to encourage the international community to take sanctions against regimes which perpetrate acts of violence against journalists, the union NUJ has said. The call came ahead of a Council of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) meeting that agreed to start a process “toward the creation of a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers in both conflict and non-conflict situations, with a view to strengthening peace, democracy and development worldwide”.
UNESCO news release and Decision on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity [pdf] • NUJ news release • House of Commons debate on safety of journalists abroad, 21 March 2012 • Risks 549
Hazards news,
31 March 2012
Britain: Government silent on safety law cull targets
The government has confirmed a Budget commitment to cull or revise 84 per cent of the UK’s health and safety laws, but can’t or won’t say which laws are in its sights. A Treasury spokesperson confirmed “167 of the 199 health and safety regulations considered as part of the Red Tape Challenge” will either be withdrawn or improved but would not give a more detailed breakdown.
SHP Online • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Risks 549
Hazards news,
31 March 2012
Britain: Warning on the UK’s dangerous role in Europe
A senior member of the European Parliament has warned that the UK government is bidding to undermine UK workplace safety law in Europe as well as at home. Glenis Willmott, a UK MEP and Labour’s leader in Europe, said “it is a critical time for health and safety.”
Glenis Willmott blog • UCATT news release • Risks 549
Hazards news,
31 March 2012
Britain: Unions call for dock safety action
The UK government must undertake an ‘urgent rethink’ of its hands-off policy on safety enforcement in Britain’s deadly docks, UK and international union bodies have said. The unions were commenting on the ‘grave loophole’ after a safety report this month challenged the official classification of the ports industry in the UK as ‘low risk’, pointing to a death rate five or more times the national occupational average.
ITF news release and Hazards ‘Safety in the dock’ report • Risks 549
Hazards news,
31 March 2012
Vietnam: Steel firm accused of fatal blast cover-up
A major steel firm in Vietnam has been accused by officials of failing to report an explosion that killed two workers and injured six others. An official from the Hanoi Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said the site of the incident at the Vietnam-Korea Steel and Iron Corporation located had been disturbed and that two bodies had been buried in the two days before the tragedy was reported.
Thanh Nien News • Risks 548
Hazards news,
24 March 2012
Britain: Surveyor died because of Costain’s failures
Leading construction company Costain Ltd has been fined £250,000 for safety failings after a surveyor was killed by a reversing lorry during work to widen the M25 near Dartford. Employee Richard Caddock, 38, was talking on a mobile phone and could not hear the approaching truck above the noise of nearby motorway traffic, when he was hit from behind on 8 April 2008.
HSE news release • Risks 548
Hazards news,
24 March 2012
Britain: Worker crushed to death in front of his son
A firm specialising in the manufacture of wooden doors and windows has been fined £26,000 for criminal safety failings after a worker was crushed to death by a stack of boards. Andrzej Rokita, a 55-year-old Polish national, had been with MM Contracting Ltd for only 10 days when he attempted to help his son, also an employee, to remove a large board from the middle of a pile stacked upright against a wall in the workshop.
HSE news release • Risks 548
Hazards news,
24 March 2012
Britain: Scrapping unfair dismissal ‘will horrify employees’
Government plans to scrap protection from unfair dismissal are a charter for nasty bosses, the TUC has indicated. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said “while this proposal does nothing for growth, it does show the kind of economy those close to the prime minister want to create - one in which nasty bosses are given full license to undermine those trying to maintain decent standards.”
BIS news release and call for evidence • TUC news release • CIPD news release • BBC News Online • Risks 548
Hazards news,
24 March 2012
Britain: Network Rail guilty of ‘corporate blindness’
Unions have said the prosecution of Network Rail after two girls were killed on an Essex level crossing has exposed the extent of the criminal culpability of those running the company. The rail infrastructure giant was fined £1m plus costs of £60,015 last week in a case brought by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).
ORR news release • TSSA news release • ASLEF news release • BBC News Online • The Independent • Risks 548
Hazards news,
24 March 2012
Britain: Insurers turn a blind eye to work’s real harm
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has called “for action to free businesses from the fear of the UK’s compensation culture and overzealous interpretations of health and safety rules that could hold back Britain’s economic recovery.” ABI, though, makes no mention of life-threatening and disabling occupational diseases, instead focusing on “‘slip and trip’ style liability claims.”
ABI news release • Risks 548
Hazards news,
24 March 2012
Britain: Warning on ‘deplorable’ seafarer ransom ban
Seafarers will pay with their lives if governments outlaw the payment of ransoms to pirates, the union Nautilus International has warned. General secretary Mark Dickinson has written to David Cameron expressing concern about the prime minister’s plans for an international taskforce to discourage the payment of ransoms.
Nautilus International news release • The Guardian • London Conference on Somalia including David Cameron’s speech • Risks 548
Hazards news,
24 March 2012
Britain: Rich make a killing, others will be killed
The TUC has condemned this week’s Budget as a series of measures “for the rich by the rich” incorporating a “regurgitated mish-mash” of pro-business moves that tell employers safety is unimportant and can be ignored. It added the Budget focus on safety deregulation “shows very clearly exactly why the TUC is organising a Day of Action on 28 April to defend health and safety.”
Budget 2012 Statement • TUC news release • CBI news release • Personnel Today • BBC News Online • Defend health and safety: Day of Action, 28 April 2012, TUC bulletin number 4. TUC Workers’ Memorial Day webpages and infographic • Risks 548
Hazards news,
24 March 2012
Turkey: Union condemns site safety after deadly fire
At least 11 workers died after fire swept through a tent at a building site in the Turkish city of Istanbul. The Turkish Union of Road, Construction and Building Workers (YOL-İŞ) blamed subcontracting and the anti-union climate in the Turkish construction industry as the main reasons behind the tragedy.
BWI news release • Washington Post • BBC News Online • Risks 547
Hazards news,
17 March 2012
Australia: Workers bear the cost of hazardous work
It is workers, not employers, who overwhelmingly bear the costs of workplace injuries and diseases, an official Australian report has shown. The report by Safe Work Australia revealed threequarters of the costs of workplace injuries and diseases is borne by the injured workers themselves, with just 5 per cent borne by employers.
