HEALTH, HAZARDS AND AGE

Not dead yet We all have different strengths and weaknesses, young and old. And properly designed work should be safe and healthy whoever is doing it. So why are older workers told they are no longer up to the job? Hazards magazine, number 96, October/December 2006

Too young to die A young worker is seriously injured every 40 minutes and killed every four weeks. These workers aren’t “accident prone” or careless, they are inexperienced. When they are hurt, it means not enough was done to protect them. Hazards magazine, number 95, July/September 2006

Young workers
Hazards' young workers' health safety webpage

Older workers
Hazards' older workers health and safety webpage

Work and health Tens of thousands of people die each year of work-related ill-health. Millions suffer as a result of their jobs. Hazards work and health pages

Health and safety and aging workers, US SOEH February 2009 conference resources. NIOSH update • Society for Occupational and Environmental Health conference report [pdf] and video highlights

Britain: Bus crush apprentice needed plastic surgery
One of South Yorkshire's main bus operators has been fined after a teenage apprentice was trapped under a 14 tonne bus when its air suspension failed. Ben Burgin, who was 17 at the time, needed restorative plastic surgery to his nose and eye socket following the incident at Stagecoach Yorkshire's garage in Wakefield Road, Barnsley, on 7 September 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 536
Hazards news, 17 December 2011

Britain: Companies fined after worker breaks back
Anson Packaging Ltd and Cambs Compressor Engineering Ltd have fined after a 24-year-old worker broke his back in a fall from a roof void. Anthony Strong, a pipe fitter employed by subcontractor Cambs Compressor Engineering Ltd at the time, suffered fractures to his spine, skull and ribs.
HSE news release • Risks 536
Hazards news, 17 December 2011

USA: Newt calls for child labour in schools
 Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has announced he wants to “get rid of unionised janitors” and hire poor kids to clean the schools in low income neighbourhoods. Gingrich suggested that putting scrubbing brushes and floor sanders in the hands of kids and firing school maintenance workers would “lift up the poorest neighborhoods.”
AFL-CIO Now blog and related story • Politico • AFSCME online action page “to tell Newt he’s out of his mind” and related video about the Newt Gingrich plan • Risks 534
Hazards news, 3 December 2011

Britain: Government axes apprenticeship safety measure
The government says it is to end apprenticeship health and safety measures that “go beyond” the legal minimum and that were introduced after a spate of deaths in 2003. Business secretary Vince Cable told an Association of Colleges conference that from the start of 2012, training providers and employers offering apprenticeships will no longer have to comply with any requirements that go ‘above and beyond’ health and safety legislation.
Vince Cable’s speech, 17 November 2011 • Unite news release • SHP Online • TUC’s 2005 safety reps’ guide to health and safety on apprenticeships and young workers health and safety webpages • Autumn statement documents and statement • Risks 534
Hazards news, 3 December 2011

Britain: Massive blade cuts off three fingers
A Rochdale engineering firm has been fined for criminal safety breaches after an unsupervised young worker had three fingers cut off by an industrial saw. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution against Adelaide Engineering Company Ltd after the 21-year-old from Bury, whose name has not been released, lost parts of three fingers on his left hand.
HSE news release and manufacturing webpages • Risks 534
Hazards news, 3 December 2011

Britain: Company fined after man dies in machine
A firm which admitted criminal safety failures over the death of a worker at its Slough factory has been fined £200,000. Mitesh Prashar, 24, was killed while operating machinery on a night shift for Manchester-based company Duco International Ltd.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Print Week • Risks 523
Hazards news, 17 September 2011

Britain: Garage worker killed by exploding drum
A garage has been fined after an employee was fatally injured when a metal oil drum exploded. Martyn Massie, 23, was cutting a drum that had previously stored used engine oil at the premises of Pitmachie Garage Ltd, in Insch, Scotland.
HSE news release • Risks 523
Hazards news, 17 September 2011

Britain: Boss pays for teen’s lost fingers
A partner in a Somerset firm has been fined after 18-year-old employee Kyle Bishop lost four fingers while working on a milling machine. Nigel Ashley of precision engineering firm Ashley's of Yeovil, appeared at the town’s Magistrates Court in a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
HSE news release • Risks 522
Hazards news, 10 September 2011

