Features

Credit crunch Welfare reforms are demanding the sick and unemployed get into work, but the jobs don’t exist. And a new workplace safety strategy promises improvements, but the funds to deliver aren’t there. As the recession bites, Hazards editor Rory O’Neill argues that workers could get less of the credit and feel more of the crunch. Hazards 105, January-March 2009

You big fat liars Oh, they say it’s because they care. They’ll weigh us, keep tabs on our bad habits and ask questions when we are sick. And when we fall short of perfection, they label us shirkers, sickos and slobs. Hazards editor Rory O’Neill questions whether all this attention from employers is really for our own good. Hazards 104, October-December 2008

Spin cycle When research shows a chemical could be killing you, industry-backed scientists will quickly dispute the findings. David Michaels, author of Doubt is their product, exposes industry’s dangerous tactics. Hazards 103, July-September 2008

Food flavour wrecks lungs When dozens of US popcorn workers had their lungs destroyed by a flavouring chemical, it caused a national scandal. But it was seen as a US problem. It wasn’t, as Yorkshire factory worker Martin Muir can now testify. Hazards 101, January-March 2008

Dame blast The government’s ‘work is good for you’ push to make the sick work is overlooking one inconvenient truth. Hazards warns a combination of long hours, job insecurity, punitive sick leave policies, a failure to recognise the extent of the work-related health crisis and a lack of safety enforcement means for many work is bad and getting worse. Hazards 100, November 2007

OHS SOS A decent occupational health service (OHS) should is a real asset. It can troubleshoot health problems and it can help rehabilitate the sick or injured and accommodate those with disabilities. But OHS are rare and good ones rarer still. Simon Pickvance and Rory O’Neill spell out how to get the service you deserve. Hazards 99, August 2007

Futile Exercise? Workplaces make people sick. They kill tens of thousands each year. A new government workplace health strategy could make a difference. But Hazards discovered the government plan gives far greater emphasis to changing your lifestyle than changing your workplace. Hazards 93, February 2006

A job to die for? Whether it is cancer or heart disease, strain injuries or neurological disorders, work is claiming a massive, deadly and largely ignored workplace toll. And if you don’t count the bodies, the bodies don’t count. Hazards 92, November 2005

Burying the evidence Work cancers are killing unprecedented numbers in the UK. So why does the government’s Health and Safety Executive stick with a 25-year-old gross under-estimate of the problem, ensuring prevention doesn’t get the resources it deserves? Hazards 92, November 2005

Resources

Hazards sickness pages Hazards finds that instead of hounding the sick back to work, it would be more productive all round if employers introduced supportive sickness absence policies.

Hazards rehabilitation pages Firms must stop shirking on rehabilitation and prevention.

NASUWT Work health webpages

News

Britain: Business told to make it quieter
An initiative has been launched to encourage manufacturers to make quieter machinery and businesses to use it, in a bid to reduce noise-related ill health in the workplace. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says its 'Buy Quiet' campaign is about getting everyone with an interest - manufacturers, suppliers, employers, unions, insurers and consultants - looking at what they can do to reduce the risk.
HSE news release and noise webpages • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010

Britain: TUC lays down ‘good work’ challenge
The TUC is challenging the government and employers to ensure that workplaces don’t just prevent staff from becoming ill, but actively promote good health and well-being through ‘good work’. ‘In sickness and in health?’, argues that around one-third of our waking hours are spent at work, and that our working lives help to define who we are, where and how well we live, and even how long we live.
TUC news release • In sickness or in health?, TUC, March 2010 [pdf] • TUC Touchstone pamphlets • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010

USA: The true cost of a valentine's gift
The US National Labor Committee launched a campaign for St Valentine's Day to protest about the death of over 2,000 India workers, including children who have contracted silicosis while grinding gemstones-heart shaped agate pendants and ornaments, earrings, bracelets for export to countries like the United States.
Youtube video • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010

Britain: TUC issues fit note guide to union reps
At the same time as the government launched its guidance for employers on the new 'fit note' arrangements, the TUC published advice to unions and workplace representatives on how to prepare for the changes. The guide says the key to ensuring that workers are not forced back to work early, or on reduced pay, is for them to have proper union representation and access to grievance procedures.
TUC guidance • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010

Britain: TUC issues warning on new fit notes
The TUC has warned employers against using the introduction of a new medical statement or 'fit note' to try to force workers back to work before they are ready. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said “if employers see the changes as a green light to force workers back to work before they are well enough to return, in the long run, it will only lead to increased sickness absence and unnecessary conflict.”
TUC press notice • DWP guidance • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010

Britain: Stonemasons suffer long-term lung damage
A York-based company of stonemasons William Anelay Limited, of York, was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £6,000 by York Crown Court after pleading guilty of breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The court heard that two employees, who had been working for the company as stonemasons for many years, fell ill after being exposed to uncontrolled levels of respirable crystalline silica, which is caused primarily by dry stone carving without extraction ventilation or use of protective equipment.
Risks 443 • 13 February 2010

Britain: Company fined for poisoning its workers
A recycling company and its director have been fined a total of £145,000 for exposing workers to toxic mercury fumes at a site in Huddersfield. Electrical Waste Recycling Group Ltd recycles electrical equipment, including fluorescent light tubes containing mercury and TV sets and monitors containing lead at a plant in School Lane, Kirkheaton.
Green jobs, safe jobs blog • 13 February 2010

Britain: Doctors won’t decide on fitness to work
The new fit note will not give doctors the option to deem a patient “fit for work”, only whether they may be fit for some work, the government has indicated. The final decision will instead be a matter for the employee and the employer under the new system, due to come into force on 6 April.
Reforming the Medical Statement:  Government response to the consultation on draft regulations: The Social Security (Medical Evidence) and the Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) Regulations 2010, DWP, January 2010 [pdf]. Personnel Today • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010

