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| For the latest update on Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) News and information from across Australia. OHS News - June 2007Miner Freed From Drill RigFriday 29 June 2007 5:59 p.m. A trapped miner has been freed by rescuers after an industrial accident at Mount Isa in Queensland's north-west. The man was operating a drill rig at the Blackstar lead and zinc mine when it partially slumped into a void this morning. The worker has been recovered from the fallen rig in a vertical rescue operation and is being examined by ambulance officers, although he is believed to be unhurt. Xstrata mining has launched an investigation into the incident. Miner Trapped By Drill RigFriday 29 June 2007 3:45 p.m. Rescuers are trying to free a trapped miner after an industrial accident at Mount Isa in Queensland's north-west. A rig collapsed at the Blackstar lead and zinc mine around 11:00am AEST. Chantelle Rule from the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service says Emergency Services units are working with Xstrata mines management to try to rescue the worker. "At the moment we have a rescue effort happening at Mount Isa Mines where a rig has fallen down a void," she said. "A person is trapped in the rig but they are conscious and they are talking to rescuers. "At the moment Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and Mount Isa Mines Rescue persons are on scene." CASA Action UnsatisfactoryFriday June 29 2007 3:45p.m. Fairfax A Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) inspector has admitted the aviation watchdog's response to concerns about the airline at the centre of one of the nation's worst air disasters was "unsatisfactory". Brisbane-based CASA inspector Max McRae today gave evidence to a coronial inquest into the circumstances surrounding the Lockhart River plane crash on May 7, 2005. All 15 people aboard died when the TransAir-operated Metroliner aircraft ploughed into a 500-metre high mountain on approach to the Lockhart River Aboriginal community on Cape York, in far north Queensland. Following a two-year investigation into the crash, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found, among other contributors, CASA failed to detect and regulate safety problems inherent in TransAir. The report showed CASA raised concerns with the now-defunct TransAir as early as 1998 about its director Les Wright, who was also the airline's CEO, chief pilot and training and checking pilot. The aviation body was concerned Mr Wright was "spread very thin" across the Australian and Papua New Guinea operations, compromising safety. A 1999 CASA audit of TransAir uncovered a worrying degree of non-compliance, including inadequate management and issues relating to the airlines' operations manual. The audit results prompted CASA to draft a show-cause notice against Mr Wright demanding why he should be allowed to keep his chief pilot approval, which if stripped would have effectively grounded the airline. But the notice was not issued because Mr Wright agreed to an urgent alternative course of action which included appointing someone to introduce and manage a safety management system within the company. It was agreed Mr Wright would provide CASA with weekly reports and attend meetings to ensure progress was being made. However, the ATSB found CASA files showed little evidence TransAir complied with the agreement. TransAir only appointed a safety manager in 2001 and a deputy chief pilot a year later. Under cross examination, Mr McRae today was asked why CASA allowed TransAir to expand its operations to include additional routes while it deemed the airline, which hadn't kept its end of the agreement, "high risk". "CASA was in a position where we were trying to improve the organisation," Mr McRae said. When asked if these concerns weren't "followed through", Mr McRae replied: "Yes". When further asked if this was unsatisfactory, he responded: "In those terms, yes". He said CASA had embarked on "a lot more operational surveillance" following the crash, but the onus was on the airline operators to do the right thing. When asked what he believed was the cause of the accident, he responded: "I believe the guy flew into the hill". "I don't think one can form an absolute view," he said. $80 Million Site Grinds To Halt Over Contamination FearsFriday June 29 2007 1:49p.m. AAP CHEMICAL vapours have forced an "indefinite" work standstill at Geelong's new TAC headquarters, after one worker was hospitalised amid unknown contamination fears. Construction bosses called a halt to the $80 million project this week after soil excavation uncovered fumes from an unknown chemical believed to have come from a previous industry at the Brougham St site. Workers downed tools and union officials reported complaints of nausea, stinging eyes and respiratory problems. One worker already suffering from gastroenteritis was taken to hospital after falling ill from the fumes but was later released with no lasting effects. Scientists were expected to know this morning the mystery contaminant bedevilling the project. Managers of the project, which when finished will house the TAC's headquarters, said they were unaware of the extent of the contamination. WorkSafe is investigating with the state's environment watchdog, the Environment Protection Authority, which revealed it had received odour complaints from the community as early as June 15. State civil supervisor Kyle Frazier, from construction firm Delta Group, said employees were working under instruction from geotechnical experts Coffey Partners when one of the workers went down. "I stopped the job once the guy was sick and called for testing and until I get more information I'm not prepared to continue to put the health and safety of my workers at risk," he said. Mr Frazier said work was "delayed indefinitely" until his firm knew what the chemical was and how to deal with it. State executive general manager of developer FKP Property Group Jason Smith said his firm was working with authorities to clear the material. "We carried out extensive testing and unfortunately this material was discovered, and we're doing everything possible to manage and continue with removing the material," he said. Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union safety officer Rick Todd said workers were unlikely to suffer lasting damage from the substance which was most likely a result of previously-dumped petrochemicals. "It's reached a point where all the soil on site is saturated with it and the soil will most likely be treated," he said. EPA spokeswoman Sarah Campbell said the watchdog would today issue a notice for project owners to stop the odour after visiting the site three times this month. OHS Recommendation: Environmental Policy Widow Not Happy With Fine For Tractor AccidentThursday June 28 2007 12:18 p.m. AAP The widow of a Queanbeyan man who died after an unsafe tractor he was driving rolled and crushed him is disgusted by the $35,000 fine for negligence an ACT magistrate has imposed on her husband's employer. "It was very disappointing to wait 2 years and then all they get is some sort of a slap on the wrist," Ian McLachlan's widow, Leigh Coates, said yesterday. "That to me is isn't even a slap. I still cry at night when I think about how much I miss him, and the kids miss him too." Ian "Glocky" McLachlan, 42, died in December 2004 from injuries sustained in an accident in the Uriarra Forest. Mr McLachlan's truck became bogged while he was towing a float carrying a tractor. He attempted to drive the tractor off the float when it rolled and trapped him in the cabin. The father of two was alone and not rescued for hours. He died the next morning from cardiac arrest resulting from his injuries. In 2003, ACT WorkCover investigated safety concerns with the same company after two vehicles rolled over, injuring the drivers. WorkCover had warned the firm's directors husband and wife Arne and Birgitta Sjostrom of the need to fit older vehicles with protective structures. But at the time of Mr McLachlan's death, the firm had done nothing to fit the vehicles. ACT Magistrate