CIS Newsletter

No. 255
December 2010

CIS Newsletter celebrates 22 years & still going strong!
Bringing news from Members to Members in over 154 countries in the CIS Network!

The CIS Newsletter is a monthly newsletter for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) International Occupational Health and Safety Information Centres and is edited by Sheila Pantry OBE from the UK. The CIS Newsletter is NOT an official publication of the ILO but a newsletter containing information from Members in CIS Centres and other sources and is intended to be shared by anyone who finds the data contained useful. Users are free to use and reuse the data in these newsletters.

Contents

  1. Editorial
  2. CIS Regional Meeting in London 23-24 November 2010
  3. News, Events and ideas from around the World including "Do you know", Canada, Chile, Finland, Ireland, Macedonia, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, UAE, UK, and USA to name a few!
  4. OSHE websites to explore
  5. Diary of Events

CIS Members' links:

Editorial

Festive Greetings to all Colleagues wherever you are in the World

Those of us who attended the 23 - 24 November 2010 REGIONAL MEETING OF CIS NATIONAL AND COLLABORATING CENTRES IN EUROPEAN AND CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES in London this week had a very useful, active and encouraging meeting. This was a very important meeting for the future of CIS - see the agenda and the outcomes below to whet your appetite! There is much to look forward to in our OSH World in 2011!

The official report will be sent shortly from Geneva.

Meanwhile, as usual the CIS Newsletter this month contains a roundup of information received from many parts of the OSH World - for which many thanks.

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.

Remember that whilst there is so much occupational safety and health information around the world not all will be trustworthy. Make sure that any information that you use is validated and authoritative and up-to-date.

USE IT OR LOSE IT!

Don't forget to continuously promote CIS and the Network!

Do add the CIS logo on the front page of your website would be a good first start. (Checked recently and only a few CIS Centres websites have the logo or links to CIS website).

Please do add the CIS logo on all your publications.

Any views you have on CIS and its work please send into CIS HQ - to Gabor Sandi sandi@ilo.org and Seiji Machida machida@ilo.org

Festive Greetings to all Friends and Colleagues

This has been a fast moving year and suddenly here is the last CIS Newsletter of 2010! In many parts of this World of ours there will be celebrations of Christmas.

To everyone, may I send the warmest of good wishes to you, your colleagues and your families at this very special and happy time of the year. I hope you will enjoy the festivities.

Whilst this is usually a joyful season for families and friends we must also remember those families around the world where there will be that missing family member, who, because of incidents, accidents and workplace ill health problems will not be present.

Will you be Surviving in 2011?... perhaps you will if you make efforts in 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

Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd,
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
www.oshupdate.com

News from the London Meeting 2010

Regional Meeting of CIS National and Collaborating Centres in European and Central Asian Countries held in London 22-24 November 2010

On Monday, 22 November 2010 a special "behind scenes" visit to the wonderful British Library was arranged by Sheila Pantry.

The visit to various Readings Room included a talk by Neil Infield, Manager Business & IP Centre and further information by Michael Stringer and Claire Packham. Our thanks to them for their time and explanations and also to Louise Doolan, British Library Reference Services Manager for all the arrangements. You can view the Presentation Slides.

The Visit by the ILO Health and Safety Information Centres' members went extremely well - all the visitors were very, very impressed by the range and wealth of services and of course the Library itself. They were bowled over by the fact that there is also the Boston Spa, Yorkshire part of the British Library (BL) and the impressive new store that has just opened. See some of the pictures in the presentation.

Our hosts outlined the work of BL and how staff could assist with our need to access, and a wide range of electronic services on offer. BL holds 14 million books, 920,000 journal and newspaper titles including fire and fire related journals, 58 million patents, 3 million sound recordings, and being a copyright deposit library has so much more. Of interest to CIS Members is the range of OSH Journals that are available.

We were each handed a brochure containing details of how to make contact with BL. An initial 30 minute search is free of charge but there are charges for longer searches which are informed to the enquirer beforehand. There are photocopy charges of 21 pence per page.

You can use the BL databases!

Go to the Primo service http://searchbeta.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do and search for your favourite items! As an example just put the word asbestos in the search box - you have a ready-made bibliography of many hundreds of records!

See also BL web site www.bl.uk

You will see a page inviting you to search the BL holdings

Tick the Journals box for full details of journal holdings - last box on the right side of the screen and repeat the same search using the word asbestos.

Again this is one way you can keep up-to-date using the British Library from wherever you are in the world.

The Reading Rooms really impressed - by the size and computer equipment in them... so all in all, a much appreciated visit - thanks to the BL Staff Louise Doolan, Neil Infield, Claire Packham, Michael Stringer.

Agenda for the Regional Meeting of European and Central Asian CIS Centres, London, 23-24 November 2010

The Meeting was held in the Senate Room (9th floor) of the Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, in the prestigious Bloomsbury area of London, close to the British Museum, Oxford Street and Covent Garden.

  1. Formalities
  2. Report on the Beijing meeting
  3. Report on CIS activities
  4. Report on CIS Centres network activities and on the result of the survey
  5. Demonstration of the new input system into CISDOC
  6. Discussion in view of concrete proposals for improving the maintenance of the CISDOC database (including contributions to the database by Centres)
  7. Presentation on OSH databases in general, by Sheila Pantry
  8. Discussion on changes in the CIS network, in view of the Recommendations of the 2008 London Meeting see full report on www.sheilapantry.com/cis/meeting2008/Meeting_2008.html
  9. Report on current Encyclopaedia activity
  10. Closure

Elly Goos from the Netherlands CIS Centre, Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment was elected Chairwoman.

