Lawford Kidd's Blog

According to figures recently released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), between April 2014 and March 2015, there were 142 work-place deaths across the UK.

In comparison, 136 UK-based workers were fatally injured in 2013-14.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, between 2013 and 2014, the number of people who were killed in work-related accidents, rose from 47 to 56.

A recent survey by the Scottish government showed that last year there were more than 11,000 road traffic accidents in Scotland alone.

Worryingly, the results found that there were over 3,000 more accidents in the last year than 2013 and that 200 people died as a result of collisions on the road. Of those killed, the majority were vulnerable road users, with eight cyclists, 31 motorcyclists, 56 pedestrians and 93 car users losing their life.

The figures also show an increase in road traffic offences and a rise in the number of children injured in Scotland. Statistics showed that 2014 saw the highest number of injuries since 2010, with over 1000 children being seriously injured as a result of a road traffic accident.  As a result of road traffic accidents, seven children lost their life.

Incidents involving moving vehicles and cattle are the biggest causes of death on Britain’s farms, according to the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) latest fatality statistics.

Thirty three workers and four members of the public were killed on Britain’s farms during 2014/15, with around half (16) being struck or run over by farm equipment, or crushed or trampled by cattle.

The figures also show that:

Last week, managing and minimizing the number of accidents, which occur in the aviation industry, was the focus of Cambridge-based event, hosted by IOSH's Aviation and Aerospace Group.

Aviation experts met at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford to share knowledge, experiences as well as lessons learnt and the best practices identified following previous aviation incidents, such as Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee of the Regions have held a joint conference to discuss the continuing widespread risk of asbestos exposure to Europe's citizens and the steps that need to be taken to reduce it over the coming years.

Despite a Europe-wide ban on asbestos since 2005, the World Health Organisation reports that between 20,000 and 30,000 cases of asbestos-related diseases are recorded every year in the EU alone, and more than 300,000 citizens are expected to die from mesothelioma by 2030 in the EU. This places asbestos related deaths at a comparable level to those expected to result from road accidents during the same period.

Asbestos is still found in many places, such as ships, trains, machinery, tunnels and in pipes in public and private water distribution networks. Asbestos was used extensively in buildings erected between 1961 and 1990, with millions of tonnes still present in buildings, not only putting building and maintenance workers at risk but potentially anybody present or occupying the property.