12:00 am, Wednesday 8 August, 2007

Source: AAP

Three amusement ride operators have been issued with safety notices ahead of Thursday’s opening of the Ekka, but all showbags have been given the green light.

The 131st Royal Queensland Show, known locally as the Ekka, runs for 10 days at Brisbane’s Royal National Association (RNA) Showgrounds.

A spokeswoman for Employment and Industrial Relations Minister John Mickel said three amusement rides were on Wednesday issued with prohibition notices from workplace health and safety inspectors.

The ride operators will need to prove they have complied with the safety notices before they can begin operation when the show opens at 9am (AEST) on Thursday.

It was not uncommon for notices to be issued to ride operators ahead of the Ekka, the spokeswoman said.

Inspectors will patrol the showgrounds throughout the show to ensure the safe operation of amusement rides.

There was better news in the showbag pavilion, with the near 300 showbags on sale this year given the all-clear.

Queensland Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech said inspectors found nothing that may cause harm or injury to small children.

“I’m pleased to say that for the first time ever, Office of Fair Trading inspectors found no safety issues with toys or novelties contained in any showbags for sale this year,” Mrs Keech said.

Three toys were removed from showbags at least year’s show after they were deemed unsafe.

OHS NEWS TIP - Machinery Inspection Checklist

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07:00 pm, Tuesday 7 August, 2007

Source: AAP

MYSTERY surrounds the death of a teenager whose body was found in a water-filled pit at an inactive construction site in Sydney.

Police divers yesterday pulled the body of 19-year-old Dylan Morris from a pit filled with murky water at the Golf Avenue site at Manly Vale.

Mr Morris, from Scotland Island on Pittwater, was found fully clothed with all his belongings and no visible signs of injuries when his body was recovered from the 2m deep water filling an excavation.

He was last seen by a friend with whom he visited the site between about 10am (AEST) and midday on Saturday, but was not reporterd missing until Sunday night.

“We have spoken with that person today, a 20-year-old man, and he has given us some further lines of inquiry to follow,” Northern Beaches Police Acting Inspector Luke Arthurs said.

“From speaking with (the second man) today, he has indicated why they were there and that’s now something we will look in to and try to confirm.”

Police declined to say whether they are treating Mr Morris’ death as suspicious.

They are awaiting the results of today’s post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death.
Police initially told reporters security at the construction site may have been an issue, with no padlocks or chains fitted to fencing to keep the site secure.

However, Insp Arthurs said security at the site, for which Pittwater Council has approved the construction of 12 units, was no longer an issue in the police investigation.

“Our understanding is (the men) accessed the site by jumping the fence,” Insp Arthurs said.

While no work was being undertaken at the site, a Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) spokesman said owners of such properties had an obligation to do their utmost to keep people out and away from danger.

WorkCover said inspectors would make “preliminary inquiries” into security at the site, but a spokeswoman said police had not requested the authority’s help.

Police are appealing to the public for more information about Mr Morris’s death.

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07:00 am, Tuesday 7 August, 2007

Source:AAP

A WINCHELSEA abattoir employee has won a six-figure payout after he was infected with a debilitating virus while working with dead sheep.

Daniel Castro, 30, was struck down with Q Fever in May 2002 while working at Colac Otway abattoir CRF Foods Pty Ltd, and has not been able to work since.

Slater and Gordon lawyer Danny Connor said his client’s employer  employment agency Cartwright Enterprises Pty Ltd and the abattoir  had been negligent in not giving him the preventative $66 Q Fever vaccination.

“My client and other abattoir workers were exposed to the debilitating Q Fever virus in appalling, negligent circumstances,” Mr Connor said.

“The meat workers sent to the abattoir knew the batch of Queensland sheep to which the workers were exposed were notorious for carrying the Q Fever virus.

“Q Fever is a very unusual but significant condition. You get a fever and, once that subsides, you are left with what is known as Q Fever syndrome, in which you suffer from lethargy, loss of memory, mood swings and tiredness.”

Mr Connor said his client had been used by the Victorian WorkCover Authority as a test case to prove the negligence of his employers and win reimbursement of the costs it paid to workers infected with Q Fever.

But he said his client then endured a torrid battle to receive justice when WorkCover denied him the right to personally sue his employers for damages for his continued suffering.

Mr Connor said negotiations with WorkCover then resulted in an out-of-court settlement that netted Mr Castro a six-figure sum.

“Mr Castro was very pleased. He was very happy to have received support, because he was very upset about the way he had been treated,” he said.

“He went to work and got injured through no fault of his own and was then told he could not get compensation.”

CRF Pty Ltd yesterday said Q Fever vaccinations, although not a legal requirement, had been given to employees within their first week of starting at the company since 2002.