The Meeting heard the following presentations:

Gabor Sandi gave a report on the Beijing meeting and CIS activities since 2009

This was followed by a report on the activities of the CIS Centres network by Annick Virot which was followed by a report by Begona Casanueva on the answers received to the CIS Questionnaire Survey sent out in 2009. Only 40 Centres out of 154 replied but nevertheless gave some useful comments.

This lead to a discussion as to what should be done to encourage those CIS Centres that appeared not to be active and participative in the CIS Network. It was agreed that such centres should be contacted by CIS Headquarters as a first major task, to ascertain if these centres were still interested in remaining in the Network, and if they so, what can be done to help them.

These discussions were further amplified in the "Future of CIS" discussions below.

Establishment of National Centres

During discussions on Day 2 Sheila Pantry agreed to update the Guidelines for the Establishment of National CIS Centres that she had previously compiled. Sheila has written many books on this subject area and linked topic areas see a list of her titles on www.sheilapantry.com/books

The updated edition will be ready early in 2011.

Concrete proposals for improving the maintenance of the CISDOC database including contributions to the database by Centres

A Demonstration of the new input system into CISDOC was presented by Gabor Sandi and was well received by the members. It is hoped that CIS Centres worldwide will find this new way of sending information to CIS HQ for inclusion in CISDOC to be more user friendly and less time taking. This should result in more information being sent for CISDOC which is an important OSH database.

This new way of working should be ready early 2011.

Presentation on worldwide OSH databases in general

This was given by Sheila Pantry OBE, who first asked a number of questions about the usage of information, the sources used and the quality and up-to-dateness of such sources. She gave numerous examples where OSH information services and centres no longer existed, e.g. Sweden, Ireland, Italy, Romania or had been drastically reduced in budgets, staff and services on offer. The quality and quantity of information sources of many OSH databases have been reduced to the lack of budgets to purchase reports, journals and other acquisitions etc and staff to index/catalogue the information. Examples included CISDOC and HSELINE.

She then went on to describe some quality sources - mostly available via the Internet. She described the increasing number of databases available in her own company's collection of OSH and Fire information in www.oshupdate.com and www.fireinf.com

She talked about the latest database to be added to OSH UPDATE which will collect information on worldwide major hazards accidents and incidents. This will be available early in 2011 and will bring the number of databases in OSH UPDATE to 20, this collection includes CISDOC. Currently there are over 815,000 records of full text and bibliographic sources in this collection - arguably the biggest collection of occupational safety, health and environment information in any one collection. This is a user friendly and price friendly collection. See this presentation on www.sheilapantry.com/cis/index.html see the report in the box on the right hand side of the screen.

The Discussions on future OSH information and CIS activities

This started on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday. This was based on the Recommendations of the 2008 London Meeting see full report on www.sheilapantry.com/cis/meeting2008/Meeting_2008.html

These were far reaching discussions and many conclusions/recommendations were made: briefly summarised below:

a) Logo

CIS should have a new logo - containing the following words

b) CIS and the Future

Encyclopaedia on Occupational health and Safety - really GOOD News

The really good news is that the Encyclopaedia editorship for the next edition is being undertaken by Dr Jeanne Mager Stellman, Special Lecturer and Professor Emerita of Clinical Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA.

Jeanne Stellman was Editor-in-Chief of the well esteemed 4th Edition of the Encyclopaedia.

The news was very warmly welcomed and the CIS Members send their grateful thanks to Jeanne Stellman for undertaking this exacting task, and that CIS Newsletter can be used as a way of contacting people to help and also promote the new edition on the website.

Jeanne has replied with the following message:

The online Encyclopaedia is very much going to need the support and contributions of CIS Members and I will most certainly take you up on your offer. I spent many hours this week working with the website programmer and I hope that by early January 2011 we will have a prototype up and running for comments and feedback. I would very much like to work with you and the CIS Members so that the site can be as user-friendly and informative as possible.

Full details will be announced shortly by CIS HQ.

Seiji Machida, Safework Director, gave a frank and full talk on the current challenges facing CIS, Safework and the ILO. He happily answered many, many questions posed by the delegates.

A Full report of the meeting will be issued shortly by the CIS HQ.

News from around the World...

News from Canada

New Canadian report - Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning - Validation of System Cleaning Initiation Criteria under Real Conditions

The IRSST - Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail has just published a document aimed at assessing different methods of sampling dust in ducts. This study was carried out under real dust-accumulation conditions inside the components of non-industrial Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems (HVAC) (e.g. schools, office buildings, or hospitals).

Researchers established HVAC-system cleaning initiation criteria for these conditions. These criteria, which were identical to those obtained in the laboratory for the IRSST and the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) methods, were 23 mg/100 cm² for the ASPEC method, 6.0 mg/100 cm² for the IRSST method, and 2.0 mg/100 cm² for the NADCA method. All three methods can therefore be used, provided that their specific cleaning initiation criterion is applied.

The French organization Association pour la prévention et l'étude de la contamination (ASPEC) method under real conditions, although the criterion differs from that determined in the laboratory, aspirates most of the surface dust in the duct and is therefore a preferable option to the other two, which aspirate only the surface dust. In conclusion, it is this method that yields the most accurate results and the smallest standard deviation.

