HSE Construction inspectors will be carrying out an intensive inspection initiative during February and March 2012.

These inspections will focus on the refurbishment/building site risks that make construction one of Britain’s most dangerous industries – working at height safely, good order on site, and the risks associated with the removal of asbestos.

• Falls from height remains one of the most common causes of fatalities and major injuries in the construction industry, with more than five incidents every day.
• 54% of the workers who have died in construction over the last few years were doing refurbishment, repair and maintenance jobs.

HSE will not hesitate to take action if they find poor practice that is putting the lives of workers and the public at risk

Why is HSE interested in COPD

There is increasing research evidence that COPD can be caused or made worse by dusts, fumes and irritating gases at work.

Work related COPD is a priority because of the human costs in terms of suffering, its effects on the quality of life and the financial costs due to working days lost and medical treatment.

Research findings suggest that for Great Britain: –

• Around 15% of COPD may be caused or made worse by work
• 4000 COPD deaths every year may be related to work exposures
• 40% of COPD patients are below retirement age
• A quarter of those below retirement age are unable to work at all

Can COPD be cured?

Once COPD develops the damage to the lungs cannot be reversed. However you can help stop it getting worse by reducing exposure to the dust, fume and irritating gases at work that are causing the problem, and if you do smoke, by stopping.

You should consult your doctor for further medical information and advice on treatments.

COPD is a major cause of disability and death. It is the 4th leading cause of death throughout the world.

What are the symptoms of COPD?

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a long-term illness that makes breathing difficult. The lungs and breathing tubes are damaged making it difficult to get air in and out. Walking up a hill, playing football or even playing with your grandchildren can become difficult because of shortness of breath.

Other common symptoms include;

• a persistent chesty cough and phlegm
• wheeze
• more frequent and troublesome chest infections

COPD is a slow developing condition, the symptoms tend only to start becoming a problem in mid-life, usually in the late forties onwards.

Because COPD creeps up slowly, many people do not realise they have the disease. They think their symptoms are simply due to lack of fitness or getting older. This means that often the disease does not get diagnosed in the early stages.

The sooner you realise you have lung problems, the quicker you can try to stop smoking and reduce harmful exposures to dusts, fumes and gases. Medical treatments may also help.

More to follow tomorrow……………………………………

.

The waste was found on Freeman Road North in early November and a week later more was discovered at Thurnby Lodge Boys Club on Thurncourt Road.

In both cases, corrugated asbestos waste was found in large sheets or smashed up and sealed in plastic bags.

Leicester City Council’s environmental crime team said it was investigating. Councillor Sarah Russell, one of the assistant city mayors, said if the asbestos material discovered was not disturbed by the public, it was “unlikely” to have any health implications to people.

“The dumping of asbestos material in public places like this is highly irresponsible and a matter we treat very seriously,” she said.

“There are strict guidelines about the way asbestos material is disposed of and the implications of not following these guidelines can lead to a prosecution.”

Enforcement officer Paul Rudkin, from Leicester City Council, added: “We are appealing to any members of the public who may have had an asbestos structure removed recently, or who have any information whatsoever that may assist with our investigation.”

Source: BBC News Leicester

A man has died in hospital after a tyre explosion at a small family business in Wales.

The victim, who has yet to be named, is thought to have been inflating a tyre at the metal fabrication workshop in Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire, when the accident happened. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue service sent two fire crews to the village from Lampeter and Llandovery after the alarm was raised.

Witnesses had reported hearing a “loud bang” at about 9.30am on Wednesday at the business in the centre of the village. Paramedics also attended the scene and the man, who was in his 30s, was airlifted to hospital.

A spokesman for Dyfed-Powys Police said the man later died from his injuries. Investigations into the cause of the accident are continuing.

Two-fifths of workers feel under pressure to be seen at work in a growing trend that has been blamed on the tough economic times, a study has said.

More than a quarter thought the amount of time spent at their office desk was considered a measurement of their performance, said the survey which found an increasing tendency towards “presenteeism”. A similar amount said their line managers did not let them work flexibly despite staff believing it would improve their productivity.

Mobile phone giant O2, which carried out the survey involving 2,000 office workers, said it suggested many businesses were missing out on benefits of flexible working. These included productivity gains, better employee and customer engagement, and efficient processes.

Flexible working was dropped for many workers due to increasing pressure to show they are in the office, said David Plumb, of O2.

He added: “We have found that flexible working has different mindsets depending on if you are the employee or the employer, and that employees spending more time at their desks because they believe they have to is not going to contribute to driving UK business forward.”

IOSH has called for the Government to include work-related road traffic accidents into official occupational health and safety statistics, insisting that employers have “a moral and legal responsibility to look after their employees every mile of their business trips”.

Speaking at the start of Road Safety Week (21-27 November), an IOSH spokesman said: “Each and every death or serious injury on the road is a cause of deep regret. Nationally, we need to do more to improve our management of work-related road risk and prevent accidents. If the Government insisted work-related road traffic accidents were reported as part of RIDDOR, employers would know more detail about accidents that commonly take place. As a result of knowing more, companies will be able to act on the causes of the accidents and work to reduce them.”

UK statistics show that 1:3 company drivers have an accident each year, and up to a third of RTAs are work-related. Some of the most common causes are

• distraction,
• fatigue
• and time pressure

all of which can be addressed by employers, for example, assessing driver ability, providing good training, and being flexible when it comes to travel times.

For a FREE risk assessment template for occupational road risk, send an email to andrew@spectrumrisk.co.uk

Further information on Road Safety Week, fact sheets, and an action pack are available on the event website at www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk.

Last week, the HSE released its annual figures for workplace deaths – with an increase of 24 fatalities compared to the previous year.

IOSH voiced its concerns over these statistics, suggesting the figure could be a delayed effect of the recession and‘belt-tightening’.

In 2010/11
HSE focused on schools outside local authority control as the latest initiative in a series of interventions targeting asbestos management in schools. The primary aim of the intervention was to determine the level of compliance with CAR in a sample of targeted schools. HSE inspectors inspected a random sample of 164 non-local authority schools in England, Scotland and Wales; he results of the interventions were collated, and subsequently evaluated by HSE’s statistical analysis unit.

Inspectors took enforcement action in 28 of the 164 schools (17%) – serving a total of 41 Improvement Notices (INs):

• 17 were served for a failure to provide adequate training
• 14 for a lack of a written asbestos management plan
• 8 for a failure to implement a suitable system to manage the risks from asbestos
• 2 for a failure to undertake a survey/assessment of the presence of asbestos containing materials (ACMs)

The breakdown of schools receiving notices by type of school is as follows:

• independent schools – 17 out of 59
• voluntary aided – 5 out of 60
• foundation schools – 4 out of 41
• academies – 2 out of 4

While the overall picture is encouraging, there is no cause for complacency.

A written asbestos management plan is a key requirement of the Regulations, but 51 schools (31%) had no written plan. Another area where there is considerable room for improvement is ensuring that in-house operatives undertaking building and maintenance work have received asbestos training; in the 80 schools where this was relevant, only 39 had received such training