Britain: Unions concerned at welfare reform
Telling the unemployed they have to take jobs that don’t exist and handing over control of the system to private companies looking to make a profit are both big mistakes, unions have said. The welfare proposals are closely linked to the government’s health and work agenda, which aims to move sick and disabled workers off benefits and into the workforce. GMB news release • PCS news release • Risks 387 • 20 December 2008
Britain: Don’t treat claimants like scroungers
The TUC has said the government should provide support for workers losing their jobs instead of treating all claimants like would-be scroungers. TUC news release • DWP news release • BBC News Online • Risks 387
Hazards news,
20 December 2008
Britain: Rolls Royce to blame for vibration injury
A Unite member has received compensation after his hands were left permanently damaged by the vibrating tools he used while working for Rolls Royce. John Smith, 62, from Derby was diagnosed with Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) following years of using hand held air powered tools while working for the famous jet engine manufacturer. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Evening Telegraph • Risks 386
Hazards news, 13 December 2008
Britain: National Grid pays out for hearing loss
A retired GMB member who was exposed to dangerous levels of noise in the workplace for over three decades has been compensated, with support from his union. Stanley Owston from Hull now requires a hearing aid. The 67-year-old received £4,000 in damages after suffering occupational deafness caused by his job as an assistant distribution fitter for National Grid. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 386
Hazards news,
13 December 2008
Britain: Council fined for sawdust asthma
A Scottish council has been fined £5,000 after a woodwork teacher developed asthma caused by exposure to sawdust. Sheriff William Gilchrist said he would have fined Stirling Council even more - but lawyers claimed it would come out of their children's services budget. HSE news release • Daily Record • BBC News Online • Risks 385
Hazards news,
6 December 2008
Britain: Concern about work health blueprint
More organisations have raised concerns about measures announced by the government last month to improve the health of the workforce. Sayeed Khan, chief medical adviser to manufacturers’ body EEF and a member of the Health and Safety Executive board, said the decision not to introduce tax incentives for employers providing occupational health support was “stupid”. CSP news release • Personnel Today interviews with Sayeed Khan and James Purnell • Risks 385
Hazards news,
6 December 2008
Britain: New cases highlight vibration risks
Two settlements for a classic occupational disease caused by vibration show old workplace conditions are persisting in modern workplaces. GMB member Mark Twinn, 51, was awarded £5,000 compensation for Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) and Ben Wright, 29, received a £60,000 payout after developing the same condition. Pattinson and Brewer Solicitors news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 385
Hazards news,
6 December 2008
Britain: Solder flux sensitised staff
Two GMB members from Cumbria have received compensation after being exposed to dangerous fumes in the workplace. Joanne Moorby and Lorraine Sharpe suffered from flu-like symptoms while working for Marl International in Ulverston. Thompsons Solicitors news release • North West Evening Mail • Risks 385
Hazards news,
6 December 2008
Italy: Study finds solvent cancer link
Exposure to the industrial solvent benzene increases a person's risk of developing multiple myeloma, according to new research. Adele Seniori Constantini of Italy’s Center for Study and Prevention of Cancer and her colleagues also found two other common workplace solvents in the same aromatic hydrocarbon group and often used as substitutes for benzene, xylene and toluene, were also tied to greater chronic lymphoid leukaemia risk. Reuters • Risks 384
Hazards news, 29 December 2008
Sweden: Bad bosses are bad for your heart
Badly behaved and incompetent bosses not only make work stressful, they can increase the risk of heart disease for their employees, new research suggests. The study, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, concluded feeling undervalued and unsupported at work can cause stress, which often fosters unhealthy behaviours, such as smoking, that can lead to heart disease. BBC News Online • Personnel Today
A Nyberg and others. Managerial leadership and ischaemic heart disease among employees: the Swedish WOLF study, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2008, doi:10.1136/oem.2008.039362 [pdf] • Risks 384
Hazards news, 29 December 2008
Britain: Docs won’t police sick system
Top doctors have had said government proposals on work and health may be a step in the right direction, but have warned GPs should not be used to police sick leave. BMA news release • Risks 384
Hazards news,
29 December 2008
Britain: TUC wants more prevention
The TUC has said the government’s proposals on work and health should have been more ambitious, with a greater focus on prevention and on the needs of the worker. TUC news release • Risks 384
Hazards news, 29 December 2008
Britain: BT’s crude performance slammed by union
British Telecom workers have been penalised for going sick and discouraged from reporting accidents as a result of the company’s “crude” approach to productivity assessment, the union CWU has said. Scores of CWU members gathered outside BT offices in the centre of Coventry to protest at a raft of issues relating to management style and performance management. CWU news release • Risks 384
Hazards news, 29 December 2008
Britain: Vibration disease leads to payout
A GMB member has received £10,000 in an out-of-court settlement after his hands were left permanently damaged as a result of using vibrating tools at work. Frederick Roebuck, 61, was left with debilitating condition Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) - also known as vibration white finger (VWF) - after using a vibrating poker for up to five hours a day in his job at manufacturing firm Charcon Tunnels. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 382
15 November 2008
South Africa: Manganese poisoning scandal exposed
A US medical expert drafted in by a manganese processing giant accused of poisoning its workers resigned a prestigious post after it was revealed he was a major recipient of industry cash, a South African government inquiry has heard. The ongoing inquiry heard Dr Warren Olanow, who was brought in by Assmang in May 2008 to provide medical reassessments when the company disputed the poisoning diagnoses, resigned from his chair at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital around the time a US judge disclosed industry payments to medical experts related to manganese litigation.
Hazards magazine • The Mercury • Risks 383
Hazards news 22 November 2008
USA: Pesticide linked to Parkinson's
A widely used fungicide has become the latest pesticide linked to elevated rates of Parkinson’s disease. Researchers have found a strong connection between the debilitating neurological disease and long-term exposure to pesticides, particularly to the common fungicide Ziram. Fresno Bee • Risks 383
Hazards news 22 November 2008
Britain: Just who is really shirking at work?
Employers should sort out unhealthy jobs before they start lecturing workers about their lifestyles, according to a new report in a trade union health and safety journal. Hazards magazine notes: “They’ll weigh us, keep tabs on our bad habits and ask questions when we are sick,” but adds “when we fall short of perfection, they label us shirkers, sickos and slobs.” You big fat liars, Hazards magazine, number 104, 2008 • Risks 383
Hazards news 22 November 2008
Britain: Union warning on dirty needles
Construction union UCATT has warned workers involved in housing maintenance to be vigilant for dirty needles when entering or working on properties. The union says in some cases anti-social tenants have booby-trapped light switches and sockets with needles. UCATT news release and needlestick injury advice • Risks 383
Hazards news 22 November 2008
Global: Treaty wreckers protect toxins
Governments doing the dirty work of toxic exporters have succeeding in blocking listing of chrysotile asbestos and the pesticide endosulfan on a global safety warning system. A handful of governments ignored dire health problems linked to the two candidate substances, and vetoed their including on the “Prior Informed Consent” list, which would require importing nations to be given notice of the dangers posed by the product. Rotterdam Convention news release • International Ban Asbestos Secretariat report • HESA news release • The Dominion • Toronto Star • Risks 381
Hazards news, 8
November 2008
Britain: Worker dies after inhaling anthrax
A drum maker from London who inhaled anthrax spores while handling imported animal skins at his workshop has died in hospital. Fernando Gomez, 35, died from inhalation anthrax rather than cutaneous anthrax, which is contracted through the skin. HPA news release • BBC News Online • The Guardian • Risks 381
Hazards news, 29 December 2008
Australia: Health checks won’t check work health
Progress on a major programme to introduce health checks at work for some Australian workers has stalled – because employers are refusing to entertain a union request to include possible workplace risk factors. The state government had hoped to press ahead with the Aus$218 million (£86m) WorkHealth initiative. The Age • Risks 380
Hazards news,
1 November 2008
Britain: Workers need mental health support
The UK needs a major rethink of workers' mental health during the current economic uncertainty, government advisers have said. Professor Cary Cooper, one of the authors of the report from the Foresight group, said a pressing issue was the number of workers who did not feel able to take time off when they were sick or stressed. Foresight Mental Capital and Well-being webpages and report executive summary [pdf] • DIUS news release • BBC News Online • Risks 379
Hazards news,
25 October 2008
Papua New Guinea: Workers ‘paid to die’ in dust
Workers in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have been “paid to die” instead of being supplied with protective gear against volcanic ash fallout, a top government official has said. David Tibu, secretary of PNG's industrial relations department, said some businesses were paying risk allowances instead of providing safety wear, so in effect their workers are “getting paid to die,” he said. Sydney Morning Herald • The Australian • Risks 378
Hazards news,
18 October 2009
Britain: Arthritis support is missing at work
People with arthritis are being forced out of work because employers are not providing the necessary support, a new report has concluded. Health charity Arthritis Care presented its finding to MPs on 15 October, spelling out the extent of avoidable arthritis-related unemployment in the UK. Arthritis Care news release • Working together? Matching work ambitions with health provision for people with arthritis [pdf] • Risks 378
Hazards news,
18 October 2009
Australia: Piggery workers get heart infection
Two Australian piggery workers have survived a potentially deadly disease of the heart valves after contracting a bug from animals bound for the abattoir. Doctors at Canberra Hospital treated a 46-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man for fevers, sweating and severe weight loss caused by endocarditis, a serious condition that damages heart valves. Sydney Morning Herald • News.com.au •
Karina J Kennedy and others. Two cases of Streptococcus suis endocarditis in Australian piggery workers, Medical Journal of Australia, volume 189, number 7, page 413, 2008 • Risks 377
Hazards news,
11 October 2009
Britain: Working through mental problems
The government says it is pushing new funds into its Access to Work scheme with the aim of helping people facing mental problems to say in work. Work and pensions secretary James Purnell said the funding increase would allow support to be made available for people with mental health conditions either already in work and experiencing difficulty, or those about to enter employment, as well as for their employers. DWP news release • Shifting responsibilities, sharing costs: The mental health challenge for welfare reform, Jessica Prendergrast, Beth Foley and Tom Richmond, SMF, October 2008 • Risks 377 Hazards news, 11 October 2009
Britain: We told you we were sick
People who have long spells of sick leave are at far greater risk of an early death than healthier employees, researchers have found. The study of absence records for 6,478 British civil servants between 1985 and 1988, a part of the long running ‘Whitehall II’ research programme, showed that people who had one or more medically certified absence in three years had a 66 per cent increased risk of premature death compared to those with no such absence. Washington Post • BBC News Online • The Telegraph •
Head J, Alexanderson K, Westerlund H, Vahtera J and Kivimäki M. Diagnosis-specific sickness absence as a predictor of mortality: the Whitehall II prospective cohort study, BMJ Online First, 2 October 2008 [pdf] • Risks 377
Hazards news,
11 October 2009
Britain:
University radiation cancer probe begins
An occupational health specialist is to investigate a possible cancer
cluster in a Manchester University building. Professor David Coggon
from the Medical Research Council will carry out an independent review
of health risks at the university's Rutherford Building; the deaths
from cancer of five people have been linked with the building, which
is where Nobel prize-winning nuclear physicist Ernest Rutherford experimented
with radon and polonium in 1908. Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain:
Inquiry over mercury poisoning
An investigation is under way after workers at a West Yorkshire recycling
firm were exposed to mercury. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
said staff at Electrical Waste Recycling Co Ltd in Huddersfield had
been put at risk of mercury poisoning. Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain:
Gloves off in vibrating tools campaign
Urgent action to protect workers from Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS)
is needed, with dozens of workers affected at one council alone, public
sector union UNISON has said. The union was speaking out after securing
£3,000 compensation for Joseph Beale, a council worker from Bridgend;
a Freedom of Information request to Bridgend County Borough Council
found that more than 40 staff had developed the condition working at
the council. Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain:
Bonus scheme fingered in vibration case
A council roadworker who was forced out of his job aged 25 after developing
two related occupational diseases has received a £262,000 compensation
payout. UNISON member Adrian Bideau, now aged 28, developed Hand Arm
Vibration Syndrome (HAVS – also known as vibration white finger)
and carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful repetitive strain injury, as a
result of using vibrating tools such as breaker packs, whacker plates
and saws. Risks
376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008
Britain: Unilever
doesn’t care for workers’ skin
A UK multinational with a multimillion pound trade in skin care products
has been fined after trashing the skin of its own staff. Unilever was
ordered to pay £28,000 in fines and costs after 25 Merseyside
workers contracted dermatitis. Risks
375
Hazards news, 27 September 2008
Britain:
Boss escapes jail for silica use
A company boss whose firm used deadly silica despite the process being
banned for 58 years has received a £26,000 fine but has escaped
jail. Andrew Thomson, trading as Thomson Sandblast, of Great Harwood,
was also ordered to pay £24,000 costs and was told that magistrates
had considered a custodial sentence. Global
Unions cancer campaign • Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Bootful
of cement causes burns
An Oxford building company has been fined £500 after one of its
employees sustained burns to his legs after wet concrete poured into
his Wellington boots. In addition to the fine, O'Brien & McIntyre
LLP was ordered at Stratford upon Avon Magistrates' Court to pay £150
prosecution costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Control of
Substance Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
Britain: Report
calls for focus on ‘good work’
A package of policies designed to create more ‘good jobs’
is needed to create healthier, more worthwhile jobs, a new report has
concluded. The Work Foundation’s ‘Good work’ report
says the government cannot make serious progress towards the reduction
of health inequalities unless it has policies to improve job quality
for the most disadvantaged. Work
Foundation news release • ‘Good work’: Job quality in a changing economy [pdf] • Risks
374
Hazards news, 20 September 2008
USA:
Second consumer popcorn lung case
A second US man may have developed ‘popcorn lung’ as a result
of microwave cooking and consuming bags of popcorn. Larry Newkirk has
been diagnosed with the sometimes fatal lung disease called bronchiolitis
obliterans. Seattle
Post-Intelligencer • Hazards
diacetyl webpages • Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
Australia:
Uniforms recalled after adverse reactions
An Australian energy firm has recalled thousands of newly issued flame-retardant
uniforms after hundreds of workers complained they made them sick, and
high chemical levels were found. The workers’ union, ETU, also
reported that strong fumes emitted when ironing the uniforms had caused
some people to vomit. Risks
373
Hazards, 13 September 2008
South Africa: Doctors
fired for diagnosing work
When specialist doctors diagnosed at least 10 cases of manganese-specific
chronic illnesses at a factory in Cato Ridge, the Assmang manganese
company dumped them “like hot potatoes”. Evidence to a government
enquiry revealed the firm then replaced them with a new team of doctors
that revised the diagnoses to suggest the sick workers might be alcoholics,
drug abusers or victims of Aids. Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
France:
Missing cases could cost 1bn euros
Official French statistics massively under-estimate the extent of occupational
accidents and diseases in the country, with tens of thousands of cases
missed each year. An expert report submitted to the government in July
estimated the cost of these unacknowledged cases to the French health
insurance system was between 565 million and 1.015 billion euros a year. Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Britain:
TUC response to health promotion
TUC has issued guidance for safety reps on health promotion initiatives
at work. It says ‘lifestyle’ initiatives introduced by employers
have their role, but says most of us spend most of our waking hours
at work in conditions created by the employer, so employers should first
make sure that work hazards are addressed. Promoting
health at work: Guidance for safety representatives • Related
information: Hazards magazine ‘futile
exercise’ guide, safety
reps’ checklist and work
and health webpages • Risks
272
Hazards news, 6 September 2008
Global: Social
injustice is a major killer
Social factors including poor working conditions are to blame for huge
variations in ill-health and life expectancy around the world, an international
commission has concluded. The World Health Organisation (WHO) convened
commission’s report identified poor work as major contributory
factor to health inequities. Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on
the social determinants of health, WHO
report webpages • Risks
371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008
USA:
How manufacturing doubt kills workers
It happens all the time. When a study is published linking a workplace
chemical to serious disease, a scientist working for the industry disputes
the finding. Writing in the current issue of Hazards magazine, US academic
David Michaels reveals industry has taken its lead “directly from
the tobacco industry’s playbook”, employing the same tactics
and the same public relations firms. Spin cycle:
Product defence – how industry money protects killer chemicals, Hazards magazine, August 2008 • Project
on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP)
Britain: Trust fined
for ‘appalling mismanagement’
‘An appalling catalogue of mismanagement’ at Boston's Pilgrim
Hospital has resulted in a hospital Trust paying out £18,500 in
safety fines. Boston Magistrates’ Court was told how necessary
safety measures relating to the use of glutaraldehyde, a chemical used
to develop film in x-ray machines, had not been in place. HSE
news release and COSHH
webpages • Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Britain: Work asthma
caused mental problems
Electrical engineer Mark Lawrence has been awarded £100,000 –
more than six times the original offer - after he developed occupational
asthma which led to a psychiatric disorder. The Unite member was working
for Lydmet Limited, now Federal Mogul Camshafts Limited, when he experienced
shortness of breath at work in April 2001. Risks
370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008
Australia: Sedentary
work leads to weight gain
Another study has confirmed sedentary occupations carry a significant
risk of workers gaining weight than other occupations. The study from
the University of North Carolina found only vigorous exercise was significantly
associated with non-weight gain - the study comes after recent Australian
research added to the growing evidence that shift work negatively impacts
on health, revealing shift workers are more likely to smoke and to become
overweight. Risks
369
Hazards news, 16 August 2008
Finland:
Union call for ban on creosote poles
A Finnish union is calling for the use of creosote-impregnated wooden
electricity poles to be stopped on health grounds. The Electrical Workers’
Union says safer alternatives should be used instead. Trade
Union News from Finland • Risks
368
Hazards news, 9 August 2008
Europe:
Union blast on reprotoxins
The European Trade Union Confederation has criticised a European Commission
u-turn on substances that are toxic for reproduction. The union body
says these reprotoxins should have been brought into the directive that
protects workers from carcinogens and mutagens, which is currently up
for revision, but is dismayed the Commission has instead changed tack
and dropped any mention of reprotoxins from its proposals. ETUI-REHS
news briefing and ETUC note [pdf] • Risks
368
Hazards news, 9 August 2008
USA: Perils
of the new pesticides
The US-based Center for Public Integrity has used official government
data to expose the ‘Perils of the new pesticides.’ The free
online resource is based on a review of 10 years’ worth of adverse-reaction
reports filed with the Environmental Protection Agency by pesticide
manufacturers. CPI
Perils of the new pesticides website • Risks
368
Hazards news, 9 August 2008
USA: Prison
labour exposed to deadly toxins
US federal health officials have found staff and inmates had no protection
against exposure to high levels of lead and cadmium in a prison industry
computer recycling plant. The amount of health damage or risk could
not be assessed because the Elkton Federal Correctional Institution
in eastern Ohio did not conduct medical monitoring or industrial hygiene
surveillance.
