While 3D printers may not yet be a feature of every office, school and workplace they have been steadily growing in popularity. As their use increases, a number of concerns have been raised about safety, and studies have suggested, ultrafine particles are likely to be emitted from the 3D printer as the filament is extruded through the nozzle. Evidence suggests … Read More
The Health and Safety Executive Change Their Expectations Over Welding Fume Control
Following the publication of new scientific evidence from the International Agency for Research on Cancer the HSE have issued a safety alert for anyone who carries out welding activities, including mild steel, in any industry. The evidence suggests that exposure to all welding fume, including mild steel welding fume, can cause lung (and possibly kidney) cancer. Based on this the … Read More
Wood Burning Thatch
New guidance has been published on the safe use of wood burning and multifuel stoves in thatched buildings. Following reports that the growing popularity and use of wood burning and multi-fuel stoves have been responsible for an increasing number of fires in thatched roof buildings Historic England and NFU Mutual Insurance Society Ltd funded the Fire Protection Association to carry … Read More
Sedentary Work and Health
In 2015 the HSE launched the Workplace Health Expert Committee (WHEC) to provide independent expert opinion on new and emerging issues in workplace health. The WHEC recently carried out a review of scientific research and published a position paper looking at the impacts on health of sedentary work. The paper finds that while sedentary lifestyles are shown to increase the … Read More
27 Recommendations for the Health & Safety Executive
Government departments are subject to regular review and recently the Department for Work and Pensions published the findings of their latest review of the work of the HSE. Overall this latest review found the HSE is a well-respected and well-structured organisation that fulfils its statutory objectives effectively, however a number of recommendations were made. Most of the recommendations concern how … Read More
Bacteria and Legionella Testing Factsheets
The Water Management Society (WMSoc) has made available a number of factsheets produced by the Rapid Microbiology Industry Liaison Group. The factsheets aim to give information about a number of current rapid test kits and their potential capabilities. These can be found on the training section of the WMSoc website at: https://www.wmsoc.org.uk/legionella-training-courses/ WMSoc is a not-for-profit membership organisation providing practical … Read More
How Is Your Fire Brigade Performing?
The HMICFRS (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services) is currently carrying out an inspection of all 45 fire and rescue services in England. This is the first independent inspection in 12 years and is focussing on how effective and efficient the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks … Read More
Happy Birthday Safety Squirrel
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) recently announced that their road safety mascot, Tufty, has reached his 65th birthday. Originally created in 1953 Tufty has helped to spread safety messages to millions of children. At their height in 1972 there were over 2 million “Tufty Club” members and 24,500 registered clubs. While he may not have been … Read More
Food Manufacturing Inspection Initiative Launched
The HSE have announced that between January and March 2019 their inspectors will be targeting food manufactures. There are two particular issues that inspectors will be concentrating on. The first area of concern is the controls manufacturers have in place to protect workers from occupational asthma as a result of exposure to flour dust. Exposure to flour dust is estimated … Read More
Controlling The Hazards of Welding Fume
In 2015 BOHS, the Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection, in conjunction with the HSE and a number of other bodies launched an initiative called Breath Freely. This initiative aims to reduce occupational lung disease in the UK by raising awareness and providing tools to help employers identify and control the risks. The initiative was initially targeted at the construction … Read More