The document is available for download at: www.irsst.qc.ca/fr/_publicationirsst_100561.html

Maura Tomi, Communications Division, IRSST | mautom@irsst.qc.ca | www.irsst.qc.ca/en

News from Canada

5th International Conference on Occupational & Environmental Exposure of Skin to Chemicals, OEESC, June 5-8, 2011, Toronto, Canada

Call for Abstracts Deadline Extended to December 15, 2010

Nearly a decade has passed since the inaugural OEESC took place in 2002 in Washington, DC. Significant progress has been made with regards to knowledge and awareness of dermal exposure and diseases. The OEESCs with their multidisciplinary approach and plenary sessions have contributed substantially to knowledge exchange between researchers and practitioners around the world. Although many of these themes will look familiar, for each of the plenary sessions, the goal is to have keynote speakers summarize advancements achieved during the decade of progress and provide their vision for the decade of promise where the ultimate goal is delivering the science (i.e. knowledge exchange) in a form the practitioner can readily implement.

For more information and to submit an abstract, please go to the conference website www.OEESC.org

News from Chile

After the accident in San Jose Mine, in Chile, the main trade unions association, CUT (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Chile) invited a group of experts to prepare a proposal for improving the national system for prevention in occupational safety and health including the views and problems of all the activities.

As a result of this commission a Report was produced, which is linked below; currently there is only a Spanish version, but hope that in the near future there will be one in English.

More information in www.cutchile.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=171:cut-recibe-propuesta-de-seguridad-laboral-realizada-por-comision-de-la-misma-entidad&catid=34:trabajadores&Itemid=56

Link to the Report: www.cutchile.cl/Informe_final_nov._2010-2[1].pdf

Manuel Parra, Chile.

News from Europe

Single market, single health and safety qualification

New plans to develop a universal qualification and training framework, for health and safety professionals across Europe, were revealed at a conference in Brussels today.

The new EU-funded EUSAFE project was unveiled at an event held by the European Network of Safety and Health Professional Organisations (ENSHPO) as part of the European Commission's week for health and safety in the workplace.

The EUSAFE project has been set up to identify a universal European framework of qualifications to cover occupational health and safety (OSH) professionals across the European Union.

Richard Jones, IOSH's Policy and Technical Director and Vice Chair of ENSHPO, said: "Having a single set of European qualifications, which can be equated to each member states existing standards is fantastic.

"By opting into the European qualifications, health and safety professionals who work across the EU are able to prove their credibility to employers, and employers are also ensured that they are employing a professional of a high calibre."

Back in September 2008, ENSHPO launched the EurOSHM (European Occupational Health Safety and Health Manager) standard, which will be incorporated with qualifications that are created as a result of the EUSAFE project.

Peter Andrew works for The Scotts Company (UK) Ltd, the producers of gardening products such as Miracle-Gro, as their International (European) Environment, Health and Safety Manager. As a chartered member of the UK-based Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), Peter applied for EurOSHM status, after he saw an article about the qualification standard on the Institution's website.

He said: "Applying to have the EurOSHM qualification could not have been easier, as a Chartered IOSH member, I automatically qualified for the status.

"My current job role involves me looking after the health and safety of approximately 1,000 members of staff across the European Union and therefore being EuroSHM qualified seemed the logical thing to do.

"Not only does holding the qualification make me more credible in the eyes of my employer, it also indicates, a level of competence to people I work with across the EU. The Scots Company takes health and safety extremely seriously, as good health and safety is good for business, and my EurOSHM qualification reflects well on the company as a whole."

ENSHPO Chairman, Giancarlo Bianchi, said: "Creating a standard set of health and safety qualifications for OSH professionals across Europe will have a positive impact on businesses that operate on a multi-national and European level.

"Professionals who possess the qualification standard will demonstrate to employers that they have the professional skills, knowledge and experience to conduct their job within any country in the EU. Multi-national businesses will not be the only ones who benefit from the qualification standard, individual health and safety professionals will also gain, they will be commended and recognised for their skills at an international level."

The members of the Network are health and safety professional organisations from the current EU member states, new member states, applicant countries, and other European countries. There are currently 20 countries represented on ENSHPO

EurOSHM (European Occupational Safety and Health Manager) is a voluntary European certification standard for occupational safety and health. Launched in 2008 there are now 173 practitioners across the EU now holding the standard

To find out more about ENSHPO, EurOSHM and the EUROSAFE project visit www.enshpo.eu and www.euroshm.org

Did you Know?

You can find a list of English books produced by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH)

https://verkkokauppa.ttl.fi/Default.aspx?tabid=205&&Type=productslist&action=cat&CatID=4&parentID=0

Irja Laamanen
M.Sc., Senior Adviser

Knowledge Transfer in Occupational Health and Safety Finnish Institute of Occupational Health www.cohf.fi | www.ttl.fi

Did you know?

The BEST short cut to the CIS web pages is one that Andras put in on the day he left for "retirement" and works really well is www.ilo.org/cis ... so Bookmark for your easy access and it goes to www.ilo.org/safework/info/cis/lang--en/index.htm

Here you will find are all the databases etc

BUT it takes a number of clicks to get to detail in the CIS centres list which is regarded as one of the main information sources but currently all the centres are hidden in a PDF!

www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---safework/documents/resourcelist/wcms_146791.pdf

News from Finland

Information on an interesting article published by The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH)

School Neighborhood Disadvantage as a Predictor of Long-Term Sick Leave Among Teachers: Prospective Cohort Study by M Virtanen, M Kivimäki, J Penttiym.

Go to: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20179159?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=1

American Journal of Epidemiology 2010. February 23. Epub ahead of print.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20179159

News from Finland

Cochrane Occupational Safety and Health Group

News and information on the Cochrane Occupational Safety and Health Group can be found on http://osh.cochrane.org/

You can use the COHF databases free of charge.

User id: cohf and password: cohf

You find interventions and reviews on OSH from: http://cochrane.ttl.fi/rmwp

One search example: go to advanced search and use the search term asbest*

Results: 8 records | 1 - 8 | asbest* [All Indexed Fields] OR asbest* [All No... Sort:

You can print them, make an electronic bibliography. You can view them, and also find links to PubMed, Cochrane Library etc.

