Leading physicians say that Australian stonemasons are facing the biggest lung disease crisis since asbestos, due to crystalline silica in popular stone kitchen benches Last month 22 silicosis claims were lodged to WorkCover in Queensland, including six people who have been diagnosed as terminal, leading to state government intervention. Continue →

Identifying a workplace risk but not following up to ensure it is controlled is bad health and safety business practice according to WorkSafe The comment follows the sentencing of Agility Building Solutions Limited in the Christchurch District Court after a painter was injured in the construction company’s own workplace. Continue →

Road safety charity Brake is running a free online session for professionals with responsibility for at-work drivers looking at addressing road risk management in fleets The Towards Zero: going beyond compliance webinar, sponsored by Verizon Connect, takes place on Tuesday 11 December, 2pm-3.30pm. Continue →

A Southland school has won a coaching session with rugby legend Richard Loe thanks to a farming couple designing an innovative system to prevent falls into their silo Donna Holland and her husband Denis developed a rope pulley system which opens and closes the silo lid at their dairy farm in Kaiwera, Southland. Continue →

Power management company Eaton has released a new arc fault detection device that provides critical all-in-one protection against electrical fires in homes and buildings With built-in arc fault detection, earth leakage current protection (RCD), short circuit and overcurrent protection (MCB) technology in one compact device, the AFDD+ can be easily installed on switchboards for new-builds or retrofitted in residential applications. Continue →

Hand tool safety tips are useful in every workplace – almost every job calls for their use, and healthy hands are necessary for every job People who work in warehouses, construction sites, or in industrial workplaces will likely use hand tools more frequently, but even office workers use scissors, box cutters, and utility knives. Continue →

A Manawatū farmer says his community wants easier access to a blood test for toxic chemicals from firefighting foam, but the Health Ministry is telling them not to bother according to RNZ News The groundwater around defence bases including Ōhakea in Manawatū have been contaminated with toxic and long-lasting firefighting foam chemicals. Continue →

A new study by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has reviewed the risks to workers when opening fumigated shipping containers   The study identifies significant gaps in preventive measures and makes recommendations that should be implemented to improve the safety and health of workers. Continue →

Increasing process automation means the cost-effective automation of vehicles is playing an increasingly more important role – which in turn has serious safety implications Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are encountered in vast warehouses, order-picking areas and production halls. Continue →

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