CIS Newsletter

No. 217
October 2007

CIS Newsletter celebrates 19 years & still going strong!
Bringing news to over 140 countries in the CIS Network!

Contents

  1. Editorial
  2. Reports from Dusseldorf of the CIS Annual Meeting 2007, the OSH Networks meeting and A+A Congress and Trade Show
  3. News from around the World - Algeria, Europe, Finland, Italy, Norway, UK and the USA
  4. FOCUS: How long are you going to live...?
  5. OSHE websites
  6. Diary of Events

Editorial

Dear CIS Colleagues

The October 2007 edition of the CIS Newsletter contains details of the CIS 2007 Annual Meeting in Dusseldorf as well as other reports. The A+A 2007 Congress and Trade Show, jointly sponsored by BASI (Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft für Sicherheit und Gesundheit bei der Arbeit), the ILO, the European Agency and other safety and health bodies was very interesting. More details in the reports below).

The events were held over a few days and there was a great feeling of 'Buzz' about the place. The Dusseldorf Messe Centre is certainly impressive - with easy transport links and comfortable areas to talk and discuss occupational safety and safety (OSH) matters.

It was a very busy time as we saw the exhibition, attended the OSH Networks meeting organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work - where we met up with Jukka Takala in his role as Director of the Agency.

These meeting including the CIS Annual Meeting gave us the opportunity to met lots of old friends and made new ones - so a great occasion that was worth the efforts made by many people who travelled a long way from many parts of the world to be involved in the various events. Who says OSH is boring?

As you can see this is a long Newsletter - as well as reporting on the various events I have added other news that continues to come in - many thanks to all those sending news... and those have NOT SENT any news - I look forward to hearing from you!

One of the outcomes of the CIS Annual Meeting that I chaired is that another Regional Meeting will be held in Geneva in early May 2008. CIS HQ is checking for available dates and these will be sent very soon. And it is hoped to offer Training Workshops for CIS members in the 2008 Regional Meeting - details also to follow. So the Wind of Change keeps blowing - play your part wherever you are!

Don't forget to make as much Publicity as possible regarding your OSH activities ... tell them, tell them and tell them again... Remember >>>>

Use the CIS Logo on your web site and publications!

Thriving in 2007... Keep promoting and telling the World at large that CIS and its network exists!

You know I welcome ideas for inclusion in the future editions of this Newsletter. It is amazing how much the CIS Newsletter content gets re-used around the world. Take advantage of free publicity! Remember you can see CIS Newsletter on the web site www.sheilapantry.com/cis where back issues are stored.

Changed email number recently? Please let me know of any changes so that I can continually alert you to when the new edition of CIS Newsletter is available via this website.

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.fireinf.com

Please consider the environment before printing this Newsletter
Feel free to use this Newsletter on your own web site/pages/e-news

News from Dusseldorf...

Reports of various meetings including the CIS Meeting held in Düsseldorf 19-21 September 2007

A+A Exhibition

A large exhibition with a very wide range of products - including every shape of personal protective equipment.

The "Information" Row in the Exhibition had a number of familiar stands - from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work were we met up with our friend Jukka Takala who is now the Agency's Director. The Agency's next campaign is entitled 'Lighten the Load' and includes manual handling and musculoskeletal disorders see http://osha.europa.eu

There was also the UK Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) who also acts as the Secretariat to both ENSHPO and also INSHPO. There were others such as BAUA and KOHSA who were showcasing the 2008 World Congress to be held in Seoul, Korea (see also report in the CIS Networks annual meeting report).

The Congress itself offered a wide variety of talks on many subjects...

Summary ..."Health and Safety sector on the way up" A+A Dusseldorf closes with more visitors

The occupational safety sector is on the way up worldwide and the awareness for safety and health risks at the workplace has risen noticeably. This is reflected by the results and business at A+A 2007 in Düsseldorf which drew to a close on 21.9.07 with record results after four days. 55,100 trade visitors (54,350 in 2005) attended the event, regarded as the leading international trade fair for Safety, Security and Health at Work with 1,460 exhibitors from 51 nations. Held concurrently, the international A+A Congress registered approximately 6,000 participants, making it the foremost event for the occupational safety and health community.

Eugen Müller, the Chairman of Basi e.V., the Federal Working Group on Safety and Health at Work, which organised the congress, said:- "occupational safety has turned from a marginal issue into a modern discipline in the business process chain. A+A has accompanied it on this path and provided important momentum."

The fact that A+A also serves as an indicator for safety and security trends on the pan-European market is also evidenced by the high turn-out of international visitors with more than one in five visitors from abroad.

"After years of stagnation, the German market for protective products is finally growing again too. Obviously, safety and security-related subjects are increasingly becoming the focus of attention for top management. At A+A 2007 there were noticeably more decision-makers present than in previous years," says Gerd Zeisler, President of the A+A 2007 Advisory Board and Director Sales Europe for Dräger Safety AG & Co.

Zeisler's statement can also be expressed in figures. The Lifestyle Research Group published an updated market study in time for A+A 2007. According to this study, the market volume for personal protective equipment (PPE) in Germany rose by 11% in the period 2004 to 2006 to a current level of Euro 1.42 billion. Experts put the total volume of the European market at Euro 4 to 5 billion.

The A+A opening ceremony at the Congress Centre Düsseldorf had already fuelled expert discussions. In his keynote address, Franz Müntefering, the Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, underlined the importance of safety and health at work for increasing productivity. "Safety and health are indispensable prerequisites for maintaining and promoting employees' performance. This affects all of us - companies but also social security funds and politicians." In view of the process of demographic change, Müntefering requested that working conditions be structured in such a way as to allow employees to remain in their jobs until they reach retirement age and avoid early-out schemes.

As far as the A+A Congress programme was concerned, the international lectures series was also very well received by the audience. The 15 simultaneously interpreted workshops held under the Leitmotif "Safety and Health at Work International" were well attended.

Also worthy of mention was the congress organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO - UN organisation), held as an integral part of the A+A Congress. This year's event was entitled "Decent Work as a Global Goal and National Reality" and attracted delegates from 65 nations.

At the A+A trade fair 1,460 exhibitors from 51 nations presented a whole range of products and services for personal protection, collective security and health promotion at the workplace - ranging from items for protecting individual parts of the body and personal protective equipment for task forces/emergency services to fire protection devices and ergonomic office furniture design.