Britain: Campaigners point to true work toll
Union-backed workplace justice and safety groups have said the government’s formal recognition of Workers’ Memorial Day should be backed up with a new system of official statistics to recognise that tens of thousands, not hundreds, are killed by work every year. Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) and the Hazards Campaign say the real toll demonstrates why there needs to be a renewed government emphasis on health and safety enforcement.
FACK news release • Hazards Campaign news release • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010

China: Work diseases emerge from the shadows
The Southern People Weekly magazine this month listed Zhang Haichao, a 28-year-old rural resident of Henan Province, as a mover and shaker in Chinese society. Zhang became famous after receiving an open-chest operation in July 2009. This attracted intense public attention not because the procedure treated an exotic disease, but because it put the fate of victims of occupational diseases in the spotlight.
Beijing Review • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010

India: Agate workers get silicosis, not compo
Thousands of agate polishers in Gujarat are getting a deadly occupational disease – but missing out on compensation because they work in their own homes. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the state government to speed up the compensation process for silicosis victims in what is typically a cottage industry.
Indian Express • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010

New Zealand: Unions welcome poisonings probe
The Maritime Union of New Zealand has welcomed new research on nerve disease and the toxic fumigant methyl bromide. Concerns were raised after port workers exposed to the gas developed Motor Neurone disease, with one port town having a rate of the disease 25 times the national average.
Maritime Union news release • TVNZ • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010

Britain: Lords seek pre-employment health check ban
The use of pre-employment health checks could be made illegal if a Lords amendment to the Equality Bill becomes law. This week, the House of Lords introduced the ground-breaking clause into the Equality Bill that would, for the first time, prevent employers asking candidates questions about their health that are unrelated to the job role.
House of Lords debate, Hansard, 19 January 2009 • Personnel Today • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010

Britain: Workers 'robbed of life and compensation'
Victims of industrial diseases are being denied their full payments, as benefits are clawed back, according to an article in the Independent. Campaigners have told the paper that victims of industrial diseases such as the asbestos cancer mesothelioma are being “robbed” of government compensation because of an “unjust and indefensible” loophole in the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) scheme.
The Independent • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010

Britain: Is your OHS OK?
You might feel lucky to be covered by an occupational health service when you go to work, but is the system really up to scratch? Well, now you can check as the UK has introduced the first ever OHS performance standards.
FOM news release • Standards for Accreditation for Occupational Health Services [pdf] • Hazards guide to getting the most out of your occupational health services • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010

Egypt: TB-infected workers are abandoned
Workers in Egypt with tuberculosis (TB) are being left to fend for themselves, campaigners have warned. Mohamed al-Asmaie, head of Friends of the Environment, a local NGO campaigning on behalf of TB patients, said when many Egyptian workers become sick with TB, instead of receiving treatment in hospitals, they are laid off and have to fend for themselves.
IRIN News • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009

Global: Q fever outbreaks on two continents
Outbreaks on two continents of the occupational disease Q fever have highlighted a common but underestimated risk of animal handling. Two cases have occurred in Australian laboratory workers and the Dutch government last month ordered a cull of tens of thousands of goats in a bid to stop an outbreak of the disease, which has killed 10 workers since 2007.
BBC News Online • Herald Sun • Sydney Morning Herald • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009

Britain: Waste and recycling is a sick industry
Workers in the UK waste and recycling industry have much higher sickness rates than other local authority workers, research by a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) agency has found. A report from The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) found the sector recorded more days off work than other departments within local government but also found record keeping was inconsistent and inadequate, so data “failed to accurately capture the reasons for absence”.
Review of sickness absence data in the waste and recycling industry, HSE research report 750 [pdf] • Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009

China: Sick migrants demand surgical proof
Thirteen migrant workers from Yunnan in China have applied to have open-chest surgery to prove their lungs have been damaged by dust. The workers are following the lead of Zhang Haichao, who famously underwent open-chest surgery to prove he was suffering from pneumoconiosis, China Labour Bulletin reports.
China Labour Bulletin • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009

Britain: Small businesses get mental health advice
The government is providing a network of specialist coordinators and dedicated advice lines for small businesses as part of an overhaul of support for people with mental health problems. The new support includes mental health coordinators in every Jobcentre Plus district and nine occupational health advice line pilots.
DWP news release • NASUWT news release • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009

Britain: TUC guide to medical confidentiality
The TUC has published an online guide to confidentiality and medical reports. TUC says it “is important that employees know their rights to access to the information contained in any report” and provides guidance on good practice and on dealing effectively with any concerns raised.
TUC briefing document • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009

Britain: Prevention the cure for NHS staff
The government has accepted in full recommendations from an independent report into the health and well-being of NHS staff. It says implementing the measures called for by the Boorman report will help the NHS save up to £555 million a year and save up to 3.4 million working days – the equivalent to 14,900 extra staff.
DH news release • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009

Global: Unfair workplaces can kill you
Male workers are two to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack or die from heart disease if they suppress their frustration about unfairness at work, a Swedish study has found. The research found that those who expressed their frustration quickly were much healthier than those who suffered in silence.
Constanze Leineweber and others. Covert coping with unfair treatment at work and risk of incident myocardial infarction and cardiac death among men: Prospective cohort study, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Published online first 24 November 2009. doi:10.1136/jech.2009.088880 [abstract] • The Independent. BBC News Online • ABC News • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009

Britain: Employers keen but clueless on ‘good jobs’
Employers accept the benefits of ‘good jobs’ but don’t have much idea about how to create them, a new report from The Work Foundation suggests. Stephen Bevan, managing director of The Work Foundation, said: “Employers grasp the link between staff well-being and how it can affect productivity, “adding: “What is missing is how to deliver this.”
The Work Foundation news release • Personnel Today • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009

Britain: Tool use caused hand injuries
A retired power station worker has received a £15,000 payout after his hands were left permanently damaged by using vibrating tools at work. Unite member David Hopps, 65, from Doncaster was left with the debilitating condition Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), also known as vibration white finger, after using vibrating tools in his job at Drax Power Station.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009

Britain: College lecturer deafened by work
A college lecturer has been left with permanent damage to his hearing after being exposed to excessive noise at work. UCU member Malcolm Hipkin, 65, received undisclosed damages after he was diagnosed with noise-induced deafness and tinnitus.
UCU news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009

