CIS Newsletter
No. 190
July 2005
CIS Newsletter celebrates 17 years & still going strong! Bringing news to over 137 countries in the CIS Network
Contents
- Editorial
- Hot Topic: More on the Winds of Change Meeting in Geneva on 17-18 May 2005: CIS - Future Perfect? CIS HQ report
- Working Groups Reports... Have your say
- List of Participants at the Orlando meeting
- News from around the World... Japan, ILO, Poland, Sweden, Tunisia, UK and USA
- FOCUS: ILO and WHO
- Reminders
- OSHE web sites
- Diary of Events
Editorial
Dear CIS Colleagues
I can honestly say that in well over two decades of involvement with ILO CIS I have never seen so much activity across the CIS Network, with members commentating on the first Working Group Paper and contacting generally. Certainly shows the 1st CIS Regional Meeting held in Geneva 17-18 May 2005 was worthwhile and was dubbed the "Wind of Change Meeting" BEFORE the event - and is certainly lived up to its name!
You will find news, Working Party reports and the CIS HQ report of the meeting.
Time to get involved... these are changing and interesting times and CIS Network must look to the future... time to discuss and shape the OSH information world! See details below. So by the time of the CIS Annual Meeting in September in Orlando there will many more topics to discuss by those attending.
Many thanks to you who have sent emails and news. As always these are always gratefully received and are used as soon as possible.
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. Take advantage of free publicity!
More of you will be getting the CIS Newsletter by email... I have checked against the published list that CIS HQ provided and where an email number exists will send the Newsletter to that address and cross you off the mailing list for the printed version. Remember you will get the news at least 3 weeks earlier than the printed version!
NOT HEARD FROM ANYONE SAYING THEY REALLY NEED THE PRINTED VERSION!!!
IF FOR ANY REASON YOU STILL NEED THE PRINTED VERSION PLEASE LET ME KNOW
MY CONTACT DETAILS ARE BELOW.
Remember you can see CIS Newsletter on the web site www.sheilapantry.com/cis where back issues are stored.
Also on emails... Some of you, who have changed your email number and addresses in recent months, please let CIS Headquarters know your new email/address and also let me know as well - otherwise you will not get the CIS Newsletter or other news.
Remember >>>>
Surviving in 2005... By 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
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
CIS Network of National and Collaborating Centres ... Working together and Helping Each Other...
HOT TOPIC
CIS HQ REPORT AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE REGIONAL CONSULTATION OF CIS CENTRES IN EUROPE
AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
GENEVA, 17-18 May 2005
The first regional meeting of CIS National and Collaborating Centres was held at CIS Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17-18 May 2005.
The meeting was held at the request of a number of representatives of CIS Centres in the region, in part because this year's regular CIS Centres meeting is scheduled to be held in Orlando, Florida, and it will be inconvenient for some European Centres representatives to attend it.
REPORTS ON SAFEWORK AND CIS ACTIVITIES
Jukka Takala, head of the ILO's SafeWork In-Focus Programme, greeted participants and presented the major elements of the programme's activities. He stressed the importance of the five main elements of the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health, adopted in the 2003 (91st) session of the International Labour Conference:
- Promotion, awareness raising and advocacy
- ILO Instruments
- Technical assistance and cooperation
- Knowledge development, management and dissemination
- International collaboration
Dr Takala then elaborated on what the SafeWork programme had achieved in furtherance of these elements, including - in particular - the elaboration of the 2001 Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (ILO-OSH 2001). These Guidelines had proved to be very popular, and had recently been adopted by Ireland, Israel and Argentina. The involvement of high-level policymakers in the adoption of these guidelines demonstrated their utility, insofar as it showed to the public in the countries concerned that occupational safety and health was not just a matter of interest to OSH experts.
Dr Takala also reported on the worldwide success of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which has become a regular event scheduled for April 28 of every year. A videotaped speech by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand honouring the World Day in his country was shown to meeting participants.
Dr Takala reaffirmed his optimism regarding CIS's future, and expressed his appreciation of the fact that the ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety and the CISDOC database had both been made freely available through the Internet to the worldwide safety and health community.
One difficulty Dr Takala pointed out is that, increasingly, workplace health problems - especially those related to chemical risks - are seen more as environmental problems and not as occupational ones. This can eventually lead to a reduction in financing for the OSH activities of the ILO, since it is not the lead agency for environmental protection.
Following Dr Takala's presentation, Dr Clevenstine (Head of CIS) presented an overview of CIS's activities since last year's centres meeting in Brussels. The main trend is for CIS to make all of its products available free of charge on the Internet. This is in line with the wishes of the ILO's constituents, although it also means a reduction in CIS's income.
As part of this increasing reliance on the Internet, CIS has been active in developing new, even more user-friendly interfaces for its products available through the Web.
The renewed CIS web site and the CISDOC interface was demonstrated.
Presentations by participants
The following participants made a report on the activities of their organization or institution:
- Mr Finn SHEYE of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
- Mr Malcolm GIFFORD of the International Association of Labour Inspection (IALI)
- Mr Nikolay Nikolaevich NOVIKOV of the All-Russia Occupational Safety Centre (VCOT)
- Mrs Maha ALY RAKHA of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health [Egypt] (NIOSH)
GENERAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The ensuing discussions brought out the main themes:
OSH IN GENERAL
- OSH is good for business.
- Good health in workers is good for business.
- Everyone has the right to a safe and healthy workplace.
- Vocational training courses should include an OSH component.
- The current emphasis on corporate social responsibility should be encouraged.
CIS IN GENERAL
- CIS should be revitalized and, if necessary, rebranded (new name? new logo?). As part of the rebranding exercise, much more attention should be paid to contacts with the media, including the issuing of regular press releases.
- CIS should have an information audit.
- CIS's target audience should be identified. Right now there is a conflict between serving
- CIS's paying customers and serving the ILO's "constituents", who influence CIS policies through their presence on the ILO's Governing Body.