The product highlights presented at A+A 2007 included a novel bio-feedback diagnostic device for diagnosing muscle tensions caused by wrong postures at desk workplaces. Other innovations included a modern shield for noise abatement in open-plan offices, unobtrusive designer smokers' cubicles with efficient smoke extraction, sound-dampening surface profiles for office furniture or innovative high-tech thermal-imaging cameras. The latter allow the emergency services to detect the concealed seat of a fire.

Many manufacturers of jobwear and protective clothing provided impressive proof that their items not only provide perfect protection and are increasingly comfortable to wear but also feature modern styling. A+A visitors convinced themselves of this added value in Hall 4. Here, as part of the "Innovationsshow", 19 leading suppliers presented their current corporate fashion collections in several daily shows also featuring special apparel lines for professional newcomers.

Security at work, preventive fire protection and safe fire-controlling measures have developed into a winner for A+A. For example, the training sessions held by the WFV, the Federation of Factory Fire Brigades, met with great interest among the expert audience. Attracting an equally high attendance was the stand of the Federal Association of Fire-Protection Article Manufacturers.

The German Association for the Promotion of Fire Protection impressed everyone with their clever presentation during A+A. Hovering above the Dräger Safety stand was a new, spectacular research project developed by the vfdb Association. It was a six metre long, unmanned blimp equipped with measuring devices etc., designed for remote-controlled surveying of major disasters. Via radio transmission images and measured data (eg:- on air quality and gas concentration) the information collected can be accessed quickly and automatically from a control stand.

The next A+A will be held in Düsseldorf from 3rd to 6th November 2009.

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OSH Networks at Work - Network meets Network

19 September 2007, A+A Congress Düsseldorf, Room 2 CCD Süd

This seminar was organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. If you wish to explore the networks check out their various websites.

Introductions by

Getting started and getting to know each other

We were presented details of the following networks and their key activities by the following:

Chair: Jukka Takala

At this point there were further opportunities to find out more about the various networks and their 'hot topics', how to connect and join forces, and mingle with the other networks' colleagues:

This summing up gave various people chance to say how useful they found this session, what they got out of it and what needs to be followed follow-up.

Chairs: Jukka Takala, Gabor Sandi

And after the meeting continue to network at the networking drinks reception offered by INSHPO and ENSHPO.

For your further information the following details may help you in your work.

Participating networks

ENETOSH

The overall goal of the European Network Education and Training in Occupational Safety and Health" (ENETOSH is to find and to promote ways of improving the quality of education and training by intensifying and systematising the exchange of knowledge and experience regarding mainstreaming OSH into education and training in Europe.

28 partner institutions from 15 European countries are working together collecting good practice education and training in OSH (mainstreaming OSH into education) as well as developing standards for the qualification of teachers and trainers in OSH.

Further reading: ENETOSH Basic info, ENETOSH leaflet

Website: www.enetosh.net

ENSHPO

The European Network of Safety and Health Professional Organisations (ENSHPO) brings together health and safety professional organisations from the current EU member states, new member states, applicant countries, and other European countries.

It aims at providing a forum that facilitates the exchange of information, experience and good practice on a wide variety of topics, including trying to understand the role of the health and safety professional in each country; identifying common objectives; identifying the needs of health and safety professionals; addressing issues affecting global health and safety professionals; training issues.

Further reading: ENSHPO leaflet

Website: www.enshpo.eu

EUROSHNET

EUROSHNET is the network for cooperation between European OSH professionals active in standardisation, testing, certification, and/or related research. EUROSHNET has the purpose of setting up a process of communication and cooperation between European OSH experts. Its fundamental objective is to anchor the level of protection required by European Single Market Directives not only in European, but also in international standards.

The network brings together around 420 experts from more than 90 OSH institutions in 20 countries.

Further reading: EUROSHNET leaflet

Website: www.euroshnet.org

Public fora: www.euroshnet.org/fora_open.php

European Forum of Insurances against Accidents at Work and Occupational Diseases

The European Forum of Insurances against Accidents at Work and Occupational Diseases provides a venue for exchanging information and experiences between the national organisations, which are responsible for the statutory insurance against occupational accidents and occupational diseases.

The goal of the Forum is to promote and safeguard the principle of a specific insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases; moreover, it monitors actively the process of convergence between the systems in place in Europe against occupational accidents and occupational diseases. The Forum commits itself actively to improving the situation of workers in Europe who have suffered an accident or an occupational disease and therefore is playing a significant part in creating a Europe of the future that is socially just. Today, the Forum has members from 16 countries.

Further reading: Forum Newsletter No 27

Website: www.europeanforum.org

ENWHP

The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) is an informal network of national occupational health and safety institutes, public health, health promotion and statutory social insurance institutions. In a joint effort, all the members and partners aim to improve workplace health and well-being and to reduce the impact of work related ill health on the European workforce. ENWHP is a platform for all stakeholders interested in the improvement of workplace health and committed to working towards the vision & mission of the ENWHP: "healthy employees in healthy organisations". Currently the network has national contact offices in 28 countries.

Further reading: ENWHP Image brochure

Website: www.enwhp.org

Focal Point network of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU OSHA)

EU-OSHA's main safety and health information network is made up of a focal point in each EU Member State, as well as in Candidate and potential Candidate Countries and EFTA countries. Focal points are nominated by each government as the Agency's official representative in that country, and they are normally the national authority for safety and health at work.

Working with national networks including government, workers' and employers' representatives and other relevant national safety and health actors, the focal points provide information and feedback that help to support Agency initiatives. The Focal Points also manage the national Agency websites, organise the European Campaigns for Safety and Health at Work, and nominate representatives to the Agency's Expert Groups.

Further reading: EU OSHA corporate brochure

Focal points: http://osha.europa.eu/about/focal_points

Website: http://osha.europa.eu

Campaigns: http://osha.europa.eu/campaigns

ILO CIS Centre network

CIS is the knowledge management arm of the ILO Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment (SafeWork). Its goal is to ensure that workers and everyone concerned with their protection have access to the facts they need to prevent occupational injuries and diseases. CIS continuously monitors world literature on occupational safety and health through its contacts with publishers and with its CIS Centres at the national or regional level. The network of CIS Centres contributes to the exchange of information among persons responsible for the establishment and implementation of national policies and programmes.

Over 140 CIS Centres exist at the moment worldwide.

Website: www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/cis

CIS centres: www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/cis/about/centres/allctrs.htm

INSHPO

The International Network of Safety & Health Practitioner Organizations (INSHPO) is an international organization that represents generalist occupational safety and health practitioner organizations. By bridging geographical, political and economic boundaries, INSHPO provides an international forum for information exchange among these groups and gives them a unified voice in dealing with other organizations and international authorities. INSHPO also promotes the sharing of standards and best practices, and encourages the development of occupational safety and health at a professional level by promoting the highest ethical standards.