Factory worker gets asthma payout
A factory worker has received £20,000 compensation after she developed asthma within weeks of being exposed to dangerous fumes. The 42-year-old, whose name has not been released, was diagnosed with occupational asthma after she was exposed to soldering fumes at Turbo Power Systems Limited, Gateshead.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009

Britain: Machine noise caused deafness
A 52 year old engineering worker who is suffering two debilitating health conditions caused by noise exposures at work has received a “substantial” compensation award. Unite member Paul Harvey, 52, has to wear a hearing aid and suffers from tinnitus following exposure to excessive noise while working for Avon Vibration Management Systems in Chippenham.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009

Britain: Docs say fit notes plan is ‘unrealistic’
Government plans to introduce GP ‘fit notes’ instead of sick notes may be unrealistic, say researchers. A survey of 440 GPs in Nottinghamshire found few currently took any responsibility for managing the work issues of patients with back problems.
Carol Coole, Paul J Watson, and Avril Drummond. Work problems due to low back pain: what do GPs do? A questionnaire survey, Family Practice Advance Access, published on 26 October 2009, doi:10.1093/fampra/cmp074 [Abstract] • BBC News Online • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009

USA: Giant quilt pictures work’s pain
Hotel housekeepers undertook a seven-city tour in October with a gigantic “hope quilt” providing a craft-y depiction of injuries caused by their work. They say the Hope for Housekeepers tour is also a symbol of their determination to rally union and non-union hotel housekeepers against harsh working conditions and workplace injuries.
Labor Notes • UniteHere ‘Hope’ campaign • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009

Teachers use voice-saving headsets
Thousands of teachers are using pop star-style headsets in lessons to help protect their voices. The equipment, linked to speakers around the classroom, not only prevents hoarseness but is said to help pupils to hear better and learn more.
Daily Mail • Voice Care Network UK • Hazards voice loss webpages • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009

Britain: Made deaf by work in middle-age
A welder who was exposed to dangerous levels of noise is suffering occupational deafness aged just 46. GMB member John Walton, 46, worked for British Steel Corporation, now known as Corus, from 1978 to 1983, Darchem Projects Limited from 1985 to 1987 and Turbros Engineering from 1987 to 2007.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009

USA: Good jobs are good for you
Good jobs are good for workers and good for firms, a study has concluded. The New York-based Families and Work Institute found nearly 40 per cent of employees in a highly “effective’’ workplace - where people are trusted and supported - report being in excellent health, double the number of those who say they’re in the best health at less effective companies.
Families and Work Institute news release • Boston Globe • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009

Europe: Health and safety of cleaning workers
‘The occupational health and safety of cleaning workers’, a literature review from the Bilbao-based European Agency (EU-OSHA), “provides an overview of the most important issues related to occupational safety and health (OSH) for cleaning workers in terms of working conditions, risks and prevalence of exposures and health outcomes, and identifies information gaps and challenges.”
EU-OSHA publication notice • The occupational health and safety of cleaning workers, EU-OSHA, October 2009 • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009

Britain: Railway worker suffers vibration injury
A member of the rail union RMT has received £10,000 in compensation after his hands were permanently damaged by prolonged use of vibrating tools. The 50-year-old track worker from Sheffield, whose name has not been released, was left with the debilitating condition Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) as a result of his work for Jarvis Rail and other companies since 1978.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009

Cambodia: Hundreds sickened in garment factory
More than 500 workers at a Phnom Penh garment factory collapsed on 12 October after they were exposed to a chemical spray. Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, said staff at the Willbes Cambodia Ltd factory in Dagkor province were overcome because the air was filled with “an unbearable chemical smell.”
Phnom Penh Post • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009

USA: Dangerous speed up in meatpacking
Four years after a government report found slaughterhouse workers in the US faced more than double the injury rate of manufacturing as a whole, a new survey suggests conditions have deteriorated still further. Almost threequarters (73 per cent) of the Nebraska meatpacking workers surveyed stated that the speed of the line had increased in the past year and more than six out of 10 (62 per cent) said they had been injured in the past year.
Working In These Times • ‘The Speed Kills You’: The voice of Nebraska’s meatpacking workers’, Nebraska Appleseed, October 2009 [pdf] • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009

Britain: Firm exposed workers to asthma risk
A Gateshead company has been fined after exposing its workers to hazardous soldering fumes. Turbo Power Systems Ltd was fined £3,000 last week at Gateshead Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay £3,000 costs after it pleaded guilty to three breaches of health and safety legislation.
HSE news release • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009

Britain: GPs don’t want ‘fit notes’ role
Less than 10 per cent of London GPs feel confident that they could operate the new style ‘fit notes’ system the government proposes to introduce in the spring of 2010. Londonwide LMCs, the organisation representing over 6,000 family doctors in the capital, says a “staggering” 96 per cent of GPs have received no training regarding the new ‘fit note’ system and nearly threequarters do not think that the new system will be manageable in terms of both time and resources.
Londonwide LMCs news release • Evening Standard • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009

USA: Biotech health risks cause concern
The mother of a worker who believes his health was ruined as a result of working in California’s cutting edge biotech industry has expressed her anger at the refusal by the firm’s health insurers to pay his medical bills. Sandi Trend's son, David Bell, was sickened at the Davis based company AgraQuest.
Blip TV - labor Video Project • Biotechnology Awareness webpages on David Bell • PEN news item • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009

Finland: You are making my brain hurt
Companies are showing a baffling disregard for the impact of work on their employees’ minds, a top brain researcher has said. Professor Kiti Müller, the director of the Brain and Work Research Centre at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, said the problem is compounded by the absence of any way to measure objectively and reliably the overall “brain load” level.
Trade Union News from Finland • The Brain and Work Research Centre and How much load can the brain take? presentation [pdf] • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009