ACTU news release and Safe at work webpage • Department for Education, Employment and Work Relations news release • Safe Work Australia Report • Herald Sun • More from around the world on the real cost of workplace deaths, injuries and ill-health • Risks 547
Hazards news,
17 March 2012
Britain: Report finds hidden docks deaths
Docks union Unite has condemned a ‘ludicrous’ government strategy that labels docks a ‘low risk workplace’ and that will seek to to scrap dock safety regulations. The union was speaking out after a ‘Safety in the dock’ report in the new issue of Hazards magazine revealed that far from being low risk – and so not subject to preventive Health and Safety (HSE) inspections - the dock industry has a fatality rate at least five times and possibly over 20 times the national average.
Safety in the dock, Hazards magazine, number 117, 2012. Morning Star • Risks 547
Hazards news,
17 March 2012
Britain: Deadly docks anger of bereaved mum
A grieving mum whose young son was killed in a horrific dockwork incident has said she is “appalled” at the government’s ‘low risk’ designation for the industry and plans to remove docks-specific safety laws.
Labournet • Simon Jones Memorial Campaign and facebook news release • Risks 547
Hazards news,
17 March 2012
Britain: Campaigners to remember dead dock worker
Agency worker Tim Elton, who died aged 28 at Immingham Dock on 27 January 2012 and who is one of the deaths listed in research by Hazards magazine that uncovered five dock work deaths since 23 October 2011, will be commemorated in 28 April Workers’ Memorial Day events in Immingham, Grimsby and Cleethorpes.
Grimsby Telegraph • Safety in the dock, Hazards magazine, number 117, 2012
Hazards news,
17 March 2012
Britain: Anger over Battersea crane deaths verdict
The families of two men killed in a London crane collapse could seek a judicial review of the coroner’s court ruling after a narrative verdict was returned. Although the verdict was highly critical of the crane operator, Falcon Cranes, the families of Michael Alexa and Jonathan Cloake had hoped for an unlawful killing verdict.
Construction Enquirer • Wandsworth Guardian • Surrey Advertiser • Risks 547
Hazards news,
17 March 2012
Britain: Food giant Nestle fined after machine death horror
A Halifax man was killed at a Nestle factory in the town because the company failed to implement basic safety measures, Bradford Crown Court has been told. Father of three Nazar Hussain died at food giant Nestle's Albion Mill plant in December 2008 after a colleague re-started a conveyor-type machine, known as a depalletiser, unaware that Mr Hussain was inside.
HSE news release • Yorkshire Post • Risks 547
Hazards news,
17 March 2012
Britain: Countryside firm sentenced over death strimmer
A countryside management firm has been sentenced over the death of father-of-four Tony Robinson, 37, who was struck by a piece of metal that flew off a strimmer at high speed. Allen Shute, the investigating inspector at HSE, said: “The chain attachment has since been banned across Europe, and I would urge anyone who still has one to dispose of it immediately.”
HSE news release • North West Evening Mail • Risks 547
Hazards news,
17 March 2012
USA: Jail for death mine security chief
The former director of security at a Massey Energy mine in West Virginia has been sentenced to three years in prison for lying to federal agents and destroying documents sought by investigators looking into a deadly blast that killed 29 in 2010. Hughie Elbert Stover was also handed two years of probation and a $20,000 fine after he was convicted of two felonies, making a false statement and obstructing a government probe of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster.
US Attorney’s Office news release • The Charleston Gazette • AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 546
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Britain: Why won’t HSE treat cancer seriously?
The UK is ignoring an occupational cancer epidemic and needs to put far greater efforts into preventing work-related cancer deaths, a top workplace health researcher has said. Simon Pickvance, who based at Sheffield University where he is investigating occupational bladder cancer risks, believes this cancer illustrates a flaw in HSE’s figures that systematically disappears real cancers from the statistics, by dismissing or ignoring risks by job, by industry or by substance.
This man knows all about cancer, Hazards, Number 117, 2012. Alliance for Cancer Prevention blog • Occupational cancer – a workplace guide, TUC, February 2012 • Risks 546
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Britain: Train victim's son 'disgusted' by knighthood
The son of a Glasgow woman killed in a train crash in Grayrigg, Cumbria, says he is “disgusted” Network Rail's former boss was given a knighthood on the same day the firm admitted its criminal safety failings had led to the tragedy.
ASLEF news release • BBC News Online • Scottish Daily Record • Scotsman • Risks 546
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Britain: PM’s approach to health and safety ‘not helpful’
The man who was charged with reviewing workplace health and safety regulation for the government says he never described safety as a “burden” and instead believes his review showed that it “is not the case” that health and safety holds back business. Professor Ragnar Löfstedt said his mandate was “clearly a deregulatory one” but his overall conclusions were that there is no need for a major overhaul of the system and that bad health and safety practice is already a considerable burden on business and society.
IOSH news release • SHP Online and video of Professor Lofstedt's speech • Risks 546
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Britain: Gangmasters watchdog told to cut 'red tape'
Ministers are moving to ease regulation and oversight of gangmasters. Reacting to industry complaints about the “burden of administration and inspection” from the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), the government has said it will instruct the GLA to “minimise disruption” when conducting spot checks or planned visits to interview workers, and was considering extending a trial of “lighter-touch” regulation. The Guardian • 21 February House of Commons debate on the Gangmasters Licensing Authority • Risks 546
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Britain: Sock firm hit by asbestos fine
A sock company in Carmarthenshire has been fined £25,000 after being found guilty of failing to protect its employees from asbestos. Corgi Hosiery Ltd, which makes socks for Prince Charles, hired unqualified contractors to carry out work on the roof of its Ammanford factory.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 546
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Britain: Film company fined after cameraman hurt on set
A production company has been fined after a cameraman fell more than three metres from the set of a forthcoming major film. The 62-year-old, whose name has not been released, was working on the set of 47 Ronin at Shepperton Studios, Middlesex, when he fell through an opening in the floor.