Full NIOSH report [pdf] • AFGE statement [pdf] • Risks
367
Hazards news, 2 August 2008
Peru: Chinese
owner in mine disease denial
Workers in a Chinese owned mine in Peru are developing deadly dust diseases
– but the Chinese metal giant is denying the cases exist. The
workers at Shougang Corp’s iron ore mine in Peru have pneumoconiosis,
a debilitating and potentially fatal lung scarring caused by dust inhalation. Risks
367
Hazards news, 2 August 2008
Britain: Usdaw’s
hot work warning
Retail and food union Usdaw has issued a seasonal warning on the health
risks posed by hot work. The union alert spells out the legal position
and the health effects of work in excessive temperatures - sweating,
irritability, nausea, headaches, dizziness, fainting, muscle cramps,
extra strain on the heart and ultimately heat stroke. Usdaw
alert and temperature
at work guidance • Risks
367
Hazards news, 2 August 2008
Britain:
Campaigners reject work health blueprint
A government approved strategy on work and health is destined to fail,
health and safety campaigners have warned. Delegates to the July National
Hazards Conference approved unanimously a statement highly critical
of Dame Carol Black’s ‘Working for a healthier tomorrow’
report, launched in March. Hazards
Campaign statement and conference motion • Workplace
health czar website • Risks
367
Hazards news, 2 August 2008
Britain:
Overweight firefighter gets his job back
A firefighter sacked for being overweight has been reinstated after
a campaign by his union, FBU. Talks between the union and Grampian Fire
and Rescue Service brokered by mediator Acas also averted a possible
strike. Risks
367
Hazards news, 2 August 2008
USA: Secret
Bush rule to protect toxins
The Bush administration has been caught trying to introduce secretly
an eleventh-hour rule that would make it harder to set new safety standards
limiting workers’ exposure to chemicals. The Labor Department
has refused to discuss or disclose the proposal, which has spurred anger
and condemnation from unions, Democrats in Congress and public health
scientists. Washington
Post and related
earlier coverage • AFL-CIO
Now • Requirements for DOL Agencies' Assessment of Occupational
Health Risks. Action: Proposed Rulemaking. Department of Labor, RI 1290-AA23 [pdf] • Risks
366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008
Holland:
Solvent repro hazards prompt review
The Dutch government has ordered a review of workplace solvent health
effects after new studies added to evidence of a significant reproductive
risk in exposed workers. The Dutch State Secretary for Social Affairs
has asked the Health Council of the Netherlands to investigate the issue. ETUI-HESA
news report • Occupational exposure to organic solvents:
effects on human reproduction, Health Council of the Netherlands,
2008 [pdf] • Risks
366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008
Britain: Government
plans in need of rehabilitation
Government efforts to get the long-term sick off benefits and back to
work risk being undermined by low levels of rehabilitation support in
the workplace, according to a survey. The Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development’s (CIPD) Annual Absence Management Survey 2008
found over a third (36 per cent) of employers offer no rehabilitation
support. Risks
366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008
Britain: Physiotherapists
want work fitness role
Physios’ union CSP has welcomed a government decision to pilot
an NHS-based Fit for Work service. Commenting on the decision, revealed
in the DWP welfare reform green paper, chief executive Phil Gray said:
“Physiotherapists are ideally placed to provide the advice and
treatment that will keep people in work and help people return to work,
reducing sickness absenteeism and increasing productivity.” Risks
366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008
Britain:
'Work for benefits' plan criticised
Unemployed people will be forced to work for their benefits, as part
of welfare reforms unveiled by work and pensions secretary James Purnell.
The Welfare Green Paper includes plans to scrap incapacity benefit and
make those jobless for more than two years work full-time in the community;
critics says the proposals duck the issue of the availability of suitable,
decent jobs, instead blaming the victims for their plight. Hazards
Campaign news release • Risks
366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008
Britain: Rolls-Royce
fined for dangerous exposures
Rolls-Royce has been fined £120,000 for failing to ensure that
five of its agency staff were sufficiently protected against dangerous
substances. Derby Crown Court heard the workers developed ill effects,
including skin rashes, bowel problems and breathing difficulties, while
decommissioning a light alloy foundry at the firm's plant in Osmaston
Road, Derby, between July and October 2005. HSE COSHH
webpages • Risks
366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008
Europe: ETUC
wants paint stripper outlawed
Europe’s trade union confederation ETUC is calling for a blanket
ban on paint strippers that contain dichloromethane. The union made
its position clear as the European Parliament's (EP) Environment Committee
prepares to publish its opinion on a Commission proposal to restrict
the sale and use of products containing the chemical.
European Commission proposal [pdf] • Risks
364
Hazards news, 12 July 2008
Europe:
Production and reproduction - the risks
A new guide from the ETUC’s safety thinktank, HESA, sets out to
improve awareness of work-related reproductive hazards. ‘Production
and reproduction: Stealing the health of future generations’ says
potential risks include chemicals, ionising radiation, vibration, heat,
biological agents and stress. Adverse effects include male and female
infertility, miscarriages, birth defects and impaired child development.
Production and reproduction: Stealing the health of future generations,
ISBN 978-287452126-6, 10 Euros. Order
online • Risks
364
Hazards news, 12 July 2008
USA: Welding
firms pay for manganese disease
US firms facing thousands of compensation claims from manganese-exposed
welders with serious nervous system disease, have been paying millions
to scientists who have then produced papers denying any link between
the metal and “manganism”, a Parkinson’s-type condition. Mother
Jones • Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
USA:
Beryllium firm caught in spin mode
A major US firm that denied outright having used notorious industry
spin doctors to block regulatory action on highly dangerous beryllium
was lying, evidence suggests. Earlier this year, David Michaels and
Celeste Monforton of the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public
Policy (SKAPP) published a paper, ‘Beryllium’s public relations
problem: Protecting workers when there is no safe exposure level,’
criticising beryllium giant Brush Wellman for its efforts to prevent
workplace safety agency OSHA and the US Department of Energy from lowering
exposure limits for the highly toxic metal, linked to problems including
cancer and debilitating lung and other diseases. DefendingScience.org and documents
relating to Brush Wellman • SKAPP
case study: Beryllium - Science or public relations? • Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: Get working
on occupational health
TUC’s new occupational health workbook is now available free online.
Over the next year, the TUC hopes that around 15,000 workplace safety
reps can be trained using the new guide, 'Occupational health: Dealing
with the issues'.
Occupational health: Dealing with the issues [pdf] • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
USA: Does
popcorn poison cause Parkinson’s?
A top expert on diacetyl, the chemical responsible for an outbreak of
the potentially fatal lung disease ‘popcorn lung’, now fears
it could also be linked to Parkinson’s disease. David Egilman,
a physician and clinical associate professor at Brown University in
the US, says he is aware of two cases of Parkinson’s disease in
men who were flavourists at Givaudan in Cincinnati, a large flavourings
company. The
Pump Handle • Seattle
Post-Intelligencer ‘Secret Ingredients’ blog • Hazards diacetyl webpages • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
USA:
Diabetes higher in pesticide sprayers
People who spray pesticides have a higher risk of diabetes than the
rest of the population, according to a new study. Scientists from the
US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) found
that people who spent more than 100 days using chlorinated bug sprays
were 20 to 200 per cent more likely to get diabetes, depending on which
chemical they worked with. NIEHS
news release • MP Montgomery and others. Incident
diabetes and pesticide exposure among licensed pesticide applicators:
Agricultural health study, 1993-2003, American Journal of Epidemiology,
volume 167, pages 1235-1246, 2008 [abstract] • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain:
Strains follow workers out of the office
More than two thirds of workers now suffer from repetitive strain injury,
costing £300 million in lost working hours, a new study has found.
The research from Microsoft revealed cases soared by more than 30 per
cent last year because more staff than ever work both inside and outside
the office. Microsoft
webpage and report, Ergonomics and repetitive strain injury [pdf] • Daily
Mail • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain:
Common solvents threaten fertility
Men regularly exposed to chemicals found in paint and other common products
may be more prone to fertility problems, UK research as indicated. Men
such as painters and decorators, who work with a family of solvents
called glycol ethers, are two-and-a-half times more likely to produce
fewer “normal” sperm; the findings reinforce warnings issued
in 1983 by the US authorities about reproductive hazards to both male
and female workers from occupational exposure to certain glycol ethers. Sheffield
University news release • Science
Daily news release • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Payouts
for stone dust disease
Two foundry workers who developed silicosis, one of the longest recognised
occupational lung diseases, have received compensation. The Unite members,
who both worked in the melting department of Federal Mogul’s Southwick
factory on Wearside, have received “substantial” payouts
in an out of court settlement. Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Sunderland
Echo • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: A dangerous
case of compost lung
A retired council worker had half a lung removed after developing a
disease caused by inhaling fungal spores released by rotting vegetation.
He believes the condition may have been caused by exposure to compost. Barnsley
Chronicle • Risks
357
Hazards news, 24 May 2008
Britain: Injured
then sacked by ‘cavalier’ council
A Scottish roadworker who was fired by a “cavalier” council
after taking time off sick after a workplace injury has won an unfair
dismissal and disability discrimination claim. GMB member James McGrath,
52, was awarded more than £25,000 compensation by an employment
tribunal. Clydebank Post • Risks
357
Hazards news, 24 May 2008
Britain: TUC slams
CBI’s sick response
The CBI should quit its bellyaching about sickness levels and do something
to make work less sickening, the TUC has said. Commenting after the
publication of employers’ organisation’s annual absence
survey, TUC said the CBI should acknowledge sickness rates are falling
and instead of making claims about the cost of “sickies”,
should instead encourage employers to address the unhealthy workplaces
and work practices that are making workers sick. CBI
news release • Scotsman • The
Guardian • Risks
356
Hazards news, 17 May 2008
Bangladesh:
Synthetic materials harm garment workers
Synthetic materials used in Bangladesh’s massive ready-made garment
(RMG) sector are causing widespread ill-health in the industry’s
workforce. The
Daily Star • Risks
355
Hazards news, 10 May 2008
Britain: Care
assistants face back breaking work
Healthcare assistants need better training if they are to escape career-ending
injuries, the health service union UNISON has warned. The union alert
came after a UNISON member suffered a serious back injury, forcing her
to give up the job she loved. Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
355
Hazards news, 10 May 2008
Britain:
Safety reps get well active!
The TUC is to train up thousands of workplace safety reps to target
prevention efforts at the work-related health problems that affect over
two million workers. A new occupational health guide from TUC intends
to improve the skills and activity level of safety reps. Over the next
year, the TUC hopes that around 15,000 workplace safety reps can be
trained using the new educational workbook, ‘Occupational health:
Dealing with the issues’. TUC
news release • Unionlearn • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
USA:
Doctors feel push to downplay injuries
A leading group of US occupational doctors has spoken out against
pressure from companies to downplay workplace injuries. “Our members
feel they are being methodically pressured... to under-treat and mistreat,"
said Dr Robert McLellan, president of the American College of Occupational
and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). Charlotte
Observer • Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
USA: Formaldehyde
linked to Lou Gehrig's disease
New preliminary research suggests that exposure to the chemical formaldehyde,
present in workplaces from laboratories to hospitals to MDF factories,
could greatly increase a person's chances of developing Lou Gehrig's
disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Those who
reported more than 10 years of exposure to formaldehyde were almost
four times more likely to develop ALS.
Marc Weisskopf and others. Prospective study of chemical exposures
and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mortality, AAN Meeting 2008;
Abstract # S25.005. AAN news release [pdf] • Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Britain: Tiny
fine for massive brick maker
The world’s largest clay brick and tile manufacturer has received
a £2,000 fine after two employees developed a classic metal fume
related occupational disease. Wienerberger Ltd pleaded guilty to two
breaches of the chemical control regulations COSHH following an incident
in May 2007 which led to one of the employees being hospitalised with
welding fume fever. HSE
news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain:
Experts highlight spreading cancer risks
A global epidemic of preventable industrial cancers is killing hundreds
of thousands each year because governments and employers are failing
to take simple and effective preventive action. Top cancer prevention
experts and trade union officers and workplace reps from around the
world, meeting in Scotland later this month will reveal the full extent
of the problem and will call for the use of safer substances and processes
and a phase out of the worst cancer-causing culprits. Stirling
University news release • Global
union zero cancer campaign • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Australia: Work
exposures up vet miscarriage risk
Female vets run twice the risk of miscarriage as a result of exposure
to anaesthetic gases and pesticides, suggests a study. Women carrying
out surgery and exposed to anaesthetic gases that were not filtered
out of the atmosphere, for an hour or more a week, were almost 2.5 times
more likely to miscarry, those who used pesticides during the course
of their work were also twice as likely to miscarry, and those who performed
more than five x-rays a week were around 80 per cent more likely to
miscarry than those performing fewer procedures. Maternal occupational
exposures and risk of spontaneous abortion in veterinary practice Online
First, Occupational
and Environmental Medicine, 3 April 2008, doi: 10.1136/OEM.2007.035246 [abstract] • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
USA:
Laundry work infection risk probed
The US government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) is investigating several cases of laundry and housekeeping workers
suspected of having become infected with HIV as a result of needlestick
injuries at work. Between 1981 and 2006, the CDC documented two cases
of laundry and housekeeping employees who were infected with HIV as
a result of occupational exposure to blood and identified 13 more possible
cases. American
Laundry News • Risks
349
Hazards news, 29 March 2008
Britain: Health
service urged to drop allergy gloves
Medical experts are calling for action to reduce the potentially fatal
risks to health service staff posed by latex. ‘Latex allergy:
Occupational aspects of management’, new guidelines from the Royal
College of Physicians and NHS Plus, falls short of calling for a total
ban on latex gloves, with union safety experts warning the strategy
might also fall foul of the COSHH regulations, which require substitution
of hazardous substances were suitable, safer alternatives are available. RCP
news release • ‘Latex
allergy: Occupational aspects of management’ is available on the
RCP [pdf] and NHS Plus websites [pdf] • Risks
349
Hazards news, 29 March 2008
Britain: Healthy
work requires good work
Unions have said all workers need good jobs as well as comprehensive
occupational health support if the workforce is to become healthier.
