CIS Newsletter

No. 253
October 2010

CIS Newsletter celebrates 22 years & still going strong!
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
  2. CIS News from the Annual Meeting 2010 in Beijing, China
  3. News, Events and ideas from around the World including "Do you know" - Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Finland, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, UK, and USA to name a few!
  4. OSHE websites to explore
  5. Diary of Events

The WHO Network of Collaborating Centre Connection (CCC) e-newsletter: www.cdc.gov/niosh/ccc

ILO CIS Network Newsletters: www.sheilapantry.com/cis

Editorial

Greetings

This year is moving fast - no doubt many of you will be planning conferences, training courses and other campaigns and activities in 2011.

In this edition you will find some information about the recent CIS Annual Meeting held in China on 31 August 2010.

At this moment only received TWO contributions from those attending ...!!

See below for these write-ups and reports from a few CIS Centres.

FOCUS

Remember that at this time of the year there are many new entrants into the workplace - ensure that they are trained and made aware of the dangers of working.

Likewise if staff are being allocated new duties - ensure that they also are made aware of the hazards of their new work areas.

Do NOT let them become another statistic!

The CIS Newsletter this month contains a roundup of information received from many parts of the OSH World - for which many thanks.

If you are planning any publications, conferences, seminars or training courses, then please send your 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.

USE IT OR LOSE IT!

Don't forget to continuously promote CIS and the Network!

Even adding 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 Gabor Sandi sandi@ilo.org and Seiji Machida machida@ilo.org

Keep up your Publicity... tell them, tell them and tell them again... see ideas in www.sheilapantry.com/cis/other/wp01.html

Remember that CIS Newsletters electronic archive going back nearly 7 years is available on www.sheilapantry.com/cis

Thanks again for the publications, emails and news - these are always gratefully received.

Will you be Surviving in 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.fireinf.com

News from CIS

Gabor Sandi writes:

The 48th annual Meeting of CIS National, Collaborating and Regional Centres was held in Beijing, China, on 30 August 2010

The Meeting was attended by 32 participants from 19 CIS Centres and by one observer, as well as by four staff members from ILO Geneva (Seiji Machida [Director of SafeWork], Mr Gabor Sandi [CIS Coordinator] and Ms Annick Virot [CIS Centres Coordinator] and Ms Manal Azzi). The Meeting was held in conjunction with the 5th China International Forum on Work Safety, held right after the CIS Meeting on 1-3 Sept. 2010. The Forum, the first of which was held in 2004, is one of the most important international OSH meetings in the Asia-Pacific region.

The CIS Meeting was opened by Mr Assan Diop, Executive Director of the ILO's Social Protection Sector, and Mr Wu Zongzhi, president of the CIS National Centre for China and of the China Academy of Safety Science and Technology (CASST). Their opening speeches were followed by the election of the Chairperson of the Meeting, Ms Barbara Szczepanowska of CIOP, the Polish National Centre. Mr Seiji Machida, Mr Gabor Sandi and Ms Annick Virot made their presentations concerning the work and recent activities of SafeWork, CIS and the CIS Centres, respectively. It was a pleasure to report that CIS had by now 151 national, collaborating and regional centres, despite the recent loss of two major centres in Sweden and Italy, as a result of government cutbacks in their respective countries.

Breaking with tradition, there were no individual presentations by representatives of CIS Centres this time. Instead, Ms Manal Azzi provided a summary of activities by CIS Centres, based on reports submitted by centres to CIS during the weeks that had preceded the Meeting.

Following this presentation, three workgroups were formed in order to explore in small committees possible improvements in what CIS and its Centres Network do. Among the main proposals of these workgroups were that the CIS website should become a functional gateway to OSH information in the world, that a quarterly Bulletin be published summarizing information sent in by members of the network, that the current criteria for the establishment of CIS centres be revised (with stricter requirements), that regional activities be upgraded, and that a more diversified set of information services be provided in line with developments in communications technology.

Annick Virot provided an analysis of the responses to the questionnaire survey sent out to centres recently.

The Meeting ended with a free discussion, resulting in the usual lively exchange of ideas.

Following the Meeting, participants made a tour of the Chinese national centre. On 31 August there was a visit to the research facilities of the China Academy of Safety Sciences and Technology, which included a general introduction to the activities of the Academy by Mr Wu Zongzhi, its President. In a separate visit, CIS staff went, in the afternoon of 1 Sept., to the information centre of the Academy, which is headed by Ms Yang Nailian.