HSE news release • Risks 546
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Britain: Demolition worker turned into fireball
A contractor has been convicted of a criminal safety breach after a demolition worker was engulfed in flames when he cut through a live 11,000 volt cable at an electricity substation in Worcester. Birmingham firm DSM Demolition Ltd and Halesowen-based Gould Singleton Architects Ltd (GSA), which pleaded guilty, were sentenced on 2 March 2012 following the incident on 14 July 2006.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 546
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Britain: Ministers told to act on shipping
Unions and MPs are putting urgent training and safety issues in the maritime industry back on the agenda “big time”. They are worried that the lack of provision for training, education and safety for shipping workers will result in a huge crisis in recruitment.
Nautilus UK news release • Morning Star • Risks 546
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Britain: Court decision puts journalists in danger
A legal appeal against a court ruling forcing journalists, media organisations and broadcasters to submit all their footage to the police, has been submitted by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ). The union says the appeal against the production order raises fundamental issues about the ability of the press to report matters of public interest impartially and without fear of intimidation.
NUJ news release • Risks 546
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Britain: Security services linked to blacklist of site reps
The police or security services supplied information to a blacklist funded by the country's major construction firms that has kept thousands of people out of work over the past three decades. It says the connection was made by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which believes records that could only have come from the police or MI5 were included in a vast database of files held on 3,200 victims, most targeted for their trade union - and particularly safety - activities.
The Observer • Blacklist blog • Risks 546 •
Hazards news,
10 March 2012
Egypt: Refinery blames former minister for deadly blast
An Egyptian petroleum company’s top legal adviser has blamed the country’s former finance minister for a deadly refinery blast. Araby Abdel Hamid, head of the legal department at the Suez Company for Petroleum Manufacturing, has said he holds Youssef Boutros-Ghali responsible for the 22 February explosion in which five workers were killed, because the minister refused to allow investment in new equipment.
Egypt Independent and related story • Egypt.com • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Global: Apple supplier challenged on ‘fair labour’ claims
Claims that a major supplier to hi-tech giant Apple is having its labour practices subject to effective external scrutiny have been dismissed by labour rights organisation as “a PR stunt.” In an open letter to Apple shareholders, the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF), GoodElectronics and makeITfair are critical of the investigations by the Fair Labour Association (FLA) at Apple supplier Foxconn.
IMF news release • Good Electronics • FLA news release and earlier release on Apple joining FLA • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Guatemala: More murders of banana union members
The murder of union members in Guatemala’s banana industry is continuing. The US Labor Education in the Americas Project (USLEAP) reports the most recent casualty, Miguel Angel González Ramírez, a member of the Izabal banana workers’ union, was shot on 5 February while he was holding his young son.
USLEAP news release and action call – you can send a protest letter online • AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Israel: Foreign site workers at greater risk of deaths
Half the 315 construction workers killed on Israeli construction sites over the past decade were West Bank Palestinians or foreign nationals, an official study for an Israeli parliament committee has concluded. The Knesset Research and Information Centre report found although half of all site victims over the past decade were West Bank Palestinians or foreign nationals, these groups represent only 15 per cent to 30 per cent of construction workers.
Haaretz • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Britain: Trailer firm fined £100,000 over driver's death
A worker died when a six-metre steel machine landed on top of him after it was dislodged from overhead brackets at a factory in East Yorkshire. Ronald Wood, 59, was struck on the head by the steel vacuum lifter, which weighed two-thirds of a tonne, when it was knocked from its mountings by a trailer being towed out of the Montracon factory.
HSE news release • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Britain: Lathe crushes young worker's leg
A Fife engineering company has been fined £10,000 after a lathe weighing more than a tonne toppled onto a worker’s leg. AG Brown Ltd employee Craig Stewart, 21, was working with a colleague to move a 1.2 tonne lathe from a workshop in Glenrothes to one of the metal fabrication company’s other workshops in the town.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Britain: Engineering worker suffered high voltage burns
An employee of an Oxfordshire-based engineering company sustained life-threatening burns after striking a high voltage electric cable during construction work on the new Crossrail railway. Fugro Engineering Services Ltd employee Samuel Langley was using a hydraulic breaker to create an inspection pit for a borehole when he struck a high voltage electric cable.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • London Evening Standard • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Britain: Gust blows worker off shipping container
A food manufacturing firm has been fined after a worker was blown off the top of a shipping container while moving corrugated metal sheets. Barry Walton, 64, an employee of Vion Foods UK Ltd, fell more than two-and-a-half metres to the ground, breaking his ribs and damaging muscles in his leg and shoulder.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Britain: Deregulation savings are a government 'fantasy'
Government claims that slashing red tape will save businesses millions have been challenged by trade unions and health and safety campaigners. Business and enterprise minister Mark Prisk claimed the "one-in, one-out" regulations rule and the government's Red Tape Challenge will save businesses more than £4 million in the first half of this year.
BIS news release and one-in-one-out policy • Morning Star • HSE Red Tape Challenge webpages • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Britain: Tube boobs lead to violence against staff
Blatantly misleading service announcements from London Underground (LUL) are leading directly to assaults and threats against staff, the union RMT has said. The union said the “catalogue of abuse” of the announcements system has been raised by RMT reps at a senior level meeting with LUL managers.
RMT news release • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Britain: Driverless trains plan dismissed as ‘tosh’
A pledge by Boris Johnson to introduce driverless trains on the London Underground network has been rubbished by unions, with RMT describing the plan as “lethal and unworkable.” Kicking off his bid for re-election as London mayor, Boris Johnson vowed to introduce driverless trains within two years.
ASLEF news release • London Evening Standard • The Telegraph • The Guardian • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Britain: Tube driver’s vigilance saved child’s life
An incident on London Underground’s Jubilee line on the evening of Sunday 26 February – where only a driver’s vigilance saved a child - has underlined how the Mayor of London’s “obsession” with driverless trains is “irresponsible, callous and opportunist,” according to ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan.
ASLEF news release • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Britain: Grayrigg ‘more like history than justice’
Train drivers’ union ASLEF has criticised the five year gap between the Grayrigg disaster and Network Rail facing a court for related criminal safety offences.
ASLEF news release • The Independent • Risks 545
Hazards news,
3 March 2012
Central America: Work link in killer kidney disease outbreak
An outbreak of kidney disease that has killed thousands of workers in Central America has been linked by experts to workplace hazards. Chronic dehydration and arduous work appears to a possible trigger for the chronic kidney disease, which is normally caused by diabetes and high blood pressure, maladies absent in most of the patients in Central America.