Britain: Arthritis should not stop work
Employer support is a key factor in helping workers with arthritis to keep their jobs, new research has found. A survey by UK charity Arthritis Care found where bosses fail to offer supports like flexible working and an accessible environment, employees with arthritis are more likely to end up leaving their jobs.
Arthritis Care news release and employer pledge • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009

Britain: Presenteeism harms employee health
UK workers are so terrified of losing their jobs in this recession they are working while sick, a new study has found. According to those surveyed as part of Simplyhealth's Bothered Britain Report, 43 per cent of people living in Britain haven't taken any days off in the last 12 months, up from 36 per cent in 2008.
Simplyhealth news release and Bothered Britain report • Personnel Today • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009

Britain: Take notice of dermatitis risks or pay
An NHS Trust has been fined for ignoring official notices calling requiring it to sort out dermatitis risks in a hospital. The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust was fined £6,500 and ordered to pay £4,500 in court costs after pleading guilty to two health and safety charges at Harlow Magistrates’ Court for failing to remedy risks posed by latex exposure and for not reporting a case of latex dermatitis.  
HSE news release • Harlow Herald • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009

Europe: More than 1 in 11 are damaged by work
More than 1 in every 11 workers in the European Union has suffered a work-related health problem in the last year, according to official research. The extent of the problem was revealed after the 2007 European Union (EU) Labour Force Survey included a module on work accidents and work-related health problems.
HESA news report • Eurostat Statistics in focus, 63/2009 [pdf] • Risks 423 • 12 September 2009

Global: Deadly lung disease in denim factories
Migrant workers formerly employed in Turkey’s textile and garment industry may have contracted silicosis from sandblasting denim in factories that lacked basic protective measures. The warning comes from ITGLWF, the global union for the textile and clothing industry.
ITGLWF news release • Risks 423 • 12 September 2009

India: Tea workers dying for safe water
On 4 September, Sukesh Munda of Joy Birpara Tea Estate died from a gut infection. This brought the number of deaths from the enteric disease, related to the provision of unsafe drinking water at work, to four in a one-week period, with hundreds now affected.
IUF news release and YouTube video report • Risks 423 • 12 September 2009

Britain: Workers not using swine flu excuse
The TUC has said a business study has disproved claims that workers are taking swine flu sickies. The union body was commenting after research by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found most companies in Britain have not been affected by swine flu.
The Guardian • TUC pandemic flu guide • 5 September 2009

Malawi: Tobacco plantations poison child workers
Almost 100,000 children who toil on Malawian tobacco estates for up to 12 hours a day are exposed to “extremely high levels of nicotine poisoning,” according to a report released by a children's rights group. London-based Plan International's ‘Hard work, little pay and long hours’ study found that labourers as young as five suffer severe symptoms from absorbing “up to 54 milligrams a day of dissolved nicotine through their skin,” the equivalent of 50 cigarettes a day.
Plan International news release • Hard work, little pay and long hours’ report [pdf] • Morning Star • The Guardian • Risks 421 • 29 August 2009

Britain: Farmer dies after being stung by wasps
A farmer died last week after being repeatedly stung by a swarm of wasps while working on his farm. Mark Evison, 47, had been clearing a dyke on farmland in Ellerker, near South Cave, East Yorkshire, when he disturbed a wasps' nest.
The Independent • BBC News Online • Risks 421 • 29 August 2009

Global: Deaths raise concerns over nano safety
Seven cases of occupational disease, two of them fatal, have been linked to nanomaterial exposures at work. A study published last week in the European Respiratory Journal reports the seven women employees at a Chinese factory suffered shortness of breath, fluid in the lungs and around the heart, non-specific inflammation of lung tissue, and fibrosis in the lungs.
Y Song, X Li, X Du. Exposure to nanoparticles is related to pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis and granuloma, European Respiratory Journal, published online 20 August 2009 [abstract] • IOM news release • 2020 Science blog • SAFENANO commentary • The Pump Handle • Jennifer Sass’ NRDC blog • Nature • Risks 421 • 29 August 2009

Britain: Government reveals swine flu priorities
The priority groups who will be first in line for vaccination against swine flu will include pregnant women, frontline health and social care workers, and everyone in at-risk groups aged over six months, health secretary Andy Burnham has said.
DH news release  • CSP news release • CSP’s information paper Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections includes a section on swine flu. Updated TUC pandemic flu guide. HSE updated swine flu guidance • Risks 420 • 22 August 2009

Britain: Swine flu and schools (and everywhere else)
Teaching union NUT has produced commonsense advice on swine flu and schools. And TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson, commenting on the implications of swine flu for workers and employers across the board, has warned “too many employers simply were not being flexible enough and were insisting on certificates after seven days.”
NUT swine flu health and safety bulletin. Updated TUC pandemic flu guide • Risks 420 • 22 August 2009

USA: Most nuke worker disease claims refused
A US federal programme created to help sick nuclear weapons workers is improperly rejecting thousands of claims, a former top medic on the scheme has said.
Eugene Schwartz, who recently resigned, said many of the complaints that workers, advocates and lawmakers have levelled at the controversial programme are valid.
ProPublica • Risks 419 • 15 August 2009

Germany: Rail firm snooped on health records
The German rail operator Deutsche Bahn has admitted it secretly and illegally monitored the health records of some of its employees. Last week the company released a statement saying: “The Deutsche Bahn management has received indications that the group's security division collected employees’ illness-related information and circulated it within the group.”
Deutsche Welle • Risks 419 • 15 August 2009

Britain: Employers express fit note concerns
The majority of employers say well-being at remains a priority, according to new snapshot research, but they have outstanding concerns about the new fit note. Research undertaken with 50 employers found over half of those surveyed said that well-being was more important to them in the current financial climate, but that there was too little information on next year’s replacement for the sick note.
IES news release. C Tyers and R Martin. Is well-being still important at work? Employers’ views on recession, the new fit note and priorities for the year ahead, Opinion Paper OP17, Institute for Employment Studies, August 2009 • Risks 419 • 15 August 2009