The rest of records are reviews: highest level Cochrane reviews and systematic reviews, but also ordinary OSH reviews comparing different interventions.

Our aim this year is to have 1800 records and next year 300 more.

Best regards,
Irja Laamanen
M.Sc., Senior Adviser

Knowledge Transfer in Occupational Health and Safety Finnish Institute of Occupational Health www.cohf.fi | www.ttl.fi

News from Ireland

Eurofound launches the 2010 Annual Report of its European Restructuring Monitor (ERM), 'Extending flexicurity - the potential of short-time working schemes': Europe's short-time working schemes good example how labour market adjustment costs are shared.

Costs of labour market adjustment can be more widely shared in publicly subsidised short-term working schemes, according to the 2010 Annual Report of the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM), presented at the European Employment Forum in Brussels today. Just as the last two decades saw a reorientation from passive to active labour market policy, so should a flexicurity-aligned system of short-time working adopt a more active stance, Eurofound argues in its report.

Never before have short-time working schemes been so prominent as in the last two years. Many Member States expanded their existing schemes and others introduced them for the first time. Such schemes have been widely seen as successful in alleviating the worst effects of this very serious recession. Working time reduction was particularly prevalent in Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, the United Kingdom (UK) and Sweden. This contrasts with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Slovenia, Hungary, Spain and Lithuania, where most of the net adjustment was due to job losses.

All in all, the number of economic short-time workers (ESTW), not necessarily on publicly subsidised schemes, tripled to almost two million between 2008 and 2009, according to the report.

This year's annual report from the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) includes an analysis of Economic Short Time Working across the European Union. It also examines the potential of short-time working and temporary layoff measures to serve as a concrete implementation of the EU's 'common principles of flexicurity'. The report illustrates the extent to which genuine consensus has been achieved among social partners at national level in many countries, building trust and common understanding among the parties involved.

'This report shows that this consensus could be harnessed to develop these schemes further towards a more active policy orientation, an extension of the flexicurity concept and, more concretely, the generation of new skills for the jobs needed to put Europe on the path to recovery and towards the vision of the Europe 2020 strategy,' says Donald Storrie of Eurofound's Employment and Competitiveness Unit.

The report also shows that five million fewer people were in employment in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the onset of the crisis in mid-2008. Construction and manufacturing alone account for a net decline in employment of five million people. Significant decline has also been observed in the transport and retail sectors. Sectors in which employment is growing include health and education, computer programming and consultancy, and other professional and scientific activities.

2010 Annual Report of the European Restructuring Monitor 'Extending flexicurity - the potential of short-time working schemes'

Contact: Måns Mårtensson, Eurofound, Loughlinstown House, Wyattville Road, Dublin, Ireland D18 | email: mma@eurofound.europa.eu | Tel: +353-1-204 3124 | Mobile: +353-876-593 507.

News from Macedonia

Below you will find the links to the ILO article "Safety and Health in Agriculture", both on English and Macedonian language.

Ljupco Kocovski, ILO/CIS Centre coordinator, Macedonian Occupational Safety and Health Association, 29 Noemvri 50, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | Tel/fax: ++ 389 (0)2 2774 868 | Cell: ++389 (0)75 432 051 | www.mzzpr.org.mk

News from Spain

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Evaluation of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2010-2011 Website

Main findings of the User Panel survey:

Access the full report: http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/evaluation_reports

News from Spain

European Agency and the Belgian EU Presidency show how safe maintenance can save lives

With statistics showing that between 10 and 15 per cent of all fatal workplace accidents in Europe are linked to maintenance operations, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has joined forces with the Belgian EU Presidency to host a conference in Brussels today which shows how safe maintenance can increase occupational health and safety standards.

The conference 'Maintenance: Do It Safely' coincides with the release of EU-OSHA's report, Safe Maintenance in Practice, outlining key strategies businesses should adopt to prevent maintenance risks. EU-OSHA Director Dr. Jukka Takala said, 'these strategies include ensuring management is committed to a safety culture and the provision of clear working procedures, involving employees in safety, conducting a risk assessment and safety training, as well as implementing preventive measures'. The report details best practice examples of safe maintenance including that of the Air France engine maintenance workshops which now feature a simulation tool to help identify safety, ergonomic or production issues at the design stage.

The conference features not only a series of workshops, roundtable discussions and expert meetings, but will see Official partners of EU-OSHA's Healthy Workplaces Campaign recognized for their commitment to safe maintenance. The partners include a wide range of corporations and associations from the private and public sector, including some of Europe's most well known companies.

At the conference event, entrepreneurs and OSH experts from all across Europe will share best practice ideas aimed to make maintenance operations safer, whether they are from government, large corporations or SMEs. For example, one workshop 'Safe Maintenance through Design' will tackle the question how accidents can be reduced through better design and planning of work and workplaces as well as through the use of modern technologies.

The Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2010-2011, which is co-ordinated by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and its partners in the 27 EU Member States, supports a wide range of activities at the national and European level that promote safe maintenance. It will highlight the importance of maintenance (of plants, equipment, machines and workplaces) to eliminate workplace hazards, and to provide safer and healthier working conditions in workplaces throughout Europe. It is backed by the EU Presidencies of Spain and Belgium in 2010 and of Hungary and Poland in 2011, by the European Parliament and the European Commission, and by the European Social Partners.

News from the UK

FOCUS - UK electricity industry to be world leader on health and safety: Plans have been launched to make the UK electricity industry a world leader in health and safety

The drive comes from industry bodies Energy Networks Association and the Association of Electricity Producers, working closely with industry trade unions and HSE.