Seattle PI • Daily Mail • Risks 543
Hazards news,
18 February 2012
Global: Monsanto guilty of poisoning French farmer
A French court has found the US biotech giant Monsanto responsible for the poisoning of a farmer who inhaled a powerful weedkiller. Monsanto says it will appeal against this week’s verdict by a court in Lyon. Grain farmer Paul Francois, 47, suffered from dizziness, memory loss, stammering, headaches, muscular aches and other problems after examining a sprayer in 2004 which contained Lasso, a product which remained on the market in France until 2007, despite earlier bans in Britain, Belgium and Canada. France 24 • RFI • The Guardian • BBC News Online • Daily Mirror • Risks 543
Hazards news,
18 February 2012
Italy: Big jail terms for asbestos killings
Two former executives of a Swiss building products conglomerate have been convicted in Italy of causing the asbestos-related deaths of more than 3,000 people. The defendants, the former owner of the Eternit conglomerate Stephan Schmidheiny and Belgian baron Louis de Cartier de Marchienne, a major shareholder in the firm, were each sentenced in Turin to 16 years in prison on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
International Ban Asbestos Secretariat blog • iWatch News • CNN • Euronews • BBC News Online • Swissinfo • Risks 543
Hazards news,
18 February 2012
Britain: Director convicted after gas explosion
The managing director of a St Helens gas supply firm has been convicted of a criminal safety breach after he and an employee suffered multiple burns in an explosion where the fact no-one died “was simply down to luck”. Liverpool Crown Court heard that John Webster, 55, and another worker, who has asked not to be named, had been attempting to remove the valve on an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinder at North West Gases Ltd on 10 April 2008.
HSE news release and gas safety webpages • Risks 543
Hazards news,
18 February 2012
Britain: Site firm fined after worker badly injured
A construction company working in one of the London’s most expensive postcodes has been fined £30,000 after a Romanian worker suffered life-changing injuries when he fell seven metres from an unguarded roof. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted R&G Construction Ltd as a result of the incident on 7 March 2011.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 543
Hazards news,
18 February 2012
Britain: Injury victims left out as PM does insurers’ bidding
Victims of negligent employers have been left in the cold by the prime minister, who has held a Downing Street ‘summit’ with insurance industry top brass and employers’ organisations to discuss cutting the compensation bill. TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson asked why no representatives of the victims of poor workplace conditions had been invited to the summit, adding: “Clearly they seem to have been written out of this process which is all about helping increase the profits of the insurance industry and stop people with legitimate claims from getting the compensation they should be entitled to.”
Downing Street statement on insurance summit • The Telegraph • Risks 543
Hazards news,
18 February 2012
Britain: Downing Street freezes out grieving families
The prime minister continues to make damaging policy about health and safety at work based on a business wishlist and not the ‘massive costs and burdens on families of people killed by negligence’, Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) has said. FACK’s Hilda Palmer said: “Cameron failed to reply to a letter we sent him expressing concern at his new year's resolution to 'kill off health and safety culture‚' yet holds a summit with the insurance companies and only hears the side of the story he wants to.”
FACK news release and We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • Morning Star • Risks 543
Hazards news,
18 February 2012
Britain: North Sea union probe uncovers ‘exploitation’
A union investigation of working conditions in the North Sea oil and gas sector has found evidence of the ‘exploitation and humiliation’ of Romanian workers in the port of Hartlepool. The Offshore Task Force Group convened by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) says it plans to ask the UK government’s Low Pay Unit and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to investigate the alleged abuses, which include workers ‘so frightened’ they are working for food only.
ITF news release • Risks 543
Hazards news,
18 February 2012
Britain: RMT demands action on Tebay deaths anniversary
Rail union RMT has marked the eighth anniversary of the disaster near Tebay in Cumbria, where four rail workers were killed by a runaway wagon, with a renewed call for action to stop a repeat of the safety failure. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “RMT members up and down the country are rightly angry and disgusted that a secondary protection system, which has been the subject of countless meetings, still hasn’t been introduced eight years on.”
RMT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 543
Hazards news,
18 February 2012
Canada: Horrific crash kills 10 farm workers
Ten migrant farm workers in Ontario, Canada, have been killed when the van transporting them collided with a flatbed truck. The tragedy, which occurred early evening on 6 February, has led to renewed calls from agricultural workers’ organisations for improved safety in the industry.
UFCW Canada news release • Globe and Mail • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
USA: Truck drivers shut port over safety
Trucker drivers working for the major haulage contractors at the port of Seattle turned off the engines, got out of their cabs, and stopped hauling to draw attention to their serious safety concerns. As a result of this action by the Clean and Safe Ports campaign, commerce at the major trading hub slowed to a trickle.
Clean and Safe Ports news release and website • Change to Win reports • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
USA: Social network pics used against sick workers
When your job harms you it may not be good enough just to be sick; you may have to demonstrate you are perpetually miserable as well. US workers are discovering that any suggestion of enjoyment posted on social networking sites, could see the injured party’s workers’ compensation payouts stopped.
MSNBC’s The Bottom Line • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
Britain: Tour bus crushed a mechanic
A major London tour bus operator has been fined after a mechanic suffered serious injuries while working underneath one of its vehicles. Westminster Magistrates' Court heard the 58-year-old employee of The Original London Sightseeing Tour Limited was working underneath the vehicle when the axle dropped onto the mechanic breaking his pelvis and several ribs.
HSE news release • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
Britain: Worker died in unguarded machine
Railcare Limited has been fined £133,000 for criminal health and safety failings after an employee died from head injuries while carrying out maintenance work. John Smith, 53, died as a result of the injuries sustained whilst working at an axle lathe that had an unguarded chuck.
COPFS news release • BBC News Online • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
Britain: Arm skinned and broken at fencing firm
An international fencing manufacturer has been fined after a worker suffered severe injuries to his left arm at a production plant in Sheffield. Sheffield Magistrates' Court heard how on 7 August 2009 the Betafence Ltd employee suffered a dislocated elbow, compound fractures to his lower arm, and had parts of his skin ripped off as he tried to re-thread some wire through a machine block.
