CIS Newsletter

No. 266
November 2011

CIS Newsletter celebrates 23 years & still going strong... until December 2011!
Bringing news from Members to Members in over 154 countries in the CIS Network!

The CIS Newsletter is a monthly newsletter for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) International Occupational Health and Safety Information Centres and is edited by Sheila Pantry OBE from the UK. The CIS Newsletter is NOT an official publication of the ILO but a newsletter containing information from Members in CIS Centres and other sources and is intended to be shared by anyone who finds the data contained useful. Users are free to use and reuse the data in these newsletters.

Contents

  1. Editorial - N.B. CIS Newsletter will cease publication with the December 2011 edition
  2. ILO news including CIS Annual Meeting
  3. Do not waste time! Try OSH UPDATE and FIREINF
  4. FOCUS - IALI Action Plan for The Future: 2011-2014 and beyond
  5. News, Events and ideas from around the World from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, UK, and USA to name a few!
  6. OSHE websites to explore
  7. Diary of Events

CIS Members' links:

Editorial

Dear Colleagues

Greetings from the UK on another beautiful Autumn Day! In this month's edition there is some more news from the CIS 2011 Annual Meeting. You will find the full report of the proceedings of the CIS meeting plus PowerPoint presentations made by Roman Litvyakov and Annick Virot. Boryana Barbukova who chaired the 2011 CIS Meeting provides her summary of the meeting and gives her views of what she believes will help CIS Centres future.

As always many thanks to all who have sent in news for the CIS Newsletter which contains as usual a roundup of information received from many parts of the OSH World.

Please continue to send your News - whatever you are planning - any publications, conferences, seminars or training courses, then please send the details to me so that we can share your efforts with others. Don't forget to send me your latest news! It is amazing how much the CIS Newsletter content gets re-used around the world.

Remember that whilst there is so much occupational safety and health information around the world not all will be trustworthy. Make sure that any information that you use is validated and authoritative and up-to-date.

You should find the FOCUS article to be of especial interest - IALI Action Plan for The Future: 2011-2014 and beyond

May I remind you of the following:

Two important news items in this edition of the CIS Newsletter from your Editor

1. CIS Newsletter to cease publication at the end of 2011

I started the CIS Newsletter in 1989 after an exciting and stimulating CIS Annual Meeting. And for the past 23 years have edited it. As developments are taking place at CIS HQ and the CIS web site is to be upgraded at the end of this year/early next year I feel that the December 2011 edition is the right time to stop the Newsletter and in future look for the news, events, conferences and notification of websites and other information about CIS activities on the CIS website.

I will be keeping the website www.sheilapantry.com/cis available that contains CIS Newsletters from 2002 and numerous reports - many of which are NOT located anywhere else.

N.B. But please keep sending your news, events, websites to me even after December 2011, because these will be used in OSHWORLD www.oshworld.com that has been thriving since 1996 when the Internet first started to offer opportunities to easily reach to the World! Bookmark OSHWORLD and make it your first port of call when you are seeking OSH, Fire and chemical information. And do send you news of course to Geneva CIS HQ.

2. Guidelines for The Establishment of CIS Health and Safety Information Centres and Other Information Centres by Sheila Pantry OBE, BA, FCLIP

This is my 3rd Revised edition June 2011 of these Guidelines based on many, many years experience working and establishing information centres, training staff and users, not only in the UK but in over 20 countries worldwide.

I have now updated my earlier editions and the 3rd edition is now published and can be found on www.sheilapantry.com/cis/other/guidelines.pdf

Please feel free to use these Guidelines and share the content with others who either wish to start an information centre and improve the services.

Will you be Surviving by the end of 2011?... perhaps you will if you make efforts in promotion, publicity and telling the World that CIS and its network exists!

All good wishes to you, your families and your colleagues.

Sheila Pantry, OBE

Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd,
85 The Meadows, Todwick, Sheffield S26 1JG, UK
Tel: +44 1909 771024
Fax: +44 1909 772829
Email: sp@sheilapantry.com
www.oshworld.com
www.sheilapantry.com
www.shebuyersguide.com
www.oshupdate.com
www.sheilapantry.com/memorial

News from the ILO

Children in hazardous work: what we know, what we need to do

The international community and ILO Member States have set the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016. Since the overwhelming majority of the worst forms of child labour involve hazardous work, tackling hazardous child labour can bring us closer to achieving our goal.

The 2011 World Day Against Child Labour provided a global spotlight on hazardous child labour, and call for urgent action to tackle the problem.

www.ilo.org/dyn/media/slideshow.curtainUp?p_lang=en&p_slideshow_id=43

News from CIS HQ

You will find the full report of the proceedings of the CIS meeting plus PowerPoint presentations made by Roman Litvyakov and Annick Virot plus a General discussion of current issues and future trends affecting CIS Centres network. There is also a list of participants.

These are listed home page of the CIS Newsletter see www.sheilapantry.com/cis

Links:

USE IT OR LOSE IT! Don't forget to continuously promote CIS and the Network!