Further reading: INSHPO leaflet, INSHPO executive council

Website: www.inshpo.org

IALI

The International Association of Labour Inspection (IALI) is the global professional association for labour inspection.

The main aims of IALI are: to promote the professionalism of its members on all aspects of labour inspection, so as to enhance their impact and effectiveness; to hold international and regional conferences and similar events at which members can exchange ideas and experience about how best to promote compliance with labour law and good practice; to provide information to its members about professional issues through the Association's website, newsletters, reports and other publications; to promote closer collaboration between its members, through regional networking and activities.

It has currently over 100 members worldwide.

Further reading: Intro to IALI

Website: www.iali-aiit.org

Network of WHO/Collaborating Centres in occupational health

The network of Collaborating Centres makes a substantial contribution to our goal of "occupational health for all"; Network members are the "on-the-ground" actors, with capacities and networks in developed and developing countries, and they play a key role in capacity building. WHO estimates that only about 10 to 15% of workers worldwide have some kind of access to occupational health services, and extending coverage is a key challenge. The existing multilateral and bilateral collaboration is being further developed to transmit information and sharing of experience between countries and institutions. Networking and twinning arrangements among institutions in developing and industrialized countries increasingly provides a basis for equitable progress of countries in different stages of development.

The Network has taken up the challenges of the 2006-2010 Workplan and the work is in full process. Compendium of activities of the WHO Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health 2006-2010: The 2006-2010 Workplan is organised into six Activity Areas as follows:

For more information including the directory and detailed workplans, visit www.who.int/occupational_health/network/en.

ISSA: Prevention Commission and its 11 International Sections

The ISSA is the world's leading international organisation bringing together national social security administrations and agencies covering the different risks, including prevention. The objective of ISSA's Special Commission on Prevention is to initiate and to conduct at the international level activities designed to promote the prevention of occupational risks. These are carried out by eleven international sections, who organize international seminars, round-tables, workshops, publish topical documentation on relevant prevention issues, provide technical assistance and run joint projects.

Each Section has its own members and disposes of an international experts network. The ISSA, with the active support of the Special Commission and the Sections, is one of the main organizers of the World Congress on Safety and Health, held every three years with approx 3.000 participants from around the globe.

Website: www.prevention.issa.int

SUMMARY

This was an excellent opportunity for the Networks to "Showcase" their organisations. It was possible to see the "cross-overs" between organisations and opportunities for further networking and possibly collaboration.

Future activities should include

A major conference drilling down into the various projects, campaigns etc and find opportunities to join together to make a world campaign - creating a better world of workplaces achieving good standards of OSH - information, training, education and improvements for all levels of workers and at the same time making Senior Directors of organisations aware of their OSH responsibilities.

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Your HELP is needed

Sabine SOMMER of the European Agency Email: sommer@osha.europa.eu would really like to receive your evaluation form if you did not fill one in at the event.

Please cut and paste the following into an email and send to Sabine.

Evaluation Form

'OSH Networks at Work - Network meets Network', Düsseldorf, 19 Sept. 2007

In which of the represented networks are you participating:

  1. Was the session programme on the whole interesting and insightful?
    [   ] Very Satisfied
    [   ] Satisfied
    [   ] Dissatisfied
    [   ] Very Dissatisfied
  2. Were the presentations by the speakers done in an interesting way and sufficient in length?
    [   ] Very Satisfied
    [   ] Satisfied
    [   ] Dissatisfied
    [   ] Very Dissatisfied
  3. Were you introduced to new topics and issues and did you learn things which are useful for your networking work?
    [   ] Very Satisfied
    [   ] Satisfied
    [   ] Dissatisfied
    [   ] Very Dissatisfied
  4. Was the level of interaction and networking opportunities with other participants satisfactory?
    [   ] Very Satisfied
    [   ] Satisfied
    [   ] Dissatisfied
    [   ] Very Dissatisfied
  5. Was the documentation (info about participating networks) sent to you prior to the session sufficient for your preparation?
    [   ] Very Satisfied
    [   ] Satisfied
    [   ] Dissatisfied
    [   ] Very Dissatisfied
  6. Would you be interested in participating in other network-network meetings in the future?
    [   ] Yes, absolutely
    [   ] Yes, more or less
    [   ] No
  7. Other comments and suggestions:
     
     

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AGENDA OF THE 45th ANNUAL MEETING OF CIS CENTRES
DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY, Thursday, 20 September 2007

8:30

Registration

9:00

Opening by the Representative of the ILO Director-General

Election of the Chairperson of the Meeting

Adoption of agenda; adoption of the 44th CIS meeting's report (Geneva, 2006)

Report on CIS activities and innovations, including new collaborative databases and future plans, by Gábor Sándi (Head of CIS)

10:30

COFFEE BREAK

10:45

Report of CIS Network activities, by Annick Virot (CIS Centres Coordinator)

Short presentations on individual Centres

12:30

LUNCH

14:00

Promotion of the XVIII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work (Seoul, 2008), including a short video presentation by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA)

General discussion of the role and activities of the Centres network

Sharing of informational activities between CIS and its Centres

Shared promotional activities (Promotional Framework for Occupational

Safety and Health Convention; World Day for Safety and Health at Work)

17:30

CLOSURE

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REPORT OF THE MEETING

Please note that the official report will be sent by CIS HQ very shortly.

The CIS meeting was well attended by about 50 people from around the world. Despite being held in Europe it was disappointing that not many European countries were represented.

The programme started with the introduction by Gabor Sandi of the new Safework Director Dr Sameera Al-Tuwaijri, who gave a short address reminding the delegates of the following:

The CIS Network was in a prime and robust position and ideally placed to be able to give quick responses to emerging problems such as avian flu. (The World Health Organisation ran away with it). Nevertheless the CIS Networks does know how to respond and get involved.

The funding of the CIS activities for the next two years should be such that it can be very involved in the work promoting C187 Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 - for full details see www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/convdisp2.htm

Dr Sameera Al-Tuwaijri agreed that The Encyclopaedia is now out of date and needs amending and called upon the CIS Network with all its expertise to become involved in the revision and updating. Feedback from CIS was needed urgently.

She said a consultant had been hired to look at the concept of the revision. No paper version would be produced, but the contents would be on both CD-ROM and on the ILO website.
NB The Encyclopaedia was on the CIS agenda - see below for CIS delegates' conclusions.