HSE news release • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
Britain: Two injured in eight metre fall
Construction contractor Chalcroft Ltd has been prosecuted after two workers fell eight metres from a temporary structure at a factory building job in Coleford. Cheltenham Magistrates Court heard that Spencer Gosney and Matthew Brewer had been subcontracted to build a concrete core as part of a new GlaxoSmithKline factory when the formwork on which they were standing collapsed.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
Britain: Farmworker suffers smashed face in fall
A farmworker suffered severe facial injuries after falling 16ft through a shed roof in Cornwall. Bodmin Magistrates' Court heard self-employed worker James Best, 24, was asked to help remove fibre cement roof sheets from a shed at Park Farm, Washaway, near Bodmin when he fell 16ft on to the concrete floor below.
HSE news release • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
Britain: ‘Disgusted’ fiancée expected jail for site death
A grieving woman has said she is ‘disgusted’ no-one is facing a jail term after her partner was killed on a London construction site. Craig Page died in what the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) described as an ‘entirely avoidable’ incident where a crane carrying three times its maximum load toppled over, smashing its boom into the father-of-one.
HSE news release • Ham and High • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
Britain: Bill targets deadly ‘phoenix firms’
Construction union UCATT has welcomed a parliamentary Bill designed to stop negligent bosses dodging punishment when their workers are killed or maimed. Liverpool MP and UCATT member Luciana Berger presented her 10 minute rule Bill demanding new powers to stop guilty companies avoiding punishment by going into administration.
UCATT news release • Morning Star and related article on Noel Corbin’s death • Liverpool Echo • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
Britain: Network Rail bonus decision ‘too late’
Rail union TSSA has said a decision by Network Rail bosses to donate their six figure annual bonuses to improving safety at level crossings is welcome but comes too late for some victims of the company’s negligence.
TSSA news release • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
Europe: Unions campaign against exploitation at sea
Seafarers from across Europe descended on Aberdeen to pay their respects to fallen colleagues and to demand an end to the exploitation of crews servicing oil and gas fields in the North Sea. Maritime union members from Britain, Norway and Denmark joined a sombre ceremony at the city's seafarers memorial before touring the harbour to talk to workers.
ITF news release • Nautilus news release • Morning Star • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
Britain: Manslaughter probe over Chevron refinery deaths
Police investigating the devastating Pembroke Refinery explosion that killed four people last year are considering bringing manslaughter charges and have interviewed two refinery employees under caution. The move follows a painstaking investigation by Dyfed Powys Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the 2 June 2011 blast that ripped through a storage tank at the then Chevron refinery, now operated by Valero Energy Limited.
Dyfed Powys Police news release • Western Telegraph • BBC News Online • Risks 542
Hazards news,
11 February 2012
USA: Action on deadly silica hits a brick wall
Progress on a new safer official US workplace exposure limit for deadly silica dust has been frustrated by the business lobby for over a decade. But a bid by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to finally introduce stricter controls on silica has hit a second brick wall – a review process run by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that has stalled the ready-to-go standard since 14 February last year.
National Council for Occupational Safety and Health silica campaign and letter to President Obama [pdf] • Union of Concerned Scientists news release • NPR Morning Edition • Huffington Post • AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 541
Hazards news,
4 February 2012
Global: Apple bruised by worker abuse revelations
Apple’s public image has been dented by revelations about working conditions in the factories of some of its network of Chinese suppliers. A steady stream of critical articles, highlighting dust explosions, labour abuses, long hours and mass poisonings of workers at Chinese subcontractors have been bad enough PR, culminating in a front page feature in the New York Times, headlined: ‘In China, human costs are built into an iPad.’
New York Times and related article • Los Angeles Times • The Observer • The Pump Handle • International Campaign for Responsible Technology • Risks 541
Hazards news,
4 February 2012
Britain: Scaffolder survives seven metre fall
A construction firm has been prosecuted after a scaffolder suffered multiple injuries when he fell seven metres through a roof. Fred Lewis Scaffold Company Ltd pleaded guilty to a criminal safety breach and was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £19,000 costs.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Staffordshire Sentinel • Risks 541
Hazards news,
4 February 2012
Britain: Three firms fined after worker falls from roof
Three Dundee companies have been fined a total of £336,000 after a 23 year old Christopher Carson fell six and a half metres through a roof light onto a concrete floor. Robert AS Crockett and Partners Ltd was fined £66,000; Electroguard Security Systems and Dundee Cold Stores were each fined £135,000.
HSE news release • Daily Record • The Courier • Risks 541
Hazards news,
4 February 2012
Britain: Firm guilty after worker’s head is crushed
Construction worker Steven Allen, 23, died from massive crush injuries when his head became trapped in the jaws of a grab machine being wrongly used to move a pallet of cement bags. JN Bentley was fined £106,250 and ordered to pay costs of £90,000.
HSE news release • Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) news release • Telegraph and Argus • Construction Enquirer • Morning Star • Risks 541
Hazards news,
4 February 2012
Britain: Young driver crushed by one tonne pallet
Hampshire lift manufacturer Wessex Lift Co Ltd has been fined after a driver was killed while making a delivery to the firm. Father-of-one Adam Millichip, 27, was delivering sheet metal to the firm on 16 November 2007 when he was hit by a one tonne pallet, being moved by a forklift, which crushed him against his lorry.
HSE news release and workplace transport webpages • BBC News Online • Risks 541
Hazards news,
4 February 2012
Britain: Health and safety goes south-west
The South West TUC has called on the government to abandon its dangerous workplace safety plans. There has been a downward trend in workplace injuries in the region but, with eight people in the region killed in the course of their work last year, the TUC’s regional centre says David Cameron is wrong to halve the number of health and safety regulations.
TUC news release • South West TUC health and safety conference, 8 February, Bristol and the new manual for union reps • Risks 541
Hazards news,
4 February 2012
USA: Study reveals massive costs of bad work
The cost of workplace injuries and illnesses is soaring in the US, and now runs to US$250 billion (£160bn) a year, a study has found. The total, which outstrips the direct and indirect costs of all cancers, coronary heart disease and diabetes, demonstrates the need for a greater emphasis on prevention, according to author J Paul Leigh.