- One problem is that information (in the eyes of many policymaker) is assimilated to propaganda, public relations and/or advertising. It is hard to get across the need for pure information needed before decisions can be taken.
- New collaboration partners should be investigated - multinationals, small and medium-sized enterprises.
CIS PRODUCTS
- The participants welcomed the fact that CIS products were now all available free of charge through the Internet.
- Although seeing Internet-based information dissemination is the right thing to do, we should realize that not everyone knows how to use computers or how to obtain OSH information efficiently through the Internet. And of course not everyone has a computer or has access to the Internet at all.
- It was suggested that the CIS thesaurus be updated and its scope enlarged, taking into account similar thesauri published by other sources (the EU, the NOHSC in Australia).
- Concentrating on quality information should be a CIS priority. Authoritativeness and reliability of information are essential.
- CIS should be in the forefront of providing information on upcoming trends (nanotechnology, new infectious diseases [e.g. SARS]).
- CIS should pay special attention to OSH research literature that appears on the Internet alone, as no other database covers that systematically. Another type of Internet-based information source that CIS should cover are the practical information sheets that many CIS Centres have made available free of charge on their sites.
- Grey literature is another area that CIS is ideally placed to compile information on.
- CIS's relationship with the producers of the information it abstracts should be revised as a result of changing copyright laws and customs. CISDOC-TEXT is at present only available to CIS Centres (who are considered as branch libraries of CIS), any wider distribution of this very popular product would necessitate an agreement by the copyright holders.
- It was suggested that CIS establish a "virtual database" of information resources held by CIS Centres.
- The compilation of "Latest documents received in CIS" that is now regularly updated on the CIS website was judged very useful. There was a suggestion that the source country of each document be indicated in the list.
THE CIS NETWORK
- The CIS network is the best means for obtaining OSH information from other countries, particularly on less frequently used topics.
- Being a CIS Centre was a source of prestige for many centres.
- The CIS Newsletter (published by Sheila Pantry) is highly successful. The problem of a time-lag between the online and printed versions (3-4 weeks) persists.
- It is regrettable that there is little or no communication between CIS and its Centres in between Meetings. It was proposed that Working Groups be set up with very specific subjects of common interest to be discussed in between regular meetings.
- A new or revised agreement between CIS and its centres should be designed, in part because of changed technology, products and information needs. The supply of original documents with analyses to CIS by the Centres and the publication of the CIS Bulletin with free copies sent to the Centres by CIS were now obsolete, and should be replaced by practices in line with current needs.
- There seems to be no conflict between work related to the CIS and to the European Agency - insofar as the work is similar, it can be mostly done as a single job item. It must be pointed out, however, that the European Agency pays some European Centres for the maintenance of their agency-related web site, a payment of between €20-40,000 per year.
- It was recommended that the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work become a regional CIS Centre.
THE CIS CENTRES PORTAL
- The existence of two separate CIS networks was confusing to users.
- The very small number of entries with real information in the CIS Centres Portal was a real impediment to its usefulness.
- It was possible to abandon the passive country pages while keeping the search engine, which was an innovative and useful feature of the Portal.
CIS PRESENCE ON CENTRES' WEB SITES
- Although the Institutions of which CIS Centres are situated in often have their own sites, the Centres themselves quite often do not, and may not even be identified as special units within their organizations. This may explain why it is so difficult in some cases to have a CIS logo or a link to CIS on Centres' web pages.
- It was suggested that CIS create a characteristic banner or pattern (including its logo), which could then be furnished to the Centres for display on their sites.
- CIS Centres should try to include the CIS logo and a link to CIS on their sites, but where exactly they do it is their own business.
WORKING GROUPS
Annick Virot made a presentation, proposing to set up a number of working groups with participation from people both from CIS and the Centres, whose function would be to work - essentially through e-mail - on issues raised at Centres meetings in between meetings. A large number of possible themes were mentioned:
- The SafeWork Bookshelf
- LEGOSH
- CISDOC
- Information on chemical substances, with particular attention paid to lists of exposure limits
- The CIS Portal (presently housed at CCOHS in Canada)
- Promotion of the CIS Logo
- Data sheets on occupations
- Other datasheets
- Information in specific languages
- Translations
- Matters of regional interest
- Development of regional and subregional centres
- Training
- Developing information for vulnerable workers and for workers in specific sectors
- Developing the CIS network in western French Africa
After some discussion, four working groups were set up:
- Publicity and Promotion. Coordinator: Annick Virot. Members: Irja Laamanen, Roman Litvyakov, Sheila Pantry.
- The CIS Portal. Coordinator: András Szücs. Members: Katalin Balogh, Begoña Casanueva, Roman Litvyakov.
- The Thesaurus and the Glossary. Coordinator: Gábor Sándi. Members: Katalin Balogh, András Szücs.
- Training. Coordinator: Annick Virot. Members: Boryana Barbukova, Catherine Blotière, Maria Castriotta, Irja Laamanen, Sheila Pantry.
The working groups were asked to submit to CIS an interim report before the Orlando Meeting, and an activity report before the end of 2005.
WRAPPING UP SESSION
There was some discussion about where the 2006 Centres meeting will be held. It was suggested that it may be convenient to associate it with the 2006 International Congress of the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH). Although not unreasonable, this proposal was rejected because of the likely expense it would impose on CIS.
Although the final decision would be announced at the Orlando meeting, the consensus of the participants was that the best location for the 2006 CIS Centres Meeting would be at CIS Headquarters in Geneva.
Assane Diop, Executive Director of the ILO's Social Protection Sector, thanked participants for attending the Meeting. He pointed out that unlike most other ILO Meetings, which were held at the behest of the organization at a location chosen by itself, the time and location of this CIS Regional Meeting was the result of a strong demand by the participants. This showed the importance attached to the CIS Centres Network by its members. He hoped that at least one regional meeting like this could be organized every year in the future.
Mr Diop welcomed the new trend towards Regional CIS Centres and the increased attention CIS was paying to the needs of its centres in the developing world, particular in Africa and the Middle East.