Karen Fryar fined Brindabella Logging $35,000 yesterday over several safety breaches that had led to Mr McLachlan's death. The Sjostroms had pleaded guilty to breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the company was convicted of not complying with its safety duty through negligence, resulting in serious harm to a person. Ms Fryar spared the couple from a harsher punishment because of the financial hardships the company had endured since the territory's January 2003 bushfires. The charge carries a maximum $1 million fine for a company. Ms Fryar gave the firm two years to pay the fine. An investigation after the accident revealed the forwarder that killed Mr McLachlan had previously sustained damage to its cabin and a welding repair had been inadequate. Also, Mr McLachlan should not have been working alone that day ACT Forests had identified the scenario as posing a risk to workers and a clause concerning this issue had been placed in Mr McLachlan's employment contract. These facts led Ms Fryar to conclude that the death could have been prevented if the company had adhered to its safety requirements. ACT WorkCover acting commissioner Steven Hart said he was pleased with the successful prosecution, but would not comment on the fine's severity. Mr Sjostrom said he was relieved the case was over and the fine would have a significant impact on the business. He had not spoken to Mr McLachlan's family yesterday. Ms Coates is now considering pursuing a civil action against Brindabella Logging. She will not receive any of the $35,000 as it is a court fine. In the meantime, she said she would try to stay positive for her children's sake. Working From Platforms OHS System Introduced After FallThursday June 28 10:00 a.m. ABC A marine worker injured at Port Kembla Harbour, on the New South Wales south coast, has been awarded more than $750,000 in damages. Gary John Corbett, 47, fell four metres while walking over coils that he was securing into position on a ship. He landed head first on the steel floor of the vessel and suffered chest, rib and back injuries. He sued his employer, Illawarra Stevedores, and the company whose workers stacked the coils, Toll Stevedoring. He told the Supreme Court he had previously complained to his leading hand that the work was dangerous. The judge found Mr Corbett was exposed to an unsafe system of work and both companies were negligent. They have been ordered to pay Mr Corbett damages totalling $756,000, including compensation for loss of earnings. The judge described as satisfactory, a system of strapping and working from platforms that was introduced after the accident. OHS recommendation - Safe Work Procedure Working at Heights $35,000 Fine For Tractor Roll Over DeathWednesday June 27 8:52p.m. ABC An ACT forestry company that benefited from a $2 million government assistance package after the 2003 bushfires has been fined $35,000 over the workplace death of one of its employees. Brindabella Logging was one of several forestry companies which shared in Federal and ACT Government funding to help rebuild the industry after the fires. A year later in 2004, one of its employees died after being crushed in a tractor roll-over. Brindabella Logging told the court it lost business after the fires. It was convicted and fined $35,000 over 42 year old Ian Clive McLachlan's death. ACT Workcover says it visited the site before the accident, and was disappointed the company never followed through on a promise to improve its system. It's the first conviction for such an offence after penalties increased in 2004. The maximum fine is $1 million. Safety Manager "Did Not Audit, Test Or Inspect Anybody"Wednesday 27th June 2007 3:46 p.m. Fairfax The safety manager of the airline at the centre of one of Australia's worst aviation disasters has told an inquest it was not his responsibility to audit, test or inspect anybody. Edward Doyle, who worked as both TransAir's aviation safety manager and maintenance controller, today appeared at the Queensland coronial inquest in Brisbane into the Lockhart River plane crash. All 15 people aboard died instantly when a Fairchild Metroliner III aircraft ploughed into a rugged 500-metre tall mountain on approach to the Lockhart River Aboriginal community on Cape York, in far north Queensland, on May 7, 2005. Following a two-year investigation into the crash, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) recently handed down a damning report, blaming, among other factors, a poor safety culture within TransAir. Mr Doyle said he worked as a maintenance controller for TransAir before being appointed to his additional position in 2003, despite a lack of flying experience. He told the inquest he was responsible for "overseeing safety". But when asked under cross-examination what responsibilities he held when he was appointed safety manager, he replied: "To audit, test, or inspect anybody was not part of my brief". He also said he had nothing to do with pilot training and endorsements, nor regular checks of pilots' abilities. He agreed those responsibilities rested with the chief pilot Les Wright, who was also the former director, chief executive officer and a shareholder. When asked if Mr Wright "stretched himself too thin" in relation to his crucial responsibilities, Mr Doyle said: "It's very difficult to argue against it". Mr Doyle admitted he felt hampered in his safety role by his lack of flying credentials but believed his knowledge of maintenance was an advantage. "I never looked at either role (maintenance and safety) as a separate issue," Mr Doyle said. He also told the inquest he was aware pilots were undertaking approaches they were not endorsed to perform, before later saying he had not been aware of such dangerous practices. Mr Doyle also said he did not know why he did not tell police he was the safety manager when he provided a statement after the crash. He said he was responsible for ensuring incidents raised on maintenance releases were entered into a database so that risks could be assessed and full reports provided. "If it wasn't written down in the maintenance release, I wouldn't have known about it," Mr Doyle said. He said he also held safety meetings quarterly. The inquest, before Queensland coroner Michael Barnes, continues. Bobcat Delivery Kills One Injures TwoWednesday 27th June 2007 6:30 a.m. AAP A MAN was killed and two colleagues seriously injured while delivering machinery to a worksite at Lake Macquarie yesterday. Police believe wet conditions may have contributed to the fatal accident on a stretch of road which claimed the life of a truck driver 12 months ago. A 23-year-old passenger suffered head and chest injuries and was airlifted to hospital, but died a short time later. The driver, a 27-year-old man, and a second passenger, a 24-year-old man, were in a stable condition in Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital last night after emergency surgery. Inspector Lindsay McDonald from Lake Macquarie police said the men were travelling in the front cabin of a 20 tonne truck when the accident happened just before 11.30am on Cessnock Rd at Ryhope. The Mitsubishi truck was towing a trailer carrying a bobcat to a nearby worksite. "The truck appears to have overtaken a vehicle turning right into a driveway. It has gone off the edge of the road and hit a tree," Insp McDonald said. He added it was unknown if wet weather was a factor. "I don't know if it was raining at the time, but I would say the road could have been wet after all the rain," he said. Two passengers were trapped for more than an hour as rescue personnel worked to free them from the wreckage. Police said it was the second fatal accident on the stretch of road in the last year. Last night staff at Tropic Ashphalts at Toronto, where the tree men worked, were comforting each other after learning of the accident. Manager Rory O'Hagan said the three men were close friends and good workers. "They were three young valued employees who had worked here between them for six years," Mr O'Hagan said. "We are very upset and wish to express our deepest sympathy from management and staff." A witness who was travelling