Britain: Poorly trained teen severs hand
A teenage novice severed part of his hand while operating a vertical panel saw on which he had received little training. Lewis Maker, who was 18-years-old at the time of the incident, was using the panel saw to cut a piece of board, when his hand got dragged into the blade and the top half was cut off.
HSE news release and woodworking machinery webpages • Risks 513
Hazards news, 9 July 2011

Britain: Employers are failing older workers
Older employees are missing out of training and most say employers are failing to make the adjustments necessary to help them do their jobs, according to a new survey. However, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found workers of the age of 65 also reported better physical and mental health than their younger colleagues.
CIPD news release • Risks 511
Hazards news, 25 June 2011

Britain: Risks stacked against new workers
Workers are as likely to suffer a reportable injury in the first six months at a workplace as during the whole of the rest of their working life, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned. The safety watchdog says a number of factors contribute to the excess risk, including lack of experience at or familiarity with the job and workplace.
HSE ‘new to the job’ guide • Risks 515
Hazards news, 11 June 2011

Europe: Working longer requires better working
The improvement of working conditions throughout a worker’s career is “a necessary condition” to enable workers to continue to work for as long as possible, a European think tank has concluded. The Dublin-based European Union research body Eurofound says the issue is of crucial importance as working lives are extended and the population ages.
Health and work: A difficult relationship [pdf] • Risks 499
Hazards news, 26 March 2011

Britain: Teenage trainee injured in meat mincer
A Brighton meat processing company has been fined after a 16-year-old trainee severely injured his arm in a meat mincer. The teen's employer, Malpass Direct Ltd, was prosecuted by The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for not properly supervising him at its Brighton Meat Market premises.
HSE news release • Risks 495
Hazards news, 26 February 2011

Britain: Site teen suffers horrific burns to legs
O'Keefe Construction Ltd has been fined after a teenager suffered horrific burns to his legs at its depot in Sevenoaks, Kent. The 18-year-old employee, who asked not to be named, was spray painting a lighting tower when thinners some on his trousers and caught fire.
HSE news release and explosive atmospheres webpages • Risks 495
Hazards news, 26 February 2011

Britain: Teen worker loses fingers on first day at work
A Walsall metal company has been prosecuted after a teenage worker lost parts of two fingers on his first day at work. The 19-year-old, who did not wish to be named, had only started work three hours earlier for Goscote-based JKL Industrial Services Ltd, when his hand became trapped in a power press.
HSE news release • Birmingham Mail • Risks 490
Hazards news, 22 January 2011

Britain: Default retirement age is retired
The default retirement age of 65 is to be phased out later this year. The government announcement received mixed responses, with some welcoming the measure while others warned that it would mean “work till you drop” for the poorest in society, while research published this week by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) dismissed concerns about possible health and safety risks related to working when older.
BIS news release • NPC news release • UCATT news release • TUC news release • Morning Star • An update of the literature on age and employment, HSE research report RR832, January 2011. Hazards age webpages
Hazards news 22 January 2011

Britain: Hard up firm escapes teen burns fine
A West Midlands company has admitted failing to protect its employees after two teenage workers suffered chemical burns – but the firm has been spared a fine because it is broke. Fretus Ltd was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £4,500 costs.
Coventry Telegraph • SHP Online • Risks 482
Hazards news, 13 November 2010

Britain: Plastics firm seriously injured teen worker
A Lancashire plastics company has appeared in court after a teenage apprentice suffered serious injuries when his arm was dragged into a machine. The worker, who asked not be named, dislocated his left shoulder and broke his arm on 6 May 2008 while working at General All Purpose (GAP) Plastic's Blackburn factory.
HSE news release • Risks 479
Hazards news, 23 October 2010

Britain: Firm fined after teen is injured in fall
A Croydon company has been fined after a teenage worker suffered multiple fractures and internal injuries when he fell through a rooflight. Lewis Edwards, 17, from Sidcup, had only been at STP Solutions Ltd a few weeks when the incident happened.
HSE news release and fall webpages • Risks 474
Hazards news, 18 September 2010

Britain: Family issues safety plea after ‘avoidable tragedy’
The devastated parents of a young engineer killed when a falling digger bucket struck him on the head have urged the construction industry to learn vital lessons from his tragic death. The call from the distraught family of Mark Handford came after a coroner's jury recorded a verdict of accidental death into the incident which claimed the life of the 22-year-old just over a year ago.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Risks 474
Hazards nerws, 18 September 2010