JP Leigh. Economic burden of occupational injury and illness in the United States, Milbank Quarterly, volume 89, number 4, pages 728-772, December 2011 [pdf] • The Pump Handle • EHS Today • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
USA: Union demands action on refinery safety
Workers at US oil refineries took their safety campaign to the streets on 21 January. A United Steelworkers (USW) union National Day of Action for Safe Refineries and Good Jobs saw members in refinery communities visit petrol stations and distribute leaflets to drivers highlighting the importance of refinery safety.
USW news release and Safe refineries and good jobs campaign • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Britain: London Olympics facing sweatshop allegations
The London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog) is probing claims over poor pay and working conditions at a Chinese factory where toy Games mascots are being made.
SACOM news report and full criticism of Locog • The Sun • BBC News Online • Huffington Post UK • Morning Star • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Britain: Woman blows up factory that killed her dad
A woman whose father was scalded to death at a Norfolk soup factory in 1995 said she had gained “closure” after being given the opportunity to blow it up. Sarah Griffiths, 41, triggered the demolition of the former Campbell's factory tower in King's Lynn on 15 January.
Lynn News • BBC News Online • Houston Chronicle • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Britain: Assaults at work increased last year
Physical assaults at work increased last year but threats of violence fell, official statistics have revealed. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report, based on British Crime Survey (BCS) and RIDDOR reports, reveals there were an estimated 341,000 physical assaults to British workers during the 12 months prior to the interviews, up 10 per cent from the previous year.
Violence at work: Violence at work statistics from the 2010/11 British Crime Survey & RIDDOR, HSE, January 2012 [pdf] • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Britain: Driver left in a coma after digger horror
A worker suffered severe injuries when his excavator struck a bridge on the M1 motorway in the East Midlands. Simon Foulke, a maintenance fitter with engineering contractor Van Elle Ltd, was driving a wheeled excavator during widening work on the motorway between Junctions 25 and 28 when its boom hit a bridge.
HSE news release • Mansfield Chad • Construction Enquirer • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Britain: Molten metal sprayed on a second worker
An aluminium casting company has been fined £6,000 after a man was burned by molten metal at its Worcester factory in a repeat of an earlier incident. Asim Qureshi, 41, was operating a die cast machine at JVM Castings Ltd when molten metal sprayed from the back of the machine on 27 July 2010.
HSE news release • Worcester Standard • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Britain: Severed finger rap for bubble wrap giant
A multinational manufacturer has been prosecuted after a worker lost three fingers in a bubble wrap making machine. Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court heard Daniel Winters, 29, was cleaning debris from the machine at Sansetsu (UK) Limited’s Milton Keynes factory, when his right hand became caught on an “in-running nip” and was trapped between two powered rollers.
HSE news release • Milton Keynes Today • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Britain: Government is ‘peddling myths’ and misusing Löfstedt
The expert who carried a government commissioned review of workplace safety regulation has raised concerns about his report being ‘misused’ for political purposes. Professor Ragnar Löfstedt told a forum in London on 17 January he was not in favour of “radical” reform, contradicting David Cameron's attack earlier this month on the 'monster' of health and safety.
Prospect news release • Law Society Gazette • House of Commons debate on health and safety regulation, 23 January 2012, Hansard report • Proposals to revoke seven Statutory Instruments, Consultative document CD238, responses by 12 March 2012 • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Britain: HSE ‘challenge panel’ to target safety myths
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is to invite the public to tell it about claims and decisions that bring health and safety into disrepute, so that a new dedicated challenge panel can quickly disprove them. The new panel comes hot on the heels of the ‘Independent Regulatory Challenge Panel’, imposed on HSE by the government as a means for businesses to challenge decisions by safety regulators.
SHP Online • Where’s that watchdog?, Hazards magazine and ‘Who you gonna call?’ contact list for HSE offices • HSE’s contact webpage • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Global: Union urges investigation before cruiseship blame
Serious safety failings could be obscured in the rush to blame the captain and crew for the Costa Concordia cruiseship sinking, the union Nautilus International has warned. Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said “there is a danger that just blaming individuals will obscure the serious and profound safety lessons that may need to be learned, as well as the matter of justice and a right to a fair trial.”
Nautilus news release • Corriere della Sera • The Guardian • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Britain: Obeying safety rules is a responsibility, not a burden
Health and safety regulation is not the burden on business the prime minister suggests, but something any responsible business should embrace, the TUC has asserted. “Regulation should not be seen as a burden on business, a TUC briefing says, adding: “It is a responsibility, just as paying taxes is a responsibility, and no business should be able to operate unless it can do so safety.”
Defending regulation, TUC Day of Action to defend health and safety bulletin No.1. TUC Workers’ Memorial Day webpages • ITUC/Hazards International Workers’ Memorial Day webpages • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Britain: Enforcement works, non-enforcement kills
A drastic cut in the UK’s already under par workplace safety enforcement activity will lead to more death and injuries, the TUC has warned. The union body notes: “Good employers have always supported both regulation and enforcement because it means that their competitors cannot take short-cuts with people's safety and undercut them,” concluding: “It is only unscrupulous or incompetent employers who fear consistent and fair regulation of health and safety.”
The need for enforcement, TUC Day of Action to defend health and safety bulletin No.2. We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • Risks 540
Hazards news,
28 January 2011
Global: Apple supplier audit reveals abuses
Electronic gizmo giant Apple, the company that brought us the Apple Mac, i-phone and i-pad, seems to be adding a far more candid appraisal of problems in its global supply chain to its business portfolio. In January, the firm published its previously closely guarded list of 156 suppliers, after a succession of reports had highlighted safety, labour and environmental abuses in some of the firms.
Apple Supplier Responsibility 2012 Progress Report and Supplier Responsibility website • Financial Post • This American Life • International Campaign for Responsible Technology • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Korea: Speed-up led worker to set himself on fire
A South Korean Hyundai Motor worker set himself alight after management responded to his request to slow the pace of production by stepping up discipline. The 44-year-old trade unionist, Shin Sung-hun, is in critical condition after his 8 January protest at the engine plant in Ulsan.
Labor Notes • Economic Times • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Britain: Unions welcome Grayrigg rail death prosecution
Unions have welcomed a decision by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) to prosecute Network Rail over the rail crash at Grayrigg in which one passenger died. Margaret Masson, 84, from Glasgow, died after the Virgin train derailed on the West Coast Main Line in Cumbria in February 2007.