close behind the truck said it slammed into a tree - uprooting it - and dragged it along before stopping several hundred metres down the road. "You've never seen anything like it, it was a horrific sight," the witness said. Crash investigators and crime scene police remained at the scene of the accident late yesterday. A report will be prepared for the coroner. OHS Recommendation: Heavy Vehicle Drivers Manual Melbourne Cleaner Has Fallen From BuildingTuesday 26 June 2007 7:40p.m. Source: Fairfax A man who fell 12 metres while cleaning an inner-city building has died in hospital. The 35-year-old-man, whose name has not been released, was apparently cleaning windows early Sunday morning from on top of an air vent on a State Government building at the corner of Exhibition and Bourke Streets. The vent apparently gave way, causing him to plummet 12 metres to Bourke Street below. The accident comes just a week after a 22-year-old man was taken to hospital with serious head injuries after slipping of a glass roof at Watergardens Shopping Centre in Melbourne's north. The man is still in Alfred hospital with serious injuries. Four other men have died this year as a result of falls at work. WorkSafe Executive Director John Merritt has emphasised the need for workers and their employees to take care when working from heights, pointing out that falls are among the biggest cause of death and serious injury at work. "What workers and their employers must understand is that the safe means of working at height are well established and that they have very clear interests in ensuring they are used." "Apart from fatalities, the chance of becoming a paraplegic or quadriplegic or suffering brain damage is high," Mr Merritt said. "Accident Waiting To Happen" In Cattle YardsTuesday June 26 2007 4:15p.m. Source: Northern Daily Leader, NSW THE Tamworth Regional Council could be sitting on a WorkCover accident just waiting to occur at its livestock selling centre, a leading livestock transporter, butcher, wholesaler and producer has said. Taminda Bacon Factory's Greg Townsend said he and his father had been doing business at Tamworth's saleyards for more than 40 years and he believes the current state of the cattle selling facilities "are ridiculous". Mr Townsend said the condition of the yards had forced him to take drastic measures with his employees. "So much so, that I instruct my drivers not load their trucks. I do it myself. "Stock are unpredictable and it could be very dangerous if someone working in the pens could not take evasive action from a cow," Mr Townsend said. Mr Townsend was one of a number of vendors and buyers who contacted the leader to voice the concern at the conditions in the saleyards. Attunga farmer Nick Bennett said he'd been selling at Tamworth for 54 years and described the yards as atrocious. "I've been to cattleyards all over the place and Tamworth is as bad as I have seen," Mr Bennett said. "It takes six to eight months to prepare a beast for sale and when they are sold in these conditions it makes it pretty tough. Also expressing his concern was a livestock buyer who has 30 years of experience in the beef industry. The man, who did not wish to be named, said if he was a producer he would think twice about offering cattle for sale at the selling complex. "I've never seen it as bad as it is now," he said. "The mud in some parts of the yards is so thick, it's dangerous for the yard hands. "The working conditions are awkward and it is a disgrace for the cattle." Tamworth Saleyard Selling Agents Association president Andrew Hosken said while recent rain across the region had been pleasing for livestock producers it had also caused problems at the saleyards. "The association is highly supportive of the proposed selling complex and we look forward to the new facility being in place in 12 to 18 months time," Mr Hosken said. Mr Townsend said that producers buyers and butchers could not survive without the saleyards. "If the yards aren't fixed we can't use them," he said. The council's director of corporate and governance Steve Bartlett said rain and the traffic generated by 15,000 head of cattle through the saleyards had created plenty of challenges. "There's been significant changes in the weather too. It's been raining, it's cold, and the yards haven't had a chance to dry out, like they normally do," Mr Bartlett said . Union Up In Arms Over Visa Program25 June 2007 3:43 p.m. Souce: AAP THREE guest workers in Australia under the federal 457 visa scheme have been killed in separate incidents in the past four weeks, the construction union says. The left-wing Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) claims the scheme, under which employers can apply to bring foreign skilled staff into Australia for temporary work, is responsible for the deaths because of inadequate safety standards. The recent deaths occurred in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory, the union says. "This notorious 457 program is out of control. How many more workers must die before the scheme is properly regulated?" Mr Sutton said. "We call on the Government to release details of all incidents of serious injury or workplace death that have occurred to holders of section 457 visas since the Liberal Government deregulated this visa in 2002." Mr Sutton said Australians needed to know if these workers had been working in the stipulated occupation on their visas and what, if any, English they had. "Safety standards for many of these workers are clearly appalling and the government has a responsibility to take tough action to ensure that more lives are not lost." Safety Management Systems Should Have Been "More Effective"22 June 2007 2:48 p.m. Souce: AAP The death of an Indian seafarer crushed by an oil tanker's lift may have been avoided if the ship's safety management systems had been more effective, a report has found. The 36-year-old electrician was working on an elevator on the British Mallard tanker when the elevator car unexpectedly rose, crushing him on January 27. He was one of 23 Indian crew members aboard the Isle of Man-registered BP Shipping crude oil tanker, which was dropping off oil at BP's Kwinana refinery south of Perth. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) released its report into the man's death on Friday, finding the crew did not carry out a risk assessment or complete an appropriate work permit before starting to work on faulty second deck elevator doors. The elevator responded to a call request, from another deck, and rose upwards, crushing the man. "It is estimated the elevator moved upwards for about four seconds, giving the electrical technician little time in which to react and evade the moving elevator car," the ATSB report says. The electrician had not activated the emergency stop buttons, or the inspection button, so the only mechanism preventing the car from responding to a call were the door switches he was to repair, the report said. ATSB said responsibility for risk assessment did not entirely lie with the technician. Had the tanker's safety management systems been more effective, neither he nor the two engineers working with him, would have considered working on the elevator without risk assessment. "Had these strategies been in place on January 27, the accident that followed may have been avoided," ATSB said. The tanker had been delivering crude oil loaded at the Laminaria oil field in the Northern Territory. OHS Recommendation: Permit to Work Form Unguarded Conveyor Belt Costs $80,000 In Fines21 June 2007 5:17p.m. FOOD manufacturer Goodman Fielder has been fined $80,000 for a safety breach which left a North East worker needing steel plates and screws in her arm after it became trapped in a machine. Deanne Young spent a week in hospital following the accident, which happened when she was cleaning a feed conveyor belt used in making Vita Brits, one of the Uncle Toby’s cereals produced by Goodman Fielder. The Victorian Workcover Authority prosecuted the company over the June 17, 2005, incident which happened at its Wahgunyah factory and a sentence was applied yesterday after Goodman Fielder pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to provide and maintain safe plant and systems of work. Magistrate Tom Barrett, who heard an $1100 safety guard was attached to the machine after the accident, imposed an $80,000 fine with $10,000 of that figure based on Goodman Fielder having two similar prior offences. Goodman Fielder will also have to pay $3530.07 in costs incurred by the prosecution. The previous offences were in 2001 at Goodman Fielder premises in West Footscray with a $40,000 fine applied after a security guard slipped on greasy stairs and a $30,000 fine imposed when a contractor installing a roller door fell from a ladder placed on an oily floor. Ms Young had been working casually for four days a week as a plant operator at the time of the accident which involved an unguarded oven outfeed conveyor. She was cleaning the conveyor belt with workmate Rick Begelhole and had a bucket of warm water and two rags. As the process was nearing an end Ms Young switched the machine on, but then noticed some more residue on a roller and was flicking it off with a wet rag when disaster struck. The rag became entangled in a nip point and her left arm was drawn into the rotating roller. Ms Young used her right arm to switch the machine off and Mr Begelhole and another operator helped free her. She suffered four fractures to her left arm which required three operations with multiple steel plates and screws inserted. Workcover found Goodman Fielder had not done an adequate risk assessment on the plant. Occupational health and safety consultant Jim Kent told the court in a report that the oven outfeed conveyor posed a significant danger. “It was reasonable to foresee injuries such as that which occurred to Deanne Young, as well as even more serious injuries such as degloving, denuding of the arm (had she not been able to reach the isolater switch to turn off the conveyor when she became trapped) or scalping should the relevant part of the body be drawn into the trapping space,” Mr Kent reported. Chemical Spill Injures Seven In Melbourne21 June 2007, 3:12 p.m. Source: AAP SEVEN workers suffered chemical burns and about 160 workers were evacuated following a chemical spill at a Melbourne factory today. About 1000 litres of the highly corrosive and flammable chemical N-butylamine (N-butylamine) leaked at Bostik Chemicals in High Street, Thomastown, about 12.45pm (AEST) today, a Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) spokesman said. The leak was contained to a safe area within the factory but six workers were taken to hospital with chemical burns, while a seventh was treated by ambulance crews at the scene. A further 160 workers were evacuated. A chemical absorbent was used to cover the spill, which will be cleared up by a specialist company overseen by MFB crews. The cause of the spill will be investigated. WorkSafe Inspectors Presence FeltJune 21 2007 12:25 p.m. A safety improvement project in Sunshine has been hailed a success with WorkSafe inspectors visiting 109 businesses between 28 May and 1 June. The visits were part of the Safer Work Zones project in which up to 10 inspectors concentrate on a particular area for one week. WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, said 120 Improvement Notices and one Prohibition Notice were issued. One business received eight Notices. Unguarded equipment, a range of forklift safety issues, inadequate fire protection and damaged electrical leads were among the major safety issues identified during the campaign. Manual handling, which represents about 60% of all workers compensation claims, was also a significant problem. Improvement Notices are a formal direction which clearly describes what is required to be improved. They have an agreed date for the work to be done. If improvements cannot be made by the due date, there is capacity for it to be extended. “The Notices are to ensure the minimum legal standards are reached. We always encourage people to go further. “Our role is to help build capacity to maximise safety. Notices are part of that process.” ”Our challenge to businesses in Sunshine and the western suburbs is to take safety more seriously.” “People need to think about it in the same way they do about road safety. Progress is being made, but there is more work to be done. “Safe practices need to become part of the work culture, just like wearing a seatbelt in the car. “ Mr Merritt said inspectors would soon re-visit premises that received notices to ensure they were being acted on. “Workers and business operators have clear interests in making their workplace as safe as possible, not just when they know we’re coming, but every day of the year. “Thinking safe and being safe – not saying ‘that should be OK’ but knowing it will be OK, and speaking-up when a potential problem becomes apparent is what everyone should be aiming for.” “Relying on experience and good luck is not the way to ensure you, your employees or workmates get home safely at the end of the day.” Of the 16 people whose deaths at work have been reported to WorkSafe this year– all but one of them were men. Most were over 40 and experienced in their work. “A sign in your workplace saying ‘Be careful’ or ‘A safe worker is a careful worker’ should not be relied on as the basis of good health and safety practice.” Between July 2001 and June 2006, more than 3600 serious workplace injuries were reported in the City of Brimbank. Treatment, rehabilitation and compensation costs were around $56.5-million. WorkSafe’s advisory service can by contacted on 1800 136 089. Safety information and publications can also be found online at www.worksafe.vic.gov.au. Enforceable Undertaking Is A First For Plumbing Company21 June 2007 11:00 a.m. A plumbing company has presented a health and safety lecture to 36 apprentice plumbers at Holmesglen TAFE in the first case of its type under Victoria’s workplace safety laws. Watsonia company, J Keogh Plumbing Pty Ltd, agreed to the Enforceable Undertaking as an alternative to prosecution. Enforceable Undertakings are legally binding agreements between WorkSafe and a duty holder made possible under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. A charge against the company of failing to supervise its employees was withdrawn last week and the lecture was given on Monday. The presentation covered:
The company has also agreed to be audited by WorkSafe between three and six times over the next six months. On 27 May last year WorkSafe received information about two apprentices working in a deep trench without shoring behind a Vermont house. A WorkSafe inspector found two unsupervised apprentices at the premises, one of whom was in a 2.7 metre deep trench without any shoring, shields or stepped/battered edges to prevent it from collapsing. Both were employed by J Keogh Plumbing Pty Ltd. The inspector also found:
WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, said the dangers of working in trenches were well known, as were the means of preventing injury or death. “In this case, things could have got much worse than the leaking sewer pipe they were fixing.” Safety checklists and guidance material on safe trenching is on WorkSafe’s website (www.worksafe.vic.gov.au) as can WorkSafe’s ‘Compliance and Enforcement Policy’. OHS Recommendation - Safe Work Procedure for Trench Work No Electric Shock For HansonOrganisers of an event in Melbourne promoting spa pools at which Olympic swimmer Brooke Hanson collapsed have denied she suffered an electric shock. Mystery continues to surround the circumstances behind the 29-year-old sports star's collapse at the Swimming Pool and Spa Association of Victoria (SPASA) Spa & Pool Show at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on Sunday. Hanson keeled over after climbing out of a spa at the event about 3.45pm (AEST) on Sunday. She was treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics before being taken to The Alfred hospital, where she underwent several tests, before being released late on Sunday night. On Monday, the event organisers denied an electric shock caused Hanson to collapse as she stepped out of the demonstration pool. "Energy Safe Victoria has advised