09:29 am, Wednesday 3 March, 2010

Four workers have been sprayed with sulphuric acid when a pipe containing the hazardous substance blew up at an Australind plant on Thursday.

The pipe blast took place at Millenium Inorganic Chemicals in Bunbury at 9.30am.

Three of the workers sustained severe chemical burns. Two of the most seriously injured men had to be transported by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Perth.

One of the injured workers, a 59-year-old man, had to undergo surgery at Royal Perth Hospital. He had severe burns to 45 percent of his body.

A 48-year-old worker suffered acid burns to his feet and face and had to be admitted to the hospital.

A 25-year-old man was sprayed with sulphuric acid to his legs.

The fourth worker was treated in Bunbury for minor burns.

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08:53 am, Wednesday 3 March, 2010

WorkSafe is looking into the death of a worker in a factory in Melbourne on Friday.

The 26-year-old Wantirna resident was working on a machine at CRP Industries in Bayswater at the time of his death.

According to WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt, they are determining whether the man died of electric shock.

He was believed to be lifting a guard on an electric press making rubber gaskets when he was electrocuted.

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05:36 pm, Tuesday 2 March, 2010

WorkSafe WA has turned its attention to the increasing number of work hours among employees on the Gorgon gas project.

The safety agency says fly-in-fly-out semiskilled workers and tradesmen in Pilbara, which has agreed to 70-hour work weeks, could be more vulnerable to risks.

Under the new agreement, workers will work 70 hours per week in exchange for an annual $150,000 wage and 9-day breaks every 26 days.

Worksafe Commissioner Nina Lyhne warns the long hours could lead to fatigue.

“It’s very difficult to draw a line in the sand and say this does or doesn’t comply,” she said.

“I would say that 70 hours a week certainly sounds like it’s at the higher end of the scale, and there would be cause for concern if there weren’t appropriate arrangements in place for adequate breaks and those sorts of things.

“So, I think it’s a good opportunity to remind companies that there is a code of practice for working hours in place in Western Australia, and it’s important they take that into consideration.”

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10:21 am, Tuesday 2 March, 2010

As part of it Safe Towns program, Worksafe will conduct a breakfast briefing on March 11 in Portland in preparation for the safety inspection from March 22 to 26.

The free breakfast briefing for small businesses will give information on what to expect from the safety inspection conducted by Worksafe inspectors.

The highlights of the briefing will be:

* Health and safety - Safety systems to help prevent injuries or deaths in the workplace will be discussed. Information on how businesses can ensure that OHS laws are complied with will also be provided.

* Return to work - Businesses will be given advice on the RTW process.

* WorkSafe Injury Insurance and Premium.

RSVPs are essential if you want to attend the breakfast briefing. Contact Donna Lacy or Joanne Armitstead on 5564 3200 or donna_lacy@worksafe.vic.gov.au or joanne_armitstead@worksafe.vic.gov.au by 9 March 2010

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09:05 am, Tuesday 2 March, 2010

WorkSafe is inquiring into the death of a man whose tractor he was driving tipped over on Sunday.

The man, who is in his 20s, was moving beehives at Bruarong, south of Yackandandah.

The director of WorkSafe’s Manufacturing, Logistics and Agriculture division, Ross Pilkington, said the incident serves as a cautionary tale to tractor operators and their employers.

“Tractors are the single greatest contributor to workplace deaths in regional Victoria accounting for five lives in 2009.

“With two deaths already in 2010, it is essential that tractor safety is a high priority. They are large and powerful and when something goes wrong, exceptionally dangerous.”

An area of concern for people in regional areas is that they usually work on their own or in isolated sites, where it is difficult to alert someone if an accident occurs.

“All together, this creates a highly-dangerous working environment which requires high leveltractor of care by employers and workers.

“WorkSafe’s call is for people, whether or not you’ve used tractors for decades or done a job a thousand times, to review the way you use them, ensure they have rollover protection are properly maintained and, where possible, seatbelts are fitted and used.”

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08:22 am, Tuesday 2 March, 2010

Qantas has been issued two improvement notices by WorkCover NSW, citing the company’s staff training for emergency evacuations and baggage handling.

According to news reports, Qantas workers at Sydney’s domestic airport have not been given training in emergency procedures. Reports say some employees have not been in an emergency drill in 8 years.

WorkCover has confirmed improvement notices were issued to Qantas, but no additional details were given.

Qantas says emergency procedures are in place, and it is committed to complying with all OHS requirements.

The Transport Workers’ Union says the improvement notices are long overdue.