They say their ambition is for the industry to lead health and safety performance in the world by 2015. Peter McCormick, ENA Board lead on Safety, Health & Environment said, "Workers in the electricity industry face many significant risks which need to be managed. Key to this risk management is strong leadership, where senior staff members take ownership of risks and accept the responsibility of managing them.

"A joint initiative between employers (ENA and AEP) and trade unions, the five-year strategy aims to deliver continuous improvements in proportionate risk management in the electricity generation, transmission and distribution sectors."

Mike Clancy Deputy General Secretary of the Prospect union said on behalf of the industry's trade unions "Improving health and safety leadership throughout the UK electricity industry is a key objective of this sector's new strategy, called Powering Improvement. The trade unions welcome this initiative and have signed on to the challenge of delivering it."

The strategy was developed over a number of ENA-led workshops, where they worked with Prospect, Unison, Unite and GMB trade unions and HSE. The TUC have offered the initiative their full support.

Peter McCormick went on to say: "Through their work on this strategy, ENA and AEP are leading by example, exhibiting the sort of leadership skills they want to establish across the industry.

"To maintain momentum throughout the five years, each year will see the strategy focus on a different priority area. This year's focus, leadership, is a two-fold priority. The first step is for senior managers in ENA/AEP companies to demonstrate their commitment by signing up to Powering Improvement. The second step is to build on this by improving health and safety leadership throughout the management chain so that good practice cascades to all levels of workers.

"Supporting the annual priorities are three overarching themes - improving competence, worker involvement and leadership - inspired by the 2009 HSE strategy 'Be part of the solution'. Through action on these themes, the industry intends to achieve a change in health and safety culture.

"Powering Improvement is building on the electricity industry's 10 year SAFELEC initiative, which delivered a significant improvement in safety figures for the industry. In 2002, for example, the incident rate of fatal andmajor injury accidents was 95 per 100 000 employees; by 2009 this figure had fallen to 77.

"By working towards the goals in 'Be part of the solution' to generate improved performance, it is hoped the new strategy will bring similar positive results. In 2011 and 2012 the focus will be occupational health / well-being and asset management/maintenance, respectively.

"Our ambition for the UK electricity industry to be a world leader in health and safety performance by 2015 is realistic but challenging. We're under no illusions, but we have a good base to work from and full support from HSE and our trade unions."

Powering Improvement

Plans have been launched to make the UK electricity industry a world leader in health and safety.

The drive, called 'Powering Improvement', comes from industry bodies the Energy Networks Association and the Association of Electricity Producers.

They say their ambition is for the industry to lead health and safety performance in the world by 2015.

In 2000, the Electricity Industry launched its SAFELEC 2010 programme aiming to achieve a marked reduction, in line with government targets, in the number of days lost due to work-related injury and ill-health. The final report was issued July 2010 and is available at the ENA website (www.energynetworks.org).

The SAFELEC 2010 results indicated that reducing ill-health (whether caused or made worse by work) will remain a major challenge for the industry over the next five years and a focus on occupational health issues will be a high priority throughout the new strategy.

A further important factor that has helped to shape Powering Improvement is the HSE strategy "The Health and Safety of Great Britain: Be part of the solution" which we as an industry fully support. Powering Improvement will contribute to the delivery of the HSE strategy.

To maintain momentum each year the strategy will focus on a specific theme which has been identified as a priority area for our sector. Each theme will be led by a senior industry champion.

A delivery plan will be agreed for each of the annual themes and progress will be reported in the annual Powering Improvement Progress Report.

News from the UK

Applications sought for lifesaving research scheme

Applications are invited for the third round of funding available through the UK RoSPA/BNFL accident prevention scholarship.

The scheme provides support for safety-related research that will produce defined, practical and influential outcomes to help save lives and prevent injuries in the UK and around the world. It was established with £500,000 of legacy funding following the winding up of BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels).

Grants of up to £20,000 per project per year are available. The closing date for applications for the 2011 round of funding is April 1.

Applications are invited for projects addressing any of the following themes:

As well as fresh research, applications for projects that evaluate existing or planned safety schemes are welcome.

Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA chief executive, said: "Accidents remain a huge problem, not just in the UK but around the world, wrecking lives and wasting billions of pounds. Our objective in administering the scholarship scheme is to encourage and support groundbreaking research that will produce results capable of translation into action that will save lives and reduce injuries. During the first two rounds, we received a wide range of imaginative and well thought out applications. Building on this experience we will be looking this time around for further high quality projects."

Previously funded projects have considered: the scale and impact of child injuries in Nepal; the threat posed by cold water immersion; the effectiveness of a learner-driver coaching programme; the impact of child safety interventions; and perception of approaching vehicles by older motorists.

The RoSPA/BNFL scholarship is a unique accident prevention scheme. Up to three projects are awarded grants annually and the researcher who produces the best work each year receives a further cash prize as an added incentive for excellence.

For more information, email Roger Bibbings at rbibbings@rospa.com or call him on +44 121 248 2095.

Further details are also available at www.rospa.com/occupationalsafety/conferenceseventsawards/bnfl-rospa-scholarship.aspx

News from the UK

Awards for IPAF safety video and training kit promoting best practice in the use of powered access equipment

The UK International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) has won two prestigious awards for a safety video and a training kit that it produced with the aim of promoting best practice in the use of powered access equipment.

IPAF's "Spot the mistake" video won the first prize as the best media in the DVD/CD category in a "Health and Safety at Work" information media contest held by the Italian health and safety authorities.