Commenting on the publication this week of Dame Carol Black’s
review of health and work, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said:
“Ministers need to come up with practical solutions based on prevention,
early access to rehabilitation, and universal occupational health coverage,”
adding workers needed ‘good work’ not just any work and
“this will only happen if the government clamps down hard on employers
who exploit their staff through bad conditions, long hours, or stressful
workloads.” TUC
news release • Risks
348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008
Britain: Work plan
won’t work without resources
There are concerns about the ability of a resource-challenged NHS to
take on the new role outlined in this week’s ‘Working for
a healthier tomorrow’ blueprint. David Coats, associate director
of policy at The Work Foundation, said: “Most GPs have little
understanding of the relationship between work and health and limited
expertise in occupational health,” adding: “GPs may be under-resourced
and ill-equipped to take on the responsibilities envisaged in Dame Carol’s
proposals.” BMA
news release • IOSH
news release • HSC
news release • HSE
Health Work and Wellbeing webpages • Hazards
work and health webpages • Risks
348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008
Britain: Rethink
urged over work and health
There is a need for an urgent and comprehensive reform of Britain’s
approach to health and work, a government-initiated review has concluded.
Launching ‘Working for a healthier tomorrow’, national director
for health and work Dame Carol Black said the report’s proposals
focus on keeping people healthy at work, and also on helping them return
to work if they get ill. Health
Work and Wellbeing news release, ‘Working for a healthier
tomorrow’ report [pdf] and summary of evidence submitted [pdf] • The
Guardian • BBC
News Online report and Q&A
on the report • Risks
348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008
Britain: Warning
on new incapacity test
Vulnerable workers could lose out as a result of changes to the current
incapacity test, the government has been warned. The union GMB and safety
professionals’ organisation IOSH issued separate alerts after
chancellor Alastair Darling announced the new rules in his March 2008
Budget. GMB
news release • IOSH
news release • Risks
348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008
Britain: Latex payout
but no job for young nurse
A young nurse who had to give up the profession after developing a potentially
deadly latex allergy has received a six figure payout. UNISON member
Tanya Dodd, 25, was a trainee nurse at Scarborough General Hospital
when she developed type 1 latex allergy from gloves she wore routinely
as part of her job. UNISON
news release • BBC
News Online • Risks
348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008
Global:
New chemicals health monitor
The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) has launched a new Chemicals
Health Monitor website - an online source of information about chemicals
and related diseases. HEAL says the new resource “provides a comprehensive
compilation of recent information and evidence” about the links
between chemical contaminants and ill-health. HEAL
news release • Chemicals
Health Monitor website • Risks
347
Hazards news, 15 March 2008
Britain: Lead exposure
still a problem
The number of workers under medical surveillance for lead exposure rose
last year. In 2006/07, 8,697 workers were monitored for blood levels
of the metal, which can cause serious occupational health problems including
cancer, anaemia, kidney and brain damage in chronically exposed workers. HSE
lead statistics • Risks
347
Hazards news, 15 March 2008
Britain:
Government busy doing nothing on diacetyl
In an 11 March written answer to a parliamentary question from Liberal
Democrat MP Mike Hancock on diacetyl risks in the UK, DWP parliamentary
under-secretary of state Anne McGuire replied: “No research has
been commissioned by the government or the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE). However, the Health and Safety Executive accepted the evidence
from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the
United States of America as the basis for alerting the food industry
to the potential inhalation risks to workers from diacetyl in 2004”
- a reported UK case resulted from workplace diacetyl exposures in 2005. Food:
Industrial health and safety, Hansard written answer, 11
March 2008
Hazards news, 15 March 2008
Britain: HSE issues
low key diacetyl warning
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has put out a low key, two-paragraph,
warning about the risk from diacetyl, a food flavouring that is widely
used in the UK and that has been linked to hundreds of cases of serious
occupational lung disease in the US. HSE
diacetyl alert • I
can't believe it's not deadly: Food flavour wrecks lungs, Hazards
magazine diacetyl feature and resources • NIOSH
flavourings topic page • Risks
347
Hazards news, 15 March 2008
Holland: Roadside
workers face brain peril
Half an hour of sniffing diesel fumes in a busy city street is enough
to induce a "stress response" in the brain and could cause
lasting problems, according to a new study. Scientists have known nanoparticles
– which include particulate matter in diesel exhaust fumes - reach
the brain when inhaled, but this is the first time they have been shown
to affect how we process information.
Bjoern Cruts, Ludo van Etten, Hakan Tornqvist, Anders Blomberg, Thomas
Sandstrom, Nicholas L Mills, Paul JA Borm. Exposure to diesel exhaust
induces changes in EEG in human volunteers, Particle and Fibre
Toxicology, volume 5, number 4, 2008 [abstract and full paper (provisional
pdf)] • Risks
347
Hazards news, 15 March 2008
Britain:
Study links radiation to heart disease
A study of nearly 65,000 UK nuclear industry workers over more than
60 years has found a possible link between high radiation exposure and
heart disease.
Dave McGeoghegan, Keith Binks, Michael Gillies, Steve Jones, and Steve
Whaley. The non-cancer mortality experience of male workers at British
Nuclear Fuels plc, 1946–2005, International Journal of Epidemiology
Advance Access, published online on 4 March 2008 [full
paper and abstract] • Risks
346
Hazards news, 8 March 2008
Britain: UNISON
warning on well note move
There must be more investigation into the concept of well notes before
they are introduced as an alternative to sicknotes, public sector union
UNISON has said. UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said the union
welcomed the government’s recognition that more needs to be done
to get people on long term sick back into work, but added: “Staff
go on long term sick leave for many reasons, often due to the work they
do itself.” UNISON
news release • Risks
346
Hazards news, 8 March 2008
Britain: Injured
firefighters go to court
Firefighters have started legal moves to challenge new government pension
rules that are leaving badly injured and disabled firefighters sacked
and without a pension. Their union, FBU, described the treatment of
workers suffering injuries or occupational diseases as “totally
unacceptable.” FBU
news release • Risks
346
Hazards news, 8 March 2008
Britain:
Lung destroying disease reaches the UK
A union organisation has repeated its call for global action on a lung-destroying
occupational disease which has affected hundreds in the USA, after it
was revealed the first case had been identified in the UK. Global foodworkers’
union federation IUF said regulatory action and medical surveillance
of food workers exposed to the flavouring ingredient diacetyl, the cause
of bronchiolitis obliterans, have so far elicited no response by health
and safety agencies in Europe. IUF
news release • Irwin
Mitchell solicitors news release • I can’t
believe it’s not deadly: Food flavour wrecks lungs, Hazards magazine, Number 101, January-March 2008 • Risks
345
Hazards news, 1 March 2008
Britain: Garage work
deafened man
A Manchester man has been awarded a £6,000 compensation payout
after he developed noise induced hearing loss caused by power tool and
engine noise exposure whilst working as a mechanic for North Western
British Road Services Limited. Terry Howarth, 51, was exposed to noise
from air tools, sledge hammers, steam cleaners, air lines, grinders,
engine noise and drills. Risks 344
Hazards news, 23 February 2008
Britain: Sick workers
need sick leave and support
Trade unions have called for more efforts to ensure sick workers are
allowed the time and resources to recuperate properly and for decent
job opportunities for those with disabilities. Risks
344
Hazards news, 23 February 2008
Britain: Government
calls for “well notes”
Health secretary Alan Johnson has said he wants to see doctors to shift
away from sicknotes and instead to issue “well notes,” setting
out what tasks a worker can perform instead of certificates automatically
signing them off. The move has led to concern in both trade unions and
the medical profession, with doctors’ leaders saying GPs should
not be used to “police the system”. Department
of Health news release • NHS
Employers news release • Risks
344
Hazards news, 23 February 2008
France:
Gruelling work linked to early retirement
Older manual workers in France are more likely to retire early or be
registered economically inactive than the workforce as a whole, with
their tough jobs and poor health identified as a key reason why. French
employment ministry researchers explored the link between the hardships
of work and early departure from the workforce using the findings of
a 2003 national health survey. ETUI-REHS
report summary • Risks
342
Hazards news, 9 February 2008
Britain: New construction
site health tool
In a bid to help the construction industry tackle occupational health
issues, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a new online
resource, Construction Occupational Health Management Essentials (COHME).
HSE says last year 1.8 million days were lost in the construction industry
due to work related ill-health compared to 0.9 million days lost due
to accidents. Construction
Occupational Health Management Essentials (COHME) • Risks
342
Hazards news, 9 February 2008
Britain:
Strain injury leads to forced retirement
A factory worker from Port Talbot who was medically retired after suffering
a repetitive strain injury (RSI) has received almost £17,000 in
compensation. Unite member Barbara Newall’s job was to bag the
accessories that accompanied a DVD player; this included a remote control,
a battery pack, an RF cable and, in some cases, an additional RF lead
- she would pack approximately 4,500 bags per day. Thompsons
Solicitors new release RSI Action Day, Friday 29 February: Unions can order a special 'Repeat
after me' RSI day poster from the Hazards Campaign • 'Repeat
after me' poster • Email
the Hazards Campaign for poster order details • Risks
341
Hazards news, 2 February 2008
Britain:
Shiftwork linked early retirement in women
Shiftwork may increase the risk of enforced early retirement among women,
suggests new research. Researchers used information from just under
8,000 male and female employees, who were part of the Danish Work Environment
Cohort Study, which began in 1990, and data from the national welfare
register.
Finn Tüchsen, Karl Bang Christensen, Thomas Lund, and Helene Feveile, A 15 year prospective study of shift work and disability pension,
Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Published Online First: 15
January 2008. doi:10.1136/oem.2007.036525 [Abstract] • Risks
339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008
Britain:
Miners hit by compensation failures
Sick miners and their families have lost out on compensation because
of administrative failures, according to an official report. Legal Services
Complaints Commissioner Zahida Manzoor said different awards were being
made depending on a “bewildering array” of circumstances,
such as support from a local MP and conduct of solicitors involved in
taking claims under the government scheme for miners’ respiratory
diseases and vibration white finger.
OLSCC news release [pdf] and special report [pdf] • Risks
339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008
USA: Deadly lung
risk to kitchen staff
Restaurant workers could face serious health risks from exposure to
the flavouring ingredient diacetyl. The chemical, an artificial butter
flavouring, is a common ingredient in the margarines, shortenings and
cooking oils and sprays used in commercial kitchens and has been found
to cause the lung-destroying condition bronchiolitis obliterans in popcorn
workers, but the risk to other groups of workers has been largely overlooked. IUF
news release • Seattle
Post-Intelligencer and follow
up article on union call for action • The
Pump Handle • Risks
338
Hazards news,12 January 2008
USA: Farm
women’s asthma risk from pesticides
A study suggests farm women who have contact with some common pesticides
are at far greater risk of developing allergic asthma. Researchers at
the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) found
an average increase of 50 per cent in the prevalence of allergic asthma
in all farm women who applied or mixed pesticides. American
Thoracic Society news release • Jane A Hoppin and others. Pesticides and atopic and nonatopic asthma among farm women in the
Agricultural Health Study, American Journal of Respiratory and
Critical Care Medicine, volume 177, pages 11-18, 2008 [abstract] • Risks
338
Hazards news,12 January 2008
Britain: Five
years to deafen a worker
A 40-year-old Lancashire man has been deafened by just five years of
periodic exposure to excessive workplace noise. Mark Bulcock received
£5,000 in damages after he lost his hearing because of the noisy
machines at the sock manufacturer where he worked. Irwin
Mitchell news release • Risks
338
Hazards news,12 January 2008
Britain: More
vibration, more payouts
A boilermaker from Port Talbot whose hands have been permanently damaged
from regular use of vibrating tools has been paid compensation from
four employers with the support of his trade union GMB. The man, aged
50, whose name has not been released, has been employed by four different
companies during his working life and has been regularly exposed to
excessive vibration from tools such as grinders, pistol drills, large
drills, needle guns and impact wrenches. Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
338
Hazards news,12 January 2008
USA:
Chemicals linked to nurse ill-health
A national survey of US nurses’ exposures to chemicals, pharmaceuticals
and radiation at work suggests there are links between serious health
problems such as cancer, asthma, miscarriages and children’s birth
defects and the duration and intensity of these exposures. The survey,
released online last week by the Environmental Working Group and several
other US academic, advocacy and nursing organisations, found nurses
confront daily low-level but repeated exposures to mixtures of hazardous
materials. EWG news release • Nurses’
health: A survey on health and chemical exposures
Hazards news, 22 December 2007
Pakistan:
Cotton pickers suffer pesticide poisoning
Pakistan's cotton-picking women are suffering pesticide poisoning symptoms
ranging from mild headaches and skin allergies to cancer, a study has
shown. The research by the Islamabad-based Sustainable Development Policy
Institute (SDPI), found that blood samples of only 10 per cent of the
female cotton pickers were clear of pesticides after the harvesting
season. Dawn • SDPI
Research and News Bulletin, volume 14, number 3, 2007
Hazards news, 22 December 2007
Britain: Dawson’s
driver develops diesel dermatitis
A delivery driver who developed irritant contact dermatitis when diesel
splashed on his hand is to receive £1,800 compensation. Dawson
Holdings plc employee William Smith, 54, was filling his work van with
diesel using a hand held nozzle, when diesel blew back from the tank
of the van and went directly onto his hands. Thompsons
Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 15 December 2007
Britain:
Vibration permanently harms man’s hands
A 24-year-old crack tester from Doncaster who says he was forced out
of his job after vibrating tools permanently damaged his hands has received
a £30,000 compensation settlement. Unite member Dean Grice was
employed by MSI Forks Ltd, a firm making forks for forklift trucks,
and developed vibration white finger and carpal tunnel syndrome. Thompsons
Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 15 December 2007
USA: Illness
lays low 11 at pork plant
Eleven workers at a pork processing plant in Austin, Minnesota, fell
ill between last December and July with a neurological disorder whose
cause remains unknown, state health officials have said. The condition
afflicting five of the workers at Quality Pork Processors Inc has been
identified as a rare disease called chronic inflammatory demyelinating
polyneuropathy or CIDP, which normally strikes fewer than two people
per 100,000 - in this instance, it may have struck 11 out of about 100
people in a particular part of the plant, state officials said.
