News from around the World

News Archive

March 2007

The European Commission has launched a new five-year strategy for Safety and Health at work. It aims at cutting by a quarter work-related illness and accidents across the European Union (EU)

The new European Strategy will cover the period of 2007 to 2012 and pursue the positive trends of the previous Community Strategy 2002-2006 which is already bearing fruit. Over the period 2002-2004, the rate of fatal accidents at work in the EU-15 has fallen by 17% while the rate of workplace accidents leading to absences of more than three days has fallen by 20%.

As promoted in the previous Community strategy evaluation, a particular emphasis is placed on partnership at European and national levels to achieve good results in safety and health.

Main challenges concerning health and safety at work

In spite of the progress achieved, the latest results of the fourth European survey of working conditions show that many workers in Europe continue to perceive that their jobs pose a threat to their health or safety:

• almost 28% of workers in Europe say that they suffer from non-accidental health problems which are or may be caused or exacerbated by their current or previous job;
• 35% of workers on average feel that their job puts their health at risk.

Moreover, occupational hazards are not being reduced in a uniform way:

• some categories of workers are still overexposed to occupational risks (young workers, workers whose jobs are insecure, older workers and migrant workers);
• certain types of companies are more vulnerable (SMEs, in particular, have fewer resources to put complex systems of worker protection in place, while some of them tend to be more affected by the negative impact of health and safety problems);
• certain sectors are still particularly dangerous (construction/civil engineering, agriculture, fishing, transport, health care and social services).

Objectives of the Community strategy 2007-2012

The European Commission has set itself an ambitious overall objective: to reduce by 25% the total incidence rate of accidents at work per 100 000 workers in the EU 27 for the period 2007-2012.

In order to achieve this goal, the following main instruments are proposed:

1. guarantee the proper implementation of EU legislation;
2. support SMEs in the implementation of the legislation in force;
3. adapt the legal framework to changes in the workplace and simplify it, particularly in view of SMEs;
4. promote the development and implementation of national strategies;
5. encourage changes in the behaviour of workers and encourage their employers to adopt health-focused approaches;
6. finalise the methods for identifying and evaluating new potential risks;
7. improve the tracking of progress;
8. promote health and safety at international level.

http://osha.europa.eu/new_eustrategy

EUROHSE 2007 Conference - Spring into OSH

EurOhse 2007 Conference will be held at the Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, London on Thursday, 19 April 2007 and aims to bring delegates up to date on a number of hot topics, including legislation development. DON'T WAIT TOO LONG TO BOOK - YOU MAY BE TOO LATE!

Benefits of attending

• Guidance and advice on The Hot Topics in the Workplace in 2007
• Challenges in understanding the impact of European and UK recent and impending legislation
• Examples and Case studies
• Networking and hearing what other managers are dealing with
• FREE OSH software

Where and when

Location

Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, London

Date

19th April 2007

Time

Registration opens 08.30am - Conference runs 09.30am to 16.45pm

Cost

£395 (£295 if you are a member of IOSH, RoSPA, IIRSM or BOHS)

Conference Chair

Sheila Pantry OBE

Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd and Angel Business Communications Ltd are delighted to invite you to attend this very topical one-day conference.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse and busy managers need to stop for a short while to assess what they are doing and to ask if they are really keeping up-to-date in their responsibilities in securing good standards of health and safety in their workplaces and to be able to show the cost benefits of doing so.

Who should attend?

• All Occupational Health and Safety Managers aiming to be up-to-date in 2007 with the latest Hot Topics.
• Directors and Senior level Managers who need to be aware about their health and safety responsibilities and the consequences of non-compliance.
• Representatives from organisations wishing to benchmark their own practices against other leading organisations.
• Health and Safety professionals looking to update and improve their own knowledge and skills-base on what is changing.