SPASA that their initial investigations show that no fault with any of the electrical equipment could be found," SPASA spokesman Brendan Watkins said. "Our prime concern is for Brooke - we plan to keep in close contact with her and her family over the next few days." Energy Safe Victoria's David Guthrie-Jones said: "One of our experienced investigators went to the site, carried out a full investigation and could find nothing which could have caused an electric shock." "Obviously today there'll be some sort of consideration as to how to take this (further) because we or WorkSafe need to get to the bottom of what happened." A spokesman for The Alfred hospital denied radio reports that doctors who treated Hanson had confirmed she had suffered an electric shock. "At present, we cannot confirm what was concluded medically following the patient's treatment," he said. Hanson has been an ambassador for sponsor Endless Spas since 2003, according to the company's website. Explosion Burns Boiler MakerThursday 21 June 2007 6:29 a.m. A 64-year-old boiler maker suffered serious burns after an accident at a Lane Cove industrial plant. The Beacon Hill man was welding the top of a large steel vat when gases inside ignited, causing an explosion. The force of the explosion blew the hatch of the vat open, causing burns to the man's back, legs and arm. Nearby workers heard the explosion and rushed to help the man, providing first aid until an ambulance arrived. He was stabilised at the scene before being taken to Royal North Shore Hospital with first, second and third degree burns to various parts of his body. He is currently in a stable condition. A WorkCover Investigation into the accident has commenced. OHS Recommendation - Welding Safe Work Procedure Abestos Town Is Gone Forever20th June 2007, 12:30 Source: AAP The asbestos-riddled ghost town of Wittenoom is being wiped off the map - literally. The West Australian government announced today the site, where eight people continue to resist efforts to move them out, is no longer a designated town site and had been de-gazetted. The move means Wittenoom, in the state’s north, will no longer be shown on maps and roads leading to contaminated areas can be permanently closed. A government report on asbestos contamination in the former Pilbara mining town, released today, says there is an extreme risk of exposure to asbestos for the remaining residents. There is also a high risk to the 40 Aboriginal people who regularly hunt and swim in the surrounding gorges and floodplains and a medium risk to up to 40 tourists who visit the area daily. Regional Development Minister Jon Ford said the public health risk was unacceptable. “The fact Wittenoom continues to attract people who are then potentially exposed to an unacceptable health risk is untenable.” The report recommends demolishing the town and burying all asbestos-contaminated material as part of a larger remediation project. It says the former townsite should be isolated by rerouting roads and removing the name from regional road signs. The state government has been trying to close down Wittenoom since the 1970s. It cut off power to the settlement in late 2005, but some hard-core residents have consistently refused to leave. Mari Hartmann, 43, has lived in Wittenoom for 17 years and says he will stay on even though Wittenoom no longer officially exists. “They’ve done everything they can, they’ve turned our power off, so it won’t make too much difference to us living here,” Mr Hartmann said. “We love the place and we don’t want to leave.” The government had offered him $43,000 for his house and $11,000 to move, he said. “You can’t go anywhere with that, where can you go?“ The late mining magnate Lang Hancock began mining blue asbestos at Wittenoom Gorge in 1937 and Wittenoom was gazetted in 1950. In their ignorance, original settlers used potentially deadly asbestos tailings in gardens, school yards, on the roads and at the race track. The tailings, which can contain five per cent asbestos, were even used to build the airport. Hundreds of the 20,000 people who lived in Wittenoom during the mining boom have died from asbestos-related diseases. For more information - Visit Safely Handling Asbestos Chemical Explosion At Food FactoryTuesday June 19, 2007 9:04 p.m. Source: AAP AN explosion at a Tasmanian food processing factory has left one worker badly injured and exposed 15 others to potentially harmful chemicals. The blast occurred at the Simplot vegetable processing plant in Ulverstone, near Devonport in northern Tasmania, about 9.40am (AEST) today. Tasmanian Ambulance Service regional supervisor Norris Hayes said the injured man, aged 50, had been mixing acids as part of his normal job. "It exploded and threw him 2m backwards across the area he was working in, and he suffered very significant and serious injuries to his hand and both legs," Mr Hayes said. "He has very extensive glass injuries and acid burns on one hand and both his legs." He was admitted to the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie. Paramedics decontaminated 15 staff inside the factory at the time who had been exposed to vapours and gases. They were all taken to the same hospital for observation, Mr Hayes said. "One of the acids he was working with was hydrofluoride, which is a very potent and corrosive acid with some nasty effects if it is breathed in or absorbed into the body," Mr Hayes said. OHS Workplace Standards and the company are investigating the cause of the explosion. 6 Metre Fall For Glass InstallerJune 19, 2007 11:37 a.m. Source: ABC Worksafe is investigating an accident at a Taylors Lakes shopping centre, north-west of Melbourne, where a man was seriously injured after falling more than six metres. The accident happened just after 4:00 am AEST at the Watergardens Shopping Centre where construction workers had been working overnight. A 22-year-old glazier is being treated for head injuries at the Alfred Hospital. Michael Birt from Worksafe says investigators have visited the site of the fall "Falls from height are probably the biggest cause of serious injury and death in Victorian workplaces and in construction in particular," he said. "Worksafe has been on scene since early this morning and will be there for some time during the day." OHS Recommendation - Safety Harness Safe Work Procedure Safety Manager Cops AbuseJune 19, 2007 12:00am Source AAP A SECRETLY recorded video and audio tape shows the federal secretary of a militant construction union standing by as three underlings bully and intimidate an occupational health and safety manager on a Perth building site, calling him a "f..king maggot" and a "f..king idiot". The recordings, obtained by The Australian, show Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union national secretary Dave Noonan, assistant state secretary Joe McDonald and three other union officials being asked at least a dozen times to leave a city building site run by Len Buckeridge's BGC, one of the country's biggest construction companies. While Labor takes more hits in the polls because of its perceived ties to renegade unionists, media companies will today apply to the West Australian Supreme Court to get access to two other damaging video tapes of Mr McDonald and other CFMEU officials. One tape shows Mr McDonald calling a builder a "f..king, thieving parasite dog" who would end up working at Hungry Jack's. Some have interpreted this as a veiled threat should Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd win the next election. While those tapes were deemed admissible by the Supreme Court last week when Broad Constructions moved to ban CFMEU officials from their building sites, they were not shown to the court because union lawyers argued that they were embarrassing and could be used for political purposes. The tape obtained by The Australian was taken by BGC occupational health and safety manager Paul Smedley, a former detective, in November 2004. It was used in a West Australian Industrial Relations Commission finding against a union organiser, Michael (Mick) Powell, who the commission last year found acted in an "unacceptable and improper" manner while he was with Mr Noonan at the Barrack Street site. The commission found Mr Powell's language and behaviour to be "unprovoked, aggressive and intimidatory". The tape records Mr Smedley asking the unionists to identify themselves after he discovered they were on the BGC site. He then asked if they had their right-of-entry cards on them. When Mr Noonan, then the CFMEU's assistant federal secretary, replied that he did not, Mr Smedley told him to leave. This sparked a barrage of abuse from Mr Powell and fellow union organiser Jamie Leggo, in which Mr Smedley was called a "f..king maggot", a "piece of shit", a "cockhead" and a "f..king idiot". Mr Leggo tells Mr Smedley: "Me and you are going to have a lot of fun, c...'