Minnesota Department of Health news
release, webpage and factsheet [pdf]
Hazards news, 8 December 2007
Britain: Controversy
over mental health measures
The government will treble the number of employment advisers in GP surgeries
and pilot a new £8m advice and support service for smaller businesses
as part of a new approach it says will help people with stress and other
mental health conditions find and keep work. The drive to get people
with mental health problems off benefits and into work has been criticised
by mental health charity Mind. DWP
news release • Mind
news release
Hazards news, 1 December 2007
Britain: TUC
says sort out work hazards not workers
Many employers have a healthier appetite for addressing their employees’
diet, exercise and smoking habits than addressing the work-related causes
of ill-health, the TUC has said. In a TUC submission to Dame Carol Black’s
review of the health of the working age population, the TUC says employers’
attempts to encourage healthy living are most effective when they look
at how work can contribute to or cause lifestyle problems and warns
against employers moralising over lifestyle issues, like drug and alcohol
use. TUC
news release and full
response to the consultation
Hazards news, 1 December 2007
Britain:
Inspector unearths more dust disease
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Andrea Robbins has unearthed
a second case of a stonemason suffering a potentially fatal dust disease.
Silica dust levels had previously been found to be over 100 times than
the current legal exposure limit. HSE
news release
Hazards news, 24 November 2007
Britain:
Concerns about new work capability tests
Disability, work policy and union organisations have warned changes
next year to the incapacity benefit system risk penalising and harassing
the sick and those with disabilities. The TUC said returning the sick
to work required cooperation, not coercion. Mind
news release • Disability
Alliance news release
Hazards news, 24 November 2007
Britain: 'Tougher'
work tests for disabled
New incapacity benefit tests planned for next year mean fewer sick and
disabled people will qualify as being unable to work. The new work capability
assessment, which will cover the entire UK, is being introduced alongside
the employment support allowance - which will replace incapacity benefits
for new claimants from next autumn. DWP
news release • Transformation
of the Personal Capability Assessment - Technical Working Group's Phase
2 Evaluation Report
Hazards news, 24 November 2007
Britain: Workplace
health project a costly flop
A multi-million pound government funded project designed to provide
advice on workplace health issues to small and medium-sized firms is
failing dramatically in achieving this goal, with almost 9 out of 10
calls received not workplace health-related. An Institution for Employment
Studies evaluation of Workplace Health Connect’s (WHC) first 16
months in operation has found “the data demonstrates that the
adviceline is primarily of interest to employers as a source of advice
about safety related matters, although about 11 per cent of callers
did ring with a specific health enquiry.”
Workplace Health Connect: July Progress report, HSE, published online
30 October 2007 [pdf] • Workplace
Health Connect • Hazards magazine work
and health webpages
Hazards news, 3 November 2007
Britain: Workers
need mental health support
Family doctors need to do more to help people with mental health problems
make a productive return to work, a new report has concluded. CIPD
news release
Hazards news, 17 November 2007
Britain: What
you don’t know is killing us
The government’s “work is good for you” push is missing
one inconvenient truth – a combination of job insecurity, punitive
sick leave policies, a failure to recognise the extent of the country’s
work-related health crisis and a lack of official health and safety
enforcement means for many work is bad and getting worse. Dame blast
– To Hain and Black: What you don’t know is killing us,
Hazards magazine, October-December 2007 • Hazards
work and health webpages • Working
for Health news release
Hazards news, 17 November 2007
Nicaragua/USA:
US payout awarded over pesticide
A US jury has awarded a total of $3.3m (£1.58m) to six workers
who claim they were left sterile by a pesticide used at a banana plantation
in Nicaragua. The workers accused Dole and Standard Fruit Co and Dow
Chemical Co of concealing the dangers posed by the pesticide, used in
the 1970s. BBC
News Online
Hazards news, 10 November 2007
Global:
IUF calls for action on lung destroyer
A global union body is demanding urgent control measures on the food
flavouring diacetyl, a widely used chemical that can destroy workers’
lungs. IUF, the international federation for foodworkers’ unions,
says the ingredient in artificial butter flavours has been shown to
cause disabling and sometimes fatal illnesses in exposed workers. IUF
news release • Food
Navigator
Hazards news, 10 November 2007
Britain:
TUC dismay at rise in workplace ill-health
The TUC has expressed dismay at new official figures showing a dramatic
rise in work-related ill-health. Commenting on statistics released this
week by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) which showed a 10 per
cent upturn in health problems related to work, TUC general secretary
Brendan Barber said the figures were “very disappointing.” TUC
news release • HSC/E
stats news release • HSE news
release and statistics
webpages
Hazards news, 3 November 2007
Britain: Planes
boycott by airline staff
Some crew at a leading budget airline are refusing to fly part of the
company's fleet, saying poor air quality is putting them and passengers
at risk. Flybe staff raised the concerns about the company's British
Aerospace 146 fleet. BBC
News Online • Metro • Toxic
Free Airlines • Aerotoxic
Association
Hazards news, 27 October 2007
Europe: Union dismay
at EMF law delay
A European law intended to protect workers from possible health risks
caused by electromagnetic fields, is to be delayed for four years. The
TUC believes the MRI issue could have been dealt with without shelving
what was intended solely as a workplace health and safety measure -
electromagnetic radiation has been linked to high rates of breast cancer
in flight attendants and to cancers and other health effects in other
groups of workers, including railway staff and microchip workers. The
Guardian • BBC
News Online • Trade
union cancer campaign
Hazards news, 27 October 2007
Britain:
Grass cutting caused vibration injury
A council gardener has developed debilitating vibration white finger
(VWF) as a result of cutting grass with strimmers and mowers. GMB member
Robert Llewellyn received £3,000 compensation from Cardiff County
Council. Thompsons
Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 27 October 2007
Europe: ETUC goes
on the strains offensive
Unions in Europe are being urged to join “a massive offensive”
against workplace strain injuries. John Monks, ETUC general secretary,
said: “We want to launch a mass trade union offensive focused
on work organisation to stem these rapidly-spreading work-related illnesses.”
ETUC news release [pdf] • Conference
papers
Hazards news, 20 October 2007
Britain: ‘Work
while you’re sick’ is hurting firms
Pressure to stagger into work when sick is hurting workers and damaging
productivity, commitment levels and motivation, according to research
from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Its ‘Quality of
Working Life’ found 1 in 3 managers believe a culture of not taking
time off work for sickness exists in their organisation. CMI
news release • Quality
of Working Life report, executive summary
Hazards news, 20 October 2007
Britain: Business
says business is bad to workers
A top business organisation has urged companies to put the health of
the nation’s workforce on to the boardroom agenda, after its research
revealed “apathy” on the issue was damaging both workers’
health and productivity. Business in the Community (BITC) said its research
has revealed that a third of workers (31 per cent) feel their health
is neglected at work, while six in 10 (62 per cent) “don’t
believe bosses consider staff as assets worth investing in.” BITC
news release
Hazards news, 20 October 2007
Britain: How unhealthy
are the nation’s workers?
The government has launched what it claims is the first ever review
of the health of the working-age population. Dame Carol Black, the government’s
national director for health and work, launched the “call for
evidence”; the intention is to identify the action “government,
business and the medical profession should take to improve the health
of working age people and help more people who develop health problems
to remain in or quickly return to work.” DWP
news release • Call
for evidence: deadline for responses 7 November 2007 Why bad work is
not a good idea. Safety reps’ guide to occupational health services
Hazards news, 20 October 2007
USA:
Work linked to deadly autoimmune diseases
Occupational exposures in farming and industry may be linked to higher
death rates from systemic autoimmune diseases, a new study has found.
The conditions involve the immune system attacking the body's own tissues,
damaging organs. Science Daily.
LS Gold and others. Systemic autoimmune disease mortality and occupational
exposures, Arthritis & Rheumatism, volume 56, issue 10, pages
3189–3201, 2007 [abstract] • More on the
diseases linked to work, including
the Hazards detective
Hazards news, 13 October 2007
Britain: Stonemason
develops deadly silica disease
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned quarrying companies
and stonemasons of the risk from the potentially fatal disease silicosis,
if adequate measures to monitor and prevent exposure to respirable crystalline
silica (RCS) are not in place. The alert came after a quarry owner was
fined for breaches of the COSHH chemical control regulations and the
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations
(RIDDOR) – he had failed to notify the HSE of a reportable work
disease, silicosis. HSE
news release
Hazards news, 13 October 2007
Global: Work
stress linked to heart risk
People who go back to a stressful job after a heart attack are more
prone to a second attack than those whose work is not stressful. Canadian
researchers followed over 1,000 patients returning to work and found
those with job strain were twice as likely to fall ill. JAMA
news release • Corine Aboa-Éboulé and others. Job strain and risk of acute recurrent coronary heart disease events,
Journal of the American Medical Association, volume 298, number 14,
pages 1652-1660, 2007 [abstract] • Hazards
worked to death webpages
Hazards news, 13 October 2007
Europe:
Getting to grips with strain injuries
Three simple letters - MSD – identify the leading cause of occupational
illness in Europe, according the European trade union safety thinktank,
REHS. Its new guide to musculoskeletal disorders – MSDs –
provides a “summary of the current scientific knowledge of this
complex group of pathologies, examines the connection between MSD and
changes in the organisation of work and proposes ideas for a necessary
trade union mobilisation against this exploding health problem.” Musculoskeletal disorders. An ill-understood pandemic.Further
details and online order form
Hazards news, 6 October 2007
Britain:
Liverpool council workers poorly protected
Workers at Liverpool City Council are not being provided the legally
required level of occupational health support, the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) has said. HSE has issued the local authority with an
improvement notice requiring it to improve occupational health services
for its 19,000 staff or face legal action. Liverpool
Daily Post • Hazards
guide to occupational health services
Hazards news, 6 October 2007
Britain: Health
and safety and disability equality
The Health and Safety Executive says it new ‘health and safety
for disabled people and their employers’ web resource “promotes
good practice in disability equality at work and health and safety risk
assessment.” HSE says the microsite provides: An introduction
to disability discrimination and health and safety law; advice for people
doing health and safety risk assessments; advice for disabled people;
and links to further sources of information, including grants. HSE
safety and disability equality microsite
Hazards news, 29 September 2007
Britain: Airline
cabins to be tested for fumes
Pilots’ union BALPA has welcomed a government decision to test
the cabins of commercial jets for toxic fumes. The move comes after
a government-backed report called for an investigation into whether
pilots are being disorientated by poor quality air.
Statement from BALPA to the Committee on Toxicity [pdf] • Committee on Toxicity update paper [pdf] and webpages
Hazards news, 29 September 2007
Britain: Six
figure payout for dental nurse allergy
A dental nurse who had to pack in work after developing occupational
dermatitis has received a £200,000 payout. The 50-year-old UNISON
member, who has not been named, worked for the Central Manchester Primary
Care Trust and developed the debilitating skin condition as a result
of using latex gloves between 1980 and 2004. Thompsons
Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 29 September 2007
Global:
Psychosocial risks and work-related stress
The World Health Organisation’s global occupational health network
(GOHNET) has in its latest newsletter turned its attention to psychosocial
risks and work-related stress. The document concentrates on countries
in economic transition and newly industrialised and developing countries,
but has a great deal of useful information for anyone interested in
these topics anywhere. WHO
occupational health webpages • Addressing psychosocial risks
and work-related stress in countries in economic transition, in newly
industrialized countries, and in developing countries, GOHNET Newsletter [pdf]
Hazards news, 22 September 2007
Global: Mum’s
job can affect the fetus
Workplace exposures in pregnancy can affect
the health of the fetus with workers in blue collar jobs at greatest
risk, researchers have found. The authors say the evidence suggests
workplace exposures may have negative effects on fetal development,
but add more research needs to be conducted on the reasons why the risk
is elevated in particular occupations.
Parvez Ahmed and Jouni JK Jaakkola. Maternal occupation and adverse
pregnancy outcomes: a Finnish population-based study, Occupational
Medicine, volume 57, Number 6, pages 417-423, 2007 [abstract] • OHS
reps, issue 123, 13 September 2007
Hazards news, 22 September 2007
Global: Pesticides
cause asthma in farmers
Exposure to several commonly used pesticides dramatically increases
the risk of asthma in farmers, new research suggests. This finding stems
from a study of nearly 20,000 farmers, which was presented at the European
Respiratory Society annual congress in Stockholm.
Pesticides associated With atopic and non-atopic asthma among farmers
in the Agricultural Health Study [abstract];
ERS congress presentation, 16 September 2007 • Daily
Mail
Hazards news, 22 September 2007
Britain: CBI
wants GP visits off the clock
Family doctors are costing business a billion pounds a year because
it is so hard to see them outside normal working hours, employers have
said – a claim which has been challenged forcefully by the British
Medical Association. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said
millions of staff were forced to take time off work to visit GPs because
they could not get evening or weekend appointments. CBI
news release • BMA
news release
Hazards news, 22 September 2007
Britain: Call
for more physios to help workers
Workplace strain injury victims are being let down by a shortage of
physiotherapists – yet most physio graduates are out of work.
Physio’s union CSP says just 24 per cent of physio graduates who
could be treating patients have a job. CSP
news release
Hazards news, 22 September 2007
Britain:
Docs pressed to send sick to work
The government has given another push to its contentious “work
is good for you” campaign. Unions and health campaigners have
warned that pressure on GPs to get patients back into work fails to
take into account that it is good work and not just any work that can
be good for you. DWP
news release • Why
bad work is not a good idea • Safety
reps’ guide to occupational health services
Hazards news, 15 September 2007
Britain:
Back to work push could be “dangerous”
Unions and health campaigners have warned that pushing injured workers
back into work too soon or without the necessary support could exacerbate
their problems. The warning comes after a new report said people with
conditions such as back pain and arthritis need to stay in work as much
as possible. The
Work Foundation news release • BBC
News Online • GMHC
news release [word]
Hazards news, 15 September 2007
USA:
Massive asthma rate in Ground Zero rescuers
A new health peril is hitting the estimated 40,000 rescue and recovery
workers who dug through the deadly rubble and toxic debris at Ground
Zero of New York’s World Trade Center. A survey has found they
are developing asthma at 12 times the normal rate for adults. New
York City Department of Health news release • AFL-CIO
Now
Hazards news, 8 September 2007
Europe:
ETUC strains conference, 9-10 October, Brussels
More than one in three European workers suffers from work-related musculoskeletal
disorders (MSDs), and the situation appears to be getting worse. The
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has decided to take action
by hosting a joint ‘On the offensive against MSDs’ conference
with its health and safety research arm, ETUI-REHS, in Brussels on 9
and 10 October 2007.
ETUC/ETUI-REHS MSD
conference, 9-10 October 2007, Brussels, Belgium
Hazards news, 25 August 2007
USA: Extra
screen breaks are healthy and productive
More frequent breaks from screen-based work reduce fatigue and increase
productivity, US government researchers have found. A team from the
US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) concluded:
“These results provide further converging evidence that supplementary
breaks reliably minimise discomfort and eyestrain without impairing
productivity.”
Traci Galinsky and others. Supplementary breaks and stretching exercises
for data entry operators: A follow-up field study, American Journal
of Industrial Medicine, volume 50, issue 7, pages 519–527, 2007 [abstract]
Hazards news, 18 August 2007
USA: Authorities
accept firefighter heart risks
Firefighters are dying heart attacks and other cardiovascular conditions
caused by their work and that could be prevented, the US National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has concluded. A new alert
from the official US workplace health research body says sudden cardiac
death represents the most common cause of on-duty firefighter fatalities,
killing about 45 firefighters each year. NIOSH
news release • NIOSH
Alert: Preventing firefighter fatalities due to heart attacks and other
sudden cardiovascular events
Hazards news, 11 August 2007
Britain: Asthma
risk for nurses and cleaners
Nurses and cleaners are much more likely as people with other jobs to
develop asthma, according to a new study. The study found that conditions
in the workplace may be causing up to 25 per cent of new asthma cases
in the developed world. ETUI-HESA
news report • Manolis Kogevinas and others. Exposure to
substances in the workplace and new-onset asthma: an international prospective
population-based study (ECRHS-II), The Lancet, volume 370, number
9584, pages 336-341, 28 July 2007 [abstract
– requires registration]
Hazards news, 11 August 2007
Britain: Probe call
into 'plane poisoning'
A union is demanding an investigation into suspected toxic gas poisoning
of an airline cabin crew. Two Flybe crew members reportedly collapsed
and became violently ill on a flight between Birmingham and George Best
Belfast City Airport. BBC
News Online • Toxic
Free Airlines • Aerotoxic
Association
Hazards news, 11 August 2007
Australia:
Office printers 'are health risk'
An office laser printer can damage lungs in much the same way as smoke
particles from cigarettes, a team of Australian scientists has found.