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Election of the Chairperson of the Meeting

It was proposed by Irja Laamanen - FINLAND that Sheila Pantry, UK should be the Chairperson, and was seconded by Elly Goos - the Netherlands

Sheila Pantry accepted and commented that it was will great pleasure that she took the chairing of the meeting for the day. She thanked Dr Sameera Al-Tuwaijri for her introduction. Dr Sameera Al-Tuwaijri left the meeting but said she would return later in the day so sit in on the discussions.

The delegates then agreed to the Adoption of agenda and also the adoption of the 44th CIS meeting's report (Geneva, 2006)

CIS at the crossroads: Report on CIS activities and innovations, including new collaborative databases and future plans, by Gábor Sándi, Head of CIS presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of The CIS National, Collaborating And Regional Centres Düsseldorf, Germany, 20 September 2007

Last year's theme, you may recall, was the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health.

This year we can go one step further, since the International Labour Conference adopted in 2006 Convention 187 concerning the promotional framework for occupational safety and health. The drafting of this Convention was a direct outcome of one part of the Action Plan for the Global Strategy, adopted in 2003.

This convention, the latest in a long series of instruments specifically devoted to OSH, includes a requirement that member states of the ILO formulate a national policy on occupational safety and health, one of whose basic principles is the development of a national preventative safety and health culture that includes information, consultation and training. In order to implement this policy, it foresees for each member state a national system for occupational safety and health, which would include, among its many provisions, information and advisory services on OSH. As you can see, the most important safety and health convention of the ILO in recent years expresses a commitment to information activities as part of the organization's overall strategy in the field.

We in CIS consider this a welcome development. All too often, those who formulate policy in the occupational safety and health area hardly even mention information as an important component. Yet how can anyone, from labour inspector to OSH instructor, do anything in the absence of reliable and easily accessible information?

And reliable and easily accessible information is what we in CIS furnish. And it is what you, as CIS centres, collect, manage and distribute. We are here today to discuss what new things we have accomplished this past year in our field, and - especially - to let each other know how we can do our job more effectively.

I shall start with our core product, CISDOC.

CISDOC

In number of records we are approaching 67,000, an impressive number for such a small operation. We are now adding records at the planned rate, an improvement over the chronic lagging behind schedule of former times. But we should do more - an annual target of 1500 new records is simply not enough to cover a diverse field such as ours. For the budget covering the biennium 2008/2009, I have recommended that we increase our production level to at least 1800, i.e. 300 instead of 250 additions every two months. This is a modest enough increase, but I rather aim at a realistic figure than at a more spectacular albeit unrealistic number.

Tied to the CISDOC is our innovative Virtual Bulletin, following in the footsteps of our regretted printed Bulletin. Aside from allowing users to browse through citations of recent OSH literature, rather than just use a frustrating search mechanism, another advantage of the Virtual Bulletin is that it is indexed by search engines such as Google. And it really works. A very recent addition to CISDOC, such as the following, is recoverable through Google, as I have checked:

CIS 07-557
Activities and achievements 1996-2000. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

Another innovation in the production of CISDOC is an agreement I have been able to come to with the publishers of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, who have kindly agreed to send me a pdf copy of the latest issue of the journal before it is even printed and placed on the Internet - as well as sending me the author abstracts! This enables us to place abstracts of articles from the IJOEH much faster than is usual with other journals. I wish I had the time to pursue similar agreements with other publishers - ideally, we should have similar agreements with all major publishers of OSH literature, from anywhere in the world.

Finally, also in connection with CISDOC, I consider it vital that we transfer as much of our archival information into the digital Internet age as is financially possible. We are attacking this problem on two fronts: we are producing Virtual Bulletins identical to our printed Bulletins, going backwards - as of now, you can find Virtual Bulletins going all the way back to 1993. This means that should you be running out of space on your library bookshelves, you can safely dispose of CIS Bulletins from 1993 on, since we have all that information on our web site, free of charge!

In parallel, we have started to convert the microfiche collection that served as the archives of CIS before 1998 into pdf files. As a test, we have converted years 1996 and 1997. In addition, I asked in my budget preparation for the next biennium for funds to convert 4 more years worth of microfiche, i.e. those covering 1992-1995. This is a somewhat expensive proposition, but once done, we shall have the information available for the foreseeable future. Not only do microfiche collections take up a lot of space, but also accessing them is becoming a very difficult matter - microfiche storage devices and reader-printers are increasingly hard to service and maintain, due to the lack of spare parts.

Of course, should people think that old material has no importance, my answer is: OK, let's then discard the old microfiche collection. Is this what we want - the inability to find information printed 20-30 years ago? I would like to remind everyone that CIS collects quite a bit of material that is kept in few if any libraries in the world.

The PDF files of the converted CIS microfiche collection can of course be transferred to CD-ROMs, and sold to CIS centres on the same basis as current copies of the CISDOC-TEXT CD-ROMs. I think that the price for this should be lower than for the current copies, although they should not be free, given that producing them is an expensive proposition. I will be very interested to hear your comments on this matter.

LEGOSH

Let us turn our attention to LEGOSH, the legislative part of our online service. As you know, we have included on our site a country-by-country overview of OSH legislation, secondarily sorted by broad subject area. This is a much-used resource, despite the fact that we have to warn all users: this collection is not up-to-date, neither is it necessarily complete as we go backwards in time. We cannot even be certain that all laws and regulations in it are still in force. Despite this proviso, the site is heavily used, and we receive many requests related to it.

I am pleased to report that we were able to hire an intern this last summer, a law student from England, who was able to devote her time entirely to mine the Internet for making LEGOSH much more up-to-date and complete. I hope that we shall be able to abstract the information in the coming months, and make LEGOSH into an even more useful product.

NEW PRODUCTS

Thirdly, let me talk about the two new interactive products developed by my colleague András Szücs. We have sent you all extensive information on both CIS Centres News and the Directory of OSH Institutions, with instructions as to how you can access and use them. Some of you have done so, and I would like to thank you for your accurate work. The CIS network is, above all, a collaborative enterprise, and it would be to everyone's benefit if all participating institutions with access to the Internet contributed news about their activities, as well as details about their institutions, to the two databases in question. Please note that by contributing to these two databases you will obtain a lot of credit and publicity for both your institution and yourself.

Just to advance the project on OSH institutions, I have myself added information on 40 or so institutions, using mostly information I found on the Internet. As we know, the Internet is not always accurate, so do please check and see if the information I added on institutions in your country is actually correct.