Britain: Teachers a priority for flu jab
Teaching unions are calling for classroom staff to be a priority for the swine flu vaccine this autumn, because working with children puts them at risk. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has written to children’s secretary Ed Balls calling for school staff and pupils to be offered the jab as early as possible.
The Guardian • Risks 419 • 15 August 2009

China: Dust disease victims demand justice
In early July 2009, Zhang Haichao underwent voluntarily an operation to open up his chest in order to prove he was suffering from the fatal lung disease pneumoconiosis. And at the end of July, more than 100 workers from Daozi in Hunan, China, all suffering from pneumoconiosis, staged a mass sit-in outside the Shenzhen municipal government demanding occupational illness compensation after years of dust exposures in construction and related jobs.
China Labour Bulletin • Risks 418 • 8 August 2009

Britain/Global: Pandemic flu latest
The TUC guidance on pandemic flu has been updated again. Among the latest additions are advice on pregnant women, those with underlying health conditions and employers who try to get those who have been in contact with the virus to take leave.
TUC pandemic flu guide • Risks 416 • 25 July 2009

Britain: Break cut led to deadly blood clot
A government worker who developed a life-threatening blood clot after sitting at her desk for hours without a break has received more than £10,000 in compensation. PCS member Angela Lamberton, 53, nearly died after the work schedule at her office was restructured to reduce the time employees spent away from their desks.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Leicester Mercury • Telegraph • Risks 416 • 25 July 2009

Britain: Firm fined for deadly disease outbreak
A meat processing firm has been fined £25,000 for an outbreak of a potentially deadly disease which left two workers in hospital. Two Polish employees contracted Legionnaires' disease while working at Kepak UK Ltd’s plant near Preston, in September 2006.
HSE news release • Lancashire Evening Post • Fleetwood Today • Risks 417 • 1 August 2009

Canada: Involve workers in return-to-work
Workers off sick with low back pain who are involved in identifying potential barriers to their return to work get back on the job quicker. Researchers in Canada found this was particularly true for older workers and those who have previously been off sick.
IWH news release and return to work programme • Ivan Steenstra and others. What works best for whom?: An exploratory, subgroup analysis in a randomized, controlled trial on the effectiveness of a workplace intervention in low back pain patients on return to work, Spine, volume 34, issue 12, pages 1243-1249, 2009 [abstract] • Risks 415 • 18 July 2009

Britain: Union warning on transport swine flu risk
Transport union RMT has warned of severe pressure on staffing levels and serious safety risks across the transport system if the number of cases of swine flu increases dramatically. The union alert came as experts advised that up to 40 per cent of the population could become ill with the condition over the coming weeks.
RMT news release • Personnel Today • The Observer • TUC pandemic flu guidance • Risks 415 • 18 July 2009

Britain: Body lead load linked to dementia
Older adults with higher amounts of lead in their bones exhibit greater memory impairment than adults with low lead levels, researchers have found. In a study of men and women aged 55 to 67 years, higher lead levels were associated with poorer performance on tasks used to assess memory deficits.
Environmental Health News • E van Wijngaarden, JR Campbell and DA Cory-Slechta. Bone lead levels are associated with measures of memory impairment in older adults. Neurotoxicology, published online 2009. doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2009.05.007 • Risks 412 • 4 July 2009

Britain: Lords widen work disability definition
More employees with disabilities will now receive protection from discrimination following a landmark ruling by the House of Lords involving a woman with a work-related health problem. The Lords found that people with a physical or mental condition which varied in its severity over time should still be termed disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act if it was likely their condition would become substantial again in the future.
EHRC news release, including background on the ruling • Personnel Today • HR magazine • Risks 412 • 4 July 2009

Britain: Work stops you exercising
The health of two out of three adults could be at risk as a result of too little exercise, with many claiming they are too busy at work to stay fit, according to a union report. A study by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) found the most common reason for not taking regular exercise was work commitments.
CSP survey report and Move for health webpage • Daily Express • Western Mail • Nursing in Practice • Hazards magazine’s new work and health pages • Risks 412 • 4 July 2009

Korea: Most teachers suffer from occupational illnesses
Two-thirds of Korean teachers have had or are currently suffering an occupational disease, a union survey has found. The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) found 67.2 per cent of teachers said they have or have experienced occupational diseases, with the most common symptom was vocal nodules, experienced by over one-in-three teachers (34.4 per cent), and linked to occupational  voice loss.
Education International news report • Risks 412 • 27 June 2009

France: Work pesticide use causes Parkinson's
A new study confirms the link between on-the-job pesticide exposure and Parkinson's disease, and suggests that certain insecticides may be particularly risky. In the study, published online in the Annals of Neurology, French researchers found that among nearly 800 adults with and without Parkinson's, agricultural workers exposed to pesticides - including insecticides, weed killers and fungicides - were at greater risk of the disease, with the risk climbing in tandem with the amount of time a worker was exposed.
Alexis Elbaz and others. Professional exposure to pesticides and Parkinson's disease, Annal of Neurology, published online [abstract] • Fox News • ETUI-HESA news report • Risks 412 • 27 June 2009

Britain: Wind firm blows thousands on dermatitis
A wind turbine firm has been fined £10,000 after workers developed occupational dermatitis. Thirteen workers at the Newport plant of blademaker Vestas Blades UK Ltd developed the condition caused by exposure to epoxy resins.
Isle of Wight County Press • SHP Online • Risks 412 • 27 June 2009

Britain: Paying the price of a vibration injury
A GMB member has received a £10,000 compensation payout after his hands were left permanently damaged by using vibrating tools at work. Keith Rowley, 55, a fitter from Stourbridge, was has the debilitating condition Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), also known as vibration white finger.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Stourbridge News • Risks 411 • 20 June 2009

Australia: Deadly grounds for a sit down protest
Prolonged sitting is killing Australian workers – both blue and white collar – and even 30 minutes' exercise a day may be insufficient protection from this growing occupational health and safety hazard. New Australian research shows hours of sedentary activity, like typing emails or sitting at a quality control station, are associated with higher cardio-metabolic health risks that are independent of time spent in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity.
Queensland Safety Conference news release • Risks 410 • 13 June 2009