An investigation of a range of printer models showed that almost a third
emit potentially dangerous levels of toner into the air. Environmental
Science & Technology Online
Hazards news, 4 August 2007
Britain:
Upped work rate caused clerk's strain injury
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has paid out almost £500,000 after
an RAF computer clerk developed a chronic repetitive strain injury caused
by an increased work rate. A total of £484,000 in compensation
and legal costs was awarded following the onset of the condition in
the hand of the unnamed employee. Birmingham
Post
Hazards news, 4 August 2007
Canada: Smoke, fire
and Lou Gehrig's disease
At least seven out of 10,500 full-time firefighters in the Canadian
province of Ontario have recently developed Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
(ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, an incurable and fatal neurodegenerative
condition, investigations have found. Statistically, only one or two
people in 100,000 get the disease. Globe
and Mail
Hazards news, 28 July 2007
Britain:
CWU action on mail strains
Postal union CWU has launched a new guide to tackle the high rates of
workplace strains suffered by mail delivery staff. It says musculoskeletal
injuries in Royal Mail are running at over 10 times the rate for workplaces
overall.
CWU news release • CWU
safe working on delivery guide [pdf]
Hazards news, 28 July 2007
Britain: Nestlé
pays out for tennis elbow cases
Nestlé UK Ltd has paid compensation to four workers at the coffee
making giant's site at Burton on Trent after each of them developed
tennis elbow – mirroring the experiences of workers at another
of the company’s plants in Brazil. Steven Davis, received £11,000,
a colleague £4,000 and two other workers undisclosed sums after
developing the occupational strain injury. IUF
news release
Hazards news, 28 July 2007
Britain: Scheme
reveals official blindspot on work health
The National Audit Office report on the coal health compensation schemes
has cast serious doubt on Great Britain’s official occupational
disease estimates. The government’s original, wildly inaccurate,
forecast was that there would be a total of 218,000 vibration white
finger (VWF) and chronic obstructive airways disease claims under the
scheme, but the final claims total was over three times higher, at 760,000. Self-reported Work-related Illness and workplace injuries in 2005/06:
Results from the Labour Force Survey [pdf] • Coal
Health Compensation Schemes and headline
statistics
Hazards news, 21 July 2007
USA: Study on
black lung spots growing problem
Black lung, the archetypal occupational disease that blighted a past
working generation, is re-emerging an official US report has found.
Noting “hot spots” of advanced black lung disease in eastern
Kentucky and south western Virginia, the report says there are troubling
“gaps” in efforts to control dust in coal mines. Courier-Journal • Courier-Journal
Black Lung special reports
Hazards news, 14 July 2007
Britain: Pupils
screened after TB outbreak
More than 200 pupils at a Flintshire secondary school are being tested
for TB after a member of staff was diagnosed with the infection. Last
month, TUC published an online briefing for safety reps, outlining occupational
infection risks posed by TB. BBC
News Online • Hazards
infections webpages
Hazards news, 14 July 2007
USA:
Watchdog ordered to release exposure database
The US government’s workplace safety watchdog has wrongfully withheld
data documenting years of toxic exposures to workers and its own inspectors,
according to a federal court ruling. As a result, the world's largest
compendium of measurements of occupational exposures to toxic substances
- more than 2 million analyses conducted during some 75,000 Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) workplace inspections since
1979 - should now be available to researchers and policymakers. PEER
news release
Hazards news, 7 July 2007
Britain: More
work cancers than officials admit
Occupational cancers are killing more people that published official
estimates, new figures show. Research commissioned by the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) and presented to an HSE-organised seminar last
month concluded six cancers alone were responsible for 7,380 deaths
a year. HSE’s current estimate for all occupational cancers, published
on its website, is 23 per cent lower, putting the figure for all workplace
cancers at just 6,000 deaths a year. Risks
314, 7 July 2007 • Hazards work
and cancer webpages
Hazards news, 7 July 2007
Britain:
Pesticide wipes out worker’s memory
A pesticide-affected local authority groundsman went missing overnight
and was discovered by a colleague wandering in a park the following
day with no memory of what had happened. Andrew McKeith’s employer,
Macclesfield Borough Council, was fined a total of £6,000 and
ordered to pay £3,747 costs after pleading guilty to two HSE charges
at Macclesfield Magistrates Court. HSE
news release • Macclesfield
Express and related
report
Hazards news, 7 July 2007
Britain:
Whiteboard projector safety fears
Interactive whiteboards, now a common feature in UK schools, may pose
a threat to the eyesight of teachers and children. A whistleblower from
the whiteboard industry itself has pressed the authorities to investigate
potential problems and wants printed warnings alongside all screens
because of the light projected onto them. BBC
News Online • Becta
whiteboard safety advice • National
Whiteboard Network guide
Hazards news, 7 July 2007
Britain:
Bosses 'failing on staff health'
Almost a third of employers are failing to recognise the need to create
a healthy workplace, an Investors in People (IIP) survey has found.
According to the study of 900 firms, 31 per cent of bosses wrongly think
healthy working just means that their staff eat the right food during
the day. IIP
news release • BBC
News Online • Hazards
work and health webpages
Hazards news, 30 June 2007
Britain: Pilots
poisoned by toxic cabin air
Toxic fumes on planes are poisoning pilots and rendering them unable
to fly safely, say pilots, who are campaigning for “aerotoxic
syndrome” to be recognised as a disease. Two official investigations
are being opened after concerns that highly toxic fuel contaminants
are leaking into cabin air supply on commercial airliners in flight. Toxic
Free Airlines news release • Toxic
Free Airlines • Aerotoxic
Association • UNSW
aerotoxic syndrome webpages
Hazards news, 23 June 2007
Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines – YouTube
clip
Britain: Modern miner
gets deafness payout
A miner and GMB member whose hearing was severely damaged working for
just 11 years in modern coal mines has received a £4,500 payout.
UK Coal Ltd is to pay the damages to former employee David Burns, 49. Thompsons
Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 23 June 2007
Britain: TUC tuberculosis
briefing for reps
TUC has produced an online briefing for safety reps, outlining occupational
infection risks posed by tuberculosis (TB). The guide outlines the law
and provides a prevention checklist for safety reps, covering notification
of risks, provision of infection control advice, routine and post exposure
screening and vaccination. TUC says where workers are at higher risk,
“consideration should be given to prevention through immunisation
for those not yet vaccinated.” Tuberculosis
– a TUC briefing for safety representatives • Hazards
infections webpages
Hazards news , 16 June 2007
Britain: It’s
bad jobs that make us sick, says PCS
Attacks on driving examiners, job cuts leading to increased workloads
and stressful work conditions are the true story behind sickness absence
in the Department for Transport (DfT) and its agencies, the union PCS
has said. Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “Job cuts
resulting in increasing workloads combined with an unacceptable rise
in attacks on driving examiners is the real story here.” PCS
news release • NAO
news release
Hazards news , 16 June 2007
Britain: Unhealthy
bosses bad for site workers
Disinterested and unconcerned site bosses are risking the health of
construction workers, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) backed study
has found. And contrary to ‘macho’ stereotypes about workers
in the construction industry, site workers – unlike many site
managers - are very concerned about their health and working conditions. IES
news release • Constructing Better Health Pilot: Final
Evaluation Report, HSE Research Report RR565 [pdf]
Hazards news , 16 June 2007
Thailand: Workers
win cotton lung payouts
An 11-year campaign for compensation for Thai mill workers suffering
‘cotton lung’ has ended in success. The 37 female workers
all suffer from byssinosis, caused by inhaling cotton dust. Thai
Labour Campaign and background
on the case
Hazards news, 9 June 2007
Britain: Powertrain
workers in legal victory
More than 20 former Powertrain workers struck down by work-related breathing
difficulties have won the fight to lodge industrial disease benefit
claims. The workers, members of the TGWU section of Unite, triumphed
in a long-running battle to allow sufferers of extrinsic allergic alveolitis
- EAA, also known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis - to lodge disability
claims. Birmingham
Mail • Hazards
compensation webpage
Hazards news, 9 June 2007
USA: Toyota puts
health on the line
Workers at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, gather on Wednesdays
between shifts to shape a battle plan. The United Auto Workers union
(UAW) has launched a big new push to organise the plant, amid concerns
about lower pay, outsourcing of jobs and the treatment of injured workers. UAW
Toyota campaign
Hazards news, 2 June 2007
South Africa:
Poisoned worker fights for justice
A brain-damaged factory worker who was poisoned by toxic manganese fumes
has lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission
after his company attempted to fire him “via the back door.”
The complaint has been lodged on behalf of Brian Anderson, a 51-year-old
foreman at the Assmang ferromanganese smelter at Cato Ridge who was
diagnosed with manganism - a crippling, job-related neurological sickness
which causes Parkinson’s disease type symptoms - in January 2006. Independent
Online
Hazards news, 2 June 2007
Australia:
Caring hurts nurses’ feet
Nurses could face an ‘epidemic’
of foot problems, a podiatric researcher has warned. Queensland University
of Technology lecturer Lloyd Reed said foot problems are widespread
among Australian nurses and are likely to worsen as the nursing workforce
ages and spends more time on its feet. NSW
Nurses’ Association • Standing
hazards news and resources
Hazards news, 2 June 2007
Global: Workers
are damaged by job cuts
Workplace restructuring and job losses have a serious effect on the
health and well-being of workers, a top academic has concluded. In a
paper for Australia’s National Research Centre for Occupational
Health and Safety Regulation, Professor Michael Quinlan said international
evidence has linked downsizing and organisational restructuring to poorer
mental health outcomes, bullying, and other forms of occupational violence
and concluded that regulators, employers and unions have failed to respond
adequately to “substantial if not compelling evidence that downsizing
and organisational restructuring pose a serious risk the physical and
mental health and wellbeing of workers.”
• Michael Quinlan. Organisational restructuring/ downsizing,
OHS regulation and worker health and wellbeing, National Research
Centre for OHS Regulation, Working Paper 52, 2007 [pdf] • OHS Reps newsletter
Hazards news, 2 June 2007
Switzerland:
Magnetic fields linked to rail cancers
Railway workers exposed to extremely low frequency magnetic fields have
an elevated risk of certain blood cancers, new study findings suggest.
In a study of more than 20,000 Swiss railway workers who were followed
for 30 years, researchers found that certain workers' risk of myeloid
leukaemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma climbed in tandem with their exposure
to these fields, with train drivers most at risk.
Dr Martiin Röösli and others. Leukaemia, brain tumours
and exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields: cohort of Swiss
railway employees, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, published
online 24 May 2007; doi: 10.1136/oem.2006.030270 [abstract] • Hazards
prevent work cancer kit
Hazards news, 2 June 2007
Europe:
New study links pesticides to Parkinson's
Exposure to pesticides could lead to an increased risk of contracting
Parkinson's disease with the risks substantially higher in those occupationally
exposed, a study has found. Those who had been exposed to high levels
of pesticides, such as farmers, were 1.41 times as likely to be affected,
according to the findings.
• Finlay Dick and others. Environmental risk factors for Parkinson’s
disease and Parkinsonism: the Geoparkinson study; Occupational
and Environmental Medicine, published online 30 May 2007; doi: 10.1136/oem.2006.027003 [abstract]
• Do you know of anyone who might have developed parkinsonism
that could have been caused by workplace exposure to pesticides, organic
solvents or heavy metals, for example manganese? Hazards
magazine would like to hear details, in confidence
Hazards news, 2 June 2007
Britain: Driver
contracts killer bug working abroad
A lorry driver from Warrington who had been working across France and
Spain, was admitted to hospital on his return to the UK after contracting
Legionnaires’ disease whilst working abroad. Philip Barlow, 43,
had arrived back in the UK on 28 September 2006 after working for the
company Trial-Out delivering frozen foods on the continent. Irwin
Mitchell news release
Hazards news, 26 May 2007
Britain: Firms
want work pain solutions on hand
Workers should be able to get medical treatment close to workplaces
as part of a major attack on sickness absence levels, according to employer
groups. A news report on the Personnel Today website says manufacturers’
body EEF has urged the government to pump resources into getting people
back to work quickly. Personnel
Today
Hazards news, 26 May 2007
USA:
Lung ailment linked to Trade Center collapse
A clinical study has made a clear link between World Trade Center dust
and serious and sometimes fatal diseases. US doctors have found that
the number of New York City rescue and recovery workers with a rare
type of lung-scarring condition soared in the year after the trade center
collapsed in the 11 September 2001 attack, with workers developing sarcoidosis,
a debilitating illness in which the lungs and other organs develop inflammation
that produces lumps of cells, called granulomas.
Gabriel Izbicki and others. World Trade Center “Sarcoid-like”
Granulomatous Pulmonary Disease in New York City Fire Department rescue
workers, Chest, volume 131, pages 1414-1423, 2007 [abstract]
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
France:
Chemical firm liable for kidney cancers
The world’s third largest animal feed supplement producer has
been found liable for kidney cancers suffered by its staff. A social
security tribunal in Moulin, France ruled in April that Adisseo had
been grossly negligent and ordered the company to pay out compensation
of 50,000 to 60,000 euros (£34,000-41,000) to each of nine current
or former workers suffering from kidney cancer. ETUI-REHS
news report
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
Canada: Ontario
tackles firefighting cancers
Firefighters deserve compensation for fire-related illnesses and the
Ontario government is working to ensure they get the help they need,
provincial premier Dalton McGuinty has said. The proposed amendment
to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act in Canada’s most populous
province would allow the government to make regulations affecting Ontario's
firefighters that would identify eight types of cancer as presumed to
be work-related and would include heart attacks as presumed to be work-related
if they occur within 24 hours of a fire. Ontario
Office of the Premier news release • Hazards
cancer prevention resources
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
Britain: Bar staff 'should
wear ear plugs'
Campaigners have attacked the music and entertainment industry for not
preparing measures to protect the hearing of bar and club workers. The
Royal National Institute for Deaf People RNID) said staff working where
loud music was played should get ear plugs. RNID
news release • BBC
News Online
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
Britain: TUC backs
call for action on epilepsy
The TUC is backing a campaign to end workplace discrimination against
people with epilepsy. Epilepsy Action has criticised the outdated attitudes
of those UK employers who continue to discriminate against people with
epilepsy, as part of a campaign launched to mark National Epilepsy Week,
which runs from 20-26 May. National
Epilepsy Week, 20-26 May
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
Britain: TUC raises
skin problems
Employers are showing a “shameful” lack of concern for the
health of their employees, the TUC had said. TUC general secretary Brendan
Barber spoke out following new advice from the official safety watchdog
that thousands of workers are still affected by a painful skin conditions
caused by coming into contact with harmful substances at work. Personnel
Today
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
Britain: Car union
in offer to cancer families
Union leaders want to meet grieving families of men who died of cancer
contracted while working at Southampton's Ford factory. The Transport
and General Workers' Union (TGWU) has offered to support relatives if
they take legal action, after an investigation by local paper the Daily
Echo revealed 21 cases of oesophageal cancer among workers at the Swaythling
factory - more than three times the number of cases investigated in
an independent study commissioned by Ford. Daily
Echo • Work
Cancer Prevention Kit, including guide to combating the top
10 workplace cancer concerns
Hazards news, 12 May 2007
Nicaragua/USA:
Pesticide company settles sterility case
A Southern California chemical company has agreed to pay $300,000 (£150,000)
to Nicaraguan field workers who filed a lawsuit alleging one of the
firm's pesticides caused them to become sterile. Lawyers for the plaintiffs
announced the settlement with Amvac Chemical Corp during a 15 April
rally in Chinandega, Nicaragua.