On the Encyclopaedia, I have some news. With support from our new management, we have been able to obtain the services of a respected professional from the United States, someone who was actually an author of an article in the 4th edition, and with her help we may be able to take the first steps towards the updating of the Encyclopaedia, which, after all, is now almost 10 years old. I would like to emphasize that no decisions have been taken, but the fact that someone is actually able to devote serious attention to the Encyclopaedia is a very good sign. Meanwhile, we would appreciate comments and suggestions for the revised Encyclopaedia - we are at such an early stage in planning that all worthwhile suggestions may find a place in the process.

On the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), we continue to participate in its card creation programme. CIS staff attend the twice-yearly card preparation meetings - this year we have already had one in Munich, Germany and the next one will be in Lyon, France this autumn.

One of the problems with IPCS is that the different language versions of the cards are mostly on different servers, following somewhat different software standards. This makes updating into a somewhat complex procedure. CIS is working on a project, in collaboration with WHO and the European Union, which may simplify the translation process by relying on software to make the automated translation of standard coded phrases that are used on the cards. Much credit for developing this project (assuming it keeps on being funded) should go to András Szücs and to my predecessor Emmert Clevenstine, who have contributed a lot of their knowledge.

PEOPLE, MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE

I shall say nothing about about the CIS centres network itself, as this is Annick's domain. I would like, however, to thank all of you who have participated in the network's activities. I cannot mention everyone by name, of course, but I will thank Sheila Pantry for her incessant activity on behalf the CIS Network, and of course for her invaluable work issuing the Newsletter.

On financial and management changes in CIS, I do not want to get into too much detail. Suffice it to say that we are doing relatively well financially, assuming our budget is approved by the ILO's Governing Body in its November Session. Doing well does not of course mean that we are awash with money, and we have to use our resources carefully.

PEOPLE

Our most precious resource is our staff, all of whom are working very hard to keep CIS a functioning entity. As you know, there have been some health problems, and we all appreciate the concern shown by the CIS centres community. As you also know, the health problems have been resolved. In addition, Chantal Dufresne has had a baby daughter this year, and she is now back at work after maternity leave. Begoña Casanueva has returned to CIS after two years' unpaid leave, and we are very pleased to have her back.

This may be the place to mention the sad news that CIS's founder, Mr Marcel Robert, who honoured us with his presence at last year's meeting, passed away earlier this year. Mr Robert had a long and rich life, and CIS is one of his legacies. Let us hope we can honour his memory by keeping CIS going as an effective organization.

For the future, CIS is increasingly involved in the general work of the SafeWork Department. This means that we all have to balance our work on CIS tasks with other tasks relating to non-informational aspects of the SafeWork work programme.

One of the most important of this kind of work is the preparation of next year's world congress in Seoul, Republic of Korea. My colleague Annick Virot has been working very hard on this, together with other colleagues from SafeWork, ISSA, the International Social Security Association (which is the co-sponsor of the World Congress) and KOSHA (the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency). Annick deserves special thanks for being able to balance her work in CIS (including her work as coordinator of the centres network, and preparatory work for this Meeting) with her preparatory work on the Congress. But you will hear more about this Congress from our Korean colleagues later on in the day.

With this I shall end my report, and will be very happy to answer your questions.

See Gabor Sandi's report and PowerPoint on www.sheilapantry.com/cis

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Annick Virot, CIS National and Collaborating Centres Organiser

Annick gave a rundown on the various activities of the CIS network during the past year. She reminded the delegates of the Global Challenges in occupational safety and health (OSH) and the priorities that include shipbreaking, the Global Strategy on OSH (2003 ILC Conclusions), the Creation of Safety Culture , Developing the CIS Centres Network and the Results of questionnaire survey 2003.

The major tasks facing CIS are:

Publicity and Promotion

A major part of the CIS work is through:

Other activities during 2006-7

Results of the vote at ILC: C.187
Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention C. 187 and Recommendation C. 197

Creation of National OSH Profiles and Developments in member States

Continuous work of the International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre (CIS)

See full PowerPoint of the presentation on www.sheilapantry.com/cis.

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National and Collaborating Centres Presentations and reports

Presentations were given by the representatives from the following eleven countries from whom we heard about a range of interesting initiatives including training, events and publications.

These countries were: Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Egypt, France, Israel, Korea, Poland, Russia, Singapore and Tanzania.

A CD-ROM was also given to delegates contain a number of reports that had been sent in by National and Collaborating Centres.

Encyclopaedia

Discussions commenced before lunch and finished after lunch on the future of the Encyclopaedia. Delegates were asked by a show of hands if they used the Encyclopaedia in their work. The following conclusions were reached after much discussion.

1. Questionnaire

a) It was agreed by the delegates that a Questionnaire should be sent out by CIS HQ to all National and Collaborating Centres asking for their comments, ideas and priorities in the future editions of the Encyclopaedia.

2. The Questionnaire should be returned quickly to enable a specification to be written as soon as possible.

3. The Questionnaire should include the following:

CIS HQ will be sending the Questionnaire out very shortly... start to think how you would like to see the Encyclopaedia developed in the future... You need to play your part.

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Promotion of the XVIII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, Seoul, 2008), including a short video presentation by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA)

We had a very exciting video presentation from Mr LEE, Joon-Won who is the Secretary General, Secretariat for the World Congress. The presentation should all aspects of the Congress and he finished with an invitation to everyone to attend this Congress which is the first time that it has been held in Asia.

For further details go to www.safety2008korea.org

*********************************************************************************

General discussion of the role and activities of the Centres network

This discussion range over a wide range of topics including the following:

1. That CIS and its Centres were in a prime position

2. Sharing of informational activities between CIS and its Centres was paramount and enabled all centres and countries to grow quickly, efficiency and achieve their objectives.

It was agreed that:

There was a plea from the Argentinian CIS member that more should be done in South America.

*********************************************************************************

Shared promotional activities (Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention; World Day for Safety and Health at Work)

It was agreed that:

  1. Strategies to convince governments, organisations, educators that OSH is good for business was a priority for CIS and the CIS Network to create and promote.
  2. The world is drowning in information but thirsty for knowledge is a challenge for CIS and the CIS Network.
  3. It is NOT true that all OSH information is "out there on the Internet and is free of charge". This needs to be strongly challenged and rebuked by all CIS Centres.
  4. The World Health and Safety Day 28 April 2008 should have shared promotional activities co-ordinated by CIS HQ. Together much more can be achieved.
  5. The value of the CIS Network must be strongly promoted at every opportunity.