ORR news release • ASLEF news release • TSSA news release • BBC News Online • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Britain: Suspended sentence after fall death
A man has been given a suspended prison sentence after worker Robert Jozwiak, 44, was killed when he fell through a roof at a disused factory unit in Leicester. Musa Suleman was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years and was also ordered to pay compensation of £13,800 to Mr Jozwiak's family and full costs of £17,337.
HSE news release and Shattered lives webpages • Leicester Mercury • Daily Mirror • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Britain: Businessman fined £112k over roof fall death
A Liverpool businessman has been fined £112,000 after a labourer died following a fall from the roof of an industrial unit, just months after another worker was injured in a fall at the same site. John McCleary fell 15 feet while fitting roof panels at the construction site in Toxteth being managed by Taj ul Malook Mann, who failed to report the incident to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Britain: Steel beam crushing death was preventable
Specialist crane supplier JH Carruthers Ltd has been fined £180,000 after a worker was killed when a large steel beam fell on him at an incinerator in Slough, Berkshire. Colin Dickson, 38, of Motherwell, Lanarkshire, died when the temporary suspension points on a suspended beam he was under failed at the Lakeside Energy from Waste installation in Colnbrook.
HSE news release • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Britain: Horrific death of plastics technician was avoidable
An experienced technician at a plastic products factory in Cornwall was killed after he was crushed between the plates on a machine used to make plastic lids. Shaun O'Dwyer, 54, died in the incident on 30 May 2008 at the Curver UK Ltd factory.
HSE news release and guide on safety at injection moulding machines [pdf] • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Britain: Social care firm fined for violence risks
A social care organisation has been fined for exposing workers to the risk of violence and aggression. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation at Dimensions (UK) Ltd, a not-for-profit organisation that provides support services for people with learning disabilities, after a support worker was kicked in the eye by a client on 31 December 2009.
HSE news release and health and social care webpages • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Britain: Safety fraudsters given jail terms
Health and safety fraudsters are facing lengthy jail terms after being caught in two separate scams. Gurpreet Singh and Parampreet Singh took health and safety tests on behalf of other construction workers to obtain skills cards and eight people were sentenced, five given jail terms, for fraud after more than £500,000 was claimed from two colleges for safety training that did not take place.
Construction Enquirer • BBC News Online • CITB-ConstructionSkills health and safety test • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Britain: Cruiseliner tragedy should be a wake-up call
Maritime unions have blamed inadequate safety measures for Europe's worst maritime disaster in a generation. Nautilus International said the 14 January wreck of the massive Costa Concordia cruiseliner should be a wake-up call to the entire industry.
Nautilus UK news release • ITF news release • Morning Star • BBC News Online • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Britain: TUC says stand up for safety
The TUC is gearing up for the biggest ever national workplace health and safety event on 28 April. It has designated Workers’ Memorial Day 2012 a ‘Day of activity to defend health and safety’, which is facing an unprecedented attack.
TUC Workers’ Memorial Day 2012 webpage, leaflet [pdf] and poster [pdf] • TUC call for action • Hazards 'remember the dead, fight like hell for the living' images and WMD artwork gallery • Risks 539
Hazards news,
21 January 2012
Global: Conflict and downturn encourage child labour
Worsening global security and the economic downturn has led to a marked increase in child labour worldwide, a study has found. Research by the risk analysis firm Maplecroft concluded 76 countries now pose ‘extreme’ child labour ‘complicity risks’ for companies operating worldwide.
Maplecroft news release • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
USA: Official probe into enforcement opt-outs
A US scheme that allows “model” firms to opt-out of official workplace safety inspections is the subject of a top level investigation. A federal task force is conducting a “top-to-bottom review” of the controversial Voluntary Protection Programme (VPP), a top Department of Labor official has confirmed.
CPI news release • In These Times • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
USA: Arrest warrant on professor after lab death
A university chemistry professor could face a jail term on charges relating to the horrific death of a UCLA laboratory research assistant. Sheri Sangji, 23, suffered severe burns on 29 December 2008 while working with tert-butyllithium (tBuLi), a substance that will spontaneously ignite when exposed to air, dying from her injuries on 16 January 2009.
LA Times • UCLA statement and 6 January 2012 message to staff from the UCLA chancellor • The Pump Handle • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Britain: Palletways fined after neck broken fiasco
A logistics firm has been fined after a forklift driver broke his neck and was then walked around the workplace in search of a first aider, who eventually drove him to the wrong hospital. Palletways (UK) Ltd employee Barry Hill, 60, suffered the injury when a computer cabinet he was loading onto a trailer fell on him.
HSE news release and guide, Rider-operated lift trucks: Operator training [pdf] • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Britain: Gas exposed Palletways workers hospitalised
A total of 23 workers at Palletways warehouse in Livingston, Scotland, were hospitalised with breathing difficulties after a container of denatonium benzoate - which is used to make inedible liquids, such as anti-freeze, bitter – leaked after being punctured by a forklift.
BBC News Online
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Britain: Metal firm worker crushed by 1.5 tonne weight
Palletways (UK) Ltd’s has been prosecuted for safety failings after a maintenance engineer was crushed by a 1.5 tonne weight that landed on his back. The worker suffered a broken shoulder, two cracked ribs and the tops of three vertebrae were snapped off when he was trapped between the counterweight of a large zinc galvanizing machine and a junction box.
HSE news release • The Star • BBC News Online • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Britain: Chocolate giant fined over broken finger
High street chocolate chain Thorntons has been fined after a worker broke her finger while operating a wrapping machine. Ellen Yardley, 37, was attempted to clean part of a foil wrapping machine that had become covered in caramel when the cloth she was using became tangled in rotating parts and her right hand was dragged into the machine.
HSE news release • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Britain: Cameron is ‘irresponsible and dangerous’
The prime minister’s “repeated attacks” on workplace health and safety measures “are irresponsible and dangerous,” the union representing Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors has warned. Commenting after David Cameron’s 5 January resolution to a business audience that his government would ‘kill off’ health and safety, Prospect said two recent reviews commissioned by the government had concluded the existing system worked.