Risks 302, 21 April 2007
Britain
New IOSH occupational health toolkit
IOSH, the organisation for safety professionals – safety officers
to you and me – has produced a new, free, online occupational
health toolkit. IOSH says this new resource “brings together information,
guidance, factsheets, case studies, training materials, presentations
and more to help you tackle occupational health problems.”
Risks 300, 31 March 2007 • IOSH
occupational health toolkit
Britain:
New review of the working nation’s health
The government has announced a comprehensive review of the health of
the working age population, which it says will assess current health
levels and provide a benchmark against which to measure future workplace
health improvements. Work and pensions secretary John Hutton said the
review will increase understanding of the beneficial link between work
and health, and help identify where the greatest improvements can be
made to the health of those who are in or want to return to work.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007
France:
Few workers protected from major health risks
A major survey of French workplaces has revealed few workers are adequately
protected from from the risks posed by carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic
substances (CMR agents) – in general, substances that carry a
cancer or reproductive health risk. Inspections at 2,000 firms found
only 40 per cent of workplaces using CMR agents - nearly half of all
the firms visited were using these substances - had carried out the
necessary risk assessment.
Risks 299, 24 March 2007
Extraterrestrial:
Lunar dust 'may harm astronauts'
Scientists are investigating the possible threat posed to astronauts
by inhaling lunar dust. A study suggests the smallest particles in lunar
dust might be cause lung scarring and other health effects, if comparisons
with dust-related exposures and ill-health on Earth apply.
Risks 299, 24 March 2007
New
Zealand: Deep vein thrombosis threat to office workers
Workers who spend excessive amounts of time at their desk could be putting
their lives at risk, according to a study. The Medical Research Institute
in New Zealand found a third of patients admitted to hospital with deep
vein thrombosis (DVT) – blood clots in a deep vein - were office
workers who spent hours at a computer, with the worst affected workers
were managers, IT workers and taxi drivers.
Risks 298, 17 March 2007
Britain:
Soap firm settles for scaly skin
Toiletries giant PZ Cussons has paid out £10,000 to a former employee
who developed occupational dermatitis. The 35-year-old TGWU member from
Nottingham was required to wear latex gloves to protect his hands from
workplace chemicals and went on to develop latex allergy.
Risks 298, 17 March 2007 • Hazards compensation webpages
Britain:
Vibrating injury victim secures compensation
A production worker has secured £7,000 compensation after developing
debilitating hand and arm conditions caused by exposure to vibrating
tools. The union GMB has secured the payout from two former employers
of John Coggon, 52, who was diagnosed with vibration white finger (VWF)
and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in September 2005 following his employment
with National Power from 1977 to 1992 and then Newells from 1992 to
2002.
Risks 298, 17 March 2007 • Hazards work and health and compensation webpages
Sweden:
Site dust causes heart attacks
Construction workers who are exposed to airborne particles in the workplace
are more likely than others to die of a heart attack, a major Swedish
study has found. Researchers from Gothenburg and Umeå found there
has been little improvement in building site health and safety conditions
in the last 25 years.
Risks 297, 10 March 2007
South
Africa: Sick manganese workers demand action
Scores of factory workers - many shuffling about on walking sticks -
gathered last week to urge South Africa’s labour department to
get to the bottom of a manganese poison scandal. The meeting was called
by senior inspectors of the labour department at the request of Spoor
and shop stewards from the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa
(Numsa).
Risks 296, 3 March 2007
Canada:
Unions push for shipyard cancer action
Official Canadian health and safety agencies in Newfoundland and Labrador
say they will thoroughly investigate complaints from 15 former shipyard
workers who say their workplace gave them cancer. All worked at the
Marystown Shipyard and blame exposure to asbestos and toxic chemicals
for their cancers.
Risks 296, 3 March 2007
Canada:
Cancer study links site work to head cancers
The risk of developing health and neck cancers is doubled if you work
in construction, a new study suggests. Researchers from the University
of Stirling’s Occupational and Environmental Health Research found
men who had been diagnosed with head and neck cancer were twice as likely
to have worked in construction as participants in a control group.
Risks 296, 3 March 2007
Britain:
Job burn-out increased diabetes risk
People who suffer from job burn-out may be prone to developing type
2 diabetes, research suggests. A study of 677 mostly male, middle-aged
Israeli workers found those affected by burn-out were nearly twice as
likely to develop the condition.
Risks 296, 3 March 2007
Britain:
What do you mean, ‘good work’ After several months extolling the health giving properties
of “good work”, the government is now asking what “good
work” exactly means. This week new DWP minister Lord McKenzie
posed the question to businesses, government and charities – but
made no mention of workers.
Risks 296, 3 March 2007 • What’s
wrong with the strategy – from Hazards magazine
Britain:
Most reportable work accidents not reported
New research for the Health and Safety Executive suggests most legally-reportable
workplace accidents, including major injuries, are not being reported.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool interviewed 581 patients
at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital who had suffered reportable
work-related injuries and found only 30 per cent of reportable accidents
to employees were in fact reported.
Risks 296, 3 March 2007 • Hazards
compensation
Britain:
One-in-five women with lung cancer never smoked
One-in-five lung cancers in females and almost 1-in-10 in men occur
in people who have never smoked, a new study has concluded. Researchers
at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Northern California
Cancer Center have concluded that never-smokers get lung cancer more
often than thought.
Risks 294, 17 February 2007
Britain:
Small firms don’t get occupational health services
Workers in small firms rarely have access to occupational health services
but rarely take sick leave either, a business survey has found. Survey
responses from nearly 4,000 members of the Federation of Small Businesses
(FSB) revealed 43 per cent of firms had not experienced any sickness
absence in the past twelve months and found barely one in 20 of the
respondents (6.5 per cent) provided access to occupational health services.
Risks 293, 10 February 2007
Britain:
Ford cancer probe highlights work risks
An 18-month investigation into a throat cancer cluster at Southampton's
Ford car factory has concluded six cases – twice the expected
number – occurred as a matter of chance. Experts were called in
after five employees in the paint shop died of throat cancer. Another
developed the illness but recovered; the six staff members were diagnosed
with the disease between 1994 and 2005 - more than twice the number
of cases medical researchers would expect to occur over an 11-year period.
Risks 293, 10 February 2007
Britain:
Councils must act to protect employees’ health
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned local authorities across
Scotland to be proactive in identifying and addressing health and safety
issues affecting their staff. The HSE alert comes after an employment
tribunal involving Dundee City Council, which upheld a legally binding
improvement notice issued by HSE after it determined the council had
an inadequate management system and provisions in place to deal effectively
with occupational health risks.
Risks 292, 3 February 2007
Britain:
Flood of support for UNISON water@work campaign
A union campaign for easy access to drinking water at work has won the
backing of public health and water industry bodies. The UNISON campaign,
launched by general secretary Dave Prentis in London on 30 January,
aims to encourage businesses to recognise the benefits of water to human
health and encourage employers to provide wholesome drinking water at
work.
Risks 292, 3 February 2007 • Water@Work
website
USA:
Women’s work cancers under the spotlight
Many work environments - no matter how seemingly innocuous - expose
people to human carcinogens, substances that can cause cancer. Cornell
University’s Suzanne Snedeker said: “It's appalling how
little data we have,” adding: “Until the 1990s we had very
little data on exposure to chemicals.”
Risks 291, 27 January 2007 • Hazards
cancer webpages
Britain:
Government must ‘neutralise’ workplace allergies
The union Amicus is calling for action from the government to combat
workplace allergies. Amicus health and safety officer Rob Miguel, a
member of the official Advisory Committee for Toxic Substances, put
the union’s case in evidence to an allergy sub-committee of the
House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology.
Risks 290, 20 January 2007
India:
The real cost of cheap stone
Research and “diagnosis camps” run by the Gujarat-based
Peoples Training and Research Centre (PTRC) have identified an “epidemic”
of silicosis, a deadly lung disease caused by exposure to stone dust.
Quarry workers, gem polishers, foundry and other industrial workers
are at risk.
Risks 289, 13 January 2007 • PTRC
website • More
on the PTRC dust campaign
Australia:
ABC staff may strike over cancer concerns
Staff employed by Australian broadcaster ABC in Brisbane have threatened
further industrial action as concerns continue about elevated cancer
rates linked to its ageing studios in the city. The studio was abandoned
before Christmas after an independent panel of experts found the breast
cancer rate there was up to 11 times higher than the general working
community.
Risks 289, 13 January 2007 • Hazards workplace cancer webpages
Britain:
TUC repeats call for hearing checks
Hearing charity RNID and the TUC have teamed up for the second year
running to call on workers and their managers to 'break the sound barrier'
and take the charity's telephone hearing check on 0845 600 55 55. To
date, 300,000 people have taken the telephone hearing check but RNID
believes many more could benefit from taking the check to discover their
level of hearing loss.
Risks 289, 13 January 2007
Europe:
Cancer problems hidden at work
Occupational cancers are being missed because of flaws in the reporting
system, according to a new report. It says a major factor in the near
invisibility of occupational cancer is that the related tumours in the
great majority of cases only occur after the worker has retired - however,
a pilot scheme by France’s health protection agency which started
in 2005 is using post-occupational monitoring for employees and self-employed
skilled workers.
Risks 287, 16 December 2006
Canada:
Work-related deaths rising sharply
The number of work-related deaths in Canada is rising sharply, revealing
a dark side to the boom in the oil fields, mining and the construction
sector. The escalating work deaths figure also reflects a steady increase
in the number of workers dying from long-ago exposure to dangerous products
such as asbestos, according to a report from the Centre for the Study
of Living Standards.
Risks 287, 16 December 2006 • Hazards
asbestos and work and
age webpages
Britain:
Fat chance this will work?
The government's health advisers are urging companies to do more to
get their staff on their feet in order to combat a nationwide epidemic
of unfitness. A raft of recommendations from the National Institute
for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) range from providing bike
sheds for those who want to cycle to work to encouraging staff to take
the stairs instead of the lift.
Risks 287, 16 December 2006
Britain:
Scientist played down work cancer risks
A world-famous British scientist failed to
disclose that he held a paid consultancy with a chemical company for
more than 20 years while investigating cancer risks in the industry.
Sir Richard Doll, the celebrated epidemiologist, was receiving a consultancy
fee of $1,500 a day in the mid-1980s from chemical multinational Monsanto.
Risks 287, 16 December 2006 • HSE
occupational cancer estimates
Sweden:
Work still hurts one in four Swedes
Almost a quarter of Swedish employees (24 per cent) had suffered from
a health problem caused by their work in the preceding year, an official
survey has found. More women reported work-related health problems,
with over a quarter (27 per cent) saying work had affected their health,
compared to 21 per cent of men, the figures representing a 1 per cent
drop on last year’s report.
Risks 285, 2 December 2006
Britain:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease webpage
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published new webpages on
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These “obstructive”
conditions are commonly caused by workplace exposures, a problem Hazards
magazine last year warned was massively under-estimated by UK authorities,
with possibly hundreds of thousands of cases missed in workers in dusty
trades.
Risks 285, 2 December 2006 • HSE
COPD webpages • A
job to die for?, Hazards 92, November 2005
USA:
Multinationals blame workers for chemical cancers
Nine former employees of a US tyre plant who developed occupational
cancers as a result of toxic exposures have been told by chemical giants
it was their own fault. The group, who all worked at Uniroyal Goodrich
Tire Co. in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, were exposed to benzene but
have been told they caused their own cancer because they “voluntarily
used the chemicals knowing the dangers and risks, and they failed to
take precautions which could have avoided injuries.”
Risks 284, 25 November 2006
Costa
Rica: Pineapples take a bitter toll on workers
The workers harvesting the pineapples found on UK supermarket shelves
are working in desperate conditions, an investigation has found. The
fact-finding mission made up of Costa Rican trade unionists, representatives
from the non-governmental organisation Banana Link and the UK’s
GMB trade union carried out their own independent tour of one particular
plantation this month visited the Pinafruit SA plantation in Limon province
on Costa Rica's Atlantic coast.
Risks 284, 25 November 2006 • Banana Link website and Union to Union initiative
Britain:
Danger, cancer at work
Hazards magazine is campaigning for greater recognition of the occupational
cancer risk. It needs evidence from UK workplaces to add additional
weight to its arguments and wants to hear about any cancer risks where
you work, compensation payouts made to people developing occupational
cancers, union guidance on the issue or union initiatives to remove
or reduce workplace cancer risks. Hazards cancer webpages
Britain:
Call centre staff face 'hearing risk'
Two-thirds of UK call centres fail to protect their workers against
hearing damage from noise, a report has warned, with many of the UK’s
900,000 call centre staff at risk. Experts say increasing numbers of
injuries and illnesses are being caused by acoustic shock and other
noise related hazards.
Risks 284, 25 November 2006
Global:
Gender equality, work and health
‘Gender equality, work and health’, a new review published
by the World Health Organisation (WHO), documents the relationship between
gender inequality and health and safety problems. It reviews gender
issues in research, policies and programmes on work and health, and
highlights some specific issues for women, including the types of jobs
they do, as well as their need to reconcile the demands of work and
family. Gender
equality, work and health: A review of the evidence, WHO,
2006 • Full report [pdf]
Global:
HSE’s cancer favourite had “secret ties to industry”
Researchers have revealed that the co-author of the most frequently
cited but much criticised estimate of occupational cancer prevalence
had “secret ties to industry”. An analysis of the academic
literature on occupational cancer found: “The most striking case
is that of Sir Richard Doll, co-author (with Richard Peto) of one of
the most influential papers in cancer epidemiology, one that concluded
Risks 283, 18 November 2006
Global:
Concern over chemicals brain risk
Industrial chemicals may be causing a pandemic of brain disorders because
of inadequate regulation, researchers have warned. An online report
in the Lancet identifies 202 chemicals, including metals, solvents and
pesticides, which have potential to damage the brain.
Risks 283, 18 November 2006
Britain:
Semiconductor cancer deaths inquiry call
The UK semiconductor industry and the official safety watchdog must
take urgent action to address cancer risks in the semiconductor industry,
a union has said. Manufacturing union Amicus has called for an inquiry
into cancer risks in the computer and semiconductor manufacturing industry
following damning new research from the United States.
Risks 282, 11 November 2006
Britain:
Renewed government call on health and work
Safety minister Lord Hunt has told public health professionals to ensure
they recognise the health benefits of work, as part of the government’s
“work is good for you” push. The call came in the week HSE
confirmed that 2 million UK workers report suffering a health problem
caused or made worse by their work, over half a million had developed
the problem in the last year, and 30 million days of sick leave were
the result of work-related ill-health and injuries.
Risks 281, 4 November 2006
Britain:
Amicus takes on “terrible” silica problems
An Amicus campaign is seeking to minimise the risks of “terrible”
diseases caused by workplace exposure to silica. Crystalline silica
can cause silicosis and other respiratory disease and has been linked
to lung cancer, kidney and autoimmune system problems.
Risks 280, 28 October 2006
Global:
Breast cancer linked to jobs
Women who have worked, or grown up, on a farm have a much higher risk
of getting breast cancer, a study suggests. Stirling University researchers
said women who then worked in healthcare further increased their risk,
although more research is needed to explain why.