Most participants went on to attend the 5th China International Forum on Work Safety and its associated Exhibition. The Forum and its Exhibition had an attendance of many hundreds of OSH experts from around the world. The theme of the Forum was Infrastructure Development and Capacity Building in Work Safety. A special Beijing Statement in support of the Seoul Declaration was adopted at a special session.

A full report will shortly be available on the CIS web site www.ilo.org/cis

Two presentations from Annick Virot can also be seen:

More information

You can see some annual activity reports from CIS Centres for 2009/2010 on www.ilo.org/safework/info/lang--en/docName--WCMS_144186/index.htm

There are some interesting documents on CIS budgets and activities: www.ilo.org/safework/info/cis/lang--en/index.htm

www.ilo.org/global/What_we_do/Officialmeetings/gb/GBSessions/lang--en/docName--WCMS_116006/index.htm

News from around the World

News from Africa

The latest edition of African Newsletter on Occupational Safety and Health, August 2010 is on Risk Assessment. This edition has contributions from a number of countries:

  1. Editorial, by Seiji Machida, ILO SafeWork
  2. Risk assessment training in Mauritius, by Pavan Baichoo, Franklin Muchiri, ILO
  3. The role of the International Chemical Safety Cards in occupational health and safety, by Richard Brown, WHO
  4. Risk assessment in Uganda, by Yusuf Katula, Uganda
  5. Risk assessment and control in workplaces, by S. A. Kadiri, Nigeria
  6. Basic Occupational Health Services, BOHS and risk assessment
  7. Psychosocial risk assessment - ensuring the well-being of employees, by Hope Mugagga Kiwekete, South Africa
  8. PRIMA-EF
  9. A new IEA/ICOH publication - Ergonomics Guidelines on Occupational Health Practice in Industrially Developing Countries, by Kazutaka Kogi
  10. Publications:
    • Healthy workplaces: a model for action published by WHO
    • Risks in Modern Society published by ISSA
  11. Conferences details

To see full text click on www.ttl.fi/en/publications/electronic_journals/african_newsletter/Documents/African_Newsletter%202_2010.pdf

African Newsletter is published by Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, FI-00250 Helsinki, Finland

The African Newsletter on Occupational Health and Safety homepage address is: www.ttl.fi/AfricanNewsletter

The next issue of the African Newsletter will come out at the end of December 2010. The theme of the issue 3/2010 is Improving occupational injury and disease reporting systems.

News from Australia

Safety: a wicked problem - Leading CEOs discuss their views on OHS transformation

Key findings from this Australian report include:

First of its kind in Australia

This research, which Peter Wagner & Associates believes is the first of its kind in Australia, has revealed several insights and discussion points to fire the debate on transforming OHS performance in Australia. This research presented CEOs with the hypothesis that OHS performance in Australia had plateaued and asked whether what we were doing today was likely to lead to excellence in OHS.

Their wide-ranging responses confirmed that we have indeed come a very long way over the past 10 years. The profile of OHS has never been higher and the effort and investment in getting OHS right has never been greater.

However, their responses also strongly supported the view that there was still much more that we needed to do across all stakeholders.

We need to step back from the day-to-day noise of OHS and ask ourselves the difficult question of whether what we are doing today will meet our expectations for tomorrow. Should we consider radically different approaches?

Transformation is very different to fine tuning. Fine tuning is about taking incremental steps, where performance improvement is gradual and occurs over extended timeframes. Fine tuning is the right strategy if we believe we are close to our goal.

Transformation, on the other hand, is about doing things in a radically different way. The argument for change is strong and urgent. We need to encourage fresh perspectives and develop a different capability. Transformation also means taking significant risk and fostering passion for something new. If we all say the same thing, are we really changing anything at all?

We are at the crossroad. Do we have the courage, commitment and belief to consider an alternative path?

For the full report produced by Peter Wagner & Associates visit the Safety Institute of Australia website www.sia.org.au/downloads/News-Updates/Safety_A_Wicked_Problem.pdf

Belgium

Unions call for IMF and ILO to work for recovery and for jobs

Brussels, 10 September 2010 (ITUC OnLine): At a major conference organised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Oslo on September 13, a high-level international union delegation led by ITUC President Michael Sommer and ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow will be arguing that priority must be given to maintaining economic stimulus policies, and achieving a real and sustained economic recovery with jobs at the centre.

