News from around the World

News Archive

June 2002

News from the USA

Health effects of occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica: new NIOSH Hazard Review

Silicosis is the disease most associated with crystalline silica exposure; it is incurable but preventable. This debilitating and often fatal lung disease persists worldwide despite long-standing knowledge of its cause and methods for controlling it.

The US National Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) newly published Hazard Review Health effects of occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica describes published studies and literature on the health effects of exposure to crystalline silica among workers in the United States and many other countries. The review indicates a significant risk of chronic silicosis for workers exposed over a working lifetime at the current US permissible or recommended values.

In addition to the risk of silicosis, epidemiologic studies indicate that workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica have an increased risk of developing lung cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, and airways diseases. The latest scientific information also indicates possible associations of occupational exposure to silica dust with various other adverse health effects.

Crystalline silica can be found in a wide range of industrial activities from mining through to masonry, stonework, tile setting, plastering, roofing and sheet metal work. general industrial machinery and equipment, medical and dental laboratories, combination of gas and electric and other utilities, automotive repair shops, pottery and related products.

Until improved sampling and analytical methods are developed for respirable crystalline silica NIOSH will continue to recommend an exposure limit of 0.05mg/m3 as a time-weighted average (TWA) for up to a 10- hour workday during a 40 hour workweek. NIOSH also recommends substitution less hazardous materials for crystalline silica when feasible using appropriate respiratory protection when source controls cannot keep exposures below the recommended exposure limits (REL), and making medical examinations available to exposed workers.

US National Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Hazard Review
Health effects of occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No.2002-129 2002 127 pages Extensive Reading list.

Available from: US NIOSH, Publications Dissemination, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati OH 45226 1998, USA | Tel:+1 800356 4674 | Fax:+1 513 533 8573 | Email: pubstaft@cdc.go | Web: www.cdc.gov/niosh

New Director for NIOSH

The appointment has been announced of Jon Howard, M.D., M.P.H., J.D., LL.M., as Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Dr. Howard has served as the Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the California Department of Industrial Relations since 1991. In this position, Dr. Howard administers all of the occupational and public safety programs in California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health and directs a staff of nearly 1,000.

Dr. Howard received his Doctor of Medicine from Loyola University, in 1974; his Master of Occupational Health from the Harvard School of Public Health, in 1982; his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1986; and his Master of Laws in Administrative Law and Economic Regulation from the George Washington University, in 1987.

Dr. Howard began his career in occupational health as an internist in the UCLA School of Medicine Pulmonary Fellowship Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in 1979. During his clinical work, he worked closely with asbestos-exposed shipyard workers and published research findings related to workplace asbestos exposure and occupational lung disease. After leaving Harvard, Dr. Howard served as a resident at University of California at Irvine (UCI), where he organized and set up a clinic at the UCI Medical Center that was the first one devoted exclusively to the diagnosis and treatment of occupational disease. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Howard also was an Assistant Professor of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of California at Irvine, a Medical Director and Chief Clinician of an AIDS community services clinic in Los Angeles, and served as a former Assistant Counselor to the Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Howard is a board-certified occupational physician and has authored numerous papers on occupational health law and policy.

Fire Worldwide: new edition

The latest edition of Fire Worldwide has just been published and is a fast expanding source of full text and bibliographic information from worldwide sources.

Fire Worldwide is arguably becoming the essential aggregated FIRE source for fire brigades, organisations and practitioners seeking up-to-date information on all aspects of fire and the fire related industry. It covers health and safety of those working in the industry and has two major collections of information - The Full Text Collection and The Bibliographic Collection.

This latest edition includes, among other new items, the full text documents for firefighters from the US National Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), plus World Fire Statistics, and publications from Fire Prevention Association. In addition there are two new databases including one with over 2500 references to relevant fire and fire related British Standards.