Risks 279, 21 October 2006
Britain:
Pen pushers face bad backs
People who work in offices are among the most likely to suffer from
back pain, according to the British Chiropractic Association. It says
poor posture while sat at a computer can cause more back problems than
the excessive lifting and carrying done by manual workers.
Risks 279, 21 October 2006
Britain:
Amicus prepares Lords appeal on pleural plaques
An appeal to the Law Lords to reinstate compensation for sufferers of
the asbestos related condition pleural plaques has been set for summer
2007.The move by Amicus is seeking to overturn a Court of Appeal ruling
this year which stopped compensation payouts to those with the condition.
Risks 279, 21 October 2006
Britain:
Man develops illness with photochemicals
The former employer of a photo booth engineer whose health was wrecked
by toxic chemicals has been fined £100,000. The problem only came
to light after Stuart White, 37, blew the whistle on the workplace dangers.
Risks 278, 14 October 2006
Britain:
Hunt says age discrimination is a work health issue
Safety minister Lord Hunt has called for support for a new law barring
age discrimination in the workplace. He said there were proven health
benefits of being in work and stressed the legislation will ensure that
older workers are not denied the opportunity to increase their life
expectancy while minimising the risks of depression, obesity and poverty.
Risks 277, 7 October 2006
Global:
Cancer linked to rotating shifts
Men who work a rotating shift pattern may be at increased risk of prostate
cancer, research suggests. Japanese scientists found that staff working
rotating shifts were three times as likely to develop the disease as
those working day or night shifts.
Risks 275, 23 September 2006 • Hazards
occupational cancer webpages
Britain:
Better backs tools for safety reps
As part of its better backs campaign, HSE has published two new tools
for safety reps, a checklist for workplace manual handling inspections
and a practical guide to managing sickness absence and return to work.
HSE says the “documents have been put together in partnership
with the TUC to help safety representatives get involved with the campaign.”
Risks 275, 23 September 2006 • Hazards
work and health webpages
Britain:
Over stretched NHS can’t reach strain victims
The health service is too stretched to deal with the one million plus
workers with a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) caused or made worse by
work, physios’ union CSP has warned.
Risks 275, 23 September 2006
USA:
Most Ground Zero workers now suffering
The majority of the 40,000 rescue and recovery workers who responded
to the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York
could be suffering health problems as a result of toxic exposures. A
new study by doctors at Mount Sinai Medical Center has found nearly
70 per cent of firefighters, police officers, emergency medical crews,
construction workers, utility workers and volunteers have suffered new
or worsened lung and other health problems.
Risks 274, 16 September 2006
Britain:
New official “work is good for you” push
A government commissioned review has concluded being out of work is
bad for both mind and body, progressively damaging health and decreasing
life expectancy. ‘Is work good for your health and well-being?’
concludes that overall, the beneficial effects of work outweigh the
risks of work, and are greater than the harmful effects of long-term
unemployment or prolonged sickness absence.
Risks 274, 16 September 2006
USA:
Corporate cancer kills off real prevention
The organisation representing occupational health doctors in the US
has been labelled an “embarrassment” after making claims
about the supposed “success” of occupational cancer prevention
measures. The flak heading the way of the American College of Occupational
and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has been amplified because of its
support for a “CEO Cancer Gold Standard™”, backed
largely by pharmaceutical companies and concentrating entirely on lifestyle
measures.
Risks 273, 9 September 2006 • How big a problem is
occupational cancer? - see the Hazards webpages
Britain:
Move to stop waste sector’s wasted lives
New guidance aimed at stemming a spate of deaths involving waste vehicles
has been issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). It says since
December 2005 there have been six fatalities reported involving reversing
waste or recycling collection vehicles.
Risks 273, 9 September 2006
USA:
Workplace lead exposure a brain cancer risk
People who are routinely exposed to lead at work are far more likely
to die from brain cancer than people who are not exposed. The US study
found the death rate among people with jobs that potentially exposed
them to lead was 50 percent higher than unexposed people, and the number
of deaths was larger than in many previous studies.
Risks 273, 9 September 2006
Britain:
Research cuts put health at risk
Research into serious workplace and public health risks is being put
at risk as a result of cutbacks in government research agencies, a union
has warned. Prospect, the union representing 3,400 scientists and specialists
in Defra, says “a barrage of cuts” are facing Defra agencies
and laboratories undertaking research into problems including avian
flu, BSE, foot and mouth disease and anthrax.
Risks 273, 9 September 2006
Britain:
Saws cut butcher’s hearing
A butcher who developed occupational deafness has received a £5,000
compensation payout. UNISON member Eric Stonier worked for a number
of companies in Wakefield and Manchester, including Britt Broadbent
and Louis C Edwards.
Risks 272, 2 September 2006 • Hazards
work and health webpages
USA:
Why are miners still choking to death?
It's been well over 100 years since the US Congress first told mine
companies to limit coal dust in mines and four decades since the first
efforts were made to reduce the incidence of coal miners’ pneumoconiosis,
or black lung, a deadly choking of the lungs with coal dust. But an
official study has revealed miners in eastern Kentucky and western Virginia
are at greater risk than miners in other coal belt areas and are developing
the condition earlier.
Risks, 271, 26 August 2006
Britain:
Animal diseases kill workers
Two workers have been killed in separate incidents as a result of “zoonoses”,
animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans. Christopher “Pascal”
Norris, 50, a craftsman who made musical instruments from untreated
hides, died from an anthrax infection and farmer John Freeman, 29, died
of rabbit flu.
Risks, 271, 26 August 2006
USA:
Officials failed to act on Ground Zero perils
Emergency crews exposed to dust after the collapse of the World Trade
Center were poorly protected and now have lung problems equal to 12
years of age-related respiratory damage, new research indicates. Lung
tests of 12,000 rescue workers in the year after the disaster showed
those present in the very early stages of rescue suffered the most damage.
Risks 269, 12 August 2006
Britain:
Updated workplace health stats from HSE
A report published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) this week
shows that an estimated two million British workers suffer ill health,
which they believe was caused or made worse by work.
Risks 269, 12 August 2006
Britain:
Updated workplace health stats from HSE
A report published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) this week
shows that an estimated two million British workers suffer ill health,
which they believe was caused or made worse by work.
Risks 269, 12 August 2006
Britain:
Essex fined £15,000 for cement burns
A construction firm has been fined £15,000 and ordered to pay
£7,000 costs after a plasterer suffered serious cement burns.
Risks 269, 12 August 2006
USA:
Call for emergency action on work popcorn peril
Two large US unions and dozens of leaders
in public and occupational health are petitioning the US government
to use emergency powers to control worker exposure to a chemical in
butter flavouring that has sickened hundreds of workers. The government
safety watchdog, though, says it could take two years to consider the
request.
Risks 268, 5 August 2006
Britain:
Worker gets £5,500 for lost hearing
A worker suffering severe hearing loss caused by foundry noise has received
a £5,500 payout. Amicus member David Richards, 58, worked at the
former St Gobain foundry in Risca, south Wales, for 35 years until 2005.
Risks 268, 5 August 2006
Britain:
Body map finds missing toilets
A bodymapping exercise has identified unreported bladder problems in
a group of firefighters with inadequate access to toilets at work. FBU
members discovered while bodymapping that they suffered from urinary
problems they had been reluctant to admit it to each other.
Risks 268, 5 August 2006
Britain:
Meat staff contract Q fever
Eighteen people who work at a meat processing plant in Bridge of Allan
in Stirlingshire have contracted the work-related infection Q fever.
NHS Forth Valley said it was possible others could be affected by the
outbreak of the flu-like illness and can also lead to Q fever endocarditis,
a serious heart condition in a minority of sufferers.
Risks 267, 29 July 2006
Ukraine:
Chernobyl thyroid cancer risk confirmed
A new study has confirmed a substantially increased risk of thyroid
cancer among people exposed to radiation during childhood and adolescence
after the Chernobyl disaster.
Risks 265, 15 July 2006
Britain:
Two million shaken, not heard
More than two million workers in Great Britain are exposed to either
excessive noise or hand arm vibration, says the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE), which has launched a national programme to tackle the problems.
Risks 265, 15 July 2006
Britain:
Miscarriage welder wins damages
A female welder who raised safety concerns when pregnant and who went
on to win a sex discrimination claim against her father's company has
been awarded £7,500 for injury to feelings. Suzanne Bunning, 31,
took GT Bunning of Dereham, Norfolk to an industrial tribunal after
suffering a miscarriage.
Risks 265, 15 July 2006
Britain:
Trust fined for latex blunder
The health trust running Swindon’s Great Western Hospital has
been fined after a nurse with a known allergy to latex was given latex
gloves to wear. Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust was fined £1,000
and ordered to pay £10,000 in costs after admitted failing to
properly assess the risk to nurse Wendy Roberts of wearing latex gloves
Risks 265, 15 July 2006
Britain:
Ministers reveal welfare overhaul
A shake-up of the benefits system aimed at getting one million sick
or disabled people into jobs has been published. The bill spells the
end of incapacity benefits, which will be replaced by an employment
and support allowance from 2008, saving an estimated £7bn a year.
Risks 264, 8 July 2006
China:
Campaign calls for cadmium compensation
The global metalworkers’ union federation IMF is calling on its
affiliates worldwide to join the campaign for compensation for workers
in China suffering from cadmium poisoning. When Gold Peak Industries
opened its Huizhou factories in 1994, Chinese workers were not warned
of the dangers of handling highly dangerous cadmium and were initially
refused masks. Years later, these workers suffer from cadmium poisoning,
are going into debt from medical bills and unable to find new employment.
Risks 263, 1 July 2006
Britain:
It’s in your hands
A new short guide to work-related dermatitis and its prevention is available
on the TUC website. The ‘It’s in your hands’ guide
is part of a campaign coordinated by the Health and Safety Executive
and the safety clothing trade organisation BSIF and is backed by occupational
hygiene and medical organisation and TUC.
TUC skin hazards webpages
USA:
More proof links Parkinson's to pesticides
New highly credible evidence linking exposure to pesticides to the development
of Parkinson’s disease has come from a study in the US. A team
from Harvard School of Public Health found that people who said in 1992
that they had been in contact with pesticides were 70 per cent more
likely to develop Parkinson’s within the next 10 years.
Risks 263, 1 July 2006
Britain:
UK faces huge lung disease toll
Lung diseases kill more people in the UK than in most other European
countries, according to a study. The report says occupational lung diseases
such as mesothelioma, caused by exposure to asbestos fibres, are increasing.
Mesothelioma deaths have increased by 70 per cent to 1,862 since 1992.
Risks 263, 1 July 2006
Britain:
Allergy nurse's compensation deal
An RAF dental nurse whose career was ruined by a potentially fatal allergy
to latex gloves has been awarded £260,000 compensation. Lisa Furphy,
35, had to be invalided out of the RAF in 2004 because of her allergy
to powdered latex gloves, following an anaphylactic attack while working
at RAF Holton in 2003.
Risks 263, 1 July 2006
Europe:
Workplace health to be top priority
Workplace health will be a top priority for the Finnish government’s
presidency of the European Union, to run for six months from 1 July.
Risks 262, 24 June 2006
USA:
Heart attacks linked to job loss
Losing your job late in your career doubles the chance of suffering
a heart attack or stroke, a study says. Once risk factors such as diabetes,
smoking, obesity and high blood pressure were taken into account, the
risk of the involuntary job loss group having a heart attack after losing
their job was 2.5 per cent and a stroke 2.4 per cent.
Risks 262, 24 June 2006
Britain:
Study looks at pesticide link with Parkinson's
Scientists have begun a three-year study aimed at establishing whether
pesticides can cause Parkinson's disease. The project, funded by the
environment department Defra comes as a US study of men exposed to pesticides
published online last week found they are more than twice as likely
to develop Parkinson's disease as are men who have managed to avoid
contact with the toxic chemicals.
Risks 262, 24 June 2006
Britain:
TUC in renewed work cancer call
The UK must revise its massive official under-estimate of the work cancer
toll, the TUC has said. The call comes after research this month confirmed
TUC’s charge that the UK’s occupational cancer estimate is
outdated and inadequate, missing most workplace cancers.
Risks 262, 24 June 2006
Australia:
Work cancers massively under-estimated About 5,000 Australians a year develop cancer after being
exposed to cancer-causing substances at work - more than twice as many
cases as previously estimated. Research by the Queensland Cancer Fund
and University of Sydney found 11 per cent of all cancers in men and
2 per cent of cancers in women were linked to occupation, prompting
doctors to warn that occupational health and safety regulations may
be failing to protect workers.
Risks 261, 17 June 2006
Britain:
White finger sufferer gets four digit payout
A Leeds man has been awarded a £7,500 compensation payout after
he contracted the industrial disease vibration white finger (VWF). Barry
Wallis, 47, was awarded the sum following a claim against Insituform
Technologies Ltd, based in Wakefield.
Risks 261, 17 June 2006
Global:
Fraudulent chrome cancer study downplayed risks
A highly influential occupational health journal has had to retract
a paper on risks posed by cancer-causing chromium after it emerged the
paper was not written by the scientists credited, but by consulting
firm which has chromium industry clients. EWG
“Chrome-plated fraud” webpages • Risks
260, 10 June 2006
Britain:
New criticism of workplace health advice service
The resources allocated to Workplace Health Connect (WHC) should have
been devoted to local authority health and safety enforcement, a council
safety boss has told the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health’s
(CIEH) May conference. Geoff Makin, environmental health manager at
Coventry City Council, said the number of site visits proposed by the
service were a “drop in the ocean”, adding “wouldn’t
it have been better to spend that money on local government instead?”
Risks 259, 3 June 2006
Britain:
Nat Semi cancer toll is “tip of the iceberg”
More than 70 cancer deaths at the National Semiconductor plant in Greenock,
Scotland, could be the tip of the iceberg, health experts have warned.
Experts have identified several types of cancer, including brain and
breast tumours, which are four to five times higher than normal.
Risks 259, 3 June 2006
Britain:
Cancer warning from bladder cancer widow
The widow of a process worker who died from bladder cancer caused by
exposure to workplace chemicals is urging other at risk workers to seek
immediate medical attention. Douglas Taylor worked for the Castleford
company, Hickson and Welch, between 1961 and 1990 during which he came
into contact with aromatic amines.
Risks 258, 27 May 2006 • Hazards
cancer news and resources
Britain:
Report unearths hidden workplace health crisis
A new report from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) suggests levels
of work-related ill-health, injury and exposure to hazards could be
much higher than earlier official estimates suggest. The WHASS report
found over threequarters of all workers have workplace health and safety
concerns.
Risks 258, 27 May 2006 • WHASS
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Britain:
Editor wins £37,500 RSI damages
A Guardian newspaper night editor who says she was refused access to
the company physiotherapist after developing crippling elbow pain has
been paid £37,500 in damages for repetitive strain injury (RSI).
Andrea Osbourne, who had been a casual at the paper for two and a half
years, worked almost exclusively using a mouse, at speed, for an average
nine hours a night, and up to 45 hours a week, without a break.
Risks 258, 27 May 2006
Britain:
TUC plan to help disabled people into work
Far too few disabled people who want to work are being recruited by
employers and too many disabled employees, including workers who become
disabled after being injured at work, are losing their jobs, according
to a TUC report.
Risks 258, 27 May 2006
Australia:
“Serious” concerns at building tumour link
A union has said there is a “serious problem” with an Australian
university building that had to have its top floors evacuated after
a cluster of brain tumours were discovered. University union NTEU has
called on RMIT University in Melbourne to ensure the health and safety
of its staff following reports that seven staff members working in the
tower block have been diagnosed with brain tumours over the last seven
years.