Do add the CIS logo on the front page of your website would be a good first start. (Checked recently and only a few CIS Centres websites have the logo or links to CIS website).

Please do add the CIS logo on all your publications.

Any views you have on CIS and its work please send into CIS HQ - to Roman Litvyakov litvyakov@ilo.org and Seiji Machida machida@ilo.org

Do not waste time!

Do you need access to worldwide authoritative and validated fire and OSH information sources that are user friendly, cost effective and constantly updated? Then use OSH UPDATE and FIREINF services!

Keeping up with the latest worldwide OSH and fire information can be a time consuming exercise, but help is available if you subscribe to the ever growing OSH UPDATE collection of 20 databases and the FIREINF collection of 17 databases via the Internet. They are also "budget friendly prices"!

OSH UPDATE contains over 821,000 records - and including the 70,000 records in CISDOC database and FIREINF has over 540,000 records that link to thousands of full text documents.

It is worth spending time checking out the latest reports, guidance and advice, examples of good practices in all industry sectors that have been produced from worldwide sources. You will find many such documents, reports, standards and journal articles in OSH UPDATE www.oshupdate.com and in FIREINF www.fireinf.com

The electronic services OSH UPDATE www.oshupdate.com and FIREINF www.fireinf.com will help you and your organisation to keep up-to-date. These services continue to bring you the latest information on health, safety, environment, fire and other subjects that you will find useful in your daily work.

OSH UPDATE and FIREINF services together present a major resource if you are running a CIS Centre. Easy to use and cost effective. As one Australian user said last week when renewing OSH UPDATE "this is a highly valued resource".

OSH UPDATE and FIREINF services contain both full text and bibliographic information are continuously enlarged as new information is published. These services are used by organisations, universities, companies and even some ILO CIS Centres worldwide!

For a 15 DAY FREE NO OBLIGATION TRIAL contact: Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd | email: sp@sheilapantry.com | or fill in the Interest form www.sheilapantry.com/interest.html

FOCUS ON IALI

IALI Action Plan for The Future: 2011-2014 and beyond

In 2008 the International Association of Labour Inspection (IALI) took on the specific challenge of developing a greater capacity to meet the ever increasing demands for services during 2008-2011 and to underpin this work, an Action Plan for the Future: 2008-2011 and Beyond, was developed and approved at IALI's General Assembly in 2008.

At the 2011 General Assembly, a review of the progress IALI has made on the 6 key strategic objectives and 'Areas for Action' under the Action Plan for the Future, demonstrated exceptional progress during the first 3 years of working to the Plan.

At IALI June 2011 General Assembly a revised Action Plan for the Future: 2011-2014 and Beyond was presented proposing activities for the next triennium of 2011-2014, to build on and consolidate the activities that IALI have pursued over the last 3 years as well as highlighting new priorities for the future. Your comments on these proposals would be welcome.

This Plan proposes that the 6 key strategic objectives and areas for action defined in the 2008-2011 Plan to reflect IALI's key roles as an international association, be continued.

Each role or Action Area has a Strategic Objective and a more detailed Description of the role and purpose of that area of work. A programme of work for each objective is then outlined consisting of proposed Outcomes, Areas of Engagement for IALI members and a list of Specific Tasks for 2011-2014.

The 6 existing strategic Objectives or Action Areas for IALI are:

The detailed Plan follows and will be the subject of an annual evaluation by IALI's Executive Committee and 3-yearly progress report to the next IALI General Assembly in 2014.

The Revised IALI Action Plan for the Future: 2011-2014 and Beyond is proposed for the consideration of the General Assembly, June 2011.

www.iali-aiit.org/resources/action-plan-2008-2011.pdf

www.iali-aiit.org/en/directions.htm

News from around the World

News from Bulgaria

Boryana Barbukova who chaired the 2011 CIS Meeting:

I am writing these several lines about the CIS 2011 Annual Meeting and the World Congress in Istanbul hoping that Sheila Pantry, our wonderful editor and trainer, will probably change her mind and will continue editing the CIS newsletter for at least one year.

I was honoured to chair the CIS Meeting in September 2011 in Istanbul. At the same time I was pleased to meet a lot of new and old CIS colleagues. The new ones were mostly young people with solid OSH background, highly motivated and creative. The meeting was attended by more than 80 CIS representatives from all over the world (directors of OSH institutions, OSH experts, information specialists, coordinators and managers etc.) Centres represented had different OSH priorities.

What I noticed was that most CIS centers, which joined the network in recent years, were NGOs, being sometimes more flexible and better managed compared to the state authorities. Discussions held were short but fruitful; ideas exchanged were valuables and promising. Attendants were pleased to be members of the CIS network. All this demonstrated the vitality of the CIS network and its mission, i.e. to gather diversities and to share views and good practices, thus contributing to make solutions.

Roman Litvyakov made his best presentations at the CIS meeting. We have known him for more than 15 years, but in Istanbul we realised that he has become an excellent OSH project and network manager. What can I say about Annick Virot? She is a remarkable network coordinator not only because of her inherent diplomacy, but also because of her huge experience.