Britain: Pensions move will hurt manual workers
Manual workers will suffer serious disadvantage as a result of an upward shift in the retirement age, UCATT has warned. The construction union was commenting after new figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed manual workers were more than twice as likely as professional workers to die before they reach 65 years of age.
UCATT news release • Office for National Statistics • Risks 472
Hazards news, 4 September 2010

USA: Retirement dilemma for manual workers
As governments look to reduce the pensions bill by delaying retirement, manual workers could be faced with jobs they can no longer physically manage while not being eligible for a retirement pension. This is the conclusion of a US Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) study which looked at the prospects for older workers in occupations characterised by physically demanding or difficult work.
Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) news release • Hard work? Patterns in physically demanding labor among older workers, Hye Jin Rho, CEPR, August 2010 [pdf] • Risks 471
Hazards news, 17 July 2010

Britain: Roofing firm fined £2,000 after teen’s plunge
A roofing company has been prosecuted after a teenage worker fell three metres through a fragile roof, breaking his arm. Apprentice Shaun Jacob, 18, was removing the ridge from a metal sheet roof when a sheet he was standing on buckled and he fell to the ground.
HSE news release • Risks 465
Hazards news, 17 July 2010

Britain: Unions slam ‘work until you drop’ move
Unions have condemned government proposals to raise the retirement age, which could leave former workers in some of the poorest parts of the country receiving less than two years pension on average before they die. UCATT general secretary Alan Ritchie said: “By increasing the retirement age the ConDems are effectively forcing many construction workers to work until they drop.”
DWP news release • When should the state pension age increase to 66? – A Call for Evidence • GMB news release • UCATT news release • UNISON news release • TUC news release • Risks 463
Hazards news, 3 June 2010

USA: Roofers face work-related early retirement
A combination of poor health and musculoskeletal disorders is forcing roofers into early retirement, a new study has found. The study of 979 roofers between the ages of 40 and 59 found that 10 per cent left the roofing trade within a year, and of those leaving, 60 per cent left their job due to chronic pain, work-related musculoskeletal disorders and poor health.
CPWR news release [pdf] • Risks 463
Hazards news, 3 June 2010

USA: Young workers at risks
Younger workers in the US are twice as likely as their older counterparts to be treated in hospital emergency departments for work-related injuries, official research has shown. On average each year from 1998 to 2007, about 800,000 workers 15 to 24 years of age were treated in emergency departments and nearly 600 died from work-related injuries.
NIOSH science blog • Risks 445
Hazards news, 8 May 2010

Britain: ‘Just’ jail term for teen’s site death
 A builder whose negligence led to the death of a 15-year-old boy has failed in a challenge against his jail term at London's Court of Appeal. Colin Holtom admitted the manslaughter of Adam Gosling at the Old Bailey in July 2009 and was sentenced to three years in prison, with appeal court judges agreeing that although long, the sentence was “justifiably severe.”
Essex Chronicle • Risks 454
Hazards news, 1 May 2010

Britain: One in three interns are exploited at work
Amidst fears that one in three interns is being exploited through unpaid work, the TUC has launched a new website aimed at helping these young people find out more about their rights at work. The TUC website www.rightsforinterns.org.uk, which includes a health and safety section, is part of the union body’s Next Generation campaign which aims to secure a better deal for young people at work.
TUC news release, Rights for Interns website and ‘The interns’ video clip • NUJ news release • The Guardian • Risks 450
Hazards news, 3 April 2010

Britain: Young worker crushed to death
A construction company has been fined after a young employee had his head crushed at a site in Gloucestershire. Macob Administration Limited, based in Bridgend, Wales, was charged by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after 23-year-old Lance Taylor was killed on a Gloucester construction site on 11 February 2005.
HSE news release • Risks 440
Hazards news, 23 January 2010

Australia: Older workers need jobs on site
There should be quotas of “mature-age” workers introduced on major government building projects in recognition of the gruelling and job threatening effect physical work can have over a working lifetime, the Australian construction union CFMEU has said. The union says good use could be made of older workers skills in “recycling and sustainability” and other less physical jobs.
Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risks 428
Hazards news, 17 October 2009

Britain: Apprentice suffers severe falls injury
A Glasgow construction company has been convicted of criminal safety offences after an apprentice joiner was severely injured. The 20-year-old worker fell nearly four metres through an opening in the floor after the loose sheet of plywood which had been placed over the opening gave way. 
HSE news release • Risks 424
Hazards news, 19 September 2009