The meeting was adjourned.
_______________________________
ACTION NOW... Have your say
The Working Group 1 on Publicity, Promotion and Communication Strategy is available.
Some comments have been received already - the report and results will be presented by Annick Virot at the Orlando Meeting
The Working Group 4 on Training and e-Training is available.
Some comments have been received already - the report and results will be presented by Annick Virot at the Orlando Meeting
43nd Meeting of the CIS NATIONAL and COLLABORATING CENTRES in
Orlando (Florida), United States, 18 September 2005:
List of participants @ June 2005
COUNTRY |
REPRESENTATIVE |
|---|---|
CC AFRICAN REGIONAL LABOUR |
Mr. Sammy T. Nyambari arlac@arlac.org.zw |
NC ARGENTINA |
Dr. Carlos Aníbal Rodríguez Tel.: (+54 11) 4321 3500 |
CC CANADA |
Mrs. Maureen C. Shaw mshaw@iapa.ca |
NC COLOMBIA |
Sr. Renan Alfonso Roja Gutierrez rarojasg@laseguridad.ws |
NC GABON |
Dr. Guy Nambo-Wezet wezet7@yahoo.fr |
NC IRELAND |
Mrs. Mary Dorgan mary_dorgan@hsa.ie |
NC JAPAN |
Mr. Hirotoshi Goto |
NC KAZAKHSTAN |
Mr. S.G. Bisakayev inter@enbek.kz |
NC MEXICO |
Ing. Betzabé Torres betzabe@stps.gob.mx |
NC PHILIPPINES |
Dr. Dulce P. Estrella-Gust oshcenter@oshc.dole.gov.ph |
NC POLAND |
Prof. Danuta Koradecka dakor@ciop.pl |
CC VIET NAM |
Prof. Ph. Dr. Le Van Trinh NILP@netnam.org.vn Tel.: (+84.4) 5540 339 and Mr. Pham Van Hai |
NC ZAMBIA |
Mrs. Josephine Mapoma Tel.: (+260 1) 22 78 40 and Mr. Arnold Chitambo |
OBSERVERS
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE
ILO OFFICIALS, GENEVA
COUNTRY |
REPRESENTATIVE |
|---|---|
SAFEWORK: |
Dr. Jukka TAKALA |
CIS: |
Mr. Gabor SANDI |
Mrs. Annick VIROT |
News from Japan
We are pleased to inform you that Mr. Yotaro Sawada took over as President of the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association (JISHA) on June 1, 2005.
Mr. Sawada graduated from Keio University in the Faculty of Economics in 1968. In the same year, he joined the Ministry of Labour, and held prominent positions including Director General of the Industrial Safety and Health Department, Director General of the Labour Relations Bureau, Director General of the Employment Security Bureau, and Administrative Vice-Minister for Health, Labour and Welfare. He retired from the civil service in 2003, and assumed the position of President of the Employment and Human Resources Development Organization of Japan before he took office as President of JISHA.
We highly appreciate for your kind cooperation and support while Mr. Kazuo Hiromi was President of JISHA from 1 June 2002 to 31 May 2005.
We hope you will extend Mr. Sawada the same support and cooperation you have given to Mr. Hiromi.
Sincerely yours,
Hirotoshi Goto
Senior Director for International Affairs, JISHA, 5-35-1 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0014
Japan | Email: kokusai@jisha.or.jp
| Tel & Fax: +81-3-3454-4596
JISHA has recently published two important documents:
- Annual Report JISHA: 2004 edition. 2005. 45 pages
- Present status of Japanese Industrial Safety and Health: 2004 edition. 2005. 38 pages
Contact address above for copies and see also www.jisha.or.jp
News from Tunisia
The recent edition of the ISST magazine April 2005 contains a range of topics including: dermatoses; frequency and perception of the risk of accidents and silicoses
Contact: ISST, 5 Bd Mustapha Knaznadar, 1007 Tunis, Tunisia | Tel: + 216 71 561 636 | email: Analy.isst@Email.ati.tn | www.isst.nat.tn
__________________________________________________________
Worldwide interest as RoSPA Training Videos go On-Line
Customers from around the world are signing up for a new RoSPA service, which allows its popular occupational health and safety training videos to be viewed on-line without the need to buy a tape.
RoSPA E-Videos has attracted interest from as far afield as Australia and Kuwait, and is particularly beneficial for multi-site organisations where co-ordinating training proves difficult. Staff can be trained at their own desks and there is an interactive element, helping managers to check how well the messages have been understood.
The system was developed with The Einstein Network and features videos from such well-regarded producers as Out Takes Video Communications and Safety Media. RoSPA will also be looking for partnerships with more health and safety video production companies to expand its on-line service.
Customers licensed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents buy a number of credits that they can use to watch any of the on-line videos available.
Programmes cover a range of topics, including: the office, the construction industry, driver safety, COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health), personal protective equipment and manual handling.
RoSPA E-Videos was launched at the recent Safety and Health Expo 2005 at the NEC, Birmingham, and immediately attracted more than 200 trialists.
Companies wanting to test the new system can have a seven-day free trial and will qualify for a 25 per cent bonus of viewings if they join the scheme before the end of July. Users will have their own password to access the internet service.
Rebecca Fletcher, RoSPA Product Manager, said: "We have been delighted with the response to our new service. Organisations are realising how convenient and cost effective it is, because any member of staff can watch a video on their own PC at work or home, at the time that is most suitable for them.
"The wide range of programmes allows organisations to select titles that meet the varying needs of their employees.
"The management tool lets supervisors check that the employee has watched the selected programme and see what score has been achieved."
Individual viewings can cost as little as £20. Organisations interested can sign up for a seven-day free trial at www.rospa.com/e-videos, contact e-videos@rospa.com or Telephone +44 0870 777 2227.
TUC calls for an end to child labour
TUC says nearly 250 million children worldwide should be lifted out of work and into school. Speaking on 12 June, the International Labour Organisation's World Day Against Child Labour, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, said: 'Instead of being in school one in every eight children worldwide is being forced into dangerous work, drug trafficking, prostitution and armed conflict. Children as young as five being forced down mines are trapped into a life of poverty.'
