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May/June 2023 issue

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Hazardous substances
Sector: Energy
News

Thirteen maintenance workers exposed to asbestos at gas storage site

Open-access content Monday 22nd January 2018
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

Thirteen maintenance workers exposed to asbestos at gas storage site

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found a team of three maintenance personnel had been tasked with the removal of a non-return valve from the compressed air distribution system at SSE Hornsea's facility near Atwick on the East Yorkshire coast when the incident happened on 27 February 2016.

Unable to remove some of the sealing gasket, the workers used a wire brush mounted on an electric drill to remove the remaining material, which spread fibres from the gasket around the maintenance workshop onto floors, work benches and clothing.

Two days later, another SSE Hornsea employee became suspicious about the fibrous dust. He reported his concerns and arranged for a dust sample to be tested. The results showed the sample contained chrysotile (white) asbestos fibres. SSE Hornsea later closed the maintenance workshop to prevent employees and contractors entering the contaminated area.

Beverley Magistrates' Court heard on 17 January that SSE Hornsea had failed to identify the presence of asbestos gaskets in its risk assessment. The HSE also told the court that records held on site, which could have helped identify the presence of asbestos, were not adequate and that the maintenance team leader involved in the task had no asbestos awareness training.

SSE Hornsea from Perth, Scotland, pleaded guilty to breaching ss 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act.

HSE inspector Paul Miller said SSE Hornsea had "needlessly risked the future health of 13 people".

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 House of hazards

Tuesday 23rd January 2018
“Relentless and largely unnoticed” is how Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) chief executive Errol Taylor recently characterised the rise in serious accidents at home and in leisure time. He went on to point out that this increase had happened in parallel with huge strides in road and workplace safety based on “scientific, evidence-based approaches to accident prevention”, and appealed for greater effort to address home and leisure risks.
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 *UPDATE* 'Helpful' worker lowered boom on colleague's head

Monday 22nd January 2018
The penalty is the company’s second six-figure fine in just over a year. In October 2016, it was fined £300,000 after a worker was injured while repairing a shredder (bit.ly/2BfhnDO).After the latest incident a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the 34-year-old employee had instructed a colleague to use a telehandler to move paper at the company’s Maidstone site on 30 September 2015. The telehandler was left running with the boom elevated while the employee left the cab.
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 UK self-employed safety law exemption breaches charter, says European committee

Friday 26th January 2018
The committee, a monitoring body of the 47-nation Council of Europe, ruled on 24 January that a change in UK law in 2015 which removed certain self-employed work from the HSW Act, breached the UK’s international obligations.Although the committee recognised that only those in relatively less risky work were not now covered by health and safety regulations, it added that the UK was failing to live up to its commitments in the charter.
Open-access content

 Celebrated 9/11 worker health advocate dies

Tuesday 16th January 2018
The current research director at the New York State Tri-Funds Administrator and Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America, Dr. Melius was one of the architects of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which established an extensive programme of medical monitoring and healthcare services for first responders, volunteers and survivors of the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks.
Open-access content
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 ISO 45001 due for publication in March

Monday 29th January 2018
National standards bodies (NSBs) voted on the final draft international standard (FDIS) in a ballot that ended on 25 January. It was approved by 93% of them, well above the 75% required for adoption.The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is currently considering comments for correction from several of the NSBs.News of the publication date follows a long and complex development process. The first draft was published in July 2014, however it received only 42 votes of approval during a May 2016 ballot and was redrafted.
Open-access content

 AAPG inquiry launched into workplace falls from height

Tuesday 30th January 2018
The group is seeking evidence from interested stakeholders until 2 March 2018, after which date it will consider the evidence and produce a report with recommendations on how to reduce the frequency of such accidents. The APPG, which was formed in October 2017, is chaired by Glasgow Central MP Alison Thewliss and sponsored by the Prefabricated Access Suppliers’ and Manufacturers’ Association (PASMA) and Access Industry Forum (AIF).
Open-access content
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Hazardous substances
Sector: Energy
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