My personal opinion concerning the CIS activities is that there are a lot of things to do in order to provide decent work, including safety and health, to all employees. Projects like the continuous updating of the ILO Encyclopedia are good, but they require highly qualified experts and researchers. Perhaps small projects dealing with OSH information, publicity, training, good practice, involving most CIS Centres, would be more appropriate to the CIS network and would revitalized it and better demonstrate its strength and capacities.

The World Congress gave the Bulgarian CIS Centre an opportunity to evaluate its activities during the last 2 years. The participation of more than 60 Bulgarians in the Congress was due to a great extent to the efforts of Bulgarian CIS Center to raise awareness of ILO/SafeWork activities and to promote CIS network, products and activities. Bulgarian CIS Centre contributed to the establishment of useful contacts between Bulgarian and foreign OSH specialists and companies during the Congress and to the visits exchanged immediately after it, thus promoting regional cooperation. An extended article on the World congress and CIS Meeting written by the Bulgarian CIS Centre will appear in the forthcoming issue of Bulgarian Journal of Occupational Safety and Health.

As a whole the World Congress gave an opportunity to all participants to increase their knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health.

Last but not least, the Bulgarian CIS Centre would like to express its gratitude to the organizers of the World Congress in Istanbul for their excellent work and hospitality.

Boryana Barbukova, Chief Expert, Responsible for CIS activities, National Center of Public Health and Analysis (National CIS Centre), Sofia, Bulgaria | Tel: 00359 2 8056 392 | Email: b.barbukova@ncphp.government.bg

News from Finland

ECHA launches the 'REACH 2013 - Act Now!' campaign at the REACH Conference on 23 September 2011

This is to remind the industry to start preparing for the second REACH registration deadline. Companies manufacturing or importing chemicals in quantities at or above 100 tonnes per year are required to register these substances with ECHA by 31 May 2013.

The Agency has organised this awareness campaign to promote the best practise in fulfilling the obligations and also to publicise the various services and tools that can help companies comply with the REACH registration requirements. Geert Dancet, ECHA's Executive Director, says to industry: "I ask you to help us to pass this message on so that companies start their preparations for registration earlier than last time and take full benefit from the best practice and our support tools to deliver dossiers of higher quality."

On ECHA's website, there is a dedicated webpage on which there is an agenda for the events that ECHA is rolling out in relation to the REACH 2013 deadline. All relevant materials and links can also be found there. In addition, ECHA has designed a promotional web banner that Member States, industry associations and other organisations can add to their REACH web pages. This banner will help to brand the 'Act now!' campaign in all EU countries. Additionally, by clicking on the banner visitors will be directed to the ECHA 'REACH 2013 - Act now!' campaign pages.

The REACH conference, organised by the European Commission together with the Agency, is the first event on the agenda of the 'REACH 2013 Act now!' campaign. The conference will highlight best practise and necessary improvements to ease the way for the 2013 registration deadline.

The event can be followed live in six languages and a recording of the web stream will be available after the event.

Further Information

REACH 2013 - Act now - Next step towards safe chemicals!
www.echa.europa.eu/2013
REACH workshop web page
www.euconf.eu/reach/en/registration/index.html
Web streaming
http://webcast.ec.europa.eu/eutv/portal/index.html

News from Finland

ECHA sets up ENES - an Exchange Network on Exposure Scenarios

The new network aims at identifying good industry practices on drafting exposure scenarios and building a dialogue between supply chain actors to improve the protection of human health and the environment.

The European Chemicals Agency together with the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), Eurometaux, CONCAWE (the oil companies' European association), the European Association of Chemical Distributors (FECC) and the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products (AISE) on behalf of the Downstream Users of Chemicals Coordination Group (DUCC) have established a cross-sector collaborative network to share knowledge, techniques and approaches to building and applying (REACH) exposure scenarios. The first meeting will be held in Brussels, on November 24 and 25, 2011. Sectors of industry, NGOs, Member State authorities and other stakeholders will be invited to participate.

ENES will share the approaches and practical experience of industry and other stakeholders from the first REACH registration deadline, the areas that are working well and the areas where improvements are needed.

The Exchange Network of Exposure Scenarios is among the activities that ECHA is rolling out to support companies for the second registration deadline in 2013. Practical solutions for preparing and communicating ESs identified by the first Network meeting will be published in the beginning of 2012 by the Agency.