He said the G8 meeting in Edinburgh next month was an opportunity for the UK government to lead the world's richer countries. 'To be able to invest resources in education for all developing countries need debt relief and better aid, backed by a trade system that no longer relies on or allows cheap child labour. But developing country governments cannot shirk their responsibilities, they have to make the political decision to provide school for all, rather than just their elite groups.' Barber added: 'Only public pressure on G8 leaders will make this happen so the TUC is urging people to join the July 2 Make Poverty History demonstration in Edinburgh.'
ILO says an estimated 245 million children worldwide are engaged in work that deprives them of adequate education, good health or basic freedoms. Of these, 179 million - or one in every eight children worldwide - are exposed to the worst forms of child labour, such as work in hazardous environments, slavery or other forms of forced labour, illicit activities such as drug trafficking and prostitution, and armed conflict.
ILO World day against child labour website
Massive occupational asthma risk is revealed
Work-related asthma is fast becoming one of the most commonly diagnosed occupational respiratory diseases in the US, a new study has found. An analysis of survey responses from nearly 21,000 adults, published in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health, revealed that men and women who work in printing or publishing, furniture or lumber, health care, and entertainment and recreation, were most likely to be diagnosed with asthma, as are those who work for automobile dealers and gas stations. 'This study stresses that workers employed in these industries need to be informed by the employer and aware that they are potentially exposed to asthmagens and the seriousness of their effect,' said study author Dr Ki Moon Bang of the US government occupational health research body NIOSH. According to the American Thoracic Society, an estimated 15 per cent of all adult cases of asthma may be related to the workplace. Based on this estimate, Bang and colleagues write, approximately 1.3 million adult asthma cases could be attributed to occupational exposure. 'This article should increase awareness among employers and workers about increased risk of asthma in specific industries,' said Bang. The US prevalence estimates are in line with those for the UK highlighted in the TUC's 1995 book, Asthma at work: Causes, effects and what to do about them.
Ki Moon Bang, Eva Hnizdo, Brent Doney. Prevalence of asthma by industry in the US population: A study of 2001 NHIS data, American Journal of Public Health, volume 47, issue 6, pages 500-508, June 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20170
Reuters Health: www.reutershealth.com/archive/2005/06/20/eline/links/20050620elin014.html
Asthma at work: Causes, effects and what to do about them. Rory O'Neill, TUC, 1995. ISBN: 1 874751 02 1. £6.00 from TUC Publications.
News from the USA
NIOSH Alert No. 2005-132
Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Fire Fighters due to Truss System Failures
Fire fighters may be injured and killed when fire-damaged roof and floor truss systems collapse, sometimes without warning. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requests assistance in preventing injuries and deaths of fire fighters due to roof and floor truss collapse during fire-fighting operations. Roof and floor truss system collapses in buildings that are on fire cannot be predicted and may occur without warning. NIOSH recommends that fire departments review their occupational safety programs and standard operating procedures to ensure they include safe work practices in and around structures that contain trusses. Building owners should follow proper building codes and consider posting building construction information outside a building to advise fire fighters of the conditions they may encounter.
NIOSH Alert: Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Fire Fighters due to Truss System
Failures
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2005-132. 2005. 25 pages
www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2005-132
CIS Logo - on YOUR Centre's web sites?
The following new additions... does CIS appear on your homepage?
Let me know and you can be added to this List
Irja Laamanen from Finland writes:
www.ttl.fi/Internet/English/FIOH+in+action/Departments/Information+Service+Centre
Hi, have you seen a wonder. In TTL's home page is link to Information service. Look
yourself. We have added CIS logo to the page of the Information Service Centre. So
something has happened. I think this is what CIS centres also need. TTL's pages have new
image, too!
Kind regards,
Irja
www.ttl.fi/en
Sheila Pantry writes:
We have also put the CIS logo on:
www.sheilapantry.com
front page - where the CIS Newsletters are listed and on
www.sheilapantry.com/cis
and that also links direct to CIS front page
FOCUS
The International Labour Office (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) call for the
need for a preventative safety culture worldwide
Faced with a rising toll of occupational related death, injury and sickness, the International Labour Office (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) call for the need for a preventative safety culture worldwide.
According to new estimates by the ILO, the number of job related accidents and illnesses, which annually claim more than two million lives, appears to be rising because of rapid industrialization in some developing countries.
What's more, a new assessment of workplace accidents and illness indicates that the risk of occupational disease has become by far the most prevalent danger faced by people at their jobs - accounting for 1.7 million annual work related deaths and outpacing fatal accidents by four to one.
In its latest estimates, the ILO found that in addition to job related deaths, each year there are some 268 million non fatal workplace accidents in which the victims miss at least three days of work as a result, as well as 160 million new cases of work related illness. The ILO has previously estimated that workplace accidents and illness are responsible for the loss of some four per cent of the world's GDP in compensation and absence from work.
Broken down by region, the figures indicate that workplace accidents have levelled off in many industrialized and newly industrialized countries, while some countries now undergoing rapid development in Asia and Latin America are experiencing increases. For example, the ILO analysis showed that while the number of fatal and non fatal workplace accidents held steady or declined in most regions, in China the estimated number of fatal accidents rose from 73,500 in 1998 to 90,500 in 2001 , while accidents causing three or more days absence from work increased from 56 million to 69 million. Meanwhile, in Latin America, a rise in the total number of persons employed and growth in the construction sector, particularly in Brazil and Mexico, appear to have lead to an annual increase in fatal accidents from 29,500 to 39,500 over the same time period.
Few skills and very little training
"This is happening because in the newly developing countries workers are often coming out of the rural areas, with few skills and very little training in safe work practices", says Jukka Takala, Director of the ILO's Safework Programme. "Most have never worked with heavy machinery, and some have little or no experience with industrial hazards such as electricity, so they don't know how dangerous these things can be. Yet these are elements of the kinds of jobs that are available for low skilled workers in rapidly industrializing countries."