“That constant wear and tear on the guys, day in, day out, we’ve now got a high percentage of worker’s comp, which is just unbelievable,” he said.

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09:21 am, Thursday 25 February, 2010

WorkSafe has released an information sheet instructing small business how to prepare an emergency management plan in the workplace.

The safety watchdog recognises the importance of having an emergency management policy to help ensure the workplace is safe for not only for workers, but also for visitors, customers and contractors.

The information sheet has guidelines on worker responsibilities, emergency contact details and work environment.

It also includes pointers on fire protection equipment, bushfire danger and chemical safety and first aid.

Please visit the WorkSafe Victoria website for more information.

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04:20 pm, Wednesday 24 February, 2010

The Perth Magistrates Court has fined a brick making company $70,000 following a 2006 accident which cost the right arm of a labour hire employee.

Apart from the $70,000 fine, Midland Brick Company Pty Ltd was also order to pay $30,000 in costs.

The Court handed down the fine on Monday after the company’s guilty plea to failing to provide a safe workplace and causing serious harm to an employee.

In May 2006, the worker was assigned in Midland Brick’s factory in Jandakot. He was tasked to help an operator in ensuring that paving bricks were properly produced. Part of his job was to clean built-up product from a conveyor machine.

The labour hire employee was checking the equipment and noticed that it was not working properly because product had built up around a roller.

The machine suddenly started while the man was cleaning it. The conveyor’s pinch point pinned his right hand, tearing his arm from his body.

It was found that it had no emergency stop button or any method of locking out the machinery at the pinch point. The guards were not adequately attached to the machinery, and were held together by plastic cable ties and clips. The machine also had missing bolts.

The factory had a work method statement on checking the machinery’s guards prior to each shift. However, the company did not supervise whether its plant and equipment policy was being followed or not.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said the case is another example of the importance of guarding the moving parts of machinery.

“It is obvious that a safe system of work in this factory for the guarding of machinery was at best hit-and-miss, and this created an extremely hazardous situation,” Ms Lyhne said.

“A very short time after this incident, a contractor placed new guards on the pinch points of the material conveyor. It was practicable for Midland Brick to have made these changes before this incident could happen, which might have spared the worker a great deal of pain and suffering.

“Safe systems of work were actually documented by the company, but Midland Brick did not ensure that employees were following them, a real recipe for disaster. Documented safe systems of work are of absolutely no value unless they are actually put into practice and monitored.

“While investigating this incident, WorkSafe inspectors discovered more than 50 items of machinery that were not adequately guarded or had guards that were inadequately secured.

“Guarding of the moving parts of machinery is still one of the easiest and most obvious means of minimising the risk of injury to machinery operators, and I strongly urge employers in workplaces with machinery to ensure that it is safe to operate.”

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01:54 pm, Wednesday 24 February, 2010

The Tasmanian Government has vowed to exert more effort in battling asbestos.

Tasmania’s Workplace Relations Minister Lisa Singh made an election pledge to set aside $200,000 yearly for setting up a specialised Asbestos Unit within Workplace Standards Tasmania.

Yesterday’s promise comes a month after an Asbestos Steering Committee recommended major revisions on asbestos policy.

“It’s not just expensive it’s complex, it’s a complex problem,” Ms Singh said.

The unit would be tasked to supervise training, licensing and long-term asbestos removal. However, Ms Singh did not specify if the fund would cover the regional inspectors’ wages.

The Greens say the asbestos issue should have been acted upon years. They are proposing a more expensive action.

Greens Leader Nick McKim says they are looking at $10 million to be earmarked for asbestos removal from schools alone.

“I don’t think Labor can even fund three specialised asbestos inspectors in the regions of Tasmania for $200,000 a year,” Mr McKim said.

“I mean these people are going to need wages, they’re going to need computers, they’re going to need cars.”

He favors a specialised unit but it would take millions of dollars to remove asbestos from schools, homes and businesses.

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01:36 pm, Wednesday 24 February, 2010

Worksafe has released a handbook in its website, which deals with the use of earthmoving equipment around overhead power lines.

Under the Occupational Health & Safety Regulations 2007, Working near overhead power lines is considered as a high-risk construction work.

The handbook gives pointers for employers and operators of earthmoving equipment. The guidelines have been culled from existing WorkSafe ‘No Go Zone’ publications.

The handbook includes information on how to implement work method statements using the machine’s design limits and the overhead power lines.

Under the Electrical Safety Act 1998 and the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, contractors and employers are required to meet safety duties or face prosecution.

Carrying out the guidelines in the handbook will help meet contractors and employers in meeting OHS requirements with on the risks involved with this work.

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