"Achieving durable recovery means that the labour market imbalances and inequalities that were a major cause of the crisis must be tackled and prevented. Therefore, recovery must not be built on deregulation but can succeed only if based on policies that can improve well-being for people - on better and more available social protection, on collective bargaining, on higher minimum wages, on more progressive taxation, on green jobs - policies encapsulated in the Global Jobs Pact of the ILO," said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow, adding "Furthermore, a financial transactions tax is needed to help provide the resources to carry out those policies."

The Conference comes shortly after the release of the OECD's Interim Economic Assessment that signals a likely slowdown in growth to 1.5% in the G7 economies in the second half of the year - see comment by TUAC at: www.tuac.org/en/public/e-docs/00/00/07/A0/document_news.phtml

Link to ILO/IMF background document: www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_144399/index.htm

The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 151 countries and territories and has 301 national affiliates.

News from Canada

Engineered Nanoparticles: Current Knowledge about Occupational Health and Safety Risks and Prevention Measures

The IRSST just published its second edition of "Engineered Nanoparticles: Current Knowledge about Occupational Health and Safety Risks and Prevention Measures". An initial assessment of the state of scientific knowledge about the occupational health and safety aspects (OHS) related to synthetic nanoparticles (NP) was published by the IRSST in 2006, and covered the scientific literature until the end of 2004. What was found was that OHS knowledge was very fragmentary but that research in this field was rapidly growing. This current document aims to assess the state of current knowledge in this field and summarizes the data available until early 2010.

Overall, what emerges is that NP remain an important source of concern in OHS. The literature gives us very little information specific to NP relating to their physical hazards like fires or explosions. As for health hazards, many toxicological studies on different substances have demonstrated toxic effects on various organs. It is found that in general, an NP will normally be more toxic than the same chemical substance of larger dimensions, but it is currently impossible to determine which measuring parameter for exposure is best correlated with the measured effects. The evaluation of occupational exposure must therefore address a series of different parameters, and the exposure data available are relatively rare. It should also be noted that at the present time, attention is particularly focused on carbon nanotubes (CNT), which seem to show, in different animal studies, toxicity similar to that of asbestos and consequently causing great concern in the international scientific community, mainly relating to prevention.

In a context of incomplete data for the majority of nanometric substances, it remains impossible to quantify the risks for workers in the majority of situations because the toxicity of the products, the level of dust contamination of workplaces, or their potential to cause fires or explosions remain not extensively documented or totally undocumented. Nevertheless, the majority of the means of exposure control for ultrafine particles should be effective against NP and much research is currently being carried out to confirm this.

In a context of uncertainty about the risks, and with an increasing number of potentially exposed workers, the current report paints a big picture of the OHS knowledge currently available in the NP field. In the absence of specific standards, a preventive and even a precautionary approach are recommended, and a review of the available means for minimizing worker exposure is presented.

To download the document: www.irsst.qc.ca/en/_publicationirsst_100541.html

News from Chile

New e-learning platform in Chile

A new e-learning platform was launched by the Institute of Public Health of Chile, with two courses in Spanish language; one in Ergonomics (closed) and the other, a self-instructional course for prevention in mental health for disaster responders (open).

The course for disaster responders is a Spanish translation and adaptation of a course designed in North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness; it was translated in the Department of Occupational Health (Chilean CIS Centre) to provide tools for prevention of psychosocial hazards to workers who were called to respond after the big earthquake in last February 27th; this course gives to disaster responder workers basic information about the risks they are exposed to, and ideas for self-care: a big disaster is not only an emergency over population, but it also means a big overload for workers of public services.

People interested in this Spanish version can register in the following link: http://e-learning.ispch.cl/moodle

Best regards,
Manuel Parra, Chile

Please Do Not Forget ... Make my day ... please send your news items to your Editor!

News from Europe

2012 to be the "European Year for Active Ageing"

The European Commission has on September 6, 2010 proposed that 2012 be designated as the "European Year for Active Ageing".

The initiative aims to help create better job opportunities and working conditions for the growing numbers of older people in Europe, help them take an active role in society and encourage healthy ageing.

It comes as Europe's policymakers grapple with a steadily ageing population and its impacts on public services and finances. The European Parliament and Council are expected to endorse the initiative by the beginning of next year.

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=860&furtherNews=yes

More News from Europe

ECHA calls for comments on reports proposing restrictions on mercury and phenylmercury

ECHA has prepared a report, on the request of the Commission, suggesting restrictions on several mercury containing measuring devices. A report from Norway is suggesting a ban on five phenylmercury substances. ECHA starts today the six-month public consultation period on these proposals. ECHA, however, encourages interested parties to send in their comments by 24 December 2010.