"Once countries reach a more mature stage of development, there is a shift from construction to less dangerous service jobs and the accident rates begin to level off. We are seeing this now in South Korea, for example", Takala added.
The most common workplace illnesses are cancers from exposure to hazardous substances, musculoskeletal diseases, respiratory diseases, hearing loss, circulatory diseases and communicable diseases caused by exposure to pathogens. In many industrialized countries, where the number of deaths from work related accidents has been falling, deaths from occupational disease, notably asbestosis, is on the rise. Globally, asbestos alone is responsible for 100,000 occupational deaths per year. Meanwhile, in the agricultural sector, which employs half the world's workforce and is predominant in most underdeveloped countries, the use of pesticides causes some 70,000 poisoning deaths each year, and at least seven million cases of acute and long term non fatal illnesses, as stated in the assessment.
Improving the health of workers has led the ILO and WHO to cooperate closely on occupational safety and health issues. WHO helps countries to implement preventive strategies with a network of 70 Collaborating Centres, based on its Global Strategy on Occupation Health for All.
"Despite significant improvements in health and safety in many parts of the world over the past several decades, the global challenge of providing for worker health and safety is ever greater today", said Dr Kerstin Leitner, Assistant Director General for Healthy Environments and Sustainable Development at WHO. "Significant and more long lasting health gains could be achieved if greater emphasis were placed on effective policies and programmes for primary prevention. In many locations, particularly in developing countries, these are weak or virtually non existent. From a public health perspective, prevention through safety measures is better and also less expensive not only to workers individually, but to the society at large."
The three cornerstones of WHO's occupational health work focus on supporting the development and implementation of occupational health policies and action plans to countries in strengthening surveillance, estimating the occupational health burden and in developing "basic" national occupational health profiles. Another key role is to build capacity through a network of WHO Collaboration Centres in Occupational Health making current information on various risk factors (chemical, physical, ergonomic, psychosocial, biological, accidents) widely available. Finally, WHO defines a minimum package of occupational health services that each country should establish with a focus on primary prevention.
1 death every 10 minutes
The ILO also cited new data showing that in the construction industry, at least 60,000 fatal workplace accidents occur each year worldwide - or about one death every 10 minutes. About 17 per cent of all fatal workplace accidents occur in this sector, while construction workers also face a number of health risks, including exposure to asbestos laden dusts, silica and hazardous chemicals. In line with ILO conventions, recommendations and guidelines, the report pinpoints the need for better planning and coordination with regard to addressing safety and health issues on construction sites, as well as a greater focus on reducing work related ill health and disease.
More generally, the ILO also predicted increases in the number of young people (age 15 to 24) and older people (age 60 and over) entering the workforce over the next 15 years, and warned that workers in these two age groups tend to suffer higher on the job accident rates. The report calls for the development of specially tailored accident and disease prevention programmes for workers in these two age groups.
Special World Day for Safety and Health at Work commemorative activities and events are expected in more than 100 countries each year. Both the ILO and WHO are committed to promoting and strengthening increased cooperation at the national level between ministries of labour and ministries of health as well as businesses, workers' organizations and other civil society stakeholders.
The link to World Day for Safety and Health at Work home page can be found online at www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/worldday/index.htm
It is now time to start and prepare for your activities in 2006.
Further information can be found at www.ilo.org/safework
For more information, please contact:
- The ILO Department of Communication | Tel: +4122/799 7912 | Email: communication@ilo.org
- Ms. Nada Osseiran, Technical Officer, Communications and Advocacy, Protection of the Human Environment, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva | Tel: +4122/791 4475 | Email: osseirann@who.int
All WHO Press Releases, Fact Sheets and Features as well as other information on this subject can be obtained on Internet on the WHO home page: www.who.int and www.who.int/occupational_health/en
News from Poland
Research and standardization in the field of development and use of personal protective equipment. An International Conference in Poland
This conference will take place from 12 to 14 September 2005 in Cracow.
The Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB), Warsaw, is its organizer. The Conference is organized under the honorary patronage of the Minister of Economy and Labour and the Horizontal Committee of Notified Bodies for the PPE Directive, as part of the "Centre for Testing and Measurement for Improvement of Safety of Products and Working Life (TEST-PROSAFETY-LIFE) project, which is carried out within the 5th Framework Programme of the European Union.
The programme of the Conference will include the following topics:
- new technologies and materials for personal protective equipment (PPE),
- testing methods and criteria for assessing protective and usability parameters of PPE with respect to emerging hazards and its effectiveness in the conditions of use,
- principles, methods and tools supporting selection and safe use of PPE,
- standardization, certification and market surveillance in the field of PPE.
- Conference topics will concern all kinds of PPE, i.e., respiratory protective equipment, protective clothing, protective helmets, hand and arm protective equipment, foot and leg protective equipment, eye and face protectors, equipment protecting against falls from a height, hearing protective devices.
More information could be found at the Conference website: www.ciop.pl/ppe_05
Contact:
Katarzyna Tulkis, CIOP-PIB | Tel: (+ 48 22) 623 36 78 | Fax: (+ 48 22) 84 00 811 | email:
katul@ciop.pl
Katarzyna Bociek | Tel: (+ 48 42) 678 19 63 | Fax: (+ 48 42) 678 19 15 | email:
kaboc@ciop.lodz.pl
Electromagnetic Fields at the Workplaces.
An International Workshop in Poland
This International Workshop will be held in Warsaw from 5 to 7 September 2005. It is organized by the Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB), as part of the Centre for Testing and Measurement for Improvement of Safety of Products and Working Life (TEST PRO SAFETY LIFE) project, which is carried out within the 5th Framework Program of the European Union.
