14Linc

safe1.3 million tradespeople at risk from dangers of asbestos.Health and Safety Executive launches new safety campaign as an average of 20 trades-people die every week from asbestos related diseases

Tradespeople, including construction workers, carpenters and painters and decorators, could come into contact with deadly asbestos on average more than 100 times a year* according to a new survey commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)**.

As well as illustrating how often tradespeople can be exposed to asbestos, the survey revealed some common myths believed by those at risk, with 1 in seven (14 per cent) believing that drinking a glass of water will help protect them from the deadly dust and one in four (27 per cent) thinking that opening a window will help to keep them safe.

Only a third (30 per cent) of those asked, were able to identify all the correct measures for safe asbestos working, whilst more than half (57 per cent) made at least one potentially lethal mistake in trying to identify how to stay safe.

Twenty tradespeople, on average, die every week from asbestos related diseases.

Asbestos can be found in walls and ceilings, or the structure of a building, as well as a host of other places like fl oor tiles, boilers, toilet cisterns, gutter-ing and soffi ts.

It can be disturbed by basic maintenance work like drilling holes and sanding and once disturbed, the microscopic fi bres can prove lethal if breathed in, causing lung disease and cancer.

The research, undertaken by Censuswide in Sep-tember 2014, shows that while more than half (53 per cent) knew that asbestos could be in old build-ings built before 1970, only 15 per cent knew that it could still be found in buildings built up to the year 2000.

And although many of those surveyed could pinpoint some asbestos-containing materials, others were clueless, with only 19 per cent recognising it could also be hidden in common fi xtures such as toilet seats and cisterns.

To encourage tradespeople to think about asbestos on every job so they are prepared to deal with the danger, HSE has launched a new safety campaign. Mark Harper, Minister responsible for Health and Safety, launched the campaign at the TradePoint store in Cricklewood. TradePoint is supporting the campaign by distributing asbestos safety kits to tradespeople through their stores across Great Britain.

A key feature of the campaign is the creation of a new web app for phones, tablets and laptops that helps tradespeople easily identify where they could come into contact with the deadly material as they go about their day-to-day work and gives them tai-lored help on how to deal with the risks.

Mark Harper, Minister responsible for Health and Safety, said:

“The number dying every year from asbestos re-lated-diseases is unacceptably high. Despite being banned in the construction industry, asbestos ex-posure remains a very serious risk to tradespeople. This safety campaign is about highlighting the risks and easy measures people can take to protect them-selves. We hope the safety kits and the web app will encourage people to be aware of the risks, think twice, and take precautions to stay safe.”

Philip White, HSE’s Chief Inspector for Construction, said:

“Asbestos is still a very real danger and the survey fi ndings suggest that the people who come into contact with it regularly often don’t know where it could be and worryingly don’t know how to deal with it correctly, which could put them in harm’s way. Our new campaign aims to help tradespeople understand some of the simple steps they can take to stay safe. Our new web app is designed for use on a job so workers can easily identify if they are likely to face danger and can then get straight forward advice to help them do the job safely.”

Former electrical consultant Simon Clark, who in 2012 was diagnosed with mesothelioma – the life-threatening and aggressive cancer caused by expo-sure to asbestos – when he was just 52, said:

“When I was younger I didn’t think of the dangers of asbestos and I must have been exposed to it frequently. Since being diagnosed, I’ve had to give up my work and let some of my employees go – which is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It is vitally important that everybody knows when they might be exposed and takes the correct steps to protect themselves.”

To download the web app please visit www.beware-asbestos.info/news link to external website 1

1 http://press.hse.gov.uk/2014/1-3-million-tradespeople-at-risk-from-dangers-of-asbestos/

Autumn

UPDATE

HSE PROSECUTIONSEvery month we try to highlight issues sourced from differentindustries, below are this months selection.....

2014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited

Civil engineering fi rm in court for unsafe work at height

A Covent Garden-based civil engineering contractor has been prosecuted for safety failings after an inspection of a Mayfair construction site identifi ed mul-tiple work-at-height risks.

Peter Lind and Co (Central Re-gion) Limited appeared at West-minster Magistrates’ Court yesterday (8 October) following the visit by the Health and Safety Execu-tive (HSE) to a project on Queen Street on 23 Janu-ary this year.

The court heard that concerns were fi rst raised about safety standards at the site, where two fi ve-storey regency houses were being extensively over-hauled, by an anony-mous complainant in De-cember 2013.

