Almost as a follow-on from the Matt Peacock podcast the UK’s Health and Safety Executive has given asbestos the feature slot in its October 2009 podcast that has just been released. The podcast and accompanying campaign is aimed at the recent tradespeople who may be under the impression that, as asbestos was banned in the … Continue reading “Grandad’s disease”
Today, 1,500 union health and safety representatives attended a one-day seminar in Melbourne concerning occupational health and safety. The seminars were supported by a range of information booths on issues from support on workplace death, legal advice, superannuation and individual union services. Kevin Jones, the editor of SafetyAtWorkBlog took the opportunity to chat with a couple of people on the booths about OHS generally and … Continue reading “Safe Work Australia Week podcast”
On 22 October 2007, a commercial premise in Southbank, Victoria, was to undergo renovations which included replacing the asbestos roof with an iron roof. Two men were employed as project managers and during the roof replacement, according to WorkSafe Victoria. “…the dogman fell [through an unguarded shaft] a total distance of 8 metres and as … Continue reading “Prosecution results from fall through roof”
According to a media release from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the United States, a new research report says: “Smoking bans are effective at reducing the risk of heart attacks and heart disease associated with exposure to secondhand smoke, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The report also confirms there is … Continue reading “Evidence of heart attacks due to secondhand smoke”
On 4 October 2009, Queensland’s Attorney-General Cameron Dick released details of his intentions to increase the compensation available for individuals and their relatives through his Civil Liability and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. Below is a table which shows the level of the increase. It needs to be pointed out that this is not workers’ compensation but OHS legislation is blurring the demarcation … Continue reading “Civil liability and work-related diseases”
SafetyAtWorkBlog has kept a watchful eye on the long saga involving the directors of James Hardie Industries and their mishandling of a compensation fund specifically established for victims of the company’s asbestos products. The compensation fund story has been handled well by Gideon Haigh in his book on the company. The saga has since evolved … Continue reading “James Hardie directors face the consequences of their poor decisions”
The issue of driving while using a mobile is a perennial issue for the media but nothing much changes. The New York Times on 20 July 2009 carried an article on the latest research which confirms many previous studies that using a mobile phone while driving increases the risk of an accident. No US State … Continue reading “Driving and talking”