The main aim of the Workshop is to update knowledge related to electromagnetic field (EMF) hazards at the workplaces and methods of EMF risk evaluation and reduction. This will also be an opportunity to exchange experience on international standards and regulations on assessing and reducing EMF exposure at the workplaces, especially useful when implementing the requirements of the new EC Directive 2004/40/EC on occupational exposure to EMF into national regulations and practice. The poster session and discussions during sessions will provide a wide platform for exchanging and updating information.
The Workshop is intended for researchers involved in EMF exposure related investigations in various areas; as well as for occupational safety and health engineers, inspectors; and other professionals involved in practical implementation of research results and regulations into enterprises, hospitals, offices, etc.
Highly experienced researchers from various countries are expected to make presentations. Following are the main topics of oral and poster presentations:
- background to international guidelines and the EU directive on EMF, the established effects of EMF exposure, state of the art in EMF bioeffect research, current European scientific activities on the results of EMF exposure
- international and national guidelines and rules for EMF occupational exposure assessment, EMF's EU directives (occupational and machinery), ICNIRP guidelines
- EMFs characteristics, measurement techniques and instrumentation, EMF computational methods for RF/ELF
- EMF exposure in various occupational places: electric power production and distribution, telecommunication, offices, industries, transport, military installations, medicine, etc.
- EMF risk reduction measures, technical and organizational methods, precautionary approach, etc.
- EMF interference.
More information could be found on the website: www.ciop.pl/EMFworkshop
Contact: Jolanta Karpowicz, CIOP-PIB, Warszawa | Tel: (+48 22) 623 46 50 | Fax: (+ 48 22) 623 46 54 | e-mail: EMFworkshop@ciop.pl | e-mail: jokar@ciop.pl
Website for micro-enterprises in Poland wins an award
The Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB), Warsaw, Poland has prepared the important tool for the owners and employees of micro-enterprises in this country.
This website has the objective of providing access to information on safety and health in the working environment to the smallest and most numerous companies in Poland. Since it should compensate for the lack of materials for self-education on the chosen topics for the individual types of commercial activities, it has been prepared in the form of sets of informative and popular materials for each of the selected sectors. The materials that have been put together in this service are therefore organized by sector for various sections of the national economy. The information contained in it allows employers to independently assess the state of occupational safety in their enterprises. It contains a discussion of the basic duties of employers in the area of occupational safety and health. The OSH check lists contain a summary of potential hazards that could appear in the companies of a given sector, together with proposals of methods for eliminating or reducing them. The materials also contain the necessary references to the OSH related legal regulations and technical standards being in force in Poland.
At the moment this website contains information for: Construction, Wood processing and Automotive mechanics. A section on Food processing - baking and confectionery is under construction and will soon be available.
An English demo version of this website for micro-enterprises is also available in CIOP-PIB's portal www.ciop.pl/6718.html
This service has been awarded a gold medal of the 16th International Fair of Labour Protection, Rescue and Fire Protection SAWO'04 in the "Education and Prevention" category. This Fair is the most important event in the OSH area in Poland.
The portal of the Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB) includes pages containing a service with OSH information for small and medium enterprises.
News from Sweden
Four principal reasons for Sweden's high rate of sick leave absences
The results of an exciting collaboration between researchers names four principal reasons for the high rate of sick leave absences in Sweden: lower tolerance towards those who aren't able to work at peak performance, an ageing workforce, unemployment, and shortcomings in the interactions between social welfare agencies.
The High Rate of Sick Leave Absences: Problems and Solutions is an anthology that examines the problems surrounding sick leave absences. Behind this anthology is Safir, a joint action group with researchers and investigators from the Swedish Institute for Working Life, the National Institute of Public Health, the National Institute for Psychosocial Medicine, and the Swedish Social Insurance Administration (formerly the National Social Insurance Board). The group began their collaboration in the spring of 2003 with the goal of finding the deciding factors for the high numbers of sick leave absences in Sweden.
"The reasons we point out were known previously, but, from a research perspective, it can be said that we now have more documented proof that these are the four main reasons," says Staffan Marklund, a professor at the Swedish Institute for Working Life and one of the driving forces behind the Safir group.
The Safir group points to disguised unemployment as one reason for the high numbers of sick leave absences. People have been stuck in long-term sick leave when they should have been classified as unemployed or participating in employment policy measures. This is misleading and has partly to do with shortcomings in the interactions between social welfare agencies, employers and employees. The researchers would like Sweden to take a look at Germany and Finland. Like Sweden, these countries have very good sick leave benefits, but they also have lower sick leave figures than Sweden. A comparison between Sweden and Finland, which have similar conditions, shows that in Finland the occupational health service is called in as soon as someone is put on sick leave.
"Many falsely believe that they will get better by being on sick leave, but they need rehabilitation to regain their health," says Marklund. "The Finnish system has better procedures, and professional treatment is started early. This helps both the person on sick leave and the employer. I believe that part-time sick leave would also work better with a system like the Finnish one."
The advantages and disadvantages of part-time sick leave were illustrated in the joint action group's first anthology, Sick Leave Absences: Truth and Consequences, which was published in the spring of 2004. This form of collaboration will not be abandoned, however. The Swedish Institute for Working Life collaborates with other public agencies to collect perspectives and knowledge in areas similar to theirs. The Swedish Institute for Working Life will collaborate more systematically with other public agencies within the framework of a recently established analysis department.
The main reasons for the high rate of sick leave absences in Sweden:
- Lower tolerance for variances in work performance. Tendencies towards streamlined organisations could explain the decrease in tolerance towards those who don't produce top job performances. Opportunities for breathing space and recovery have been greatly reduced.
- The workforce has become older and has more difficulty keeping up with the pace demanded by streamlined organisations.
- Disguised unemployment. Individuals who were previously classified as unemployed are increasingly being put on sick leave. This change has probably been augmented by efforts to lower unemployment statistics.
- Administrative shortcomings in the interactions between the Social Insurance Administration, occupational health services, employers, the National Labour Market Administration, and employees lead to many long-term sick leaves.
Contributing factors to the high rate of sick leave absences in Sweden:
- Stressful personal lives. There is documented proof that stressful personal lives increase the risk for sick leave in individual cases.