Further Information

ECHA's other activities related to Exposure Scenarios and Chemical Safety Report

Chesar - Chemical Safety Assessment and Reporting Tool
http://chesar.echa.europa.eu
Guidance on Information Requirements and Chemical Safety Assessment
http://guidance.echa.europa.eu/docs/guidance_document/information_requirements_en.htm

Exposure scenario for chemical safety report and communication:

Example: Professional use of a substance in floor coatings
http://guidance.echa.europa.eu/docs/other_docs/es_professional_use_20110829.pdf
Example: Consumer use of a substance in cleaning products
http://guidance.echa.europa.eu/docs/other_docs/es_for_consumer_20110829.pdf
Example: Exposure scenarios for the semiconductor industry
http://guidance.echa.europa.eu/docs/other_docs/es_project_document_v5.pdf
Information for downstream users, including a fact sheet for Safety Data Sheets and Exposure Scenarios in 22 EU languages
http://echa.europa.eu/reach/du_en.asp

News from Germany

ILO International Safety Conference 2011 in cooperation with ISSA held Düsseldorf, Germany on 20-21 October 2011

The conference focussed on the application of international tools on occupational safety and health (OSH) strategic approach at national and enterprise levels. Good practice in construction and health sectors, which face high and emerging risks to occupational accidents and diseases, was highlighted. Under the theme 'Promoting a preventative safety and health culture: International instruments, national strategies and good practices', the conference offered an excellent forum to share the experience of different stakeholders and learn how to put it in practice at each level.

Promoting a Preventative Safety and Health Culture: International instruments, national strategies and good practices

Every worker has right to decent and productive work which gives them a stake in lasting peace, prosperity and progress. This is something that cannot be compromised, even during a time of global socioeconomic suffering such as economic crises, natural disaster or political unrest.

In order to reduce the unacceptable human suffering and economic losses that are still caused by work-related accidents and illnesses worldwide, the ILO called for urgent actions of all concerned towards the national strategic approach on occupational safety and health (OSH) through the building and maintenance of a national preventative safety and health culture and the introduction of a systems approach to OSH management.

The promotion of safety and health culture is a leadership issue and requires strong commitments at international, national and enterprise level. At the same time, the development of measures of communication and consultation with workers to ensure their active participation at all stages is essential in building and maintaining a safety and health culture. The 2011 ILO International Safety Conference will facilitate this process by offering up-to-date knowledge of international tools on OSH strategic approach and their application at national and enterprise levels. In particular, the good practice sessions will enable participants to enhance their own systems approach to OSH through exposure to the new initiatives and lessons learned in the two key sectors.

The highlighted two sectors in this Conference, construction and health, are confronted with high safety and health risks, both traditional and emerging, from physical and ergonomic risks to those relating to new technology as well as migration. These are common challenges for both developing and developed countries where there is a significant need for strategic and practical solutions.

The 2011 ILO International Safety Conference took place during the A+A Safety, Security and Health at Work Inter-national Trade Fair with Congress

Programme: www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---safework/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_155002.pdf

Abstracts of presentations: www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---safework/documents/presentation/wcms_164920.pdf

News from Poland

Towards Safety Through Advanced Solutions: 6th International Conference In Poland

The Conference will take place in Sopot, Poland on 11-14 September 2012.

It is connected with the "Workingonsatefy.net" - and international network of decision-makers, researchers and professionals responsible for the prevention of accidents at work. This network brings accident prevention specialists together to give the possibility to exchange of information and experience between different countries and sectors. It consists of a biannual conference and an Internet platform (www.workingonsafety.net).

This 6th Conference is hosted by the Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute, (CIOP-PIB) based in Warsaw. National Organizing Committee and National Scientific Committee are based on CIOP-PIB experts and International Committee consists of the experts from Denmark, Norway, Germany, United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain and Netherlands.

During the Conference plenary sessions and parallel technical sessions will take place.

The main theme is: Towards Safety Through Advanced Solutions. The conference will have a special focus on the prevention of accidents and trauma at work. The primary interest of the Conference will be the following branches: construction, transport, agriculture, manufacturing, mining and healthcare.

The organizers especially want to encourage papers in the following areas of safety:

Abstracts for all sessions (not exceeded 300 words) should be submitted (up to 1 February 2012) electronically through the Conference website, www.wos2012.pl

The venue of the Conference is Sheraton Hotel, Sopot, Poland. Address: Powstancow Warszawy 10, 81-718 Sopot.

Information on the programme, registration fees, presentations, deadlines etc. one can find on the Conference website: www.wos2012.pl as well as on the website of the WOS National Organizing Committee: www.ciop.pl | wos2012@ciop.pl | Tel: +48 22 623 37 82 | Fax: +48 22 840 08 11

News from Poland

The International Conference "On the REACH road" is organised by the Ministry of Economy, in cooperation with the Bureau for Chemical Substances and the Polish Chamber of Chemical Industry. As the year 2011 was designated by UN as the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011) and 2011 is also the year of celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Maria Skłodowska-Curie's Nobel Prize in chemistry (MSC100) - the Conference was appointed as one of the activities undertaken to celebrate the IYC 2011, MSC100 as well as the 5th Anniversary of the adoption of the REACH regulation.

The conference examines the five years period of REACH implementation as a step towards innovation management and safe use of chemical substances. The aim of the conference is also to assess the industry and policy makers activities on both European and global scale.