What will be discussed

A view of the OSH World from Westminster

Michael Clapham MP, BSC (Hons), PGCE, Mphil
Chair, All Parties Occupational Health and Safety Committee
Chair, All Parties Parliamentary Coalfield Communities Group
Chair, All Parties Fire Safety Group

The DNA of a Healthy and Safe Corporate Culture

Carole Spiers, Broadcaster, Author, Professional Speaker,
Managing Director, Carole Spiers Group

Advanced Behavioural Based Safety (BBS) Concepts and case studies from industry

Dr Tim Marsh, Managing Director, Ryder-Marsh (Safety) Ltd

Health and Safety law update: especially smoking, drugs and alcohol at work

Jeremy Stranks, MSc, FCIEH, FIOSH, RSP

Fire Risk Assessments and regulations in the workplace

Dennis Davis, Chairman Federation of British Fire Organisations

Do I need to worry about REACH?

Bob Warner BSc BA MBA CChem FRSC, Chemwise Associates

Directors' responsibilities including corporate manslaughter and homicide

Paul Hopkin, Chairman, IIRSM

Make sure you book early to avoid disappointment.

ILO welcomes EU decision to step up fight against HIV/AIDS

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has welcomed a declaration by Ministers of Health from the European Union (EU) on HIV/AIDS, saying it contains provisions that give greater recognition to the role of the workplace in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The "Bremen Declaration on Responsibility and Partnership - Together Against HIV/AIDS" was adopted by Ministers of Health from the European Union and 16 non-EU countries at a Conference organized by the German government in Bremen, Germany on 11-12 March 2007.

The new Declaration commits signatories to consider new initiatives for fighting AIDS in the European context, including discrimination and the protection of rights, confidentiality and the reintegration in the labour market of HIV-positive workers on antiretroviral treatment.

In recognizing the role of the workplace in the fight against the pandemic, the Declaration invites governments, employers and workers to ensure non-discriminatory policies for people living with HIV and care and support for those affected.

The ILO's presentation to the Conference showed how its work is based on the Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. The value of the Code was also explicitly recognized in the Declaration.

"This blueprint for workplace action is internationally recognized and globally applicable - employers and trade unions in industrialized countries increasingly recognize the value of HIV/AIDS policies and use the ILO code as a point of reference", says Dr. Sophia Kisting, Director of the ILO's Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work, who attended the meeting.

"The ILO's approach is to mainstream HIV/AIDS in its Decent Work Country Programmes, at the same time as collaborating with fellow cosponsors of UNAIDS in implementation. Since 2002, the ILO and the German development agency GTZ have a partnership programme to support ILO constituents in Eastern Europe and Africa to implement workplace policies and programmes through capacity building, socio-economic research, exchange of good practices, and support of Public-Private Partnerships", she adds.

HIV/AIDS has cost more than 1 million jobs in the worst-hit countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America but is also a growing challenge for Europe despite its lower prevalence rates. According to UNAIDS, an estimated 270, 000 people in Europe were newly infected with HIV in 2006, bringing to 1.7 million the number of people living with HIV - a twentyfold increase in less than a decade.

Flixborough Disaster Symposium

The symposium on the Flixborough disaster to be held at the University College of London (UCL), London on 13th April 2007 will be enlivened by two additional contributors - the manufacturers of the bellows involved in the 20" line failure and the sole eyewitness cited by the Court as having seen this happen (an interpretation he refutes).

The symposium also will view a rediscovered copy of an 8mm cinefilm taken 1 minute after the explosion recording a clear view of a 150 foot high torch flame like that seen by many eyewitnesses before the main explosion. This, it will be claimed, demonstrates that the 8" line had burst before the 20" line failed and contradicts the 'official' conclusion that this this inappropriate temporary by-pass 20" pipe was the sole cause of the explosion in an otherwise "well constructed and designed" plant.

The symposium will bring together surviving forensic investigators to discuss the evidence from the Court of Inquiry and previously unavailable material from the National Archives just released to the public.

The Flixborough 2007 symposium will take place on 13th April at University College London. A registration fee of £50 includes a CD containing copies of all the main forensic studies, eyewitness accounts and transcripts from the Court of Inquiry.