- Deteriorating health. There is no proof that our general health has radically deteriorated, but increasing alcohol consumption is worrisome, as well as declining mental health.
- More restrictive disability pension system. When the disability pension system became more restrictive in 1997, the change may have resulted in more people being "left" in long-term sick leave instead of being given a disability pension.
- Behavioural adaptations. The health insurance system is used as the "best alternative" for support in situations where the alternatives would have been unemployment compensation, parents' allowance or disability pension.
- Impaired coping ability. There is a clear tendency towards fewer employees airing their grievances and quitting - sick leave solves the situation instead.
- Change in attitudes among doctors.
- Cutbacks in occupational health care and rehabilitation.
- Economic motives.
www.arbetslivsinstitutet.se/articles/050412.asp
Top candidate in international health and safety receives award
Ronald Lane, Manufacturing Director for National Starch and Chemical received the award for best candidate of 2004 in the NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health at a presentation ceremony at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.
Ronald explained why he chose the NEBOSH qualification: "National Starch & Chemical is committed to continuous improvement in its SHE capability and performance. To help meet its objectives, the Company started sending key leaders to the NEBOSH National General Certificate programme in the UK in 2002. Pleased with the tangible improvements that we observed, we wanted to find something similar for our continental Europe locations. The NEBOSH International General Certificate matched our requirements perfectly. It helped my colleagues and me to consolidate and improve our SHE leadership capabilities." He studied for the International Certificate with The Key Consultancy, based in Worcestershire.
Congratulating Ronald on his award, Dr Stephen Vickers, NEBOSH Chief Executive, said, "Ronald is the first candidate to receive a trophy for this newly introduced award. We are delighted that the top performing candidate has come from Italy, outlining the need for a global health and safety qualification. Congratulations must also go to The Key Consultancy. I would also like to thank the sponsors, Avery Dennison, for their support."
Designed for managers, supervisors and other staff with day to day responsibility for safety in an international context. The International Certificate focuses on International standards and management systems to ensure effective management of these issues across national boundaries.
About NEBOSH
The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health - NEBOSH - is the leading health and safety awarding body in the UK. Its suite of qualifications, designed to meet a variety of needs among those with professional responsibilities for health, safety and the environment, attracts some 15,000 candidates each year.
Contact: Julia Whiting, Communications Co-ordinator, The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH), Dominus Way, Meridian Business Park, Leicester LE19 1QW | Tel: 0116 263 4700 | Fax 0116 282 4000 | Email jw@nebosh.org.uk | www.nebosh.org.uk
Reminders
Promotion, awareness and raising standards are the keys to success; your attention is drawn to the ever-growing sources of information on the Safework web site. The OSH Encyclopaedia www.ilo.org/safework/info/databases/lang--en/WCMS_113329/index.htm available free of charge - Good news that it is going to be updated!
See for yourself the range of publications on www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework and links to www.ilo.org/cis
Start to plan for ILO World Day of Safety and Health 28 April 2006.
Make comments on the Working Group papers
So... Over to you CIS Members!
Make my Day...
Don't forget to send your News
Your Editor
OSHE websites to explore
The following may be of interest to OSHE information seekers, if you have a favourite website please let me know... Also look at www.oshworld.com at the links under country and also under subject.
POLAND
Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB):
SMEs POLAND www.ciop.pl/6718.html
Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB), Warsaw,
Poland has prepared the important tool for the owners and employees of micro-enterprises
in this country. The objective of providing access to information on safety and health in
the working environment to the smallest and most numerous companies in Poland. It has been
prepared in the form of sets of informative and popular materials for each of the selected
sectors. The materials that have been put together in this service are therefore organized
by sector for various sections of the national economy. The information contained in it
allows employers to independently assess the state of occupational safety in their
enterprises. It contains a discussion of the basic duties of employers in the area of
occupational safety and health. The OSH check lists contain a summary of potential hazards
that could appear in the companies of a given sector, together with proposals of methods
for eliminating or reducing them. The materials also contain the necessary references to
the OSH related legal regulations and technical standards being in force in Poland. At the
moment this website contains information for: Construction, Wood processing and Automotive
mechanics. A section on Food processing - baking and confectionery is under construction
and will soon be available.
SWEDEN
Swedish Work Environment Authority SWEDEN
www.av.se/inenglish
Swedish Work Environment Authority site contains information on legislation, statistics,
publications, news, topics and links.
UK
Corporate Manslaughter UK
www.corporate-manslaughter.net
Total Control Risk Management site offers guidance, advice and current state of knowledge
on corporate manslaughter. Site lists further information including books.
Health and Safety Executive: Biodiesel: domestic production: health and safety
warning UK
www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/biodiesel.htm
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) information on biodiesel that is a relatively new
synthetic fuel made from vegetable oils, and its domestic production raises serious health
and safety concerns. The information on the website describes some of the hazards and
contains advice from HSE that biodiesel should not be produced at home. Biodiesel is
produced commercially and can be bought from some petrol stations. However there are
'recipes' available on the internet for the domestic production of biodiesel. These
usually involve mixing methanol with sodium hydroxide (also known as caustic soda or lye),
and pouring the resulting mixture into vegetable oil. Home production raises serious
health and safety concerns, as it involves hazardous chemicals and the risk of fire and
explosion. Making biodiesel is a potentially hazardous process that should only be carried
out in controlled conditions by people with the proper training and experience. At the
very least a poorly made product could seriously damage a vehicle engine. See also
Safe working with flammable substances (INDG227) PDF [65kb] Basic safety principles
when working with flammable liquids (ISBN 0 71761154 X)
Free leaflet - How safe is your workplace? A short guide to the Dangerous Substances and
Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (INDG370) PDF [400kb] ISBN 0 7176 2589 3. Also
available from HSE Books -
The safe use and handling of flammable liquids (HSG140) More detailed guidance on
flammable liquids (ISBN 0 7176 0967 7) and
Designing and operating safe chemical reaction processes (HSG143) Guidance on chemical
reactions (ISBN 0 7176 1051 9, price £12.50). HSE publications are obtainable from
HSE Books, telephone +44 (0)1787 881 165.