Britain: Work experience shouldn’t hurt you
Schools are being told to make sure full health and safety checks are carried out before pupils head out on work experience, following the prosecution of a Stafford company after a teenager on placement suffered burns. Deansfield High School in Wolverhampton employed Making Learning Work Ltd to locate extended work experience placements for 32 pupils, at a cost of £650 each.
HSE news release • Risks 423
Hazards news , 12 September 2009

Canada: Risks raised for young with dyslexia
Young people with dyslexia may be at greater risk of getting hurt on the job, according to a new study from the Toronto-based Institute for Work and Health (IWH). “The early indicators are that dyslexia contributes to higher injury rates among young workers,” said IWH’s Dr Curtis Breslin, who led the study.
IWH news release • F Curtis Breslin and Jason D Pole. Work injury risk among young people with learning disabilities and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Canada, American Journal of Public Health, volume 99, number 8, pages 1423-1430, 2009 [abstract] • Risks 420
Hazards news, 22 August 2009

Britain: Injured teen had warned of forklift faults
A Derbyshire haulage firm has been fined £27,000 after a teenager nearly lost an arm when a faulty forklift truck crashed. A court heard that mechanic Martyn Coope, who was just 17 at the time of the incident in 2007, was at the controls of the vehicle, although he had not been trained to operate it.
Derby Evening Telegraph • Nottingham Evening Post • HSE’s rebranded young people at work webpages • HSE young people at work podcast • Risks 417
Hazards news, 1 August 2009

Britain: Pupil suffers horrific burns on placement
A schoolboy has undergone a series of skin grafts after suffering horrific burns while on work experience. Jonathan Bonner, aged 15, was on a placement at windows firm Castlefield Works when he suffered 25 to 30 per cent burns.
Bury Times • Risks 417
Hazards news, 1 August 2009

Britain: Builder guilty of teen’s work death
A builder has admitted the manslaughter of a 15-year-old boy who was crushed to death as he was left unsupervised to prop up a falling wall. Essex teenager Adam Gosling died from head injuries while working on a five-bedroom house in Hadley Wood, north London, in April 2007.
HSE news release • FACK news release • Risks 415
Hazards news, 18 July 2009

Britain: Fine for pupil’s fireball injury
A Sleaford motor business has been fined after a youth on work experience was hit in the chest by a fireball. Year 11 student Jamie Fenn-Smith was on a work experience placement at the garage when he was hit by the fireball, which melted the plastic print of his t-shirt onto his skin.
HSE news release • Sleaford Standard • Risks 397
Hazards news, 14 March 2009

Britain: Director fined after teenager’s death
A company director has been fined more than £7,000 at Nottingham Crown Court for health and safety breaches after an apprentice died at his workshop. Christopher John Pridmore, 32, was also ordered to pay £2,500 costs after admitted breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
HSE news release • Nottingham Evening Post • BBC News Online • Risks 396
Hazards news, 7 March 2009

Britain: Unite ‘appalled’ by teen injury fine
Print union Unite has said it is dismayed at a “derisory” £12,000 penalty imposed on a Blackburn firm after a young worker was injured. East Lancashire Box Company was fined at Hyndburn Magistrates Court for safety offences that saw a 16-year-old’s fingers crushed.
HSE news release • Print Week • Risks 393
Hazards news, 14 February 2009

Canada: Video nasties miss the point
Hard-hitting and sometimes gruesome videos are being used in a Canadian province in a drive to cut injuries to young workers. But unions and safety experts in Alberta have warned the initiative misses the point, blaming “unengaged” and “unmotivated” workers for their injuries, rather than unsafe and poorly supervised work.
Vue Weekly • Bloody Lucky campaign • Risks 383
Hazards news 22 November 2008

Britain: The price of teen’s life at work - £7k
An Altrincham firm has been fined £7,000 for safety offences that led to the death of a teenage apprentice. S Cartwright & Sons (Coachbuilders) was prosecuted after 16-year-old Ashley Saunders sustained fatal injuries when he fell through a fragile roof whilst retrieving a football during a lunchtime kick-about on 7 February 2006.
Risks 363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008

Britain: MP calls for end to young worker deaths
An MP is calling for a course on basic health and safety awareness to be built into the National Curriculum. Labour MP Michael Clapham, the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, raised his concerns at a House of Commons seminar to highlight the perils facing young workers.
IOSH news release • Risks 362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008