The contest called "Inform@zione" is organised every two years by the Italian national social insurance organisation INAIL, together with the regional health and safety authorities of Emilia Romagna and the municipality of Modena, during the Ambiente Lavoro convention. The jury evaluates the submitted entries based on the informational, educational and accident prevention aspects. Entries are very widespread and cover all communication and training products relating to health and safety at the workplace.

The "Spot the mistake" video was shown at the Ambiente Lavoro convention and featured in a special health and safety publication, which was distributed from the exhibition stand of the Italian safety authorities.

"Spot the mistake" is available in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish. It can be viewed and downloaded at the Publications/Film section of www.ipaf.org

The Aerial Work Platform (AWP) Operator Training Support Kit produced by IPAF through its North American subsidiary AWPT won a LLEAP Silver Award in the category "Aftermarket Support Products and Services".

The OTS kit assists users of AWPs to develop an operator training programme that complies with regulations and standards and meets the requirements defined in the US-based industry document Statement of Best Practices of General Training and Familiarisation for Aerial Work Platform Equipment.

"This is a desperately needed product from the most reputable name in the industry," said the LLEAP judges. "Finally, a standardised training guide that will help owners and operators promote safety."

The Leadership in Lifting Equipment and Access Platforms (LLEAP) Awards are organised by Lift and Access magazine. The awards were developed to recognise products, accessories or design concepts that are considered innovative or have advanced the state of the lifting equipment industry. This year's panel of judges comprised 14 equipment rental professionals and industry consultants.

More information on the OTS kit is at www.awpt.org/ots

UK International Powered Access Federation Moss End Business Village, Crooklands, Cumbria LA7 7NU, UK | info@ipaf.org | www.ipaf.org

IPAF is a not-for-profit members' organisation that promotes the safe and effective use of powered access equipment worldwide. More details at www.ipaf.org

News from the UK

Government urged to protect workers health and safety in uncertain times

The UK Government needs to be clearer on how a drive to cut red tape combined with spending cuts will not put people at greater risk of injury or illness at work, a leading health and safety body said today.

In the recent House of Lords debate on Lord Young's Government-commissioned review of health and safety, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) called for clarity on how the review will improve safeguards for public and private sector workers when managers are looking to cut costs. IOSH Honorary Vice President Lord Brougham and Vaux, said: "Lord Young's report details his own views on how to make things easier for organisations to address health and safety - in his view, making it less bureaucratic, less time-consuming.

"But we would like to see greater clarity on how this would happen without compromising health and safety standards. Here, the devil is in the ambiguity.

"We look forward to working with the Government to scrutinise the proposed health and safety legislation and to address what should be our first concern - how to keep people healthy and safe at work in the difficult months and years ahead."

IOSH welcomed the publication of Lord Young of Graffham's report, Common Sense, Common Safety, on 15 October 2010, but the chartered body said the report raised important questions on whether a drive to cut red tape will mean a cut in standards in health and safety.

Lord Brougham told fellow peers: "We fully support any effort to rein back on unnecessary bureaucracy, but in the weeks and months ahead, the welfare of workers is on the line.

"We are told this is a time of austerity, a time when the Government is looking at managers to cut costs - and for entrepreneurs to set up the new, fledgling businesses of tomorrow.

"Has it ever been more critical, then, to protect people at work? Enterprise is to be encouraged, but surely not at any cost.

"In encouraging growth, there is a very real risk for any Government of creating an environment in which it is easier to die, be injured or fall ill at work."

Lord Brougham and Vaux's address to the Lords was reinforced by IOSH's Public Services Group, who held an event at the Guildhall, London, called 'Health and safety in uncertain times'.

More than 70 health and safety officials from councils, police authorities and schools across the UK attended the event to discuss Lord Young's review and the impact of government spending cuts on health and safety.

Bruce Phillips, Chair of IOSH's Public Service Group, said: "The Government review of health and safety has fallen at a very difficult time for those of us who work in the public sector.

"Whilst we all welcome the governments review it comes at a time when workers in the public sector fear for their livelihood. One thing that was revealed at the event was concern that the spending cuts alongside the review of health and safety could potentially mean a decline in standards.

"What hard-pressed managers within the public sector need to remember is that the health and safety of their staff is vitally important and that cutting corners when it comes to health and safety could mean risking lives.

"On a positive note, the report advises the Government should cut red tape for school trips, apply extra scrutiny of councils which ban events on health and safety grounds and to ensure the emergency services are not at risk of litigation for acts of heroism. This will hopefully ensure that the misinterpretations of health and safety laws which end in the cancellation of perfectly safe activities are curbed for good."

Lord Young Report: www.number10.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/402906_CommonSense_acc.pdf

News from the USA

November 2010 edition of LIFELINES ONLINE (Vol. VII, No. 6) is available at the LHSFNA website

These are the headlines:

To view the stories and access our website, click www.lhsfna.org.

Also, please note that back issues of LIFELINES ONLINE - as well as our print magazine, LIFELINES - are posted for online viewing. The LIFELINES ONLINE archive and LIFELINES archive are fully searchable, so you can find the articles that relate to your topic of interest.

As always, we look forward to your feedback and comments on our website and LIFELINES ONLINE.

Steve Clark, Communications Manager, Laborers' Health and Safety Fund of North America, 905 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006, USA

News from the USA

NIOSH Researchers Developed a Novel Training Tool that Simulates the Effects of Noise Exposure on Hearing Loss

Job-induced hearing loss is a big problem in today's work settings, affecting workers in industry sectors such as manufacturing, construction, mining, transportation, agriculture, and the military. Approximately 22 million workers are exposed on the job to noise levels that could harm their hearing.