Mercury in measuring devices

At the request of the European Commission, ECHA reviewed the availability of reliable safer alternatives to mercury containing measuring devices. As a result, ECHA has now prepared a restriction report proposing to restrict mercury in several measuring devices that are used in industrial and professional settings (thermometers, sphygmomanometers, barometers, manometers, metering devices for the determination of softening point, pycnometers and strain gauges). Mercury in measuring devices intended for the general public is already restricted. With this proposed restriction, the listed mercury containing measuring devices in industrial and professional use would be prohibited (with some minor derogations) from being imported or placed on the market in the EU after 18 months from the entry into force.

Phenylmercury substances

Norway proposed to restrict five phenylmercury substances. These substances are mainly used as catalysts in the production of polyurethane coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers. The life-cycle of the phenylmercury compounds leads to the release of mercury to the environment.

In the restriction report Norway suggests that these substances should not be manufactured, placed on the market or used as a substance or in mixtures in concentrations above 0.01 % weight by weight. The same concentration limit would apply for the substances in articles or homogenous parts of articles. In order to give time for the replacement of the substances by alternatives, Norway proposes that the restriction take effect 5 years after entry into force of the restriction.

ECHA invites comments on the above restriction report

Interested parties can comment on the proposals and the restriction reports (so called Annex XV reports) via the ECHA website. Comments will be reviewed and taken into account by the ECHA Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC).The final opinions of the committees on the proposed restrictions are scheduled for September 2011. Based on these opinions, the European Commission will take the decisions whether to introduce additional restrictions into the REACH Regulation.

The Annex XV reports contain the background and justifications for the proposed restrictions. They include the identified risks, information on alternatives, the effectiveness of the restriction in reducing the risks and costs of the restriction.

Although the six-month public consultation concludes on 24 March 2011, the Rapporteurs of RAC and SEAC would appreciate receiving comments by 24 December 2010 to assist them in the detailed discussion of the restriction proposal in January 2011.

Further Information

News from Finland

Cochrane Occupational Safety and Health Review Group

The Cochrane Occupational Safety and Health Review Group builds on the work of the Cochrane Occupational Health Field (COHF) and was registered as a Review Group on the 30th of July 2010. It is one of 53 collaborative Review Groups within The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organisation that aims to help people make well-informed decisions about healthcare.

Members of this Group - researchers, occupational health professionals and consumers - share an interest in generating reliable, up-to-date evidence by preparing, maintaining and promoting the accessibility of systematic reviews of the effect of occupational health interventions. The reviews include interventions in prevention and treatment of occupational or work-related diseases, injuries and disorders. These reviews are published in The Cochrane Library.

The Group is co-ordinated by an editorial base, which is located at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Kuopio, Finland.

The Cochrane Library consists of a regularly updated collection of evidence-based databases, including over 4000 Cochrane reviews published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. These reviews explore the evidence for and against the effectiveness and appropriateness of treatments (medications, surgery, education, etc.) in specific circumstances.

The Cochrane Library is published monthly by Wiley Online Library. A brief introduction to Cochrane reviews and The Cochrane Library is available.

The Collaboration also provides various multimedia. You can watch videos that describe the workings of the Collaboration, listen to podcasts that summarise selected reviews or watch slidecasts of talks given at yearly Cochrane Colloquia.

Our change of status within the Cochrane Collaboration also mandates some changes to our website. The address www.cohf.fi will however continue to function for the foreseeable future.

Next issue of the COSH RG News bulletin Issue 5 will be posted in October 2010

If you would like to inform the recipients of this newsletter about important matters (e.g. conferences, publications, job vacancies, etc.) please submit your items to the editor at: jani.ruotsalainen@ttl.fi and include "COHF Newsletter" on the subject line. Unless you request otherwise, your submissions to the COHF Newsletter may be duplicated in other regular Cochrane Collaboration news channels such as Cochrane News and the Cochrane Collaboration web site, at the discretion of the editors.

Cochrane Occupational Safety and Health Review Group Finnish Institute of Occupational Health Neulaniementie 4 PO Box 310, FI-70101 Kuopio, FINLAND | Tel: +358 30 474 7334 | Fax: +358 30 474 7474 | www.cohf.fi

News from the ILO

ILO deals the 'death knoll for asbestos', says ITUC

A statement from a United Nations body confirming its desire to see the end of asbestos use worldwide is the 'death knoll' for a substance which claims one life every five minutes around the clock, the global union confederation International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has said.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has warned in an official position statement [1] that industry lobbyists pushing asbestos around the world must not claim to have ILO support.

ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow said the ILO statement provides welcome support for the global union campaign to see a ban on asbestos worldwide and a just transition to safer, better jobs for displaced asbestos workers.

"ILO has confirmed that it wants to see the elimination of asbestos use worldwide, full stop," she said.

"Coming on the heels of calls for a global ban on asbestos use from major scientific [2], medical [3] and occupational health [4] groups, this sounds the death knoll for the deadly fibre and a fatal blow for the asbestos pushers."

The ILO statement comes at a time the asbestos industry is pressing hard for an expansion of chrysotile (white) asbestos production and sales. All forms of asbestos except for chrysotile are already prohibited worldwide.

Industry lobby group the Chrysotile Institute, which takes a lead in the global promotion of asbestos exports, routinely cites ILO documents and claims they are supportive of its case for continued asbestos use.

Concerned at the industry's repeated misuse of ILO's name, the Geneva-based body issued the position statement which highlights the UN agency's commitment to "promoting the elimination of the future use of all forms of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials."

The issue has caused renewed controversy in recent months, as the Chrysotile Institute has been trying to secure government and private funds to dramatically expand asbestos production in Quebec, Canada.

Sharan Burrow said the ILO position statement could have "life-saving consequences, in reinforcing the union case for total asbestos ban."

At the ITUC's June 2010 global congress in Vancouver, delegates agreed to press for "a total world ban on the use and commercialisation of asbestos, in which regard Congress, meeting in Canada, makes a special appeal to the Canadian government to join a total world ban on asbestos." [5]

That did not mean consigning asbestos workers to the scrap heap, however. According to Sharan Burrow: "Bringing an end to asbestos use is crucial, but only one part of the equation. That's why ITUC is pursuing a policy of just transition, replacing dirty, damaging and deadly jobs with safer alternatives.

"We don't want to see asbestos workers jobless, we want to see them in good, union jobs that don't kill them. Asbestos is a dying industry - we need to consign it to history and move instead to decent, green jobs where you work, not die, for a living."

Fiona Murie, health and safety director of the global construction union federation BWI, whose members are in the asbestos exposures front line, warned that while the industry profited from asbestos use, workers paid with their lives.

"The World Health Organisation's latest estimate notes that asbestos already claims 107,000 lives a year," [6] she said. "Even that conservative estimate means every five minutes around the clock a person dies of asbestos-related disease."

The construction union health and safety expert welcomed the ILO statement. "This confirms what the industry has in reality known all along - ILO, alongside major respectable scientific and medical organisations the world over, opposes the ongoing use of a fibre that kills at least 300 people every day.

"The asbestos industry must now cease and desist its callous and cynical subterfuge on asbestos and should accept no one including the ILO wants its deadly product."

Further information:

  1. The ILO position on safety in the use of asbestos, ILO, September 2010.
  2. Letter from over 100 scientists to Quebec Premier Charest, 28 January 2010.
  3. Amir Attaran, David R Boyd, and Matthew B Stanbrook. Asbestos mortality: a Canadian export, Canadian Medical Association Journal, volume 179, pages 871-872, 2008.
    Ban production, use and export of asbestos, CMA tells governments, Canadian Medical Association (CMA) news release, 20 July 2010.
    A worn-Out welcome: Renewed call for a global ban on asbestos, Rebecca Clay Haynes, Environmental Health Perspectives, volume, 118, pages a298-a303, online 1 July 2010. doi:10.1289/ehp.118-a298
  4. Repeat Call for a Ban on Asbestos, Collegium Ramazzini, 20 April 2010.
  5. Resolution on extending social protection and ensuring good occupational health and safety, ITUC Congress, Vancouver, 21-25 June 2010.
  6. Asbestos: elimination of asbestos-related diseases, World Health Organisation (WHO) factsheet No. 343, WHO, July 2010.

For more on the asbestos industry's misuse of ILO's name support its argument for asbestos use, see the ITUC/Hazards green jobs, safe jobs blog.

The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 151 countries and territories and has 301 national affiliates.

www.ituc-csi.org | www.youtube.com/user/ITUCCSI

News from Spain

ESENER online! Results of the European survey of enterprises now available

How is health and safety managed at the workplace in practice? How are managers facing up to 'new' risks such as work-related stress, violence and harassment? What part do employees play in the implementation of preventative measures at work? These are the questions that EU-OSHA's new survey of enterprises - ESENER - set out to answer. View the results online, download the reports or simply find out more about this important new project.