Health and Safety Executive: Conveyor Belt UK
www.hse.gov.uk/waste/conveyorbelt.pdf
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conveyer belt sorting guidance. Further
information on back pain can also be found at the website at
www.hse.gov.uk/msd/backpain
Health and Safety Executive: Cost of ill-health UK
www.hse.gov.uk/economics/costing.htm
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) information on cost of ill health to industry can
be found on these HSE's revitalising health and safety web pages.
Health and Safety Executive: Electrical safety in quarries UK
www.hse.gov.uk/quarries/electricity.htm
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published electricity safety guidance on its
website for all those involved in managing quarry sites. The web based guidance,
Electrical Safety in Quarries explains the risks posed by electricity in quarries and
gives practical guidance on equipment suitability, installation, cable management,
isolating equipment, inspections and test and examination frequency. The guidance is aimed
at quarry managers, rather than electrical experts and reflects the requirements of
current health and safety legislation, particularly the Electricity at Work Regulations
1989 and Quarries Regulations 1999. It does not cover offices or other lower risk parts of
quarries, where hazards are comparable to other workplaces. Further information on health
and safety issues pertinent to working in quarries including quarry regulations can be
found on
www.hse.gov.uk/quarries/information.htm
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents RoSPA: Videos online UK
www.rospa.com/e-videos
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents RoSPA Customers from around the world are
signing up for RoSPA's Videos online service, which allows its popular occupational health
and safety training videos to be viewed on-line without the need to buy a tape. It is
particularly beneficial for multi-site organisations where co-ordinating training proves
difficult. Staff can be trained at their own desks and there is an interactive element,
helping managers to check how well the messages have been understood. Programmes cover a
range of topics, including: the office, the construction industry, driver safety, COSHH
(Control of Substances Hazardous to Health), personal protective equipment and manual
handling. Companies wanting to test the new system can have a seven-day free trial. Users
will have their own password to access the internet service.
USA
National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety NIOSH Control banding
USA
www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ctrlbanding
National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety NIOSH Control Banding Topic Page.
The purpose, elements, current and potential applications, and other features of control
banding are described. Control banding is a process in which a single control technology
(such as general ventilation or containment) is applied to one range or band of exposures
to a chemical (such as exposures in the range of 1-10 milligrams per cubic meter of air)
that falls within a given hazard group (such as skin and eye irritants or severely
irritating and corrosive materials). The most developed model for control banding has been
established by the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) of the United Kingdom. NIOSH is currently evaluating its utility for
the United States. See also OSHWORLD Focus January 2005
Control Banding - Threat or Benefit? by Paul Oldershaw, Head of the UK Health and
Safety Executive's Central Specialist Division and Immediate Past President of British
Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS).
Diary of Events
If you have details of any conferences, seminars, training courses and events then please send to your Editor.
You can also check and please use any of the data in www.oshworld.com/diary.html
29 November 2005 - EurOhse Masterclass on Fire Risk Assessment and Business
Continuity, Planning and Management
Held in conjunction with the 3rd EurOhse Conference organised by Sheila Pantry
Associates Ltd and Angel Business Communications Ltd
Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK
Contact: Stephen Whitehurst, European Occupational Health and Safety Magazine (EurOhs),
Angel Business Communications Ltd | 34 Warwick Road, Kenilworth CV8 1HE, Warwickshire,
UK | Tel: +44 (0)1926 512424 | Fax: + 44 (0)1926 512948 | Email:
sv@angelbc.co.uk
30 November 2005 - 1 December 2005 - EurOhse2005: creating a winning OSH
culture
3rd EurOhse Conference organised by Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd and Angel Business
Communications Ltd
Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK
Contact: Stephen Whitehurst, European Occupational Health and Safety Magazine (EurOhs),
Angel Business Communications Ltd | 34 Warwick Road, Kenilworth CV8 1HE, Warwickshire,
UK | Tel: +44 (0)1926 512424 | Fax: + 44 (0)1926 512948 | Email:
sv@angelbc.co.uk
21-25 August 2005 - 17th International Epidemiological Association Conference
Institute of Health Research, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
Contact: Institute of Health Research, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand | Tel:
+66-2-218-8152-3 | Fax:+66-2-253-2395, 255-2177 | Email:
info@wce2005.org
| www.wce2005.org
23-26 August 2005 - 2nd ICOH International Congress on Psychosocial factors at Work
Mamakari Forum Okayama Convention Center, Okayama-City, Japan
Contact: Okyama University Graduate School of Medicine & Dentistry Hygiene & Preventive
Medicine, Okayama-City, Japan | Tel: +81-86-235 7173 | Fax: +81-86-235 7178 | Email:
esc@md.okavama-u.ac.jp
| www.wops2005.jp
11-14 September 2005 - 18th International Symposium on Epidemiology in Occupational
Health ICOH International Commission of Occupational Health
Bergen, Norway
Contact: ICOH International Commission of Occupational Health | Fax +47-55 23 17 68 |
Email: sales@travel-planners.no |
www.uib.no/isf/arbeid/epicoh2005
18-22 September 2005 - 17th International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working
Times
Hoofddorp - Netherlands Organized by ATOS
Contact: Arianne Witmond, ATOS Beleidsadvies en -onderzoek bv Gelderlandplein 75d 1082 LV,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Fax: +31 20 4044676 | Email:
shiftwork2005@atos.nl
| www.shiftwork2005.atos.nl
2006
29-31 March 2006 - Ergonoma 2006: 4th European Tradeshow on Workplace and Work
situations Ergonomics Solutions
Thurn & Taxis, Brussels, Belgium
Contact: Nicole Peyronnet Le Martin, Pansy Shell Communication, 105, rue de l'abbé Groult
F-75015 Paris, France | Tel: +33(0)2 3744 0460 | Fax : +33 (0) 237 440450 | Email:
info@pansyshell.com