Unite news release and Left Foot Forward blog • Prospect news release • ASLEF news release • BFAWU news release • Morning Star • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Britain: Scaffolding industry backs tighter safety regulation
The scaffolding industry is calling for tighter safety regulations. In a move which calls into question government claims that industry sees safety regulations as a “burden”, the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) wants an amendment to the Work at Height Regulations to require licensing of scaffolders.
NASC news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Britain: Poorly trained scaffolder suffered devastating injuries
A poorly trained and supervised scaffolder from Manchester will never walk again after being crushed by metal tubes that fell from a crane. David Collins, a 31-year-old father of two who worked for Bury firm Spectra Scaffolding, suffered severe injuries to his head, back and leg and is now paraplegic.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Britain: Men arrested on suspicion of manslaughter
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following a death at a Holmfirth construction site. Mark James Taylor, 36, from Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, is thought to have been killed while using a Green Piling Ltd pile-driving machine on the construction site on 18 April 2011.
Huddersfield Daily Examiner • Construction Enquirer • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Britain: Health and safety culture? I wish…
David Cameron’s resolution last week “to kill off the health and safety culture for good” has drawn fresh criticism from unions, safety bodies and corporate killing campaigners. TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson said the prime minister’s comments “represent probably the biggest verbal assault on health and safety by a senior politician for many years, which is saying something, given that only last summer the PM was blaming the English riots on our health and safety culture.”
Strongerunions blog • FACK news release and ‘Sod you’ postcard to David Cameron and Nick Clegg • London Evening Standard. The Guardian. HR Magazine• The TUC is organising a day of action to defend health and safety on 28 April, International Workers Memorial Day – watch this space • We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Britain: Nuke firm ignored safety warnings
Managers at a major nuclear firm had dismissed safety concerns raised by workers moments before the dangerous job led to a worker suffering a serious injury. The GMB member from Cumbria broke her right ankle after she was ordered to move heavy archive boxes down a flight of three narrow steps at Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Seascale in February 2010.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 538
Hazards news,
14 January 2012
Global: Call for action on media killings
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has urged the United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon to take drastic action against the governments of the most dangerous countries for media. The call came as the global union body revealed 106 journalists and media personnel were killed at work in 2011.
IFJ news release • NUJ news release • INSI • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Russia: 53 oil workers die as oil rig capsizes
The sinking of an oil rig on 18 December in icy seas off the Russian coast claimed 53 lives, officials have confirmed. A total of 67 people were on board when the Kolskaya rig capsized under tow in icy seas off the country’s east coast. Russian media have questioned why so many people had been on the rig, when regulations stipulated that only the captain and a small crew were allowed to be there while it was being towed. ICEM news report • BBC News Online • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Britain: Government accused of mine rescue ‘complacency’
A Labour MP has accused the government of “serious complacency and a total lack of understanding of mining”. Shadow Welsh secretary Peter Hain accused Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, of a “disgraceful” government response to his call for state aid for mining rescue services after four men died in the flooded Gleision valley colliery on 14 September 2011.
The Guardian • BBC News Online • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Britain: Global firm fined over factory worker's death
A global manufacturer has been fined £180,000 after a worker was killed at an Andrex factory in Barrow-in-Furness. Christopher Massey was struck by a piece of machinery while working on a night shift at the Kimberly-Clark plant on 8 November 2007.
HSE news release • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Britain: HSE warning on hiring self-employed workers
Firms hiring self-employed contractors must be vigilant as they may not have the competence to do the job, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned. The warning came after Roger Jary, a 79-year-old self-employed maintenance contractor, died while carrying out minor repairs on a rented bungalow for an estate agent.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Britain: Workers buried in giant cement mixer
One worker died and another suffered severe shock after being buried under tons of limestone dust in a giant cement mixer. Hanson Quarry Products Europe Ltd and Robert Alan Taylor, who was then trading as Quarry Maintenance Service Engineers, were both prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at Taunton Crown Court.
HSE news release • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Britain: Steel giant prosecuted after workers are crushed
A global steel firm has been fined after two workers suffered major injuries when a warehouse door, weighing over 300 kilograms, collapsed on them. The employees at Corus, now Tata Steel UK Ltd, were trying to repair a roller shutter door at its plant in Workington when the door and a supporting pillar gave way.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Britain: Farmers fined after worker is run over by tractor
Three farming brothers have been fined after a farmworker was severely injured when he was run over by a tractor with a faulty handbrake. Derek Benney, Richard Benney and Roger Benney, of FH Benney and Sons, were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at Higher Nansloe Farm near Helston in September 2010.
HSE news release and agricultural maintenance webpages • Western Morning News • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Global: Workers’ Memorial Day 2012
It’s time to start preparing for Workers’ Memorial Day, Saturday 28 April. In December, TUC called on “unions, trades councils, and others to make 28 April 2012 a 'Day of activity to defend health and safety'”. Now, Hazards magazine has produced a series of new ‘remember the dead, fight like hell for the living’ images for union reps to use in the campaign.
Hazards ‘remember the dead, fight like hell for the living’ images and WMD artwork gallery • TUC call for action • TUC Workers' Memorial Day webpages • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Britain: Union safe case gets a promising reception
MPs have heard that work is set to get more dangerous as government cuts in the official safety watchdog’s resources continue. The warning came at a reception in parliament in December 2011, organised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors’ union Prospect.
Prospect news release • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Britain: You want the truth, prime minister?
The TUC has said the prime minister’s resolution “to kill of the health and safety culture for good” exposes how he is more interested in listening to unfounded business grumbles than evidence that millions are hurting and tens of thousands die each year because their workplaces were not safe enough.
TUC news release • We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
Britain: TUC slams Cameron move ‘to kill off safety’
A claim by the prime minister that UK businesses are in a “stranglehold” of health and safety ‘red tape’ and compensation claims has been dismissed as “out of touch” by the TUC. David Cameron, speaking to a business audience on 5 January, said the government was “waging war against the excessive health and safety culture that has become an albatross around the neck of British businesses.”
Prime Minister’s Office news release • BBC video clip of David Cameron’s comments on the safety ‘monster’ • London Evening Standard • Maidenhead Advertiser • Risks 537
Hazards news,
7 January 2012
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