Did you know?

International Youth Day: Health and safety aspects of working life

Younger workers are vulnerable, as they often are inexperienced, and ignorant of risks to themselves and others. It is important to integrate safety and health into education so that young people are aware of the risks they might face and are capable of dealing with them. It is also important for employers to pay extra attention to the safety of young workers, including students taking summer jobs.

News from Spain

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work 2009 Annual Report: spending on health and safety is an investment not a cost

EU-OSHA's 2009 Annual Report emphasises the long-term value of workplace health and safety in difficult economic times, and encourages employers to find alternatives to redundancy. Highlights of its work in 2009 include the ESENER survey, the Risk Assessment campaign and the European photo competition.

New web section dedicated to National Focal Points and national OSH systems

The focal points of EU-OSHA have a new web section giving an overview of national occupational safety and health systems in the Member States, EFTA States, and candidate and pre-candidate countries. It is now possible to browse by State the main actors and strategies and link through to national authorities, social partners, and institutes, as well as finding out about local events and news. Each EU-OSHA focal point runs a national tripartite network, contributing to activities such as the Agency's Healthy Workplaces Campaigns.

Visit the Focal Points section

New Risk Observatory web section

Visit the European Risk Observatory to learn about the changes affecting health and safety at work: Which are the most important new and emerging risks? What trends can we identify in occupational accidents and diseases? Where should research be focusing? The ERO examines these issues by reviewing scientific literature, collecting and analysing data and by coordinating and collaborating with researchers.

Visit the Risk Observatory web section

Did you know?

The International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) is one of the main international classifications for which ILO is responsible.

Further detailed information on ISCO - 08 is available online at: www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/isco/index.htm

News from Spain

Lights! Camera! Film Award nominations place spotlight on the need for safer workplaces

For the second year, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) sponsors the Healthy Workplaces Film Award, to honour a documentary film that focuses on the individual at work. The film award aims to raise awareness about the risks people face at work and is endowed with 8,000 Euro. It is a key component of EU-OSHA's Healthy Workplaces Campaign and will be presented at the 53rd International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film (DOK Leipzig) next month.

From the pressures experienced by today's nannies and waitresses to an exploration of new stress-related conditions, the effects that the changing world of work has on us all are on display in the seven films which are competing for this year's film award. Nominations come from the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, Brazil and Canada.

EU-OSHA Director Jukka Takala said that "the hazards that these films explore, including the rise in psychosocial risks in a globalised economy, show why it is so important for us to work for safer, healthier and more productive workplaces in Europe."

The films, including Wadans Welt by Dieter Schumann about an East German shipyard in times of crisis and Bombay X-Ray by Ryszard Solarz about an Indian labourer whose lungs are destroyed by exposure to exhaust gasses, explore questions such as what are the physical and psychosocial outcomes of the economic transition and how are workers' health and safety affected by a globalised economy.

Dish by Maya Gallus explores the world of waitresses and how gender affects working conditions, while Thomas Kudrna's All That Glitters is about unresolved deaths at a Kyrgyzstan goldmine owned by a Canadian company.

The films nominated for the Healthy Workplaces Film Award are picked from more than 2,000 documentaries submitted to DOK Leipzig this year. The winning film will be selected by an international jury which includes film and occupational health and safety experts and will be announced at an award ceremony in Leipzig on 23 October 2010.

More information on the award nominations, criteria and the jury at: http://osha.europa.eu/en/about/hw_film_award_2010

DOK Leipzig, the largest German and second largest European documentary film festival will start its 53rd issue with an exciting program and attractive offers in its individual sections. True to its tradition as the "Window to the World", the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film again presents the best and latest animated and documentary films to its audience between 18 - 24 October 2010. The award ceremony takes place on 23 October 2010 in Leipzig, Germany.

www.dok-leipzig.de

News from the UK

Seveso II: Preparing the UK's Impact Assessment

The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has contracted ORC International to gather information which will inform the UK's Impact Assessment on possible changes to the Seveso II Directive. HSE is extremely keen for all businesses to take part, regardless of how many chemicals are stored on their site, so that we get as full a picture as possible.

Through collecting this information we will be able to make informed recommendations to the EC regarding the amendments to Seveso; this will help to ensure that the interests of UK businesses as a whole are represented effectively when changes to Seveso are negotiated, starting early next year.