There were some very good examples quoted by various CIS members of their successes. Perhaps these examples should be gathered together and put onto the CIS website for future reference.

*********************************************************************************

IMPORTANT ADVANCED NOTICE

Next CIS meetings in 2008

In addition to the CIS Annual Meeting 2008 that will be held in conjunction with the World Congress in Seoul, Korea in June 2008 it was proposed by the chair person Sheila Pantry and seconded by Elly Goos from the Netherlands and voted for by the delegates that there should be a Regional Meeting in Geneva early May 2008.

There would also be a Training day(s) also included at this time. Details of dates and content will be circulated shortly once the accommodation for the meeting had been confirmed.

*********************************************************************************

Delegates appeared to have both enjoyed and gained from the meetings, which concluded at 17.30

Thanks to all who attended for their contributions and ideas.

*********************************************************************************

A regional meeting will be organized in Damascus with the ILO Beirut Office, 18-20 Nov 2007

News from around the world

News from Algeria

First laboratory of metrology for environmental measurements in Algeria

The national institute for the prevention of occupational risks (Institut national de la prévention des risques professionnels (INPRP)) in Algiers, which has functioned as the CIS National Centre since 2005, has newly created a laboratory of metrology which aim at promoting and improving conditions of work, including safety and health.

The laboratory is to contribute to the prevention of occupational risks and work-related accidents and diseases. Its specificity and means allow it to intervene on a whole range of activities including measuring occupational exposure to noise, vibrations, chemicals, ionizing radiation, etc., elaborating technical guidelines inherent to these risks and providing guidance to reduce or eliminate them.

Accessible to public and private enterprises, this laboratory offers its services to occupational safety and health specialists, occupational health physicians, universities and laboratories.

At the last annual Meeting of CIS Centres that took place in Dusseldorf (Germany) on 20 September, Dr Farida Iles, Director General of INPRP, asked the representatives of CIS Centres to initiate a partnership with the INPRP, and invited specialists from other countries to visit the laboratory in order to share their expertise.

Création d'un premier laboratoire national de métrologie des ambiances de travail en Algérie

L'institut national de la prévention des risques professionnels (INPRP) qui a son siège à Alger et qui abrite le Centre national CIS depuis 2005, vient de réaliser la mise en place d'un laboratoire de métrologie dans le cadre de sa mission qui est d'entreprendre toute activité concernant la promotion et l'amélioration des conditions de sécurité et de santé sur le lieu de travail.

Ce laboratoire, service spécialisé de la structure prévention des risques professionnels de l'INPRP, a pour tâche de contribuer à la prévention des risques professionnels liés aux accidents du travail et aux maladies professionnelles. Grâce à la spécificité de ses objectifs, il intervient sur un ensemble d'activités de mesurage, d'analyse et de conseil dans des domaines tels que le bruit et les vibrations; les prélèvements chimiques; les ambiances thermiques; le rayonnement ionisant; etc.

Mis à la disposition des entreprises publiques et privées, ce laboratoire offre son savoir-faire aux intervenants de la prévention des risques, aux services de médecine du travail, aux instituts universitaire et aux laboratoires.

Lors de la réunion des Centres CIS qui s'est tenue à Düsseldorf (Allemagne) le 20 septembre 2007, Dr Farida Iles, Directrice générale de l'INPRP, a lancé un appel aux représentants des Centres CIS présents afin qu'un partenariat avec l'INPRP soit instauré et que des collaborateurs, spécialistes de ces questions de métrologie, soient dépêchés sur place dans le but d'améliorer les prestations et services de ce nouveau laboratoire.

News from FINLAND

Finland's FIOH publish the following newsletters that will be of interest to readers:

Website: www.ttl.fi

News from Italy

DIARY DATE

International Centre for Health Care, Research and Documentation on Agriculture and Health

On 22 November 2007, at 9.30 am, in the meeting rooms of the Medical Direction of the University Hospital San Paolo, Via di Rudinì 8, Milano, it will be held the Inauguration Ceremony, presentation to the Authorities and First Planning Meeting of the International Centre for Health Care, Research and Documentation on Agriculture and Health.

It is planned a one-day seminar on agriculture, with the participation of national and international authorities and stakeholders, and the public presentation and discussion of the Centre's workplan.

You are asked you to confirm your participation to the Organizing Secretariat.

Contact: Antonio Colombi, Gabri Brambilla and Claudio Colosio, Department of Occupational Health of the University of Milan, S. Paolo Hospital Unit., Via Di Rudinì 8, 20142 Milan (Italy) | Tel: + 39 0250323305 and +39 0281844378 | Fax. + 39 02 89180221 | Mobile: + 39 3481433234

News from Europe

"Regulate not ridicule" call for safety profession

Europe's largest body for individual health and safety professionals, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), has again called for the health and safety profession to be officially regulated.

Speaking at the Public Services Group's Annual Dinner at the National Safety Symposium in Nottingham, Ray Hurst, IOSH President-Elect, said that regulating the health and safety profession was important for raising standards and helping eliminate some of the crazy stories that appear in the media.

"Currently, anyone can set up as a health and safety consultant or adviser with no qualifications or verifiable competence. This is something that needs to change. The advice health and safety professionals give can be the difference between life and death.

"If people purporting to be from our profession give bad advice, people could be killed or seriously injured. At the same time, failure to use proper advice can stop people living their lives and lead to health and safety being wrongly 'blamed' for banning things, threatening conkers games, school trips and Remembrance Day parades!"

Ray explained: "Regulation would mean that to practice in occupational health and safety, people would need to satisfy certain competence criteria - such as having relevant qualifications and experience.

"Once people are legally required to prove they hold certain qualifications or experience before practicing, perhaps some of the crazier 'bonkers conkers' stories will be prevented and the reputation of the health and safety professional raised to the level it truly deserves."

He closed saying: "Legally regulating health and safety and requiring practitioner-level professional membership, will allow us to prevent unqualified people from practicing, provide assurance to the general public and also protect the good standing of the profession.

"In the event that a health and safety professional does fall below the standard, they can be disciplined and in serious cases, 'struck off'. So, we see regulation as an important safeguard against 'rogue' operators and poor practice, potentially benefiting workers, employers and the general public alike."

IOSH recently launched its Get the Best campaign in a bid to encourage employers and recruiters to get the right level of health and safety advice for the jobs they advertise and to encourage the media to seek the views of the profession in their stories.