Britain: Waitrose fined for teen’s crushed arm
Supermarket chain Waitrose has been fined £25,000 after a teenage worker had his arm crushed in a machine at a Birmingham store. The 17-year-old broke both bones in his arm and was trapped in the machine for an hour and a half, Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard.
Birmingham City Council news release • Birmingham Post • Risks 360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008

Britain: Injury destroys young worker’s dream
A construction site injury has crushed the dreams of a Barnsley man who has lost the opportunity to play semi-professional football. James Smith was 20 and working as a steel fixer for Century Reinforcement Services when he was injured in 2004.
Irwin Mitchell news release • Risks 347
Hazards news, 15 March 2008

France: Gruelling work linked to early retirement
Older manual workers in France are more likely to retire early or be registered economically inactive than the workforce as a whole, with their tough jobs and poor health identified as a key reason why. French employment ministry researchers explored the link between the hardships of work and early departure from the workforce using the findings of a 2003 national health survey.
ETUI-REHS report summary • Risks 342
Hazards news, 9 February 2008

Britain: Age effects need more attention
The relationship between work and the health of older male workers is receiving too little attention, a new report has concluded. ‘Older men, work and health’, a report published by TAEN - The Age and Employment Network - and Help the Aged examines the role work plays in the lives and identity of men and the impact this has on their health, both in and out of work.
Older men, work and health: Reviewing the evidence, Gillian Granville and Maria Evandrou, Centre for Research on Ageing, University of Southampton, January 2008 [pdf] • Hazards older workers webpages • Risks 340
Hazards news, 26 January 2008

Britain: Young workers told to ‘speak out’
Students taking on seasonal jobs over the Christmas break have been warned to speak out against safety shy bosses, following a 50 per cent increase in young worker deaths over the past year. Denise Kitchener, chief executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) said students should “speak up and stay safe,” so that deaths and injuries can be avoided.
APIL news release [pdf]
Hazards news, 22 December 2007

Britain: Guilty verdict on teen scaffolder death
Site supervisor David Swindells Jr has been found guilty of safety offences that contributed to the death of a teenage scaffolder. Steven Burke died aged 17 in January 2003 when a sub-standard scaffold collapsed - his employer 3D Scaffolding Ltd, main contractor Mowlem plc and RAM Services Ltd had earlier pleaded guilty to related safety offences.
FACK news release • Hazards young workers’ webpages
Hazards news, 1 December 2007

Britain: Schools safety probe after lathe injury
A safety review has started at all secondary schools in the in Scotland’s Borders area after a teenage girl became entangled in a lathe. Nadine Craig, a 14-year-old pupil at Galashiels Academy, required hospital treatment for the neck injuries she received when her scarf was caught in the machine and will be scarred for life as a result.
Daily Record • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 1 December 2007

Britain: Butcher fined again for teen mincer horror
A butcher's shop and its manager have been fined for an accident in which 15-year-old Sam Ashworth lost part of his arm in a mincing machine. The prosecution followed earlier fines for child labour offences.
BBC News Online • Hazards young workers webpages
Hazards news, 3 November 2007

Britain: Job dream fades as teen loses fingers
Car-mad Sheffield teen Wade Savage may have to abandon his hopes of becoming a mechanic after losing three fingers whilst working at a holiday job. The 16-year-old was injured at Holdsworth Packaging Ltd, where his work involved running general errands and assembling cardboard boxes and where his hand was dragged into a machine.
Sheffield Star • Hazards young workers webpages
Hazards news, 6 October 2007

Britain: Young farmworker killed by power lines
Young workers are continuing to face deadly risks while working. Farmworker Edward Andrew Pybus, 21, died after being electrocuted when the combine harvester he was driving clipped power lines.
Northern Echo • Hazards young workers’ webpages
Hazards news, 18 August 2007

Britain: Firm fined £2,600 after teen injures spine
A joinery firm has been convicted of safety offences after apprentice Brett Lawden, 19, fell through an unprotected stairwell on a building site. Cumbrian firm K and M Joinery Ltd was fined £2,600 and ordered to pay £1,395 costs by magistrates at Penrith after pleading guilty to a breach of the work at height regulations
HSE news release • Hazards young workers news and resources
Hazards news, 30 June 2007