All responses will be treated in the strictest confidence. This means that it will not be possible for any individual person or company to be identified from the survey findings. This is why we have asked ORC International to complete the work on our behalf. To help monitor responses, there is an identification number on the letters and questionnaires which have been sent out to businesses. This cannot be used to identify your site's return.

www.hse.gov.uk/seveso/impact-assessment.htm

News from the UK

SCI to project manage research in to understanding Buncefield type explosions

The UK The Steel Construction Institute (SCI) is to project manage a joint industry research project to improve the understanding of explosion mechanisms such as might have been at play in the 2005 Buncefield incident, which resulted in tremendous damage to the outlying area.

Detailed analysis from earlier work supports the proposition that the surrounding site boundary vegetation accelerated the flame which caused part of the vapour cloud to detonate, but there were also other novel mechanisms considered.

The new research, which includes large and medium scale tests as well as analytical work, will focus on the following aspects, most of which remain outside the capabilities of modelling tools:

The results of this study will to lead to the development of practical industry guidance on the propensity of various hydrocarbons to develop flammable vapour clouds and a better understanding of explosion mechanisms when such clouds are ignited. The study will also provide data that can be used in the development and validation of predictive assessment tools.

This research, which started at the beginning of July 2010 is expected to take around 2 years to complete. It is being sponsored by The Health and Safety Executive, Petrobras, BP, Total, Shell and Statoil. Other companies interested in sponsoring this project should contact Dr Bassam Burgan at The Steel Construction Institute on: +44 (0)1344 6265625.

News from the USA

US NIOSH Safety Checklist Programme for Schools

Now available is a CD-ROM ISO image file that can be used with any CD-ROM authoring software. The NIOSH Safety Checklist Program for Schools includes the following:

Recommendations on establishing a school safety program; Regulations; and Safety checklists, such as:

and Occupational Safety and Health materials such as

For more information: www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-108c

More NIOSH News

Popular Mechanics Highlights NIOSH Mining Activities

Popular Mechanics recently published two articles on NIOSH mining research and products:

News from the USA

Lifelines Online September 2010 edition from the Laborers' Health and Safety Fund of North America

The September issue of LIFELINES ONLINE (Vol. VII, No. 4) is available at the LHSFNA website. These are the headlines:

View the stories and access our website: 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

OSHE web sites to explore...

We look at websites in different parts of the world that are offering quality information. This month we continue to look at a variety of websites from the UK.

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

If we do not have your web site listed please send it to me sp@sheilapantry.com

Hazards Magazine: Safety Representatives   UK
www.safetyreps.org
Hazards magazine has setup this website specifically for safety reps, that gives information on rights and roles not just in the UK but in other countries such as the US, Australia and New Zealand. Links to other union safety related website, training and resources. Also links to a wide range of topics such as drinks and drugs policy, women and hazards, SARS, smoking etc.

Health and Safety Executive Information Service HSE   UK
www.hse.gov.uk
Health and Safety Executive Information Service extensive site, gives information about news, guidance notes, press releases, publications, special projects, prosecutions, contact details and addresses, related sites, and other information. The Information Service is the ILO Health and Safety Information Centre.
NB Checkout www.oshworld.com for the many additional entries highlighting HSE's information.

Institute of Environmental Management   IEM   UK
www.iema.net
Institute of Environmental Management access to publications, information on courses and a discussion forum.

Institute of Industrial Accident Investigators   IIAI   UK
www.iiai.org.uk
Institute of Industrial Accident Investigators (IIAI) portal to international research and development for the industrial accident investigation community. Has details on IIAI history, mission and a recent update on IIAI official research projects. Has information on professional training courses as well as the Examination Panel's requirements for new or advancing members. IIAI membership... the only recognisable mark for professional industrial accident investigators.

Institute of Occupational Health IOH, University of Birmingham   UK
www.pcpoh.bham.ac.uk/ioem
Institute of Occupational Health University of Birmingham gives details of the courses, seminars, training, research and publications.

Institute of Occupational Medicine   UK
www.iom-world.org
The Institute of Occupational Medicine is the premier independent UK centre for research, consultancy and training in occupational and environmental health, hygiene and safety. Carries out world class research, analysis, solutions and strategic advice for industry, governments, groups and individuals across the globe.

Institute of Petroleum   IP   UK
www.energyinst.org.uk
Institute of Petroleum forthcoming events, information services, new publications and details of membership, periodicals list and also list of titles of test methods and links to other pages in the petroleum industry.

Institute of Physics NanoTech   UK
www.nanotechweb.org
Institute of Physics nano technology site contains news, features, opinion, events and links.

Institute of Risk Management   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.