Britain: Ballerinas face work hazards
Professional ballerinas, like highly driven young female athletes, face quadruple work-related health threats - disordered eating, menstrual dysfunction, the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, and early signs of cardiovascular disease.
Fox News • Risks 410 • 13 June 2009

Europe: Union victory on safer needles
A long running trade union campaign to introduce safer needles and prevent sharps injuries to health workers reached a successful conclusion this week, with the agreement of strict European Union-wide guidelines. The framework agreement signed this week between the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and HOSPEEM - the European hospital and healthcare employers' association - aims to prevent the incidence of injuries with contaminated sharps, protect the workers at risk and establish appropriate response and follow up policies in cases where injuries occur.
UNISON news release • EPSU news release • Nursing Times • Risks 410 • 13 June 2009

South Africa: Health workers face TB risk
Health care workers in South Africa may be at much higher risk of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) than the general public, according to new research. A study of 3,639 patients referred between 2003 and 2007 to KwaZulu-Natal province’s King George V Hospital specialist treatment centre confirmed that poor TB infection control measures in many of South Africa's health facilities are putting health care workers at risk.
IRIN news • Risks 409 • 6 June 2009

Global: Pleural plaques linked to lung cancer
One in eight patients with lung cancer also had pleural plaques, a study has found. The Japanese study comes at a time the insurance industry is challenging moves to compensate pleural plaques in Scotland and across Britain.
The Yomiuri Shimbun • Risks 409 • 6 June 2009

Britain: TUC’s cautious note on fit notes
The TUC has sounded a note of caution about government proposals announced last week concerning the reform of the sick note. Workplace health campaigners have raised concerns about the ability of GPs to make judgments about what work a patient may be able to undertake when the medics have no knowledge of a workplace or a job and little training in occupational health.
DWP news release • TUC news release • EEF news release • Personnel Today • Risks 409 • 6 June 2009

Britain: Work’s a lot worse than you think
Workers massively under-estimate the risk of suffering a serious workplace injury, new research has found. Survey results released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to coincide with the launch of its new strategy reveal almost half of Britain’s workers know someone who has been injured at work but, on average, employees think that just 3,000 people were killed or seriously injured at work last year – 45 times lower than the number reported each year to HSE.
HSE news release and Be Part of the Solution strategy and pledge • Risks 409 • 6 June 2009

Britain: GMB warning on airport fumes
Passengers and staff are being exposed to high levels of potentially toxic aircraft fumes at a London airport, the union GMB has said. GMB says London City Airport’s extremely unusual parking system causes jet engine exhaust to be propelled straight towards the arrivals lounge in the airport building.
GMB news release • Risks 409 • 6 June 2009

Canada: Iron ore workers map out ill-health
Former workers of a Canadian iron ore plant have got together to investigate how their jobs have damaged their health. A union-organised occupational disease clinic this month targeted former employees of the Inco Ltd sintering plant, their widows or other survivors.
The Sault Star • Risks 408 • 30 May 2009

Britain: Paint spraying job killed man
A car paint sprayer died of pneumonia after long-term exposure to paint fumes, an inquest has ruled. Car paint sprayers are exposed to chemicals including diisocyanates, a potent cause of COAD, the condition that killed David Mathis, aged 66.
Hastings Observer • A job to die for, Hazards magazine, 2005 • Risks 408 • 30 May 2009

Britain: Sellafield workers exposed to radiation
Nuclear company Sellafield Limited is to be prosecuted for alleged breaches of health and safety law after two site workers were exposed to airborne radioactive contamination. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said two employees of a site contractor had been exposed to the radiation during the decontamination of an area of concrete floor in July 2007.
HSE news release • Construction News • Risks 408 • 30 May 2009

Britain: Knitting workers win noise appeal
Noisy knitwear factories could face a big compensation bill after the Court of Appeal ruled they should have been taking measures to protect workers’ hearing for over 30 years. Up to 700 workers employed in the knitting industry are seeking damages for what they say is work-induced deafness.
Nottingham Evening Post • Risks 408 • 30 May 2009

Britain: Rehab industry issues voluntary code
A voluntariy guidelines have been produced with the aim of cleaning up the private rehabilitation industry. TUC said proper regulation of the industry would be more effective than voluntary guidelines. 
UK Rehabilitation Council standards • BBC News Online • Risks 408 • 30 May 2009

Australia: Dire prognosis for health check scheme
A state-wide system of health checks in Victoria, Australia, has been found to be in a very bad way. The state-government funded WorkHealth programme had been opposed by unions because the initial design omitted any consideration of health problems caused or exacerbated by work itself - and now employers’ groups have abandoned the scheme, which could end up a fraction of its intended size.
The Age • Risks 407 • 23 May 2009

Australia: Muscle soreness is linked to workload
Back and neck soreness in office workers is more likely to be caused by high workloads and tight deadlines than by posture or other physical factors, a new study has found. Unmanageable workloads and unrealistic deadlines were amongst the stronger predictors of reported neck and back pain, said Karin Griffiths, a member of the research team.
CPSU news release • Risks 405 • 9 May 2009

Britain: ‘Green’ lightbulbs poison workers
Workers in China could pay a high price for the production of “green” lightbulbs in cost-cutting factories. Large numbers of Chinese workers have been poisoned by mercury, which forms part of the compact fluorescent lightbulbs.
Sunday Times • Risks 405 • 9 May 2009

Turkey: Jeans sandblasting banned after deaths
The Turkish government has banned the manual sandblasting of jeans and other clothing to prevent the development of incurable silicosis. The practice had been linked to 40 deaths, and can lead to rapid onset of the disease, with some teenagers known to be affected.  
Zaman • Risks 402 • 18 April 2009

Britain: Miners’ knee now an official work disease
Miner’s knee has received recognition as an official occupational disease in the UK. This ‘prescription’ under industrial disease benefits rules means that miners who pass a disability threshold, will be eligible for government payouts.
DWP news release • Osteoarthritis of the knee in coal miners, IIAC, August 2008 [pdf] • NUM news release • Daily Mirror • Risks 402 • 18 April 2009