The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has developed the NIOSH Hearing Loss Simulator, a software training and communication tool that demonstrates the effects of noise exposure on a worker's hearing without exposing the person to harmful noise levels or toxic materials. The software considers several factors including age, gender, level of exposure, and years of exposure, and then simulates human speech that is degraded to reflect the estimated hearing loss.

For more details www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-160

New Health Hazard Evaluations (HHE) Reports from NIOSH

Comparison of Mold Exposures Between Employees at a Severely Water-Damaged School and Employees at a School Without Significant Water Damage
The HHE Program evaluated a severely water-damaged school where employees reported difficulty breathing, chronic sinusitis, and immune system problems. As a comparison for the evaluation, investigators also evaluated a school around the same age that had no history of water damage or mold contamination. Investigators found that employees at the severely water-damaged school had a significantly higher prevalence of symptoms than employees at the comparison school. www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2005-0135-3116.pdf

Skin and Respiratory Symptoms in Peanut Inspectors with Peanut Dust and Endotoxin Exposure
The HHE Program evaluated employees' exposures in a peanut-grading operation. Investigators found endotoxin in air conditioner filter dust, peanut grading room air, and outdoor air. Peanut grading machines were found to be releasing dust indoors. Investigators recommended that peanut grading room dust be vented outdoors and that air conditioner filters be changed routinely. It was also recommended that employees be provided with NIOSH-approved N95 respirators and participate in a respiratory protection program.
www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2008-0052-3115.pdf

Evaluation of Exposures to Tuberculosis Among Immigration Employees
The HHE Program evaluated immigration and customs enforcement agents' potential for transmission of tuberculosis (TB). Investigators found that most employees had direct contact with detainees every day and participated in job activities that place them at risk of acquiring TB infection. Investigators recommended that ventilation systems in detainee areas be changed to either a single-pass or a high-efficiency particulate air-filtered system and that ventilation systems be rebalanced to increase the amount and direction of air flow in detainee areas. Investigators also recommended annual TB training and testing for all employees.
www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2009-0074-0193-3114.pdf

News from the WHO/ILO/UN AIDS

Joint WHO-ILO-UN AIDS policy guidelines on improving health workers' access to HIV and TB prevention, treatment, care and support services

International Labour Office; World Health Organization; United Nations; 2010, 125 pages

The primary purpose of these guidelines is to draw together previously developed clinical and policy guidelines, along with recent evidence, into a coherent set of recommendations that aim to provide improved access of health workers to HIV and TB services. The health sector has a vital role to play in delivering prevention, diagnosis, treatment as well as care to the population it serves, and in combating stigma and discrimination. To do so, health workers' own health, rights and working conditions must be protected. The World Health Organization, International Labour Office and the International Organization for Migration note that "although health workers are at the frontline of national HIV programmes, they often do not have adequate access to HIV services themselves". The increased risk to health workers of developing tuberculosis (TB) has also been well established and is a growing concern. These guidelines were designed to focus on reinforcing and accelerating the implementation of best health practices for health workers who are living with, or have been affected by HIV or TB, or with risk to be exposed to HIV and TB in the workplace. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the improved health of health workers and to retain them in the workforce. This document presents an evidence-informed policy for the provision of improved access to HIV and TB prevention, treatment, care and support for health workers. This policy guideline complements and synthesizes other WHO guidelines, especially related to TB infection control, HIV control in the workplace, health-systems strengthening, clinical diagnoses and treatment for HIV and TB, as well as reproductive health and occupational health. Indeed the primary purpose of these guidelines is to draw together previously developed clinical and policy guidelines, along with recent evidence, into a coherent set of recommendations that aim to provide improved access of health workers to HIV and TB services.

OSHE web sites to explore...

We look at websites in different parts of the world that are offering quality information. This month we continue to look at a variety of websites from the UK.

Also look in www.oshworld.com/links.html for hundreds of links to authoritative and validated web sites... constantly updated.

If we do not have your web site listed please send it to me sp@sheilapantry.com

National Packaging and Waste   UK
http://npwd.environment-agency.gov.uk
UK National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) is a web-based database supported by the Environment Agency, Defra, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Northern Ireland Environment and Heritage Service (NIEHS), the Advisory Committee on Packaging, companies obligated by the packaging regulations, reprocessors, exporters and compliance schemes.

National Work-Stress Network   UK
www.workstress.net
UK National Work-Stress Network is committed to the eradication of the causes of work-related stress and associated illnesses. It campaigns to advance this aim through its involvement with the Hazards Campaign; and in conjunction with the TUC, European organisations, within UK Trades Union structures. Site gives details on causes, costs, identifying stress and risk assessing it, news, newsletters and links to other sources.

OSHWorld   UK
www.oshworld.com
Portal hundreds of web sites containing a wide range of information on fire, health, safety, environment, chemical and other related sources. Contains editorials, articles, diary of events, reference shelf, products, services and hundreds of links to other validated and authoritative sources. CIS Centres are indexed here... make sure that yours is included!

Preparing for Emergencies   UK
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Dealingwithemergencies/Preparingforemergencies
This UK Government website has information on how you can help yourself and others in emergencies. A lot of it is based on common sense advice and may seem obvious or familiar to you, but it has saved lives in the past. The text has been arranged so you can access advice tailored to your needs. Covers: What you can do, What businesses can do; what voluntary and community groups can do; What Government is doing; advice on specific emergencies and links to more information such as UK Resilience, Emergency Planning College, London Prepared etc.

Prosecutions Database from the Health and Safety Executive HSE   UK
www.hse-databases.co.uk/prosecutions
Resulting from a report, entitled Health and Safety Offences and Penalties, this 'Name and Shame' database lists around 1,600 individual offences and includes several big name companies, as well as small firms, local authorities, hospitals, and universities throughout Britain. Users can access this information in a number of ways, including by geographical location, type of industry, size of fine and type of work activity. Health and Safety Offences and Penalties can also be downloaded from the HSE website.