Britain: Safety rules change urged after teen death
An MP wants changes in health and safety rules on building sites after two companies were fined following the electrocution death of a 19-year-old. Plaid Cymru MP Elfyn Llwyd said lessons should be learned from the death of Miall Roberts three years ago; the teenager was killed in 2004 by 11,000 volts of electricity while laying concrete foundations, when a boom hit an overhead cable.
HSE news release • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 23 June 2007

Britain: Butcher fined after schoolboy loses arm
The owners and manager of a butcher’s shop where a 15-year-old boy lost his arm have been fined for illegally employing a child. Sam Ashworth’s arm became trapped in a mincer at Fitton’s butchers where he was employed as a Saturday worker.
Oldham Chronicle • Hazards young workers news and resources
Hazards news , 16 June 2007

Britain: Young worker in ladder fall horror
A teenage worker fell 20 feet to his death from a ladder which a health and safety inspector described as the worst he had ever seen. Peter Evans, aged 18, fell head first onto a concrete patio and died the next day from extensive head injuries.
The Bolton News • Hazards young workers news and resources
Hazards news, 26 May 2007

Britain: Butcher fined after teen is burned
A family butcher has been fined £2,000 for health and safety breaches after a teenage employee suffered severe burns to his feet. Philip Woolgar, who was 17 at the time, received second degree burns when meat cooking equipment inside Piggotts Family Butchers in Biggleswade was knocked over spilling boiling hot water on to his feet.
Risks 297, 10 March 2007

Global: Dangerous and fast work puts youths at risk
Exposure to work hazards and a frenetic job pace increases the likelihood of injury among adolescent and young adult workers, a new scientific review suggests. Canadian researchers found the work setting also appears to play a role in predicting the risk of injury, with food service and construction industry jobs topping the list of hazardous employment in this group.
Risks 292, 3 February 2007 • Hazards young workers webpages

France: Union calls day of action on demanding work
The long-term wear and tear caused by work must be addressed by employers, the French trade union body CFDT has said. Over three years ago, a new pensions law in France gave employers just three years to reach agreement with unions on measures to deal with the health impact of the cumulative hazardous job exposures that wear out workers - however, the talks have stalled, leading CFDT general secretary François Chérèque to call for physically wearing work to be made a “national cause”.
Risks 291, 27 January 2007

Britain: Teenage apprentice crushed to death
A teenager has been crushed to death at work. Apprentice plumber Michael Scott, 18, died after the accident at Anderson Plumbing and Heating Services in Aberdeen.
Risks 288, 23 December 2006

Australia: Call to tailor safety laws for young workers
A children's watchdog in Australia has called for a change in workplace health and safety laws after a study found four in every 10 employees aged 16 or under had been injured at work. “Specific consideration” should be given in law to the health and safety of workers under 18, the New South Wales (NSW) Commissioner for Children and Young People, Gillian Calvert, reported in recommendations on children at work tabled in the state parliament on 13 December.
Risks 287, 16 December 2006

Britain: Firm fined £100,000 after worker, 21, is killed
A Chorley company has been fined £100,000 after pleading guilty to three criminal charges brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the “entirely preventable” death of an employee. Pin Croft Dyeing and Printing Co Limited was also ordered to pay the £18,895 costs of the case which followed the death of 21-year-old Daryl Wayne Lloyd in a tow tractor incident.
Risks 285, 2 December 2006

Britain: Uninsured boss fined £11,500 after teen injury
A company owner who did not have the legally required injury insurance has been told to pay up £11,500 in fines, costs and compensation after a teenage mechanic was injured. Andrew Richardson was found guilty of not having Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance after 17-year-old mechanic Yana Jones, who he paid £3 an hour, suffered injuries to her left leg resulting in a hospital stay and permanent scarring.
Risks 284, 25 November 2006

Britain: One in three workers fear being unfit for work by 60
Over one third of UK workers believe they could be unable to do their job at 60, according to new statistics. A report in Hazards magazine shows that in just six years the UK has slipped from being number one in the European league table for the proportion of workers who are confident they will be up to their current job when aged 60, to sixth.
Risks 284, 25 November 2006

Britain: Government not doing enough for older workers
The government should set itself more challenging employment targets if it is to successfully cope with demographic trends and an ageing workforce, older workers’ campaign TAEN has said. TAEN says the government’s ‘Health, Work and Wellbeing’ agenda must be seen to address the 50+ workforce “because the extension of working life requires action on well adapted workplaces, occupational health and the reduction of ill-health as a reason for early retirement.”
Risks 283, 18 November 2006