This two-day conference will take participants through the following topics:

The Conference is to be held in Warsaw, Poland, 23 - 24 November 2011.

www.5-reach.pl/en

News from Spain

Safe maintenance is the focus of the European Week for Safety and Health at Work, which this year was marked from 24 to 28 October with a series of awareness-raising events, including workshops, seminars and exhibitions. The week is part of the Healthy Workplaces campaign, organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) and its partners across the EU and beyond.

'The safe maintenance campaign is drawing record levels of involvement with our Europe-wide network of focal points and more than 50 companies and organisations that joined as Official Campaign Partners', explains Dr Christa Sedlatschek, Director of EU-OSHA. 'Since April 2010, the campaign has mobilised some 10,000 people though more than a hundred partnership meetings and a series of media activities, to bring safe maintenance to the fore. Benefits for organisations of being a campaign partner include greater employee engagement (43%) and better networking activities (64%)', she continues.

The European Week will consolidate these activities, with many of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign events focused around this week.

The new Safe Maintenance Magazine features articles demonstrating a wide range of maintenance-related issues that impact safety and health in the workplace, including maintenance organisation and planning, risk assessment, human behaviour, chemical safety, design, subcontracting, communication and inspection of personal protective equipment.

A wide variety of campaign material is available in 24 languages to download from the Healthy Workplaces Campaign website.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) contributes to making Europe a safer, healthier and more productive place to work. The Agency researches, develops, and distributes reliable, balanced, and impartial safety and health information and organises pan-European awareness raising campaigns. Set up by the European Union in 1996 and based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency brings together representatives from the European Commission, Member State governments, employers' and workers' organisations, as well as leading experts in each of the EU-27 Member States and beyond.

Now you can follow us on Twitter, visit the Agency's blog or subscribe to our monthly newsletter OSHmail. You can also register for regular news and information from EU-OSHA via RSS feeds.

http://osha.europa.eu

The Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2010/11, which is co-ordinated by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and its partners in the 27 EU Member States, supports a wide range of activities at the national and European level that promote safe maintenance. It highlights the importance of maintenance to eliminate workplace hazards, and to provide safer and healthier working conditions in workplaces throughout Europe. The campaign concludes with the Healthy Workplaces Summit 2011 in Bilbao on 22 and 23 November 2011. http://hw.osha.europa.eu

News from the UK

Entry opens for RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2012- wherever you are in the world you can enter the prestigious award scheme

The entry process is now open for the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2012.

Dating back to 1956, RoSPA's awards scheme - the largest and longest-running occupational safety awards programme in the UK - recognises organisations' commitment to accident and ill health prevention. It is open to businesses and organisations of all types and sizes from across the UK and overseas.

The RoSPA Awards, which are sponsored by NEBOSH (the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health), look at entrants' overarching health and safety management systems, recognising important practices such as strong leadership and workforce involvement.

The majority of awards are non-competitive and are presented at a range of achievement levels. Competitive awards are presented in more than 20 sectors and specialist awards recognise excellence in specific areas. For 2012, the specialist trophy sponsors are once again: Westinghouse Springfields Fuels Ltd (Workforce Involvement in Safety and Health Trophy); Allianz Insurance plc (Managing Occupational Road Risk Trophy); Gulf Petrochemicals Industry Company of Bahrain (International Dilmun Environmental Award); and BHSF (SME Assistance Trophy).

All entrants must register for the awards at www.rospa.com/awards by December 1, 2011. There is an early registration discount of £55 for organisations that register by November 4, 2011. After registering, entrants will receive a RoSPA Awards USB key loaded with the required electronic forms, entry structure and simple guidelines with links to further online help. Organisations entering one or more of the specialist award categories will receive additional USB keys on which to compile their submissions.

David Rawlins, RoSPA's awards manager, said: "The RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards seem to break records every year. In 2011, 1,770 organisations received certificates or trophies - more than ever before. Not only do our awards provide well-deserved recognition for the winners, enabling them to differentiate themselves from competitors when tendering for new or repeat business, but they also encourage other organisations to raise their standards of accident and ill health prevention."

The closing date for entrants to return their RoSPA Awards USB keys containing the required entry information is February 1, 2012. Awards ceremonies will take place alongside Safety and Health Expo in Birmingham from May 15-17, 2012 and also in Glasgow on September 20, 2012. For more information, visit www.rospa.com/awards, call 0121 248 2090 or email awards@rospa.com.

News from the UK

Construction - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) from HSE

Various improvements are being made to the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website to coincide with the closure of HSE's Infoline telephone service on 30 September 2011.

New and updated construction FAQs have been added to the construction web pages: www.hse.gov.uk/construction

There are specific question and answers on the following topics:

News from the UK

BOHS Occupational Hygiene 2012 - 24-26 April 2012, Mercure Holland House Hotel, Cardiff, Wales, UK

OH2012 is already on the horizon and will be held in Cardiff. Cardiff offers everything from vibrant city life to the peace and tranquility of the nearby coast and countryside. As the capital city of Wales it is home to many national institutions including the National Museum of Wales and the much-admired Millennium Stadium. The city centre skyline is testimony to its heritage and ambition, with landmark buildings ranging from the ornate civic centre to the historic Cardiff Castle.