Reduced Ignition Propensity Cigarettes (RIP) Coalition   UK
www.firesafercigarettes.org.uk
The UK Reduced Ignition Propensity Cigarettes (RIP) Coalition is campaigning for fire safer cigarettes to help reduce this needless death and devastation by cigarette fires. Cigarette fires are the biggest cause of fire-related deaths in the home. There are an average of 132 deaths, 1,600 injuries and 4,300 fires per year in accidental home fires caused by smoking materials, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government. Every three days someone dies in a fire caused by a cigarette. A significant proportion of the devastation could be prevented through EU legislation to introduce a fire safety standard for cigarettes in the UK.

RoHS - Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment   UK
www.rohs.gov.uk/Default.aspx
The UK National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) has been awarded the contract to set up the UK's national RoHS enforcement body. The Directive 2002/95/EC RoHS Directive stands for "the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment". This Directive bans the placing on the European Union (EU) market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. NWML are now delivering RoHS enforcement since the regulations were fully implemented on the 1st July 2006, and have developed this website to provide you with information and help associated with RoHS compliance and enforcement. This includes a web version of the decision tree we intend to use, an FAQ section which we are continually updating as your enquiries come to us, and a list of other useful resources that are available to you in our links section. If you are hosting events relating to RoHS enforcement and would like input from us, please contact us to discuss. We would like to support as many targeted events in the EEE sector as we can. The RoHS Directive stands for "the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment". This Directive bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB).

Diary of Events

1-2 December 2010 - Complex Release Scenarios: Half day event
Broadway House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NQ, London, UK
Contact: Lis Oliver, FABIG, SCI, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7QN, UK | Tel: +44 (0)1344 636 537 | Fax: +44 (0)1344636570 | Register on-line at: www.fabig.com/Events/TM64+-+Webcast.htm or email: fabig@steel-sci.com

9 December 2010 - Croner Hawksmere 6th Annual Health and Safety Conference
Programme arranged and conference chaired by Sheila Pantry OBE
London, UK
Contact: www.hawksmere.co.uk/hsconference

12-16 December 2010 - Security, Coordination and Management
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Contact: Precept Management Consultancy, P.O. Box 255, P.C. 112, Sultanate of Oman | Tel: +968 24497123 | Fax: +968 24497222 | Email: precept@omantel.net.om | www.preceptmanagement.com

7-10 March 2011 - IOSH Managing Safely
Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt Hotel, London, UK
Customer Services, Croner Training, 7th Floor, Elizabeth House, York Road, London SE1 7NQ, UK | Tel: +44 (0)845 082 1170 | Fax: +44 (0) 845 120 9612 | Email: services@cronertraining.co.uk | www.cronertraining.co.uk

7-11 March 2011 - 7th International course on safety research (6005) - Part 2 (5 days). NB Part 1 is held on 7-11 June 2010
Hotel Urku, Kangasala, Finland
Contact: NIVA, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A 00250 Helsinki, FINLAND | Tel: +358 30 4741 | Fax: +358 30 474 2497 | Email: niva@ttl.fi | www.niva.org/courses/6005.htm

22-24 March 2011 - The Storage Terminal Operators' Conference & Exhibition (StocExpo)
Ahoy Expo, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Contact: StocExpo | www.stocexpo.com/home.shtml

23 March 2011 - Croner Training 10th Annual Update on Fitness for work 2010
Rubens Hotel. London, UK
Customer Services, Croner Training, 7th Floor, Elizabeth House, York Road, London SE1 7NQ, UK | Tel: +44 (0)845 082 1170 | Fax: +44 (0) 845 120 9612 | Email: services@cronertraining.co.uk | www.cronertraining.co.uk

23-25 March 2011 - Nova Scotia Safety Council 29th Annual Health and Safety Conference
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Contact: Nova Scotia Safety Council, 2786 Agricola Street, Suite 207, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 4E1 | Tel: +1 902 454 9621 | Fax: +1 902 454 6027 | www.nssafety.ns.ca

4-8 April 2011 - Gas, Vapour and Dust Explosion Hazards, Protection, Mitigation and Prediction
University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Contact: University of Leeds | Tel: +44 (0)113 343 2494/8104 | Email: cpd@engineering.leeds.ac.uk | www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/cpd/FireExplosionPrediction.shtml

4-8 April 2011 - Principles and Practice of Evacuation Modelling
Greenwich Maritime Campus, London, UK
Contact: Mrs F Barkshire, Fire Safety Engineering Group, University of Greenwich, Greenwich Maritime Campus, Old Royal Naval College, Queen Mary Building, Greenwich SE10 9LS, UK | Tel: +44 (020) 8331 8706 | Fax: +44 (020) 8331 8925 | Email: f.barkshire@gre.ac.uk | http://fseg.gre.ac.uk/fire/course1.html

5-7 April 2011 - Occupational Hygiene 2011
The Holiday Inn, Stratford upon Avon, UK
Contact: Louise Hall | Email: louise.hall@bohs.org | www.bohs.org/events/annual-conference

31 May - 3 June 2011 - 7th WasteTech Exhibition and the alongside ISWA Conference: Solid Waste Treatment and Disposal: Leading Edge Technologies
Moscow, Russia
Contact: Exhibition Manager, Ekaterina Mareeva - Email: mareeva@sibico.com | Conference Manager, Natalia Konovalova - Email: konovalova@sibico.com | Tel: ++ 7 495 225 59 86 | http://2011.sibico.com