IOSH is Europe's leading body for health and safety professionals. We have almost 31,000 members worldwide, including more than 11,500 Chartered Safety and Health Practitioners. The Institution was founded in 1945 and is an independent, not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation that sets professional standards, supports and develops members and provides authoritative advice and guidance. The IOSH website: www.iosh.co.uk

News from Norway

The Norwegian National Centre has translated a lot of information into Polish which has been put onto the website. It is of particular relevance to Construction workers, but there are also standard working agreements etc

Web address: www.arbeidstilsynet.no/artikkel.html?tid=92397

The site was launched in June 2007 and has already had more than 15,000 page views and the number of phone calls was approximately 620.

The Centre also has a call centre with two Polish-speaking persons to answer questions on occupational safety and health matters. Tel: +47 815 48 222 - dial 1 and then say "polski". The telephone service is open every Friday from 09-14. One can also send an e-mail to Svartjenesten@arbeidstilsynet.no or leave a message on the answering machine. The phone number is also on the website.

There are estimated to be about 100,000 Polish workers in Norway.

Norway has c4.5 million inhabitants.

Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, Arbeidstilsynet Statens hus, N- 7468 Trondheim, Norway | Telephone: (+47) 73 19 97 00 | Fax: (+47) 73 19 97 01 | E-mail: direktoratet@arbeidstilsynet.no | www.arbeidstilsynet.no

News from the UK

Report on mobile phone research published

Mobile phones have not been found to be associated with any biological or adverse health effects according to the UK's largest investigation into the possible health risks from mobile telephone technology. The Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme has published their conclusions today as part of its 2007 Report.

The six year research programme has found no association between short term mobile phone use and brain cancer. Studies on volunteers also showed no evidence that brain function was affected by mobile phone signals or the signals used by the emergency services (TETRA). The MTHR programme management committee believes there is no need to support further work in this area.

The research programme also included the largest and most robust studies of electrical hypersensitivity undertaken anywhere in the world. These studies have found no evidence that the unpleasant symptoms experienced by sufferers are the result of exposure to signals from mobile phones or base stations.

The situation for longer term exposure is less clear as studies have so far only included a limited number of participants who have used their phones for 10 years or more. The committee recommends more research be conducted in this area.

The MTHR programme also investigated whether mobile phones might affect cells and tissue beyond simply heating them. The results so far show no evidence for this and the committee believes there is no need to support further work in this area.

Professor Lawrie Challis, Chairman of MTHR, said "This is a very substantial report from a large research programme. The work reported today has all been published in respected peer-reviewed scientific or medical journals. The results are so far re-assuring but there is still a need for more research, especially to check that no effects emerge from longer-term phone use from adults and from use by children."

The research programme has also funded some basic measurements of radio signals from microcell and picocell base stations such as those found in airports, railway stations and shopping malls. These have shown that exposures are well below international guidelines.

Additional studies also confirmed that the use of a mobile phone while driving, whether hand-held or hands-free, causes impairment to performance comparable to that from other in-car distractions. There are however indications that the demand on cognitive resources from mobile phones may be greater.

The Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme was set up in response to the research recommendations contained within the 'Stewart Report'.

The Programme received approximately £8.8 million of funding from a variety of government and industry sources.

To ensure the independence of the research carried out, scientific management of the programme was entrusted to an independent Programme Management Committee made up of independent experts, mostly senior university academics. Funds contributed by the sponsors of the Programme are managed on behalf of the Committee by the Department of Health as Secretariat to the Programme.

The first Chairman of the Programme Management Committee was Sir William Stewart and he was succeeded in November 2002 by Professor Lawrie Challis, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Nottingham and formerly Vice-chairman of the Stewart Committee.

The Programme was set up in 2001 and has supported 28 individual research projects, mostly undertaken in UK universities. Of these, 23 have now been completed and most have published results in peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals (23 papers to date, with more expected in the near future).

The Report 2007 summarises the state of knowledge at the time of the Stewart Report and the current state of knowledge, taking account of both research supported by the Programme and that carried out elsewhere. It also provides an indication of future research priorities.

Details of all the projects supported by the Programme are published on its web site www.mthr.org.uk

News from the USA

NIOSH Offers Resources for Workers in Disaster Recovery and Emergency Response

In the wake of two tragic events, the Minneapolis bridge collapse and the Utah mine roof collapse, NIOSH prepared and posted to their Web site resources for rescue and recovery workers. The August 2 NIOSH Update, www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-08-02-07.html, describes strategic measures workers can take to avoid occupational hazards at rescue and recovery sites.

Additional resources are available on the NIOSH emergency response topic page, www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/emres/natural.html. The August 7 Update, www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-08-07-07.html, focuses on resources for mine operators and mine workers to avoid risk of roof falls, to anticipate hazards in retreat mining operations, and to design safe mining operations. Additional information can be found on the NIOSH Mining Web page, www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining.

Bringing Toxicology to Global Issues in Occupational and Environmental Public Health

Several NIOSH researchers are scheduled to speak in Louisville, KY, at the "Professional Conference on Industrial Hygiene" and the pre-conference symposium, "Bringing Toxicology to Global Issues in Occupational and Environmental Public Health." The symposium will take place October 18 - 19, 2007, followed by the conference on October 20 - 23. The conference is sponsored by the American Industrial Hygiene Association's Academy of Industrial Hygiene. Visit www.aiha.org/academy to learn more.

Power Tool Noise Reduction 101

College students get involved in occupational safety and health. Starting again this fall, NIOSH will sponsor college engineering student groups to evaluate and redesign power tools to reduce noise emissions as part of a class project.

The projects are made possible by multiple partnerships between NIOSH and Michigan Tech University, Penn State University, Iowa State University, Purdue University, and the University of Cincinnati. These partnerships help to reduce risk of noise induced hearing loss among construction workers while promoting interest in occupational safety and health to engineering students. To learn more, visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/collegeStudents/studentpresentations.html.

NORA FY08 Intramural Funding Awards Announced

NIOSH recently announced the selection of several new internal NORA projects. The approved projects are expected to make substantial contributions to workplace safety and health. The selections were made following peer review by experts from outside NIOSH. Some focus on the highest priority occupational safety and health issues, such as deaths due to falls, trench cave-ins and tractor roll-overs.

Others will develop additional needed surveillance information or will close knowledge gaps in emerging issues, such as long-term exposure to low-level radiation and exposure to new nanoparticles. More information about these NORA projects is available at www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-08-23-07.html. Future eNews articles will describe other facets of NORA. Address questions to NORACoordinator@cdc.gov.

