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March/April 2023 issue

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Ergonomics
Off duty

David Wright CMIOSH, part-time lecturer and retired health and safety manager, University of Portsmouth

Open-access content Monday 12th November 2018
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

Off-duty-David Wright CMIOSH , and gas holder researcher

Now that we don't manufacture gas in the UK, gas holders are obsolete, so I thought it would be interesting to try to record them as industrial artefacts. Not long after photographing the one in Great Yarmouth, my wife and I came across another one in Gosport, near where we live in Portsmouth. Then we started to look for them actively.

They're the kind of things you pass by and don't give any thought to but, apart from being industrially interesting, some are very sculptural in appearance. Their ages vary, they date from the mid-1800s to the 1930s, but many are disappearing because they are no longer in use.

That's the appeal of taking photos: to have a record of them. Six of the gas holders I've photographed have since been dismantled. Although it's an expensive job to take them down, the land on which they stand is often very valuable. Sometimes you see planning notices on holders, warning that they will be demolished. Occasionally they're repurposed though: there are examples of gas holders with tall metal frames having luxury flats built inside them.

Off-duty-David Wright CMIOSH standing by a gas holderSometimes we make special journeys to find them. People might tell us where they've seen one, or we look on Google Earth for an idea of where they are and then go on a hunt. If we're going on holiday, we'll have a look around and pick some. We found six when we were on holiday in the Lake District this year.

We've been to some interesting places in the north of England and visited cities we hadn't been to before. Lots of gas holders are in areas that in some ways look like they haven't changed much since the late 19th or early 20th century. The northern industrial scenery is a bit like being in a Lowry painting.

We look on Google Earth for an idea of where they are and then go on a hunt

What I enjoy most is hunting for them, and researching the history -- not just of the holders and their locations but also of the associated equipment. It fits in with my interest in the history of occupational hygiene. Gas holders were dangerous places: you had toxic gases and chemicals on site, such as mercury and organic solvents. Many were attached to gas works, so you had the by-products from the production of gas when they roasted carbon -- ammonia, for example. And this was all before health and safety and environmental regulations. The sites are heavily polluted.

Off-duty-David Wright CMIOSH, hunting for gas holdersMy favourite photographs are of the Oxted gas holder in Surrey and one in the middle of a housing estate in Branksome, near Poole in Dorset. I've photographed around 45 holders, and I have 2,500 photos. It's getting more difficult now because we've seen all the local ones across the South: the furthest west was in Plymouth, and the furthest east in Southend. So now when we go somewhere new, we check whether there's one nearby. We visited the ones in Salford, Greater Manchester recently; they are going to be demolished, but there's a famous wall around the site that features in the lyrics of a song by Ewan MacColl and that is going to be retained.

Apparently there used to be two gas holders in Portsmouth, but I don't remember either. As time goes on, we'll see fewer and fewer: apart from the value of the land, it's a real job to maintain them and stop them corroding, so they are a drain on budgets. There are one or two that are listed -- for example, the holder at Grangetown works in Cardiff is Grade II listed -- but, apart from these exceptions, they will all come down eventually.

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 Tony Barron, Grad IOSH, Health and safety consultant, Safety Management Services Europe (SMS Europe)

Monday 15th October 2018
Even as a youngster I was into radio-controlled vehicles. I come from a family of engineers, and I’ve always been a builder. I was the child that liked to take things apart to see how they worked. Earlier in my career, I spent many years as a specialist vehicle body builder, constructing vehicles for the military, Middle Eastern royalty and Formula One racing.
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Tuesday 11th December 2018
For the past six years I've spent a week each November in the Lake District. My girlfriend has also developed a love of the mountains. We've been to Wales, Shropshire, the Malvern Hills and the Peak District, but the Lake District is our favourite.
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 Home workers lack DSE support, survey finds

Tuesday 16th October 2018
The survey of 897 UK employees who work at least two days a week from home, found that one in five employees had received a workstation assessment in person. BHSF says that although businesses are investing millions of pounds on office ergonomics, they are failing to extend the same care to home workers, with women feeling particularly let down and those over 50 being particularly vulnerable. The not-for-profit insurer added that a failure to protect employees who are benefiting from flexible working practices could result in a rise in musculoskeletal issues in the future.
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Tuesday 20th November 2018
Interserve Facilities Management was contracted to service mechanical and electrical systems at a laboratory site for the then Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (now Animal and Plant Health Agency) in Weybridge, Surrey.On Sunday 21 September 2014 mains power was lost at the premises, comprising high containment laboratory facilities used to handle hazardous pathogens that pose a serious risk to human health and the environment, Hove Crown Court was told.
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 PPE special: Getting your kit off (and on)

Wednesday 17th October 2018
Working with hazardous substances covered from head to toe in personal protective equipment (PPE) is of limited value if it has not been put on properly to ensure the promised protection. And if the wearer falls at the final fence by transferring hazardous material to themselves in removing the clothing and equipment, then some of the value will be lost and they could be exposed to risks ranging from mild skin or throat irritation, through dermatitis or asthma to cancer.
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 Tideway: On the tools

Thursday 25th January 2018
The infrastructure provider behind the Thames Tideway scheme in London is racking up a first in occupational health (OH) provision. Tideway, the company appointed by Thames Water to build, maintain and operate the 25 km tunnel below the River Thames to relieve the capital of its sewage and rainwater, has mandated an OH service for the entire seven-year project – an arrangement unknown until now in large-scale infrastructure projects.
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I’m not great when it comes to going to the gym. I find it fairly repetitive and tedious, so I’ve always done classes to keep fit. A couple of years ago, the teacher who took most of the classes went on maternity leave so someone suggested we try going to an aerial studio.
Open-access content

 Simon Enderby Tech IOSH Managing director, Up and Under Group

Friday 6th December 2019
When I explain what adventure racing is, I always says it’s a bit like a triathlon in the mountains. Typically it involves biking, running and canoeing around a course.
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 Martin Marmoy-Haynes CMIOSH, Health and safety consultant, JEM Safety Management

Monday 18th November 2019
My first experience of the Pennine Fells was at junior school. A group of us went on a camping trip to Hathersage in the Peak District: we tried potholing, climbing and abseiling. It was my first ‘outdoors’ experience.
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 Talking shop: Covid practices

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 Director was unfairly dismissed as H&S officer did not raise concerns over cryo-chamber installation

Wednesday 9th November 2022
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 HSE report highlights risks posed by hazardous atmospheres in freight containers at ports and distribution centres

Friday 4th November 2022
Research published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has identified some weaknesses in the control measures at a number of ports and distribution centres in relation to workers coming into contact with hazardous substances when examining or unloading freight containers.
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