FREE 30 DAY TRIAL
Fire Worldwide is available on a 30 day free trial. Why not try it for yourself and check out the contents of this exciting sources of information against your own workplace/academic needs. Send your request by telephone, post, fax, email or mail to

Ovid Technologies Ltd, Merlin House, 20 Belmont Terrace, Chiswick, London W4 5UG, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 8585 6400 | Fax: +44 (0)20 8585 6640 | Email: europe@ovid.com | Web: www.ovid.com

News from the UK

Creating A Successful e-Information Service,
by Sheila Pantry and Peter Griffiths

To be successful, health and safety information managers constantly need to reassess the effectiveness of their information services and to ascertain whether they are really delivering the services needed by their users. In doing so it is now essential to take on board the opportunities afforded by new technology. An information service is no longer necessarily defined by the restrictions of a particular physical location or specific opening hours.

This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to establish an electronic information service, whatever the type or size of organization they work in, and is equally essential for those wishing to convert an existing traditional service into an e-information service. It is packed full of ideas and examples of how an e-information service can be created, maintained and marketed in a cost effective way. Key issues covered include:

• Introducing the concept of the e-information service
• What kind of an information service do you want to provide?
• Where are the customers?
• What kind of information do your customers need and in what formats?
• Who needs to be involved in your plans?
• Budgeting for your e-information service
• Keeping in touch with your customers
• Keeping one step ahead of your competitors.

An illustrated glossary of sample electronic services and a list of further information sources completes the book. This invaluable guide is a must for all health and safety information practitioners who need to implement and deliver a successful e-information service.

The Authors
Sheila Pantry OBE BA FCLIP manages an independent information services consultancy and electronic publishing business. She has a long and varied career in information management in a range of industry sectors, especially in health and safety and is an experienced trainer, writer, editor and lecturer.
Peter Griffiths BA FCLIP is Assistant Director, Communication Directorate, at the UK Government Home Office, and Head of Profession for librarians and information scientists. He is responsible not only for the Home Office and Prison Service Headquarters libraries but also for intranet and internet publication, an internal reference service, and a research library. He is an experienced trainer, writer and lecturer.

Creating A Successful e-Information Service, by Sheila Pantry and Peter Griffiths
Facet Publishing, 7 Ridgmount Street, London WC1E 7AE, UK
June 2002 | GBP £24.95 | ISBN 1-85604-442-4 | web: www.facetpublishing.co.uk
Available from Bookpoint Ltd, Mail Order Dept, 39 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4TD, UK | Tel: +44 1235 400400 | Fax: +44 1235 832068/861038.

News from the UK

Policy and Practice in Health and Safety: a new international journal

The context and circumstances that shape and define health and safety have changed radically in recent years. Perceptions of risk, the structure and organisation of work have undergone major changes - and so have the political and economic policies that influence and respond to them. And these changes are not contained within the borders of one country - they are international in both cause and effect. It is vital to secure a central place for health and safety in the expanding international debate on social and economic policy.

As Europe's leading professional body for health and safety practitioners, The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health - IOSH is facilitating and contributing to this debate with the provision of a new forum for academic and policy discourse by producing a new journal - Policy and Practice in Health and Safety which will be launch in May 2003. The editorial board reflects internationally recognised academic and scientific specialists.

For details contact: Caroline Brookes, Head of Publishing, The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, The Grange, Highfield Drive, Wigston, Leicestershire, LE18 1NN, UK | Tel:+44 (0) 116 257 3100 | Fax:+44 (0)1116 257 3101.
Email: c.brookes@appleonline.net | Web: www.iosh.co.uk

News from the UK

Reduce the risks - cut costs: The real costs of accidents and ill health at work

New free leaflet from the UK Health and Safety Executive covers the following:

• how expensive work accidents can be
• provides a real-life example to show this
• suggests simple methods to work out the potential cost to your firm
• offers advice on what you can do to stop accidents happening

This leaflet contains notes on good practice which are not compulsory but which you may find helpful in considering what you need to do.

This leaflet contains notes on good practice which are not compulsory but which you may find helpful in considering what you need to do.

