Posts Tagged ‘Health and Safety’
04/09/2011
Illegal dumping of Asbestos costs £50k
A Cornwall haulage and skip hire boss has been handed a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years, for illegally tipping asbestos waste in an area of “outstanding natural beauty”. In an Environment Agency (EA) prosecution at Truro Crown Court, the Director of the Company (which has gone into liquidation) – was also ordered to pay £50,000 under [...]
02/09/2011
New woodworking info sheets
The WWI Sheets are a great source of free help for safeguarding and dust control of woodworking equipment. HSE have updated fiour of the sheets; they are: Safe Collection of Wood Waste: Prevention of fire and explosion – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis32.pdf Safe use of manually operated cross-cut sawing machines http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis36.pdf Horizontal beam and vertical panel saws http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis3.pdf [...]
01/09/2011
Health & Safety Review Launched
IOSH has welcomed a new review aimed at improving the rules surrounding health and safety legislation. Professor Ragnar Lofstedt will report to ministers in October with proposals for making health and safety laws simpler and more concise. It comes after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that firms have an “obsession” with heavy-handed and [...]
25/08/2011
Asbestos dumped near children’s play area
Residents were horrified when they spotted the corrugated metal covered in asbestos – a material proven to cause serious illness like lung cancer – abandoned in Newland Road, Hornsey, at the back of Campsbourne Primary School, on Wednesday, August 17. The fly tippers, branded “irresponsible” by neighbours who feared children would not know [...]
22/08/2011
Prosecutions in Great Britain in June 2011
In June 2011, 35 companies or individuals were found guilty and fined as a result of being prosecuted by HSE. Four of these prosecutions, which involved six companies, were related to maintenance work. #1 A worker cleaning a large baling machine was crushed to death when it re-activated. He had received no proper training in [...]
15/08/2011
Two companies and contractor fined for releasing asbestos
Two Worcestershire companies and a contractor from have been prosecuted for releasing asbestos fibres during an office refurbishment project in Birmingham city centre. Inspectors from the HSE uncovered a series of failings during the refurbishment work that included upgrading a lift containing asbestos insulating board. Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard how the building owners and the [...]
12/08/2011
Friday Funnies
A Japanese train company which forced its drivers to clean toilets as a punishment is paying out almost £50,000 in fines. The West Japan Railway is paying compensation to 61 of its drivers after adopting the controversial punishment practices, according to Japan’s Jiji news agency. A court in Osaka heard that employees were forced to [...]
05/08/2011
Are you managing your drivers?
The road safety charity Brake has published new research which indicates that one in eight (12%)drivers had nodded off at the wheel in the past year, warning that it takes only seconds of sleep behind the wheel to cause a fatal crash. “Head-nodding” occurs when someone nods off to sleep for between 2 and 30 [...]
04/08/2011
HSE’s Plan of Work 2011/12 – Part 2
The Construction Plan of Work 2011/2012 (Part 2) As well as considering the five generic issues (see previous post), they will also tackle: Management of health risks – they will promote awareness and knowledge of health risks in construction to achieve improved management and a corresponding reduction in occupational disease. Leadership – they will examine [...]
02/08/2011
HSE’s Plan of Work 2011/12 – Part 1
The Plan of Work sets out the work of the Construction Division for 2011/12 and outlines the direction of their work over a longer three-year period. The plan is designed to improve the health and safety performance of the construction industry; it builds on work carried out previously and continues their mission to deliver sustainable [...]