OHS News TIP - Q Fever Policy

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04:19 pm, Monday 6 August, 2007

Source: AAP

A bushfire that claimed the life of a young West Australian school teacher was started by power line conductors clashing on a hot and windy day.

Energy supplier Western Power has been cleared of breaching any regulations which caused the bushfire with fatal consequences on February 3.

School teacher Michelle Mack, 26, died after she rolled her car trying to escape the flames near Toodyay, north-east of Perth.

Safety regulator EnergySafety does not believe electricity supplier Western Power had breached its regulations in managing the power lines but conductor clashing would need to be investigated, EnergySafety director Albert Koenig said.

“EnergySafety considers that Western Power now needs to review its present conductor clashing mitigation program carefully in light of the findings of this investigation,” Mr Koenig said.

“The conductor clashing remediation program will need to be modified as a result.”

Overhead powerlines, owned and operated by Western Power and built to WA standards of the 1960s, started the fire, Mr Koenig said.

“An outer ‘phase conducter’ and the underslung earth conductor, sometimes referred to as an ‘earth-wire’, had clashed on a day of high temperatures and strong winds,” Mr Koenig said.

“The clashing took place even though the line was built to State Electricity Commission of WA standards of the day which were based on the then applicable national engineering code.

“The hot metal globules resulting from the conductor clashing fell to the ground and ignited stubble which resulted in the wild fire.”

EnergySafety wants Western Power to use the information to better identify and deal with other long spans in its rural networks that present a risk of conductor clashing and wildfires.

Mr Koenig said Western Power would also consider modifying its automatic restoration switching practices for rural high voltage feeders at certain times to reduce fire risk.

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04:00 pm, Monday 6 August, 2007

Source: AAP

US environmental campaigner Erin Brockovich is looking into the case of West Australian residents who say they are being made sick by a refinery owned by mining giant Alcoa.

About 160 Yarloop residents have complained of respiratory problems, skin irritations, sore throats and eyes, extreme fatigue, mental dysfunction, stomach upset, blood noses, cancers and organ failure for 11 years.

They say emissions from Alcoa’s Wagerup refinery are causing the ill effects.

Ms Brockovich, whose environmental campaign against a Californian mining company was made famous by Julia Roberts in the Hollywood movie Erin Brockovich, agreed to review the case after receiving an email from a Yarloop resident.

“We think we live in a big world but it’s really smaller than you think,” Ms Brockovich said.

“Somebody from the area that was sick, from what they believe to be Alcoa, emailed me. I was intrigued with her illnesses and concerned at what she was suffering through and recommended one of our toxicologists see her and he did.

“After he did some testing and researching he said `this is something you should look into.’”

Alcoa has bought some properties around the refinery but real estate values for the remaining homes in Yarloop have dived in value.

Yarloop resident and Community Alliance for Positive Solutions action group chairman Vince Puccio said residents wanted a fair go.

“What we are about is not about shutting Alcoa down, it’s about accountability and for them to take full responsibility for what they’ve done,” Mr Puccio said.

“It’s got nothing to do with shutting it down.

“What we want is a fair go for everybody … not just for Alcoa.”

Lawyer Simon Morrison, who is acting as Ms Brockovich’s Australian lawyer, said it was too early to start talking about dollars or compensation but he was confident the residents had a good case.

Alcoa said its Wagerup refinery was the most studied industrial facility in WA and had been deemed safe for employees and neighbouring communities.

“Wagerup refinery meets the most stringent health and environmental standards in the world and will continue to do so when expanded,” the company said.

“Alcoa has nothing to hide and will continue to take a transparent and responsible approach to the public release of scientific information about the refinery.

“As it has done with the community and other stakeholders, Alcoa is happy to brief Ms Brockovich on any matters that may be of interest to her.”

OHS News TIP - Environmental Policy

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01:12 pm, Monday 6 August, 2007

AAP

A man has died after he was trapped in the cabin of an excavator which toppled into deep creek water on the NSW south coast.

The 46-year-old Crookwell man was working in a creek bed at Kangaroo Valley at about midday (AEST) yesterday when part of the gravel creek bed gave way, police said.

The excavator tipped onto its side, plunging the cabin into deep water.

Attempts by the man’s workmates and NSW Ambulance personnel to free him were unsuccessful.

Another excavator was used to lift the crippled machinery to the surface.

Police from Shoalhaven Local Area Command, Forensic Services Group and the Rescue Squad attended the scene.

Police will prepare a report about the man’s death for the coroner.

OHS News TIP - Excavator Safe Work Procedure

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03:48 pm, Sunday 5 August, 2007

AAP

The survivors of Tasmania’s Beaconsfield mine collapse Todd Russell and Brant Webb will be among the speakers at a workplace health and safety conference starting today in Townsville.

The Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche says experts from overseas and outside the mining industry will also address the 600 delegates at the conference.

Mr Roche says a specially commissioned documentary will be premiered, teaching a new generation of workers about Queensland’s worst mine disasters.

“The combination of launching the documentary and having a live interview on stage with Todd and Brant, we believe will just bring home to the 600 delegates the importance of getting things right,” he said.

Todd Russell and Brant Webb were trapped underground for two weeks following the Beaconsfield mine collapse in April 2006.

Larry Knight was killed in the collapse.

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07:00 am, Saturday 4 August, 2007

THE High Court yesterday ruled it would hear a Grovedale man’s case for compensation after his arm was severely crushed in a crane accident.

Slater and Gordon lawyer Danny Connor said it was the first win for his client, Brett Dwyer, who has endured a three-year legal battle for pain and suffering compensation.

He said he expected a date for the High Court hearing, in which he could argue Mr Dwyer’s case, to be set for next year.

Mr Dwyer, 43, had arm surgery after his right arm was crushed in a workplace accident on March 27, 2000.

To win a compensation claim in court, Mr Connor said, he had to prove his client suffered a “very considerable injury”.

He said a County Court Judge and the Supreme Court of Appeal had both rejected Mr Dwyer’s injury as being  “very considerable” without giving reasons, which was why he has appealed to the High Court to hear the compensation case.

“The WorkCover legislation has been drafted to put as many obstacles in front of injured workers and their lawyers as possible,” Mr Connor said.

“How fair is it that you can go to work and nearly lose your right arm . . . and not be able to obtain just compensation?”

Mr Connor said Mr Dwyer was working for Calco Timbers Pty Ltd in March 2000 and was using a truck with an attached crane when the injury occurred.

He said his client was unfamiliar with the crane and while operating it the arm of the crane became caught, causing the machine to extend before plummeting to the ground and crushing Mr Dwyer’s right arm.

“I was walking around screaming. I was in extreme pain and shock,” Mr Dwyer said in an affidavit.

Mr Dwyer had emergency surgery to save his arm from amputation and spent several weeks in hospital.

“The blood in his right arm, was causing it to swell and more than likely bust. They (medical staff) had to cut a slit from the top of his arm to the bottom on both the under and upper sides to allow the flesh to come out of the wound,” Mr Connor said.

“They had to do that because if they didn’t he would have lost his arm.”

He said, as a result of the injury, Mr Dwyer suffers constant pain in his arm, which is deformed and permanently bent.

“Here is a man that can hardly brush his teeth or hair. He can not do repetitive movements with his arm and no forced movements. He can not lift heavy objects,” Mr Connor said.

“When he wakes up in the morning for the first hour-and-a-half he is in pain. Every morning for the rest of his life he will have pain in his arm.

“For the first couple of months in his relationship with his partner he kept his arm hidden and she was shocked when she first saw it. But apparently that’s not a “very considerable” consequence for someone injured under the WorkCover legislation.

“I wonder what Geelong people would think of that?”

Mr Connor said the decisions of the County Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal in rejecting Mr Dwyer’s claim were “perverse’ and an “injustice”.

He said he could not understand why Mr Dwyer’s injuries were not considered to be “very considerable”.

“In a way he has suffered these injuries for seven years and has been fighting a legal battle for three years. That’s a long time but he has got to live with these injuries for the rest of his life and that is a long time,” Mr Connor said.

“He is very grateful that we at Slater and Gordon are prepared to back him on this. It’s not about the money, it’s about the principle.”

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08:20 am, Friday 3 August, 2007

AAP

A THREE-YEAR-OLD girl is in a critical but stable condition after a truck tyre fell on her at an industrial site in far north Queensland.

The child suffered head injuries during the accident which happened at a workshop at Mount Garnet, southwest of Cairns, about 6pm (AEST) yesterday.

She was taken to Townsville General Hospital.

Police said Workplace Health and Safety were investigating the incident.

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08:00 am, Friday 3 August, 2007

AAP

Mr Phillips is chairman of the SA Training and Skills Commission.

He will replace retiring board member Professor David Klingberg.

Mr Phillips’ appointment was approved yesterday by Executive Council, which also approved the reappointment of the board’s eight members.

Earlier this week, the Public Service Association called for the board to be sacked, accusing it of an assault on workers’ entitlements.

In a submission to a Government review of WorkCover, the PSA said the organisation was antagonistic towards injured workers and that it had failed to effectively manage return-to-work rates.

Industrial Relations Minister Michael Wright said Mr Phillips had an outstanding record and the retention of other board members confirmed the “high degree of confidence” the Government had in them.

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