When a HSE inspector visited some eight weeks later he uncovered a cata-logue of issues, including:

Missing or inadequate edge protection in several loca-tions – exposing workers to potential falls of between three and eight metres.

Unsafe temporary ladders in place of a staircase that been removed.

Missing toe boards and other edge protection on several tower scaffolds.

Materials and equipment, in-cluding a heavy fi re extinguish-er, were left on edges where it was liable to fall and cause injury.

The failings mirrored those raised by the original com-plainant, meaning nothing had changed in the intervening period to protect workers. They were exposed to unnecessary risk for at least two months.

HSE immediately served a Pro-hibition Notice requiring urgent

improvements in relation to work at height. Two improve-ment notices were also served that needed action.

The court was told that al-though nobody was injured at the site, the potential for a seri-ous or potentially fatal fall was very real. HSE concluded that the work at height was poorly assessed, managed and moni-tored, and fell well short of the required legal standards.

Magistrates heard that HSE inspectors had also identifi ed concerns at three other sites managed by the company in 2012 and 2013, and that in

each instance enforcement no-tices or written warnings had to be served.

Peter Lind and Co (Central Re-gion) Limited was fi ned a total of £11,500 and ordered to pay £1,369 in costs after pleading guilty to two separate breaches of the Work at Height Regula-tions 2005.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers commented:

“We uncovered an al-most systematic failing in regards to work at height at the Mayfair site, and the extent of the risk this created was substantial. There were numerous ex-amples where falls could have occurred, and the consequences could have been devastating.

“Peter Lind and Co is guilty of failing to pay enough attention to performance at the site. There were numerous issues that could and should have been iden-tifi ed and immediately addressed.

“Falls from height remain the biggest single cause of death and serious injury in the con-struction industry, and it is vital that developers and principal contractors work within the law and meet the required stand-ards at all times.” 1

http://press.hse.gov.uk/2014/civil-engi-neering-fi rm-in-court-for-unsafe-work-at-height/

A scaffolding fi rm has been fi ned after it ignored repeated requests to prove it held insurance for employees working on the Fylde Coast.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was alerted to the possible lack of Employers’ Liability Insurance – a requirement under UK law – when it received a complaint about scaffolding erected by Abacus Scaffolding North West Ltd at a site in Thornton Cleveleys in October 2013.

The company was contacted by HSE on several occasions up until April 2014 but it still failed to provide a copy of the insurance certifi cate, which allows workers to claim compensation if they are injured while at work.

Abacus Scaffolding was fi ned £1,000 and ordered to pay £2,035 following a trial at Blackpool Mag-istrates’ Court on 8 October 2014. The company failed to attend the hearing and was found guilty of a breach of the Employers’ Liability (Compul-sory Insurance) Act 1969 in its absence.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Allen Shute said:

“Falls from height are responsible for around a third of all workplace deaths every year, so the risks to Abacus’s employees were real.

“The company failed to prove it held Employers’ Liability Insurance so that if the worst did happen then workers would have been able to claim com-pensation to try and overcome their injuries.

“HSE made repeated requests but the company still failed to provide proof that it held insurance, despite it being a legal requirement. We were therefore left with no choice but to prosecute.”

Employers’ Liability Insurance enables workers to claim compensation if they become ill or are injured at work. For employers, the insurance covers the cost of legal fees and compensation payouts in the event of a claim by a worker.1

1 http://press.hse.gov.uk/2014/scaffolding-fi rm-in-court-over-workers-insurance/

2014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 016738761502014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 016738761502014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 016738761502014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 016738761502014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 016738761502014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 01673876150

Scaffolding fi rm in court over worker’s insuranceScaffolding fi rm in court over worker’s insuranceScaffolding fi rm in court over worker’s insuranceScaffolding fi rm in court over worker’s insuranceScaffolding fi rm in court over worker’s insuranceScaffolding fi rm in court over worker’s insurance

Wirral builder photographed risking lives

A Wirral builder was caught on camera risking the lives of his workers on a house roof, a court has heard.

Ronald Steven King, known as Steve, and two other men were seen on the roof of a detached house in Kingsley, Cheshire, without any meas-ures in place to prevent them being injured in a fall.

An inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who visited the site following a complaint by a member of the public, also found the workers had to jump over a one-metre gap from a scaf-folding tower to reach the roof.

Steve King and another worker on a house roof in Kingsley

Mr King was prosecuted by HSE following the inspection of the work on the four-bedroomed house on Brookside on 29 April 2013.

Chester Magistrates’ Court heard that the 61-year-old had been hired to re-roof the proper-ty, including replacing slates and fi tting insulation, and had begun work on the project two weeks earlier.