Reduce the risks - cut costs 2002. HSE. INDG355. www.hse.gov.uk

Available from:
HSE Books PO Box 1999.Sudbury, Suffolk, C010 2WA, UK | Tel: +44 (0)1787 881165 | Fax: +44 (0)1787 313995

News from the Hazards Centre

No Union, no Protection

The latest edition of Hazards June 2002 lead story says that when it comes to workplace harm, hygienists might have a measure for it and doctors a diagnosis for it, but only workers with collective power have much chance of doing anything about it. And there is no shortage of up-to-the-minute evidence illustrating this "union safety effect". It also goes on to say that organised workplaces are safer workplaces.

Among the many other articles are corporate crime and asbestos roundup. To subscribe to Hazards and further details contact:

Jawad Qasrawi, Hazards, PO Box 199, Sheffield, S1 4YL, UK | Tel: +44 (0) 114 267 936 | email: sub@hazards.org | web: www.hazards.org

News from the UK

Stating your Business: guidance on preparing a health and safety policy document for small firms

This guidance contains an outline health and safety policy statement which you can complete and use as a way of complying with the law. The outline statement is aimed at small firms but larger organisations could also use it within individual workplaces or departments.

New free leaflet from the UK Health and Safety Executive covers the following:

• what is a health and safety policy statement
• why you need one
• when and how they should do it
• how often you need to revise the policy statement
• do you have to do anything else

Remember - what you write in the policy has to be put into practice. The true test of a health and safety policy is the actual conditions in the workplace, not how well the statement was written.

Stating Your Business: guidance on preparing a health and safety policy document for small firms. 2002. HSE. INDG324. www.hse.gov.uk

Available from:
HSE Books PO Box 1999.Sudbury, Suffolk, C010 2WA, UK | Tel: +44 (0)1787 881165 | Fax: +44 (0)1787 313995

News from the USA

Violence: occupational hazards in Hospitals

Workplace violence ranges form offensive or threatening language to homicide. The US National Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines workplace violence as violent acts (including physical assaults and threats of assaults) directed toward persons at work or on duty.

This ten page booklet covers: who is at risk, where may violence occur, what are the effects, what are the risk factors for violence, prevention strategies for employers, dealing with the consequences of violence and safety tips for hospital workers. There are some case reports and a bibliography for those wishing to follow up more information.

Violence: Occupational Hazards in Hospitals
US National Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2002-101. 2002. 10 pages

Available from: US NIOSH, Publications Dissemination, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati
OH 45226 1998, USA | Tel:+1 800356 4674 | Fax:+1 513 533 8573 | Email: pubstaft@cdc.go | Web: www.cdc.gov/niosh

Prizes awarded at International Film and Multimedia Festival 2002

From 26 May to 31 May, the XVIth World Conference on Safety and Health took place in Vienna. The conference was organised jointly by ISSA (the International Social Security Association), the ILO (International Labour Office), and AUVA (the Austrian occupational accident insurance association). Conscious of the growing importance of multimedia in modern society, the organisers of the conference, as with previous editions, also held a festival of film and multimedia.

PREVENT, the Belgian Occupational Safety and Health Institute organised the multimedia festival. 89 multimedia products from 18 different countries were preselected by an international panel of experts.

The winners
Prizes were given in three categories: Computer-based training, Web-based training and Portal site.

In the Computer-based training category, first place was awarded jointly to entries from Austria and Colombia. The Austrian project "Sicherheit und Gesundheit bei der Arbeit" from WKÖ offered a CD-ROM tool for SMEs wishing to implement a policy on health and safety at work. The Colombian entry "Those who know save themselves" from the company SURATEP, was a CD-ROM that aims to teach suitable behaviour during emergencies (for example, a fire).

The website of Workcover New South Wales (Australia) "Safety Zone" took first prize in the category Web-based training. This site is an educational project that seeks to give young and future workers basic occupational safety and health knowledge.

The prize in the category portal site went to "Prävention on-line", a site created by the German company BC GmbH Verlags- und Mediengesellschaft; This web site www.praevention-online.de gathers all prevention information available on the internet and keeps the user informed of all developments in that field.