Institution of Chemical Engineers   IChemE   UK
www.icheme.org
Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is the hub for chemical, biochemical and process engineering professionals worldwide. It is at the heart of the process community, promoting competence and a commitment to sustainable development, advancing the discipline for the benefit of society and supporting the professional development of members.

Institution of Civil Engineers   UK
www.ice.org.uk
What's new, knowledge expertise, government news, events knowledge and expertise, also Members Area.

Institution of Electrical Engineers   UK
www.iee.org.uk
Contains details of activities, events and publications, also links.

Institution of Fire Engineers   IFE   UK
www.ife.org.uk
Institution of Fire Engineers site lists activities, publications, events and more news.

Institution of Occupational Safety and Health   IOSH   UK
www.iosh.co.uk
Institution of Occupational Safety and Health lists various goals, activities, events and publications, including the Journal of the Institution with abstracts and archive file. Chat Forum helps members with their workplace problems.

Please Do Not Forget ... Make my day ... please send your news items to your Editor!

Diary of Events

These events may inspire you and your organisation to offer similar type of events. If you have a seminar, conference or exhibition that you would like to promote - please send details to your Editor. Keep on training staff - this is essential to ensure safe and healthy workplaces.

Also look in www.oshworld.com/diary.html that is constantly being updated.

5 October 2010 - Security 2010
Essen Trade Fair, Germany
Contact: www.security-messe.de/?lang=en

4 November 2010 - IIRSM - International Institute Conference
Botanical Gardens, Birmingham, UK
Contact: www.hse.gov.uk/events/hswiirsmconf.htm

10-12 November 2010 - IAQ 2010: Airborne Infection Control - Ventilation, IAQ & Energy
Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia
Contact: CIBSE and ISAQ | Email: IAQ2010@ashrae.org | www.ashrae.org
Readers may also wish to take a free trial of OSH UPDATE www.sheilapantry.com/interest.html

15-19 November 2010 - SOLVE: Addressing social factors through health promotion in the Workplace
ILO International Training Centre, Turin, Italy
Contact: Sr. Félix Martín Daza, International Training Centre of the ILO, Social Protection Programme, Viale Maestri del Lavoro 10, 10127 Turin, Italy | Tel: +39 011 6936576 | Fax: +39 011 6936548 | www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---safework/documents/event/wcms_126657.pdf

15-19 November 2010 - Fire Safety Design
University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Contact: University of Leeds | Tel: +44 (0)113 343 2494/8104 | Email: cpd@engineering.leeds.ac.uk | www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/cpd/FireSafetyDesign.shtml

17 November 2010 - Annual Conference: Fire-Related Research and Developments (Re10)
Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, UK
Contact: www.eventsforce.net/ife/re10/home

22-28 November 2010 - Road Safety Week
Contact: Brake, PO Box 548, Huddersfield HD1 2XZ UK | Tel: +44 (0)1484 559909 | Fax: +44 (0)1484 559983 | Email: brake@brake.org.uk | www.roadsafetyweek.org

24-25 November 2010 - Emergency Services Show
Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, UK
Contact www.ess2010.com

30 November - 3 December 2010 - 16th Annual National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition (ErgoExpo)
Las Vegas, NV, USA
Contact: www.ergoexpo.com

9 December 2010 - Croner Hawksmere 6th Annual Health and Safety Conference
London, UK
Contact www.hawksmere.co.uk/hsconference/index.html

2011

16-18 January 2011 - Intersec Trade Fair and Conference
Dubai International Exhibition Centre
Contact: Epoc Messe Frankfurt GmbH, P.O. Box 26761, Dubai, UAE | Tel. 971 4 3380102 | Fax. 971 4 3380041 | Email: intersec@uae.messefrankfurt.com | www.intersecexpo.com

7-11 March 2011 - 7th International course on safety research (6005) - Part 2 (5 days). NB Part 1 is held on 7-11 June 2010
Hotel Urku, Kangasala, Finland
Contact: NIVA, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A 00250 Helsinki, FINLAND | Tel: +358 30 4741 | Fax: +358 30 474 2497 | Email: niva@ttl.fi | www.niva.org/courses/6005.htm

13-16 March 2011 - 7th Global Congress on Process Safety
Chicago, IL, USA
Contact: www.aiche.org/conferences/specialty/gcps.aspx

13-16 March 2011 - Protex Event (Fire, Safety and Protection)
Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events, Saudi Arabia
Contact: www.protex-arabia.com

21-26 March 2011 - Fire Department Instructors Conference
Indian Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, USA
Contact: www.fdic.com