We are pleased to announce that Lawrence Waterman will be our Warner Lecturer for OH2012. Lawrence is currently Head of Health and Safety for the Olympic Delivery Authority, Head of Health & Safety for the Olympic Park Legacy Company and Chairman of Sypol, one of the UK's leading health, safety and environmental consultancies. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (CFIOSH) and a Member of the Faculty of Occupational Hygiene (MFOH).

www.occupationalhygiene2012.com

BOHS Team - Tel: +44 (0)1332 250713

You can join BOHS by visiting www.bohs.org where there is an online application form and details of membership benefits

News from the USA

Silica: adverse effects on health from US NIOSH

Silica is the most abundant compound in the earth's crust. Inhalation of crystalline silica is the only cause of silicosis, a preventable but incurable type of lung fibrosis.

Inhalation has also been associated with lung cancer, tuberculosis, COPD and other conditions.

Read more about this hazard and how it's adverse effects on health can be prevented. Read more on the NIOSH Science Blog.

NIOSH Monthly eNews

For a wealth information about NIOSH initiatives also look at the NIOSH Monthly eNews www.cdc.gov/niosh/enews

News from the USA

The October issue of LIFELINES ONLINE (Vol. VIII, No. 5) is available at the LHSFNA website. These are the headlines:

To view the stories and access our website, go to www.lhsfna.org.

Also, please note that back issues of LIFELINES ONLINE - as well as our print magazine, LIFELINES - are posted for online viewing. The LIFELINES ONLINE archive and LIFELINES archive are fully searchable, so you can find the articles that relate to your topic of interest.

As always, we look forward to your feedback and comments on our website and LIFELINES ONLINE.

Steve Clark, Communications Manager, Laborers' Health and Safety Fund of North America, 905 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006, USA

News from CIS HQ

USE IT OR LOSE IT! Don't forget to continuously promote CIS and the Network!

Do add the CIS logo on the front page of your website would be a good first start. (Checked recently and only a few CIS Centres websites have the logo or links to CIS website).

Please do add the CIS logo on all your publications.

Any views you have on CIS and its work please send into CIS HQ - to Roman Litvyakov litvyakov@ilo.org and Seiji Machida machida@ilo.org

OSHE web sites to explore...

We look at websites in different parts of the world that are offering quality information. This month we look at a selection of Risk Assessment advice, guidance, standards and good practices websites.

Also look in www.oshworld.com/links.html for hundreds of links to authoritative and validated web sites... on a vast range of subjects... constantly updated. Arguably the biggest portal to OSH and fire websites in the world!

This collection of authoritative and validated organisations' websites are listed first alphabetically under country name and then alphabetically under the first word of the organisation. The subject index expands the information of these websites, especially where there are many important sources of information which may not be apparent from a first look at a particular web site.

If you have a favourite site which should be included in this list please email details to: sp@sheilapantry.com

And if we do not have your web site listed in www.oshworld.com please send it to me sp@sheilapantry.com

Risk Assessment   AUSTRALIA
www.usyd.edu.au/audit_risk
University of Sydney Risk Management Office contains an extensive Occupational Health and Safety Manual, which lists in alphabetical subject order policies, procedures, guidelines on a wide range of subjects from AIDS, asbestos, carcinogenic substances, hazardous substances, laboratory safety, manual handling, radiation safety, risk management, sharps disposal and links to other sources of information.

Risk Assessment   BELGIUM
www.ferma-asso.org
Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) exists to widen and raise the culture of Risk Management throughout Europe to its members and to the risk management and insurance community. It achieves its aims by promotion and raising awareness of risk management through the media, by information sharing, educational and research projects.

Risk Assessment   INTERNATIONAL
www.ifrima.org
International Federation of Risk and Insurance Management Associations (IFRIMA) is the international umbrella organization for risk management associations, representing 23 organizations and over 30 countries around the world. With its roots going back to the 1930s and its development through the discipline of insurance and risk management, IFRIMA is uniquely positioned as a leader in risk management and its application. As an "association of associations", IFRIMA's primary objective is to provide a forum for interaction and communications among risk management associations and their members.

Risk Assessment   UK
www.airmic.com
Airmic is a members' association supporting those responsible for risk management and insurance within their own companies. Has over 1000 individual members who represent over 450 companies. Airmic provides research, training, networking, lobbying and market information for the benefit of members. Holds many events each year and an annual conference.

Risk Assessment   UK
www.hse.gov.uk/risk/debate.htm
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Risk Debate has been launched on 13 July 2005 as part of HSE's determination to build an integrated debate. The new web forum and discussion document provides an opportunity for everyone to be involved in the debate and take part in live discussions that will ultimately benefit UK society as a whole. The discussion document provides an in-depth look at the issues and backdrop that has led to the perception of risk aversion. Both the web forum and discussion document can be found on the web site.