. Eventually, after seven minutes of abuse and threatening language, the union officials – including Mr McDonald, who Mr Smedley claimed was singing Skip to my Lou, my darlin' in the background – left the site. When the matter was dealt with in the WAIRC in April last year, Mr Powell had his right-of-entry card suspended for one month because of his renegade behaviour. He was counselled by the CFMEU. Mr Noonan yesterday defended his union, saying the exchanges were part of a dispute over safety "in an industry where a worker dies, on average, every week". "When safety is an issue, there is no place for shrinking violets – the proposition that swearing on a building site is some form of scandal is a joke," he said. He accused Mr Buckeridge of threatening behaviour himself, referring to a 2005 parliamentary speech by Labor senator Glenn Sterle, who accused the tough-talking businessman of boasting in an HR Nicholls Society speech that he had compiled a hit list of 30 unionists who should be "rubbed out". UnionsWA secretary Dave Robinson told The Australian he condemned the behaviour of the CFMEU officials caught using insulting language on tape, but added that construction industry union officials were frequently subjected to strong-arm tactics of bosses who were far from saintly. "The CFMEU operates in a very tough environment... it's a bitter struggle to improve things for their membership," he said. "None of that excuses any unacceptable conduct but the industry generates that sort of behaviour from the employers as well as from the unions representing their members." CFMEU state secretary Kevin Reynolds said he condemned violence but bad language was the language of the construction industry. He said Mr Buckeridge used "extremely colourful language himself" and it was no accident that he employed as his safety manager a former police officer. OHS Recommendation - Workplace Conflict Policy No Safety Harness Costs $10,000June 18 2007 18:10 ABC News In the Launceston Magistrates Court, the Tasmanian timber company Gunns has been fined $10 000 for allowing an employee to work at heights without a harness. The company's construction arm, Hinman Wright and Manser admitted it failed to ensure its employees safety. The breach of safety regulations occurred while Hinman Wright and Manser was building the northern stand at York Park in July 2005. An inspector from Workplace Standards noticed a worker drilling on a concrete landing without scaffolding or a safety harness. Although no-one was injured, prosecutor Gary Thomas said the breach was serious and the company faced a possible $150 000 fine. Magistrate Peter Wilson said he accepted the incident was a lapse in the company's OHS Safety plan and that Gunns had shown it generally had a proper concern for its employees safety. But he said a fine was needed to make other companies aware of the safety laws. OHS Recommendation - Safe Work Procedure for using Harnesses. Electric Shock From Exhibition Spa Puts Brooke Hanson In HospitalJune 17, 2007 06:44pm Source: AAP OLYMPIC gold medal swimmer Brooke Hanson is in a stable condition in hospital after suffering an electric shock while in a spa at an exhibition show. Hanson, 29, was demonstrating a spa at the Swimming Pool and Spa Association Victoria annual pool and spa show when she complained of a tingling sensation in her body. As family and friends looked on, the champion swimmer collapsed shortly after she got out of the spa, father Ian Hanson said. "She felt like she was getting some sort of shock through her hands and within 30 seconds she was clambering out of the pool and collapsed on the side of the pool and had suffered some sort of major electric shock," he told reporters. "It was quite extraordinary to be there with her and to try and keep talking to her. "It was like she just wanted to go to sleep straight away, and that's the effect of a major shock, apparently." The incident happened at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in Southbank about 3.45pm (AEST) today. Hanson, a presenter on the Nine Network program What's Good for You, was taken to The Alfred hospital in a stable condition. Nine reported the swim star had injured her head and shoulder when she collapsed. Tests would determine the severity of those injuries, but it's feared they may set back her return to training ahead of next year's Olympic Games in Beijing, it said. Mr Hanson said his daughter was "more embarrassed than anything else". "She couldn't get up and continue what she was doing – that's Brooke for you – but hopefully she's going to be fine." WorkSafe investigators will determine the cause of the accident. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, she won a gold medal in the 4 x 100 metre medley relay and silver in the 100 metre breaststroke after failing to qualify for the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. OHS Recommendation - Safe Work Procedure for using Power Tools. SA Compo Reform Requested By UnionJune 16, 2007 12:15am AAP A WORKERS' compensation expert has criticised WorkCover's management, calling for the corporation's executive and board to be "overhauled" by the State Government. The comments by former WorkCover board member and University of South Australia research fellow Kevin Purse come as SA Unions accused WorkCover Corporation and Business SA of "mischievously misrepresenting" the scheme's financial situation in order to cut worker entitlements. SA Unions yesterday released a paper, Getting WorkCover Back On Track , which it had commissioned Dr Purse to prepare. The paper was a "precursor" to the Government's latest WorkCover inquiry, SA Unions president Nick Thredgold said. Business SA is urging more than 60,000 employers to lobby MPs until the scheme is changed to cut costs and return more injured workers to jobs. Business SA and the state Opposition have been warning that WorkCover's unfunded liability will soon reach $1 billion. They also criticise the Government's decision in March to shelve the WorkCover board's reform plans and, instead, call for another review. Dr Purse yesterday said an overhaul of the executive and the board should be considered by the Government. "The management approach is fundamentally flawed," he said. "We need to set that right and if that doesn't occur, the prospects of the scheme aren't particularly great." He said there was an urgent need to reform the return-to-work process with greater emphasis on retraining. Opposition Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith welcomed the discussion paper. "This is Labor's own people telling them there's something wrong," he said. "Maybe this time Industrial Relations Minister Michael Wright will listen and actually do something." Mr Wright said the Government had "every confidence" in the WorkCover management and board. Worker Falls Eight Metres On Container ShipJune 15, 2007 - 6:50 AM Source: AAP A worker who fell at least eight metres into the hold of a container ship has been taken to hospital in Melbourne with head and spinal injuries. The 55-year-old man plunged from a platform, landing between containers on board the ANL Explorer, moored in West Melbourne, just after 4am today, police said. Melbourne Fire Brigade Rescue crews from were scrambled to help the ship's crew members recover the injured man, who was eventually lifted out on a spinal board by a crane. He was treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics and taken to The Alfred hospital with head and spinal injuries, Senior Constable David Fitzgerald said. Health and safety authorities are investigating the incident. OHS Recommendation - Safe Work Procedure for using Harnesses. Cherry Picker Accidents Claim Two Lives In One Day13 June 2007 10:23 a.m. Source: AAP WORKSAFE is investigating the deaths of two men in separate accidents involving cherry-pickers this morning. A 53-year-old man was electrocuted while pruning trees in Attadale at 10.40am. OHS Recommendation - Custom Safe Work Procedure For Cherry Pickers. Safety Concerns At BHP SiteJune 12, 2007 9:17 a.m. Source: AAP MORE than 200 West Australian mine workers have signed a petition criticising safety standards at a BHP mine because they do not have union backing to raise safety concerns, a union boss says. Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union mining and energy division president Tony Maher blamed Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) signed by workers at BHP Billiton's Mount Whaleback mine. "The heart of the problem is fear, fear of raising safety issues," he said on ABC radio. "I have seen that letter and it's clear that those 200 workers who signed it are afraid to raise anything with the company and that's the problem with the AWAs because people don't have the support of others to stand up and have their say." ABC television reported last night that more than 200 workers at the mine had signed a petition criticising safety standards, claiming a serious accident could occur because of dangerous practices. Workers who signed the petition blamed the domination of AWAs at the mine for allowing management to intimidate employees who report lapses, it was reported. "The workforce here is generally stressed, unhappy, disillusioned, frustrated and disempowered to do anything about it," the petition said. Ore truck operator, Friede Morrison, said on ABC: "Something's got to be done. Otherwise there's going to be a fatality up there." Federal workplace relations Minister Joe Hockey said he could not comment the case but said he had asked the Office of Workplace Services to investigate. Mr Maher expressed no confidence that would help. "I mean how they can possibly investigate the fact that people are afraid to stand up for their rights when work is unsafe. Good luck Joe, but it won't work," he said. Opposition industrial relations spokeswoman Julia Gillard said the workers' safety concerns should be investigated. "I note that these claims were made last night and, as I say, I trust that they will be investigated," Ms Gillard said. "Safety clearly has to be uppermost on everybody's minds." Worker Critically Injured At SeaJune 12, 2007 8:00 a.m. Source: ABC News The Australian Marine Safety Authority is investigating an industrial accident involving a ship's crewman in northern Tasmania yesterday. The man, from New South Wales, was working under a crane on the cargo ship, Bass Trader which was tied up at Bell Bay when he was hit by a snapped cable. He is in a critical condition in hospital. Spate of worker injuries raises concernsJune 8, 2007 - 10:15AM Source: AAP Workplace officials say a spate of industrial accidents in South Australia in recent days should serve as a wake-up call for employers. Five people were injured in workplace mishaps in the past week, prompting SafeWork SA executive director Michele Patterson to call on all workplaces to increase safety checks. Among the incidents, a 17-year-old labourer was struck by an excavator in the Barossa Valley, a sub-contractor was seriously injured in a 10-metre fall on an Adelaide demolition site, two men were injured in suburban West Croydon when paint and thinner vapours ignited, and a 19-year-old man caught his hand in a dough machine at a bakery in the Riverland. Ms Patterson said it was particularly worrying that all the incidents were avoidable. "Workplace safety isn't a luxury when time allows," she said. "It must be front and centre when planning any day's work and we remind employers of their legal obligations to ensure the safety of their workers, clients and the general public." Ms Patterson said the incidents of the past week were still under investigation, so she could not comment on specifics. But she urged all employers and their staff to revisit and update their safety plans. "Just because a safety incident hasn't happened at a workplace, that doesn't mean it will never happen," Ms Patterson said. "Often we have had to prosecute employers with otherwise good safety records because they allowed complacency to dominate their attitude to workplace safety with tragic results." OHS Recommendation - OHS Standards Policy. Donation penalty verdict08 June 07 9:26 a.m. Source: The Geelong Advertiser A COLAC company has become the first to be be ordered by a Victorian court to donate $50,000 in fundraising. CJ & MJ Meade Pty. Ltd pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates' Court to failing to provide a safe environment after a worker was injured when his legs became trapped in an automated pallet-making machine at the company's Wallace St premises. The company was convicted and ordered to pay $50,000 to the Colac Community Hospice Project within six months, on top of $6000 in costs. WorkSafe's executive director John Merritt said the order made the company Victoria's first to receive an ``alternate''' financial penalty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. The new Act provides for penalties other than fines, including publicity orders, training projects and for money to be paid to particular projects. The planned community hospice centre will be for people of all ages, including those injured at work and in motor vehicle crashes. In court, a WorkSafe representative said the 24-year-old injured man required two operations after the incident in November, 2005. The injured man had been with the company for nearly three years but had only begun using the machine a few hours before the incident. WorkSafe said timber used to make pallets jammed in the machine and the man was preparing to remove them when the machine started. The man had been instructed not to walk on the machine, but did so in any case and and was hurt when he slipped and became trapped for an hour. The court heard better guarding and signs were installed after the incident. Mr Merritt said the sentence should send a message to employers to ensure safe work systems were in place and adhered to. ``While this penalty will directly benefit the local community, the incident which led to it along with the personal and financial costs could have been avoided. It's a heavy price to pay,'' Mr Merritt said. ``For a small business, an order to pay $50,000 in relation to a serious safety breach, along with legal and other costs, is a substantial but avoidable, imposition.'' OHS Recommendation - Custom Safe Work Procedure For Pallet Making Machine. Asbestos Leads To Childcare EvacuationJune 07, 2007 8:16am Source: Herald Sun ALMOST 100 children at a city childcare centre had to be evacuated after the playground was showered with asbestos. Children as young as five months were kept indoors until their parents collected them, after WorkSafe found the site to be contaminated on Tuesday afternoon. The Queensberry Children's Centre, owned by Melbourne University, was contaminated after contractors at a neighbouring disused car yard removed asbestos at the weekend. Yesterday, Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union Victorian secretary Martin Kingham was on site with health inspectors, and demanded an investigation. He accused contractors of breaking asbestos removal guidelines. Melbourne University is conducting testing and will meet parents before deciding to re-open. Melbourne University administration head Liz Bar said medical and safety experts had been consulted, to safeguard the health of staff and children. Yesterday, contractors from the car yard site would not comment. OHS Recommendation - Custom Safe Work Procedure For Removing Asbestos. Bakery Death Leads To $75,000 Fine07June 2007 8:10 a.m. Source: The Gold Coast Bulletin THE former owners of Karl's