Britain: Work injury forces octagenarian’s retirement
A Sheffield octogenarian has had to give up work after sustaining a serious workplace injury. John Moffatt, 80, received a £5,000 out-of-court settlement from his former employer after suffering the shoulder injury at work in January 2005.
Risks 283, 18 November 2006

Britain: HSE and young people at work
The Health and Safety Executive has produced new “young people at work” webpages. HSE says that inexperience and others factors mean workplace novices – and that frequently means young workers - are at a far higher risk of workplace injury.
Risks 282, 11 November 2006

Britain: New safety qualification for young people
A new qualification has been designed to improve young people’s understanding of safe working when taking part in work experience. Last week the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), in partnership with the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), British Safety Council Awards (BSC Awards) and ENTO, unveiled the new workplace hazard awareness course and qualification.
Risks 282, 11 November 2006

Britain: Site firm fined after teen injured in fall
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned construction firms of the dangers of working even at relatively low heights after a teenage worker suffered multiple fractures when he fell from the open edge of a first floor working platform. Lotus Construction Limited of Otley, West Yorkshire, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £1,143 and compensation totalling £500, for failing to provide an edge protection barrier would could have prevented 17-year-old sub-contractor Richard Green from falling.
Risks 282, 11 November 2006

Britain: Older women’s workplace health “neglected”
Too little is known about the work and health of older women, according to a new report. ‘Older women, work and health’, a research paper jointly commissioned by Help the Aged and TAEN – The Age and Employment Network - shows that few studies have explored the links between the work and health of older women despite their increased participation in the labour market.
Risks 282, 11 November 2006

Britain: Boss fined for teen injuries
The boss of a young worker who suffered horrific injuries when he fell through a roof on a building site has been hit with a £10,000 fine. Stephen Edkins, 19, shattered his wrist and needed plates inserted into his jaw and cheek after the warehouse roof collapsed in September.
Risks 280, 28 October 2006

Britain: Campaigns aim to protect young workers
Young workers should be protected in the workplace was the message of events nationwide this week.
Risks 280, 28 October 2006

Global: UN zero violence call for working children
A new report by the United Nations says there must be zero tolerance of violence against working children. ILO’s Frans Roselaers, a member of the team that produced the report, said violence has not been given much attention by programmes against child labour.
Risks 279, 21 October 2006

Britain: Death firm evades defective product rap
A firm that supplied defective equipment which failed causing a workplace death has escaped prosecution because it is no longer trading. HSE enquiries to Interpol established the firm, Johannesburg-based McKinnon Chain, was no longer in business.
Risks 278, 14 October 2006

Britain: Hunt says age discrimination is a work health issue
Safety minister Lord Hunt has called for support for a new law barring age discrimination in the workplace. He said there were proven health benefits of being in work and stressed the legislation will ensure that older workers are not denied the opportunity to increase their life expectancy while minimising the risks of depression, obesity and poverty.
Risks 277, 7 October 2006

Britain: Young worker was unlawfully killed
A young factory worker was crushed to death after vital safety equipment was switched off on a stone cutting machine, a Hampshire inquest has heard. The Southampton Coroners Court inquest followed a court case in August, when company boss Michael Shaw was found guilty of the manslaughter of David Bail, 22, but escaped with a two-year suspended sentence.
Risks 276, 30 September 2006

Britain: Teenage squaddie crushed to death
A 19-year-old soldier has been crushed to death at a base in Wiltshire as he took part in a military exercise. Private Michael Minns was performing a check on an eight-wheeled military vehicle with another soldier at the base in Ludgershall. Wiltshire Police say the tragedy is being treated as an “industrial accident”.
Risks 276, 30 September 2006

Britain: Police probe into young worker electrocution
Police and safety experts are investigating how a scaffolder was electrocuted while working on a London council estate. Father-of-two Ralph Kennedy, 24, died on 15 September after touching a live light fitting. Mr Kennedy’s relatives said they had not been allowed to see the site’s accident log.
Risks 276, 30 September 2006

Britain: Boy, seven, dies in farm tragedy
A seven-year-old Devon boy has been crushed to death under machinery on his family’s farm. Lewis Brook died under a roller attached to a tractor believed to have been operated by a family member at Mount Pleasant Farm near Winkleigh.
Risks 276, 30 September 2006