USA: Popcorn peril spreads to sweets
A recently identified outbreak of severe cases of popcorn lung among former sweet factory workers may prove what government and civilian occupational health experts have long feared - the sometimes-fatal disease can afflict those exposed to diacetyl butter flavouring regardless of where they work.
Andrew Schneider Investigates • More from Hazards on diacetyl risks • Risks 401 • 11 April 2009

Britain: Workplace illness ‘to get worse’
An ageing workforce and higher rates of illness and disease among employees will pose a serious threat to British business by 2030, a report has warned. Private healthcare company Bupa estimates the number of workers with chronic conditions will rise by at least 7 per cent to more than four million.
Bupa news release • The Work Foundation publication note and full report: Healthy Work: Challenges and Opportunities to 2030 [pdf] • BBC News Online • Risks 401 • 11 April 2009

Britain: Injured firefighters win pensions fight
 Firefighters’ union FBU has welcomed a landmark legal win in its fight over pensions and jobs for injured and sick firefighters. A judicial review at the Court of Appeal this week upheld a legal challenge by three London firefighters who had their ill-health and injury pensions removed under changes to the service's pension scheme.
FBU news release • Morning Star • BBC News Online • Risks 401 • 11 April 2009

Europe: Increasing risks from hazardous substances
Contact with hazardous substances at work is endangering the health of workers across Europe and nanotechnology is one of the risks causing most concern, an expert report has concluded. ‘Expert forecast on emerging chemical risks’, published by the Bilbao-based European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), identifies the main groups of substances which could pose new and increasing risks to workers, contributing to diseases which range from allergies, asthma and infertility to cancers.
European Agency news release • Risks 400 • 4 April 2009

Europe: Action call on high concern chemicals
Unions are calling for hundreds of the most hazardous workplace chemicals to be subject to tight control under the European Union’s chemicals law, REACH. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) this week presented to the European Parliament its list of 306 priority chemicals for authorisation under REACH.
ETUC news release and Trade Union Priority List for REACH authorisation and related documentation • ChemSec news report • TUC chemicals webpage • HSE REACH webpages • Risks 400 • 4 April 2009

USA: Movement at last on popcorn lung
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), reversing years of foot dragging while the agency was controlled by the Bush administration, is moving quickly to protect workers from a serious lung disease caused by diacetyl, the artificial butter flavouring added to popcorn and other food products.
OSHA news release • Lynn Woolsey statement • AFL-CIO Now • The Pump Handle • Andrew Schneider Investigates • Risks 398 • 21 March 2009

USA: Workers failed by old lead standard
Americans who work with lead and their families are still at risk of developing serious chronic health conditions, according to a new report. ‘Indecent exposure’, published this week by health researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, notes: “As scientific evidence has shown more serious health effects associated with lower lead levels than previously anticipated, the number of persons who must be considered at risk increases dramatically.”
Indecent exposure: Lead puts workers and families at risk, Perspectives, volume 4, number 1, March 2009 [pdf] • The Pump Handle • Risks 398 • 21 March 2009

Britain: Bullying boss blamed for breakdown
An NHS hospital trust has been found liable for the nervous breakdown suffered by a hospital admin worker. UNISON member Nanette Bowen, 55, who has been unable to return to work after being bullied and harassed over a three-year-period, can now expect a six-figure settlement from Carmarthenshire NHS Trust.
UNISON news release • Morning Star • South Wales Evening Post • Risks 396 • 7 March 2009

Britain: Print work caused kidney disease
A printer who was exposed to a dangerous chemical in the workplace developed a debilitating kidney disease as a result. Unite member David Owenson, from Scarborough, was diagnosed with membranous neuropathy, a form of glomerulonephritis, following years of exposure to the common workplace solvent toluene.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Did your job cause your illness... check out the Hazards detective • Risks 396 • 7 March 2009

Britain: Fit-for-work moves not enough
Government-funding pilot schemes will aim to help people on sick leave back into work, ministers say. The TUC however has warned the limited ‘Fit for work’ measures are “nowhere near what is needed,” adding: “The solution is instead, access to comprehensive occupational health support, far more resources invested in prevention, and greater support for union safety and other representatives.”
Department of Health news release • Fit for Work webpage • Risks 395 • 28 February 2009

New Zealand: Bridge workers poisoned by lead
Dozens of workers on the Auckland Harbour Bridge were poisoned after inhaling lead-based paint dust during maintenance work last year. Tests on the men, who took off their full-face dust masks because they were uncomfortable to work in, showed up to half had marked increases in their blood lead levels.
Sunday Star Times • Risks 394 • 21 February 2009

Britain: Clampdown call on deafening noise
Public sector union UNISON is calling on employers to take noise risks seriously after a highway worker was deafened on the job. The 52-year-old UNISON member, whose name has not been released, was awarded a “substantial” amount in damages for hearing loss sustained as a result of working with noisy tools, including jackhammers and compressors.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 394 • 21 February 2009

Britain: STUC says make work fit for workers
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is calling for action to make sure workers’ health is not another victim of the recession. It says its policy paper, ‘Occupational Health in Scotland,’ makes the case for “a massive expansion in publicly provided occupational health services to end the unacceptable level of workers falling into economic inactivity following periods of ill-health and to increase the number of workers being rehabilitated back into the workplace.”
STUC news release • Occupational health in Scotland report [pdf] • Risks 394 • 21 February 2009

Britain: What does the work doc know?
So, you’ve been ill, you’re injured, you’re starting a new job, your job’s made you sick – all reasons your employer might want a doctor to give you the once over. But is the doctor really qualified to make an assessment?
Medical referrals in employment - Is the doctor appropriately qualified? A short guide for employees and their representatives • GMC specialist register • Risks 394 • 21 February 2009

