Blog Archives
May 2011
White Asbestos: Definitely Top-Level Carcinogen
The Safety and Health Practitioner has reported that the Government's chief scientific advisor has reaffirmed the status of chrysotile (white) asbestos as a Class 1 carcinogenic substance, and has concluded that there is no valid reason to demote it to a less-serious category.
Last year, Sir John Beddington, head of the Government Office for Science, was approached to consider whether any evidence exists that would "justify an imminent change to the 'international scientific consensus on the classification of asbestos' and so allow ministers to reconsider UK legislation".
At a meeting of experts, in March - which included representatives from the HSE, Imperial College London, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine - it was agreed that while there is consistent evidence pointing to chrysotile as a cause of lung cancer, more uncertainty exists with regard to causation of mesothelioma, particularly at low levels of exposure.
For more on this story go to SHP Online
Last Resort Fund for Asbestos Victims
It would seem that things may be taken more seriously for asbestos victims. We read in the Law Society Gazette that lawyers acting for people suffering from asbestos-related diseases have renewed their appeal for a ‘fund of last resort' when insurance details cannot be found.
The scheme would work as a safety net for victims of disease - mainly incurred through their work decades ago - when victims cannot trace their employers' insurance records.
For more on this article see the Law Society Gazette
Source: Law Society Gazette
McNulty Report Angers Rail Staff and Passengers
It would seem that the McNulty report has stirred up quite a lot of reaction. Sir Roy McNulty has maintained that £1 billion a year could be saved. That's the equivalent of 20 per cent of the present public subsidy to railways in Britain. His report also states that there will be a 'levelling of fares' with the main sufferers being the off peak travellers.
The report has not been well received by the unions who have already been voicing their resentment at suggestions that railway staff are overpaid. There is also concern about the possibility of allowing private sector train operators to maintain some parts of the network which has angered some members.
So his report has angered both passengers and staff. But what are his main objectives? Well the most immediate is to cut over £1 billion a year and to improve the service for the passengers. As regular users of the rail network we would support him in this however it seems he has a long way to go to achieve his goals.
RIDDOR Change is Bad News, Lawyer Warns
SHP (Safety & Health Practitioner) has reported that a proposed change under RIDDOR 1995 to report incidents that lead to a worker being incapacitated for more than seven days rather than three days, as is currently the case, has been described as a potential retrograde move for health and safety.
A recommendation first made by Lord Young last year in his report - Common Sense, Common Safety - Steffan Groch, explained that the Conservative peer had identified a less-than desirable level of compliance with RIDDOR, and that a change in the requirement to report over-three-day (O3D) injuries to over-seven-day (O7D) injuries might increase the level of compliance by being less burdensome on employers.
Steffan said the jury is still very much out on whether such a change would increase compliance, warning, as well, that the message the impact of the change could send to directors is potentially harmful.
For more on this story go to SHP Online.
Newsletter - May 2011
The May 2011 edition of the Ai Solutions Newsletter is now available: May Newsletter.
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Subscribe to Blog updates by Email