Risk Assessment   UK
www.iirsm.org
The International Institute for Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) is a professional body for health and safety practitioners. It was created to advance professional standards in accident prevention and occupational health throughout the world. Membership is open to all individuals who have an interest in occupational health, safety and risk management. The Institute was established in 1975 and is a non-profit making body registered with the Charity Commissioners. It has over 6500 individual members in the UK, Eire, the Channel Islands and in over 60 other countries throughout the world. The IIRSM is administered by a secretariat reporting to the Board of Governors and in partnership with the British Safety Council.

Risk Assessment   UK
www.safed.co.uk
UK Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed), the UK's leading trade body for independent engineering inspection and certification industry. The site is aimed at all those concerned with health and safety. Gives details of publications, guidelines, complete list of British Standards that can be ordered alongside SAFed's own publications. Links to other relevant websites.

Risk Assessment   UK
www.theirm.org
Institute of Risk Management IRM is risk management's professional education body. Established as a not-for-profit organisation, the Institute is governed by practising risk professionals and has strong links to leading universities and business schools across the world. Recognising that risk management is a multi-disciplinary field, we also work closely with many other specialist institutes and associations and seek to represent an increasingly broad and diverse set of stakeholders. The worldwide membership is drawn from industry, commerce, consultancy and the public sector. Members have backgrounds in many different risk-related disciplines: accountants, project managers, insurers, chartered surveyors, health care professionals, lawyers, bankers, auditors, health and safety professionals and engineers are among those represented. IRM Associateship (AIRM) is recognised worldwide as the sign of a risk management professional and is achieved through examination: Fellowship (FIRM) follows through accredited practical experience. Site includes links.

Risk Assessment   USA
www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive-dir.html
Berkeley Laboratory Science web site covers information on research on a wide variety of issues from risk assessment and ecohazard evaluation to clean air technology.

Risk Assessment   USA
www.epa.gov/ORD
The Environmental Protection Agency's EPA Office of Research and Development pages include information about the EPA, its strategy, their centres, and bulletin board services, as well as information on their activities in risk management.

Risk Assessment   USA
www.fmglobal.com
Factory Mutual Insurance Company known as FM Global which is an insurance organisation with a unique focus on risk assessment. Offers insurance and risk transfer information, research, standards and testing, resource centre, and news room information.

Risk Assessment: Office   UK
www.hse.gov.uk/risk/office.htm
Health and Safety Executive: Risk Audit for the office is a free internet-based audit package to help companies manage their office health and safety risks.

Risk Assessment: Training package for small businesses   UK
www.leeds.gov.uk/risk
Leeds City Council: Health and Safety Inspection Group in the UK has developed an online training package to help small business carry out successful risk assessments. The package combines simple and practical advice with interactive learning exercises to make a comprehensive step-by step guide to workplace risk assessment. Covers: basic principles behind risk assessment and explains the requirements of the law. Case studies from an office to a warehouse environment and much more.

Risk Assessment Tools: Europe   SPAIN
osha.europa.eu/en/practical-solutions/risk-assessment-tools
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work regularly updated database on risk assessment tools from across Europe and is intended to aid organisations in assessing their health and safety risks. Includes a wide range of generic and sector/risk specific materials including checklists, guidance, questionnaires and interactive software. Can be searched by country, topic, sector or keyword.

Risk Audit for textile industry   UK
www.hse.gov.uk/textiles/audit
UK Health and Safety Executive's Textile Health and Safety Audit is a free internet-based audit package to help textiles companies manage their health and safety risks.

Risk Observatory: European   SPAIN
http://riskobservatory.osha.europa.eu
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work European Risk Observatory web site. As society evolves under the influence of new technology and of shifting economic and social conditions, so workplaces, work practices and production processes are constantly changing. These new work situations bring with them new risks and challenges for workers and employers which in turn demand political, administrative and technical approaches that ensure high levels of safety and health at work. This section provides up to date information on new and emerging occupational risks and their prevention, as well as giving a long term perspective through the expert forecasts and bringing together links to other useful sources of information. Topics include nanotechnology, absenteeism, hearing loss, noise exposure, pace of work and working time.

Diary of Events

These events may inspire you to create similar training courses and conferences/seminars in your own country.

These are taken from the OSHWORLD Diary of Events see www.oshworld.com/diary.html which is intended as a guide to the wide range of Health, Safety, Fire, Chemical, Environment events, conferences, seminars, training courses and other related activities worldwide. It is updated during the first week of the month, and includes validated Internet links to further information. If you cannot attend these events the organisers are usually willing to let you have papers and other information, if you contact them.