Risks 257, 20 May 2006
Canada:
Work conditions raise risk of having a small baby
Exposure to range of workplace risks in pregnancy can increase the likelihood
of having an under-sized infant, according to a new report. Researchers
reporting in the American Journal of Public Health said factors that
had a cumulative effect on risk included working night hours, irregular
or shiftwork schedule, standing, lifting loads, noise, and high psychological
demand coupled with low social support.
Risks 257, 20 May 2006
Britain:
Occupational health pays off
Investing in occupational health helps cut absence rates, a study by
the manufacturers’ organisation EEF has concluded. Its survey
of 600 firms employing over 120,000 workers found a “clear link”
between addressing sickness absence and improving business performance.
Risks 257, 20 May 2006
Britain:
Warning on work skin cancer risk
Rising skin cancer rates have prompted renewed union warnings about
reducing work-related risks from sunlight exposure. General union GMB
said Britain’s 1 million outdoor workers should be protected.
Risks 257, 20 May 2006
Ireland:
“Massive increase” in work illnesses
There has been a massive increase in work related illnesses in Ireland,
with 60,000 people affected in just three months, a union has revealed.
SIPTU called for action to tackle the escalating numbers of employees
affected.
Risks 256, 13 May 2006
Australia:
Company doctors hurt injured workers
Australia Post has been found by an official inquiry to have broken
the law by using its in-house doctor scheme to force injured workers
back to work and to deny workers' compensation. Evidence provided to
AIRC showed employees who attended their own doctor were found unfit
for work 95 per cent of the time, yet when they saw a company-appointed
doctor just six per cent were found unfit for work.
Risks 256, 13 May 2006
Britain:
Immobile office workers given DVT warning
Office workers risk being struck down by deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
if they sit at their computer screens for long periods without a break,
health experts have said. The warning came as it emerged that a computer
programmer from Bristol almost died after a 12-hour stint in front of
his screen in what is believed to be one of the first cases in the UK
of a growing phenomenon dubbed e-thrombosis.
Risks 256, 13 May 2006
Britain:
Refuse collectors face rubbish risks
Fortnightly rubbish collections could put refuse workers’ health
at risk due to toxic gases released, experts have warned. The longer
period between collections allows dangerous emissions to build up, causing
respiratory irritation, scientists have found.
Risks 256, 13 May 2006
Britain:
No prosecution for record lung disease firm
There will be no safety prosecution of the Birmingham engineering firm
which in 2004 saw what officials say may be world’s largest outbreak
of a long-recognised work-related lung condition. Hilda Palmer of Greater
Manchester Hazards Centre expressed concern at the failure of both the
firm and HSE to take more prompt action. HSE
news release • Risks 255, 6 May 2006
Europe:
Agreement on workplace silica risks
More than 2 million workers in many different sectors across Europe
are to be covered by a joint union-employer pact to reduce risks from
exposure to crystalline silica, a substance that can cause lung cancer,
respiratory disease and which has been linked to kidney and autoimmune
system problems.
Risks 254, 29 April 2006
Britain:
New workplace health czar is a Dame
The first “workplace health czar” has turned out to be Dame.
The new czarina, Professor Dame Carol Black, a doctor and president
of the Royal College of Physicians.he becomes the first ever National
Director for Health and Work, despite being a rheumatologist with no
experience of occupational health and safety.
Risks 254, 29 April 2006
Britain:
Five x-ray scanners have miscarriages
A union has called for answers after it was revealed five security guards
operating new airport body scanners have had miscarriages. TGWU fears
the x-ray machines, which penetrate 1cm under the skin, could be responsible.
Risks 254, 29 April 2006
Britain:
Five year delay on microchip cancer study
A study into cancers at a Scottish microelectronics plant has not started
after years of delays, with just eight months to go before it's supposed
to finish. Top boffins from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) promised
five years ago to undertake the study at the National Semiconductor
in Greenock, says health and safety campaign group Phase II.
Risks 253, 22 April 2006
USA:
Official statistics miss most work cases
The US national surveillance system for work-related injuries and illnesses
could miss two-thirds of occupational injuries and illnesses, according
to a new study. A research team led by Professor Kenneth D Rosenman
of Michigan State University concluded: “Based on the results
of our analysis we estimate that the number of work-related injuries
and illnesses in Michigan is three times greater than the official estimate
derived from the BLS [Bureau of Labor Statistics] annual survey.”
Risks 252, 15 April 2006
USA:
Coal mining’s deadly legacy
Award-winning US photo journalist Earl Dotter has joined with the Appalachian
Institute at Wheeling Jesuit University to produce a powerful new photo
exhibit, ‘Our future in retrospect: Coal miner health in Appalachia,’
chronicling the impact of these jobs on mining communities. The exhibit
is dedicated to the 21 coal miners killed in West Virginia, Kentucky,
Utah and Maryland this year – a year that has already seen the
mines fatality toll near the total for 2005. Our
future in retrospect? Coal miner health in Appalachia
Sweden:
Work hurt one in four last year
One in four employed persons in Sweden suffered from a work-related
disorder in 2005, according to official figures. Latest survey results
reveal that 28 per cent of women and 22 per cent of men stated they
had experienced work-related disorders during the last 12 months, with
the overall workforce figure at 25 per cent.
Risks 250, 1 April 2006
France:
Work diseases are growing
Working conditions in France have deteriorated in recent years, according
to an official survey, with occupational diseases now on the increase.
Survey results presented on the European Foundation website point to
a “generally deteriorating” situation with work now blamed
by workers for 20 per cent of all health problems.
Risks 250, 1 April 2006
Britain:
Study identifies badly managed worker syndrome
Workers are suffering an array of common health ailments caused by poor
management, job stress and lack of control at work, a study has found.
Researchers asked 4,000 civil servants from 44 buildings in London about
their environment and job pressures and about symptoms such as coughs
and tiredness.
Risks 249, 25 March 2006
Global:
Union warning on bird flu epidemic
Foodworkers are in the frontline of a potential bird flu catastrophe
and if an epidemic is to be avoided must be protected from the disease
and from victimisation for raising safety concerns. The warning comes
from IUF, the global foodworkers’ union federation.
Risks 248, 18 March 2006
Canada:
Push for new cancer prevention law
The Canadian government must do more to prevent cancers caused by industrial
chemicals, campaigners have said. They are pushing the new Conservative
government to ban or phase out some chemicals altogether.
Risks 248, 18 March 2006
Britain:
Deadly legacy of Britain’s coal mines
Workers who toiled for decades in Britain’s coal mines are suffering
disability and early death as a result. Since a government scheme was
set up in the late 1990s, hundreds of thousands of miners have received
compensation for just two of the many common industrial diseases affecting
those who have worked in the industry, with the figures suggesting there
is a hidden epidemic of work-related ill-health in the UK.
Risks 248, 18 March 2006
Global:
Boffins get to the bottom of seat problems
An international study has found good seat design can reduce vibration
through a lorry seat by a third. Sweden’s National Institute for
Working Life says it has established that lorry seats can be improved
to reduce vibration-related complaints by tackling sideways as well
as vertical vibration.
Risks 248, 18 March 2006
Global:
Kids face heightened pesticides risk
New studies in Equador and the US have highlighted a massively increased
risk to children from common pesticides. The Ecuador study found children
whose mothers were exposed to pesticides while pregnant had increased
blood pressure and diminished ability to undertake some simple tasks
compared to a control group.
Risks 248, 18 March 2006
Global:
Asian silicosis victims to hit Europe
Two jewellery workers from China and two gem polishers from India will
travel to Basel, Switzerland, to raise awareness of the deadly side
effects of their jobs, particularly silicosis. The workers will attend
a jewellery fair from 30 March to 4 April, and hope to have talks with
a large number of organisations, including the International Labour
Organisation (ILO).
Risks 247, 11 March 2006
Britain:
Payouts to sick miners pass £3 billion
Compensation payments to sick miners have topped £3bn, new figures
show. The government pays out about £2m every weekday to compensate
for respiratory and vibration-related injuries.
Risks 247, 11 March 2006
Britain:
Employers told to take heed of noise warning Firms have been warned that they could face a barrage of compensation
claims from staff if they fail to heed improved measures to protect
workers' hearing. Hearing charity RNID and the TUC are warning employers
and employees to take hearing damage more seriously in preparation for
the new Control of Noise at Work Regulations coming into effect on 6
April 2006.
Risks 247, 11 March 2006
USA:
Groups challenge deadly chrome standard
US government safety watchdog OSHA, under pressure from the courts to
issue a health standard for a deadly workplace substance, has published
a limit so lax “that workers will die,” health campaigners
have warned.
Risks 246, 4 March 2006
Britain:
Outsourced £20m HSE work health scheme goes live
A £20 million government financed, privately run Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) scheme to provide free occupational health advice to
small firms is now in operation. Although financed entirely by the government
and launched by and “delivered in partnership” with HSE,
the service “is provided entirely by private contractors”
a Workplace Health Connect spokesperson told Risks, adding “but
HSE does provide a framework and quality assurance.”
Risks 246, 4 March 2006
Britain:
Lives 'devastated' by tinnitus
Research into the effects of tinnitus - a buzzing or ringing in the
ears - shows that it has a profound impact on all aspects of people's
lives, and reveals that more than one in five affected people believe
the condition was caused by noise at work.
Risks 245, 25 February 2006
India:
Deadly business of quarrying marble
Workers in Rajasthan's marble quarries toil in conditions that often
lead to injury, disease and death, but campaigners say neither the mine
owners nor the state government has done enough to mitigate their suffering.
Risks 244, 18 February 2006
Britain:
NUM to launch joint damage test case
Thousands of South Wales miners who have suffered damage to their joints
could benefit from a major legal test case being launched by their union.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) says many miners and former
miners who worked in cramped conditions, in narrow seams with inadequate
protection, have suffered debilitating osteoarthritis in their knees.
Risks 243, 11 February 2006
Britain:
NHS plan “should promote occupational health”
The health of people in the workplace should be a key consideration
in the government’s ‘Our health, our care’ White Paper
on the health service, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
(IOSH) has said.
Risks 242, 4 February 2006
Britain:
Work stress link to heart and diabetes risk People who suffer from chronic stress caused by their job are more
likely to develop heart disease and diabetes, according to a major study.
The researchers, writing in the British Medical Journal, investigated
work stress and the “metabolic syndrome” — which includes
factors such as obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol — and
found evidence of a direct link between stress exposure and ill-health.
Risks 241, 28 January 2006
Britain:
Unions call for more resources for welfare plan
Unions whose members work in rehabilitation and welfare services have
said the government will have to plough in more resources if its welfare
reform plans are going to work.
Risks 241, 28 January 2006
Britain:
TUC says concerns remain on welfare reform
The government's proposals to reform incapacity benefit have been given
a guarded welcome by TUC, but the union body says concerns still remain.
Risks 241, 28 January 2006
USA:
Farmworkers demand action on Parkinson’s
The US farmworkers’ union UFW is demanding government action on
a reported Parkinson’s disease risk from occupational exposure
to pesticides. A UFW petition urges people to tell the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) that federal scientists “should be looking
at the real-life scenarios of exposures for everyone — especially
farmworkers and farmers — which includes exposure to multiple
chemicals that can produce cumulative impacts on the body and environment.”
Risks 240, 21 January 2006
China:
Workers pay deadly price for dusty trades
Thousands of workers in China are falling victim to deadly dust diseases,
official figures have revealed. Pneumoconiosis – the group name
for the diseases caused by dust scarring the lungs – is the most
common occupational condition in China, with 440,000 sufferers, according
to Ministry of Health figures.
Risks 238, 7 January 2006
Britain:
Government push on incapacity benefit reform
The government is seeking support for its controversial reforms for
incapacity benefit. It says getting people off benefit and into work
will ease deprivation and have a positive impact on health, but union,
health and disability campaigners are concerned the move could lead
to harassment of genuine claimants.
Risks 238, 7 January 2006
Britain:
Healthy workplaces strategy “won’t work”
The government’s healthy workplaces strategy “lacks cohesion
and will have little impact on the real issues affecting health and
productivity,” according to a new report from The Work Foundation.
It says problems such as sickness absence, dependence on welfare benefits
and low pay have their root in bad jobs that give employees little voice
and control.
Risks 238, 7 January 2006
USA:
Court upholds welder’s $1m Parkinson’s award
A US court as upheld a US$1m (£580,000) compensation award to
a welder who developed Parkinson’s disease he believes was caused
by exposure to manganese in welding fumes. Defendants in the case included
UK company BOC Group, which described the verdict as “an aberration”.
Risks 238, 7 January 2006
Europe:
Experts forecast changes in occupational risks
Changes in society, work organisation and production methods are leading
to new types and new combinations of occupational risks which demand
new solutions, a European Agency survey has concluded.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Malaysia:
Massive under-reporting of workplace illness
The majority of cases of occupational disease are being missed in Malaysia,
a survey has found. The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) investigated
patient admissions over 24 hours in a health clinic serving a large
worker population from the Penang free trade zone.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Global:
Occupational medicine faces twin attack
The scientific integrity of occupational medicine is being increasingly
undermined as a result of pressure from governments and industry, a
new report has concluded.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
USA:
Job exposure to common pesticide linked to cancer
Workplace exposure to the common pesticide diazinon appears to increase
the risk of lung cancer and possibly other cancers, according to a major
study.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Britain:
New national centre on workplace health opens
A new national centre of excellence to promote health in the workplace
was launched in Buxton this week. The Centre for Workplace Health aims
to develop simple, practical solutions to workplace health problems
through academic research and will provide a range of training and occupational
health services designed to minimise ill health and injury in the workplace.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Unhappy workers 'risk becoming ill'
Workers who are unhappy in their jobs are more likely to become ill,
according to research. A study of 250,000 employees by Lancaster University
and Manchester Business School found that job satisfaction influenced
mental health in particular.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Cancer chemicals killing tens of thousands, says TUC
Britain is facing an occupational cancer epidemic that could be killing
up to 24,000 people every year, four times official estimates, according
to an authoritative new TUC report. The report by Hazards, the TUC-backed
health and safety magazine, concludes that the incidence of occupational
cancer in the UK is much higher, and suggests that it is between 12,000
and 24,000 deaths a year.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005 • Hazards
cancer guide
Global:
New epidemics at work
A retreat from regulation and enforcement, combined with the impact
of globalisation, is leading to new problems and new epidemics, according
to a new book. ‘Occupational health and safety: International
influences and the “new” epidemics’ exposes how hard
won regulations are being undermined by deregulation and how the export
of hazardous work is creating a new degeneration of workplace disease
victims in developing nations.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Canada:
Firefighters win fight for cancer compensation
Firefighters in British Columbia (BC), Canada with certain kinds of
work-related cancer will find it easier to get official compensation,
thanks to rule changes agreed by the provincial government. The new
law, which was introduced after a lengthy campaign by firefighters’
unions, will recognise leukaemia, brain cancer and five other kinds
of cancer as occupational hazards for long-time firefighters.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Sweden:
Heavy work makes you sick
Workers performing jobs that require heavy work are far more likely
to take long-term sick leave, a Swedish study has found.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
France:
Daily grind wears out joints
Wear and tear caused by heavy jobs can cause permanent damage to the
joints, a study has found. French researchers found certain jobs were
linked to a greatly increased risk of osteoarthritis in the knees, hips
and hands.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Action on acoustic shock
A conference next week will address an emerging and serious occupational
health issue – acoustic shock. By 2005, £2 million in out-of-court
acoustic shock injury settlements claims have been secured in the UK,
with unions CWU and PCS handling 700 cases between them.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
Government launches new health strategy
The government has launched a new strategy on health, work and well-being
at work. TUC's Hugh Robertson called for more occupational rehabilitation
and said: “We strongly welcome any initiative that will help produce
a joined up initiative on issues such as rehabilitation and return to
work, however the government must not loose sight of the fact that the
top priority must be to prevent people being made ill or being injured
in the first place.”
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