Britain: Action plans to keep young workers safe
The TUC is stepping up its campaign to protect young people in the workplace. A new TUC guide, published ahead of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work’s ‘Safe Start’ themed Euro safety week in October, says: “As a safety representative, you can help protect any young workers in your workplace.”
Risks 276, 30 September 2006 • Young workers – a guide for safety representatives [pdf] • Hazards young workers news and resources

Britain: Firm fined £20,000 after young worker fatality
A firm in has been fined £20,000 after a young employee was crushed to death. Barkston Plastics Forming, of Westhoughton, near Bolton, appeared last week before magistrates in Trafford following the death of 22-year-old Philip Ashcroft.
Risks 275, 23 September 2006

Britain: Teenage victims of forklift peril
Evidence that dangerous machines and teenage workers do not mix have been demonstrated in three separate safety prosecutions this month. Poorly trained and supervised teenagers have been injured or prosecuted.
Risks 275, 23 September 2006

Britain: Saturday job boy loses arm in mincer
Surgeons had to amputate a teenager's arm in a butcher's shop after it became trapped in a mincer. Sam Ashworth, 15, was stuck in the machine for two hours at the business where he had a Saturday job.
Risks 275, 23 September 2006 • TUC and European Agency 23-28 October European Week 2006 webpages

Britain: Teen gets payout for work finger injury
A Sheffield teenager has received an out-of-court settlement of over £2,000 after sustaining a crush injury to his right middle finger leaving him with permanent injuries. Luke Peace, 19, suffered his injuries in April 2005 whilst employed as a junior clerk by Transtar International Freight Forwarders.
Risks 274, 16 September 2006

Britain: New call for young worker protection
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has warned that 1,500 workers under the age of 19 are badly injured and five killed every year through poor training and induction when starting work. Launching its ‘Wiseup2work’ campaign last week, safety professionals’ organisation IOSH said the initiative was necessary because “far more needs to be done to protect our young people when they are starting work, apprenticeships or work experience.”
Risks 273, 9 September 2006

USA: One in six working teens injured
One in six working teenagers has been injured at work, a US study suggests. “The findings clearly indicate that work-related injuries among youth are a significant health problem,” said Kristina Zierold, an assistant professor of family medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
Kristina M Zierold, Henry A Anderson. Severe injury and the need for improved safety training among working teens, American Journal of Health Behavior, volume 30, number 5, pages 525-532, September/October 2006 [abstract – pdf].
Risks 272, 2 September 2006

Britain: Young worker dies in fairground accident
A teenager has been killed while working at a fairground in Eyemouth, Scotland. James Laidler, 17, from near Morpeth, was crushed under a carriage while working at the fair.
Risks 272, 2 September 2006

Britain: Student job leads to flattened thumbs
A Sheffield student has had both his thumbs crushed during a part-time construction job. Neil Goodchild, 22, received an out-of-court settlement of £6,250 after sustaining severe crushing injuries to both his thumbs leaving him with residual numbness.
Risks, 271, 26 August 2006

Britain: Scottish and Welsh youngsters need protection
Union organisations in Scotland and Wales have backed the TUC campaign for action on young worker safety. Ian Tasker, safety officer with the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), said: “There is a mistaken perception that injuries suffered by younger workers are as a result of clowning around but this is purely a smokescreen to cover the inadequate training being given to young people embarking on their careers.”
Risks 269, 12 August 2006

Britain: Don't let your first job be your last
Nearly 4,500 young people were seriously injured or killed at work last year, over 20 per cent more than five years ago, according to a new report from the TUC-backed Hazards magazine. The report marked the launch of a TUC campaign to protect young people at work.
Risks 269, 12 August 2006

Britain: Firm fined after teen loses three fingers
A teenage construction worker laying concrete on the new Wembley Stadium site lost three fingers after his employer removed safety guards from a machine. Ian Goom, trading as Aztec Screeding, of Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £3,028 costs at the City of London Magistrates Court.
Risks 267, 29 July 2006

Global: ILO launches child labour web movie
The International Labour Office (ILO) has launched a new online movie on the plight of more than 200 million child labourers worldwide. ILO says improvements are achievable, with a recent ILO report saying the number of child labourers worldwide fell by 11 per cent between 2000 and 2004, from 246 million to 218 million.
Risks 267, 29 July 2006