1 November 2011 - Practical Aspects of ATEX - Hazardous Area Classification (Day 1 of 4)
Leeds, UK
Event Organiser: Chilworth Global | Email: Enquire about this event

1-2 November 2011 - IPAF, the International Powered Access Federation: 1st IPAF US Convention: Powered Access: Recognition and Avoidance of Hazards
Chicago, USA
Contact: www.ipaf.org/usconvention

2 November 2011 - FIRE and GORE's Risk versus Results Roadshow
Birmingham City Football Club, UK
Contact: Jan Poole, Fire Magazine | Email: jan.poole@pavpub.com | www.fire-magazine.com/Content/Events.aspx

2 November 2011 - Practical Aspects of ATEX - Dust, Gas and Vapour Explosion Hazards (Day 2 of 4)
Leeds, UK
Event Organiser: Chilworth Global | Email: Enquire about this event

3 November 2011 - Practical Aspects of ATEX - Industrial Electrostatic Hazards (Day 3 of 4)
Leeds, UK
Event Organiser: Chilworth Global | Email: Enquire about this event

3-9 November 2011 - The Professional Conference on Industrial Hygiene (PCIH) 2011 - Navigating New Opportunities
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Contact: American Industrial Hygiene Association | Email: pcih@aiha.org | www.pcih2011.org

4 November 2011 - Practical Aspects of ATEX - Non-Electrical (Mechanical) Ignition Risk Assessment (Day 4 of 4)
Leeds, UK
Event Organiser: Chilworth Global | Email: Enquire about this event

8-11 November 2011 -XVIII Latin American Meeting on Occupational safety and Hygiene
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Contact: www.abpa.org.br

11 November 2011 - Process Safety Management (PSM) (Day 2 of 2)
This second day re-emphasises content from day one and uses practical examples and studies to illustrate PSM concepts in greater detail. Opportunities for questions and networking with other delegates is included.
Heathrow (Windsor), UK
Event Organiser: Chilworth Global | Enquire about this event

21-27 November 2011 - UK Road Safety Week 2011 - 2young2die
UK
Contact: www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk for tips and ideas on getting involved and to complete an online form telling the charity your plans for the week.

21 November - 2 December 2011 - Employment injury schemes and the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases
Turin, Italy
Contact: Mr. Félix Martín Daza, ILO | Email: f.martin@itcilo.org | www.ilo.org/safework/events/courses/lang--en/docName--WCMS_149783/index.htm

23 November 2011 - FIRE/Gore Roadshows on Firefighter Safety
Stirling Management Centre, Stirling, Scotland
Contact: Jan Poole, Fire Magazine | Email: jan.poole@pavpub.com | www.fire-magazine.com/Content/Events.aspx

23-24 November 2011 - Emergency Services Show
Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, UK
Contact: Jan Poole, Fire Magazine | Email: jan.poole@pavpub.com | www.fire-magazine.com/Content/Events.aspx

26-27 November 2011 - From Recession to Depression: UK Stress Network Conference
Hillscourt Conference Centre, Rednal, near Birmingham, UK
Contact: UK Work Stress Network | www.workstress.net | Conference flyer and booking form: www.workstress.net/downloads/110321%20%20booking%20form%20v4%202011.pdf

29 November 2011 - The Future of Fire Summit
St Johns Hotel, Solihull, UK
Contact: FPA | https://www.thefpa.co.uk/fpa_home/training/default.aspx

3-7 December 2011 - AIOH 2011 - 29th Annual Conference and Exhibition: Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists Inc
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Contact www.aioh.org.au/conference/2011/index.html

7-8 December 2011 Tank Storage Expo and Conference
Kuala Lumpur Conference Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Contact: Nike Ajibode | Tel: +44 (0) 203002 9117 | Email: nike@tankstorageevents.com

7-10 December 2011 - 34th International Conference of Safety in Mines Research Institutes
Themes: Rescue and Disaster Management; Safety engineering and management; Mine environment and occupational health
New Delhi, India
Contact: Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India | Email: safetyconference11@gmail.com | www.icsmri34.in

18-23 March 2012 - 10th International Congress on Occupational Health - Occupational Health for All: From Research to Practice
Cancun, Mexico
Contact: www.icohcongress2012cancun.org

1-4 April 2012 - 8th Global Congress on Process Safety
Houston, Texas, USA
Contact: AICHE | www.aiche.org/conferences/specialty/gcps.aspx

2-4 April 2012 - INRS Occupational Health Research Conference: Health risks associ­ated with mixed exposures
Palais des Congrès, 17/19 rue du Grand Rabbin Haguenauer, 54000 Nancy, France
Contact: Institut National de Re­cherche et de Sécurité (INRS) in association with PEROSH | www.inrs-mixed-expo2012.fr

16-19 April 2012 - The Lift Show
ExCeL London, UK
Contact: Bob Hudson, Room 13 Ltd, The White House, 2 Sevenoaks Road, Borough Green, Kent TN15 8BB, UK | Tel: +44 (0)1732 886716 | Email: bob@room-13.co.uk | www.room-13.co.uk

21-23 May 2012 - 2nd international Conference on Well being and Work
Manchester, UK
Contact: Local Organising Committee is at the Health and Safety Laboratory, a PEROSH member institute | Email: wellbeing2012@hsl.gov.uk | www.hsl.gov.uk/health-and-safety-conferences.aspx