A scaffolding tower had been erected in a neigh-bouring garden but there was a large gap from the scaffolding to the house roof. There were also no scaffolding boards or other protection around the edge of the roof to prevent workers falling up to four and a half metres.

Mr King, of Airlie Road in Hoylake, was fi ned £3,000 and ordered to pay £2,457 in prosecution costs on 25 September 2014 after pleading guilty to a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 by failing to put measures in place to pre-vent falls.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Kevin Jones said: “Mr King is an experienced roofer and had taken on a major project to re-roof a detached house but he failed to make sure basic safety measures were in place.

“He not only put his own life at risk but also the lives of two of the workers he employed by ask-ing them to jump from the scaffolding to the roof, and by not providing protection around the edge of the roof.

“The risks from working at height are well known in the construction industry but Mr King ignored the dangers. If we hadn’t been alerted to the work by a member of the public, then I dread to think what might have happened.” 1

1 http://press.hse.gov.uk/2014/wirral-builder-photographed-risking-lives/

Health and Safety Executive - Safety Alert

Bulletin No: FOD 4-2014

Issue Date: 23 September 2014

Target Audience: Hydraulics engineers, Construction Quarrying and tunnelling Engineering Maintenance and Service personnel

Key Issues: A maintenance fi tter died from hydraulic injection injury sustained whilst tensioning the track of a piling rig. The grease nipple became detached from the track mechanism permitting the release of grease under high pressure. This alert reminds the target audience of the potential for such in-jury when working on any hydraulic machinery.

Introduction:The purpose of this safety alert is to raise aware-ness of the risks from hydraulic injection injury. Initial fi ndings from an HSE investigation has found that whilst a maintenance fi tter was using a hand powered grease gun to tension the track of a piling rig, the nipple connecting the grease gun to the track mechanism detached, permitting the grease (under signifi cant stored energy) to release, injecting the fi tter.

Background:Hydraulic injection injury occurs when the outer layer of skin is broken by a jet of fl uid under pressure. Although serious reported instances of hydraulic injection have occurred at pressures over 100 bar (1450 psi), anecdotal evidence suggests hydraulic injection injury may occur at pressures as low as 7 bar (101.5psi) [1].

Injection injury often results from a failure of a component in the mechanical system. This can result in the equipment remaining in use and pressurised whilst leaking fl uid. [2]).

A person may come in to contact with a fl uid jet while using equipment or when carrying out inspection and/ or maintenance prompted by a reduction in performance of the equipment.

This can cause harm in two ways:

• The mechanical pressurised penetration and subsequent trauma to the surrounding and underlying tissue

• The toxicity of the fl uid injected into the injured party

The severity of the injury varies according to the following:

• Pressure• Proximity• Jet size

Following any injection injury, prompt action is essential to save the injured persons limb, or even life. Without medical treatment, after four – six hours the victim may experience intense throbbing pain that is unresponsive to pain medi-cation. Without proper care injection injuries can lead to amputation of affected parts.

Action required:Anyone maintaining mechanical plant should inspect the integrity and security of grease nip-ples and pipe work adapters used as part of track tensioning systems. This should take place at routine service intervals and before attempting to carry out vehicle track tensioning at any time.

Where replacement or maintenance takes place on a pressurised system, fi ttings should be matched and compatible as per the original equipment manufacturers specifi cation. Verifi ca-tion of such replacement should be regarded as a pressure test and appropriate precautions taken [3].

Personnel should be familiar with the steps to take, if injection injury occurs, particularly the need to seek immediate professional medical treatment [4].

References:[1] Hydraulic injection – HSL research report – RR976[2] BS EN ISO 4413 (2011): International Stand-ards Organisation - Hydraulic fl uid power – Gen-eral rules relating to systems

[3] Safety in pressure testing – HSE guidance note GS4[4] Fluid Injection injury emergency – The facts – British Fluid Power Association

Further information:Awareness to a previous reported incident is available at: safequarry.com link to external website.

General note:Please pass this information to anyone involved in hydraulics engineering or general maintenance technicians.1

Please contact Lincsafe for further details regarding Temporary works on 01673 876 150 or info@lincsafe.co.uk 1 http://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/hydraulic-injection-injury.htm

The severity of the injury varies according to the following:

HSE ALERTNeed to Knownews...

2014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 016738761502014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 016738761502014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 016738761502014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 016738761502014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 016738761502014 Lincsafe (Health & Safety) Limited www.lincsafe.co.uk 01673876150

Hydraulic injection injury