FOCUS

How long are you going to live before you find that vital piece of authoritative and validated OSH information? Do you believe the myth that it is "all there on the Internet and Free"

Sadly, many people believe that ALL occupational safety and health (OSH) information is available on the Internet and free. This is just not true... even the UK Health and Safety Executive does not published all its guidance and advice on the web.

Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd. publish a number of health, safety, environment and fire electronic services that contain authoritative and validated information from well-known organisations around the world such as the Health and Safety Executive, European Agency for Health and Safety at Work, ILO Health and Safety Centre, Geneva, US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Fire Service College and UK Forensic Science Service.

These services are regularly updated, contain both full text and bibliographic information have been transferred onto new, easy-to-use software and host platform. All services are available for a 15-day free trial.

The following services are long-established and are used worldwide by a wide variety of individuals, consultancies, organisations, universities, researchers and lecturers:

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Contact Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd. for free trials for all services that are cost effective. Why pay more for information? Click onto www.sheilapantry.com/interest.html for free trials for all services that are cost effective. Why pay more for information?

OSHE web sites to explore...

Also look in www.oshworld.com/links.html for hundreds of links to authoritative and validated web sites

AUSTRIA

International Atomic Energy Agency: Emergency Responders (IAEA)   AUSTRIA
http://www-ns.iaea.org/tech-areas/emergency/emergency-response-actions.asp
International Atomic Energy Agency: Emergency Responders site provides guidance on how first responders should respond to a radiological emergency. It is based on the materials in the IAEA Manual for first responders to a radiological emergency. This material should only be used once it has been integrated with national and local emergency arrangements including translation; revision to be consistent with local organizations and concepts of operation; training conducted and finally tested during drills and exercises. Gives questions and answers and links.

UK

CHAF - Control of Hazards Associated with the Transport and Bulk Storage of Fireworks   UK
www.chaf.info
CHAF - Control of Hazards Associated with the Transport and Bulk Storage of Fireworks website describes a European Union (EU) funded project which aims to provide a better understanding of critical conditions that give rise to explosions in packaged fireworks, and improved methods of predicting performance in large scale storage. Annual sales of fireworks in the EU amount to tens of thousands of tonnes and similar quantities are held in storage. This project will provide a framework for the safe storage of bulk fireworks which will have direct benefits to the EU in terms of improving worker safety and reducing the work-related hazards to which members of the public are exposed. Also, reduction of the severity of large scale fireworks storage accidents will have beneficial environmental effects in terms of minimising the release of toxic fumes and reducing off site blast damage. CHAF is supported by the European Union under the Fifth Research Framework Programme (FP5) and contributing to the Generic Activity "Fight against major natural and technological hazards" within the "Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development " Programme (Contract Number EVG1-CT-2002-00074).

European Sprinkler Network   UK
www.eurosprinkler.org
European Sprinkler Network was set up in 2002, the Network is a coalition across the fire safety, political and other relevant communities to encourage the greater use of fire sprinklers to save lives and protect property and the environment. Information in English, German, French, Dutch and Spanish.

United Kingdom Rescue Organisation   UKRO   UK
www.ukro.org
United Kingdom Rescue Organisation UKRO is committed to improving rescue standards throughout the UK. Bringing together the UK's rescue services and developing their skills to serve the public. The website is a quality resource for all UKRO stakeholders that includes new areas to support the continual push for Education and Skill Development.

Wise up to Fire   UK
www.wiseuptofire.org
Wise up to Fire is an initiative established by the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association to help galvanise action from all those concerned about fires in schools to urge those responsible to fit sprinklers. Every year there are over 2,000 fires in schools and other educational premises, of which an estimated 75% are started deliberately. In a frightening trend, daytime acts of arson during the school term are increasing, now accounting for almost one third of all deliberate school fires. This is a real threat to lives. Gives details of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Case studies, links etc

USA

International Association of Arson Investigators IAAI   USA
www.firearson.com
International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) is based a USA based organisation. The site gives details activities, events, publications relevant to arson investigation and also links.

Diary of Events

If you have a seminar, conference or exhibition that you would like to promote - please send details to your Editor. Also look in www.oshworld.com/diary.html

17-18 October 2007 - Institute of Acoustics Autumn Conference 2007: Sources of noise and vibration problems
The Oxford Hotel, Oxford, UK
Contact: Judy Edrich, Institute of Acoustics, 77A St Peter's Street, St Albans, Herts AL1 3B, UK | Tel: 01727 848195 | Fax: 01727 850553 | Email: judy.edrich@ioa.org.uk | www.ioa.org.uk/events

6-8 November 2007 - U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security "Technology for Critical Incident Preparedness,"
San Francisco, CA, USA
Contact: www.ctc.org

12-13 November 2007 - IBC Energy presents the inaugural conference... Offshore Support Vessels 2007: Debating the operational, technical & safety issues in OSVs
Crowne Plaza, St James, London
Contact: Daniel Claassen | Email: daniel.claassen@informa.com | daniel.claassen@informa.com

21 November 2007 - Fleet Safety annual Best of the Best conference
National Motor Cycle Museum, Birmingham, UK
Contact: Brake | Tel: +44 (0) 01484 559909 | Email: admin@brake.org.uk | www.brake.org.uk

2008

8-14 April 2008 - AOHC 2008: American Occupational Health Conference
New York, USA
Contact: American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) | Tel: +1 847 816 ext 374 | www.acoem.org

16-18 April 2008 - Disaster Management 2008: An endeavour to combat disaster
Pragati Maidan, New Delhi,India
Contact: Services International, New Delhi, India | Tel: 91 11450 55561/64 | Email: info@servintonline.com | www.dmindiaexpo.com

31 May - 5 June 2008 - 2008 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition
Minneapolis , Minnesota, USA
Contact: www.aiha.org

2-6 June 2008 - 2008 World Safety Conference and Exposition
Las Vegas, NV, USA
Contact: www.nfpa.org/conference

4-8 August 2008 - ASTM Boulder Conference on Surface and Dermal Sampling 2008
Boulder, Colorado, USA
Contact: Kevin Ashley, NIOSH Division of Applied Research and Technology (Symposium Chair) | www.astm.org/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/filtrexx40.cgi?U+mystore+swqs8906+-P+EVENT_ID+1080+/usr6/htdocs/astm.org/SYMPOSIA/callforpapers.frm

14-16 August 2008 - International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire Rescue International 2008
Denver, Colorado, USA
Contact: www.iafc.org

14-18 September 2008 - 14th International Society for Respiratory Protection
Dublin, Ireland
Contact: www.isrp.com/dublin

Make my Day... Please send some News - Your Editor