For further information and registration details, email Flixborough2007@aol.com or telephone Dr. John Cox on +44 01495 773495 or http://business.virgin.net/olwen.cox/pubs/FlixRevisit.htm for the background

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Send your request

Contact: Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd, Sheffield S26 1JG, UK | Tel: +44 (0) 1909 771024 | Fax: +44 (0) 1909 772829 | Email: sp@sheilapantry.com | www.sheilapantry.com | www.oshworld.com | www.shebuyersguide.com | www.oshupdate.com | www.fireinf.com

The Framework Directive on Safety and Health at Work and its Implementation in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

The ISSA Prevention Sections Iron and Metal, Electricity and Machine and System Safety are jointly organising in cooperation with the Czech Ministry for Social Affairs and Labour an International Symposium in Prague, from November 21- 23, 2007.

The topic of the Symposium is: "The Framework Directive on Safety and Health at Work and its Implementation in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises." The working languages are German, English and Czech.

Dominique Dressler, Allgemeine Unfallversicherungsanstalt - AUVA, Internationale Beziehungen und Kongresswesen, Adalbert-Stifter-Strasse 65, 1200 Wien, Austria | Tel: +43 1 33 111 558 | Fax: +43 1 33 111 469 | www.auva.at

OSH UPDATE: your one stop shop to quality OSH information: growing all the time, keeps you up-to-date - ideal for OSH managers, universities, colleges and research Institutes

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Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd, Sheffield S26 1JG, UK | Tel: +44 (0) 1909 771024 | Fax: +44 (0) 1909 772829 | Email: sp@sheilapantry.com | www.sheilapantry.com | www.oshworld.com | www.shebuyersguide.com | www.oshupdate.com | www.fireinf.com

Don't forget 28 April 2007 - World Safety and Heath Day - start preparing now!

The theme for the International Labour Office (ILO) World Safety and Health Day to be held on 28 April 2007 will be "Making Decent Work a Reality - Safe and Healthy Workplaces".

The idea behind it is to promote the new convention C. 187 Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006

www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en

US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Nanotechnology Research Progress, Opportunities

NIOSH has just released a new report, Progress toward Safe Nanotechnology in the Workplace.

This report details NIOSH's accomplishments in advancing the scientific knowledge in understanding the occupational safety and health implications of engineered nanoparticles.

The document also suggests potential areas where future research could further expand this knowledge.

The report is available at www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2007-123.

US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to engage the current scientific questions about asbestos in light of today's technical capabilities and scientific knowledge

NIOSH have now introduced the initiative for public review and comment in the form of as a draft research strategy document, "Asbestos and Other Mineral Fibers: A Roadmap for Scientific Research." Read the draft scientific document on the NIOSH web page at www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-02-28-07.html, and to provide NIOSH with your comments and feedback. The draft reflects the combined professional experience and scientific insights of a NIOSH working group composed of scientists and engineers from key disciplines.

The draft research roadmap represents a current reappraisal of the areas of research needed to answer the questions about the scientific understanding of asbestos and other mineral fibers, and to provide a sound scientific foundation for future policy development to prevent asbestos-related occupational illnesses. It also reflects NIOSH's desire to work with their diverse partners in designing, conducting, and supporting collaborative research to fulfill those scientific needs.

By presenting the draft roadmap for scientific research, NIOSH seek to stimulate a public dialogue that will define the pressing scientific questions; identify new scientific advancements that may be brought to bear on those questions; and lay out the research most likely to bring certainty out of uncertainty. NIOSH look forward to engaging in that discussion with you, as they work to move the draft scientific document to final form in the coming months. .

Workplace Exacerbation of Asthma a Research Priority

NIOSH is expanding partnerships and research to address emerging concerns about workplace exacerbation of asthma. This includes six articles in peer-reviewed journals, a textbook chapter and ongoing discussions with partners about a possible international collaborative study and the development of preventive strategies. For more information, contact Dr. Paul Henneberger at 304-285-6161 or go to the NIOSH asthma topic page www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/asthma.