USA: Toxic firm wants to be left alone
A top journalist has attacked a major US flavouring firm for attempting to prevent federal health investigators from protecting workers. Seattle Post Intelligencer reporter Andrew Schneider, writing in his ‘Secret ingredients’ blog, was commenting on a year-long court battle between an Indianapolis flavour manufacturer and the government's top occupational health investigators regarding diacetyl, a flavouring know to cause potentially fatal lung disease.
Secret ingredients • Hazards website: www.hazards.org/diacetyl • Risks 393 • 14 February 2009

Britain: Safety reps’ guide to noise at work
The TUC has published a safety reps’ guide to noise at work. It provides information on the law and on what can be done to ensure employers do not put the hearing of their workers at risk.
Noise at work – a guide for health and safety representatives [pdf] • Risks 393 • 14 February 2009

Britain: Depression follows illness to work
 Individuals returning to work following absence due to a physical condition such as back pain, cancer or heart disease are at risk of mild to moderate depression, researchers have found. But they say those who do become depressed worry about telling their employers.
Returning to work, the role of depression – webpage, full report and executive summary • BBC News Online • Risks 393 • 14 February 2009

Britain: Old diseases stalk new workplaces
It doesn’t matter whether you work in a new service sector job or an old manufacturing industry, diseases that should be firmly a thing of the past continue to cause harm. A Unite member who worked as a customer service adviser for Barclaycard in Northampton received a £25,000 payout after she developed a work-related upper limb disorder and another, a plater with the hydraulic components manufacturer Parker Hannifin plc, received a “substantial” payout after he developed occupational dermatitis caused by chromates which forced him to give up his job.
Rowley Ashworth Solicitors news releases on the RSI and dermatitis compensation settlements • Risks 393 • 14 February 2009

Britain: STUC calls for ‘massive’ work health move
There must be a ‘massive’ expansion in publicly-provided occupational health services, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has said. The call comes in the first in a series of STUC policy papers aimed at addressing the challenges of the current recession.
STUC news release and full report, Occupational health in Scotland [pdf] • Risks 393 • 14 February 2009

USA: Work disease system favours business
A US man who believes workplace solvent exposure left him struggling with Parkinson’s Disease is fighting a second battle, this time for compensation. Ed Abney worked at a former Dresser Industries plant in Kentucky for over 20 years, often elbow deep in the solvent trichloroethylene, used to clean metal piping.
WKYT 27 News First • New York Times • Workers’ Comp Insider • Don M Gash and others. Trichloroethylene: Parkinsonism and complex 1 mitochondrial neurotoxicity, Annals of Neurology, volume 63, issue 2, pages 184-192, February 2008 [abstract] • Risks 391 • 31 January 2009

Britain: Unions slam ‘wrong’ welfare bill
Trade unions have said the government’s Welfare Reform Bill is the wrong law at the wrong time and have said they will resist attempts to privatise Jobcentre Plus services. The bill includes provisions which would compel the long-term unemployed to work for their benefits and require lone parents to undertake job-related training.
DWP news release • TUC news release • PCS news release and updated news release • ippr news release • Nice work if you can get it, ippr, January 2009 • Risks 390 • 24 January 2009

Union dismay at fat firefighter firing
Colleagues of a Scottish firefighter fired for being overweight are considering industrial action in a bid to get him reinstated. Kevin Ogilvie, a 22-year veteran with the fire service, was dismissed for a second time after failing to meet strict weight loss targets set by his employer.
Daily Record • Press and Journal • The Herald • BBC News Online • The Telegraph • Daily Mail • Hazards feature • Risks 390 • 24 January 2009

Britain: Injured firefighters fight sacking rule
Firefighters have taken to the Court of Appeal their challenge to government pension rules that threaten to leave badly injured and disabled firefighters sacked and without a pension. The legal moves started after three disabled London firefighters had their pensions removed by the London Fire Brigade.
FBU news release and FBUtube video report • Risks 390 • 24 January 2009

USA: Deadly return of black lung disease    
After years of decline, the rate of deadly ‘black lung disease’ in US coal miners had doubled and is appearing in younger and younger miners, official research has found.
AFL-CIO Now • The Pump Handle • Risks 389 • 17 January 2009

Europe: Euro MPs back pesticide controls
The European Parliament has voted to tighten rules on pesticide use and ban at least 22 chemicals deemed harmful to human health. The rules, which can only become law after they are approved by the 27 member states' governments, are opposed by the UK government.
European Parliament news release • Group of Socialist MEPs (PES) news release • BBC News Online • Risks 389 • 17 January 2009

USA: Lead at work affects the brain in old age
People exposed to lead at work are more likely to exhibit damaged brain function as they get older, a new study has found.  For older people, a buildup of lead from earlier exposure may be enough to result in greater cognitive problems after age 55, the authors say.
APA news release • NailaKhalil and others. Association of cumulative lead and neurocognitive function in an occupational cohort, Neuropsychology, volume 23, issue 1, pages 10-19, 2009 [abstract] • Times of India • EHS Today • Risks 389 • 17 January 2009

Britain: Do you want an apple from the boss?
Durham County Council is giving its staff two free pieces of fruit a day to see if it makes the workforce fitter. One union health specialist said “why not go the whole hog and make it five a day? Or just give the workers the money so they can make adult dietary decisions themselves?”
Newcastle University news release • ISAFRUIT project • Risks 389 • 17 January 2009

Britain: Lafarge recalls cancer risk cement
Construction materials multinational Lafarge has recalled 280,000 bags of cement after discovering a batch contained high levels of cancer-causing chromium VI. In total, about 2,500 tonnes of the Blue Circle cement have been recalled.
Wiltshire Times • Contract Journal • Risks 388 • 10 January 2009

Britain: Employers ignorant of deadly silica risks
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has vowed to step up its ‘Clear the Air!’ campaign warning workers against the dangers of silica exposure after it concluded that smaller companies still know very little about the potentially fatal health risks. However, late last year a succession of industry contributors to an HSE online forum on silica risks complained a failure of HSE inspection and oversight was leading to widespread abuse of safe practices and substantial exposures to the cancer causing dust.
HSE news release • Contract Journal • Building • Risks 388 • 10 January 2009

Hazards work and health news archive