Good Stuff Bakery in Carrara have been fined $75,000 after the accidental death of a teenage employee in July last year. Danni Stewart, 17, a bakery assistant from Nerang, was killed when she became trapped in a spiral conveyor system in the cooling room of a bread production line. A Workplace Health and Safety Queensland investigation into the fatal accident found a safety switch, meant to stop production once the cooling room door was opened, had been disabled. The bakery's former owners, Rabkal Pty Ltd, pleaded guilty in the Southport Industrial Magistrates Court last week to breaching the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 by failing to ensure the safety of a worker was not affected by the way it conducted its business. Demetrios Kaliviotis, a company director, was also fined $13,000 after pleading guilty to failing to discharge his responsibilities under the Act. As a result of the investigation, the court heard other workers were aware the safety switch was not operative for at least a month before the incident. Investigators said Mr Kaliviotis was aware of the risk to workers of entering the cooler room while the safety switch was disabled but thought that it had been reactivated. The bakery was sold to George Weston Foods Pty Ltd in March this year. The court was told the company had no previous workplace health and safety convictions and since the incident had ensured the disabled safety switch had been returned to working order, installed key locks on the cooler room doors, locked all electrical switchboards and established master keys for all switchboards. Industrial Magistrate Gary Finger fined the company $75,000 and ordered it to pay investigation, professional and court costs totalling $3395.54. No conviction was recorded. The company director was fined $13,000 and ordered to pay $65.40 court costs. No conviction was recorded. The prosecution was brought by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, a part of the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations. Danni's older brother Hemi Tepaea, who worked at the bakery with his sister, described the popular teenager as 'an awesome kid'. In an interview with The Bulletin shortly after her death, Mr Tepaea said Danni would be remembered for her laugh and her love of life. "She was beautiful from the day she was born all the way up to now. She will always be beautiful," he said. Danni was a talented artist who was honoured posthumously by having her works exhibited with the largest private collection of Maori arts to leave New Zealand last year. Several months before the fatal accident, Karl's Good Stuff Bakery won the family business award in the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards. OHS Recommendation - Custom Safe Work Procedure For Bakery Machine Delay In Reporting OHS Accident Leads to InvestigationJune 6, 2007. 1:00pm Source: ABC A Heyfield timber mill, in Victoria's south-east, is being investigated for failing to report a serious workplace accident last week. A 56-year-old man lost his right hand when an unguarded lever activated a docking saw at the Canningvale Mill at Heyfield on Monday. He was flown to hospital in Melbourne. Michael Birt from Worksafe Victoria says the man was loading wood into the saw when his hand was cut off. "Failing to report incidences is a serious offence, and we do prosecute on these matters," he said. "We've made no decisions at this stage on this matter. "The thing about it is, if they're not reported, no one can be sure any rectification works are being taken and that people receive appropriate support and help through the worker's compensation system." OHS Recommendation - Incident Report Form Two Year Wait For Cyclone Victims5th June 2007, 8:15 p.m. WST Source: The West Farmer Fined For Unsafe OHS PracticeJune 5, 2007. 5:34pm Source: ABC A farmer from the upper south-east of South Australia has been fined more than $27,000 over a worker losing his hand in an explosives accident. The Industrial Relations Court has heard that the man was 'bunny bombing' - blowing up rabbit warrens with explosives - when the accident happened in August 2005. The court found that Tintinara farmer James Ashby, 57, had failed to to ensure his employee's safety. Safework SA spokesman Peter Adams says there were several safety breaches. "Probably the most critical was the fact that the safety fuse on the explosives was about a third of that recommended for safe use," he said. "It is recommended that a safety fuse of at least 1 m long be used. In this particular occasion the safety fuse had been cut to 30 cm." OHS Recommendation - Custom Safe Work Procedure For Bunny Bombing Farmer Electrocuted After Touching PowerlinesTuesday, 5 June 2007. 09:16 a.m. Source:ABC Online Ergon Energy says the death of a cane farmer on a property near Childers, south of Bundaberg in south-east Queensland, is a tragic reminder of the dangers of working near powerlines. A 53-year-old man was electrocuted yesterday morning after the irrigation equipment he had been moving came into contact with overhead powerlines. Police and the Department of Workplace Health and Safety are investigating the incident. Ergon spokesman Andrew Fox says farm workers need to be aware of the dangers around them as this year's harvest gets under way. "It is a tragic reminder of just what can happen and it emphasises the need for anyone who is using equipment or large machinery near powerlines just to take the utmost of caution," he said. OHS Recommendation - Safe Work Procedure For Unloading Trucks Cable Cutting Causes ExplosionJune 4, 2007 - 3:12PM The Age Two construction workers were taken to hospital suffering burns and shock after an electrical explosion in Melbourne's inner city today. The two men, both aged in their 30s, were injured in the explosion which happened while they were cutting electrical cabling near a power substation in Balston Street, Southbank, shortly after midday. Police said one of the men suffered burns to 20 per cent of his hands and face, while the other man suffered "flash burns and shock". A Metropolitan Ambulance spokeswoman said one man had been taken to the Alfred with burns to his lower legs and face. He is in a serious but stable condition. A second patient was admitted to the Royal Melbourne hospital with minor injuries. His condition is described as stable. WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt said the workers were relocating an electrical substation when the incident occurred. One worker was using a sabre-tooth saw to cut a cable which had been de-energised, but in the process made contact with another cable which which was live. Mr Birt said today's accident illustrated the importance of safe workplaces. "In very many of these cases you don't get a second chance," he said. "You can die or be left with a permanent injury and we know from our experience that the overwhelming number of these matters are avoidable." CitiPower spokesman Ryan Auger told theage.com.au the incident had cut power to about 700 customers. "Of course our first priority is the welfare of the individual who is affected by this injury, and secondly reinstating supply safely,'' Mr Auger said. Mr Auger said CitiPower was co-operating with WorkSafe and Energy Safe Victoria in their investigations. Police said WorkSafe were investigating the cause of the explosion. Bulldozer Accident Kills WorkerJune 4, 2007 9:41a.m. Source: Fairfax TERANG is in shock after one of its residents was fatally crushed in a tragic workplace accident. Doug Templeton, 43, is thought to have been killed as he tried to load a bulldozer onto a truck at the Lilley's Lane Quarry in Ecklin South yesterday morning. WorkSafe said Mr Templeton, who had worked at the quarry for about 16 years, was alone when the accident happened. A workmate found Mr Templeton's body about 12.20pm. Sergeant Michael Hebb, of Terang police, said a 43-year-old man had been crushed by the ramp at the rear of a trailer. Terang Hotel publican Bernie Kenna said Mr Templeton had been in the pub on Saturday night. ``He was a very hard working fella. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
