Lawford Kidd's Blog

New European rules are now in force that will ensure EU citizens are better informed about major threats posed by industrial plants in their immediate vicinity.

The rules are part of an otherwise technical update of the Seveso Directive, a key instrument in industrial risk management, which is being adapted to reflect recent changes in the international and European classification of chemicals. The Directive obliges Member States to draw up emergency plans for areas surrounding industrial installations where very large quantities of dangerous substances are to be found.

From now on, public information about risks must be made available electronically. All establishments covered by the legislation will need to provide information about how alerts will be sounded, and about how citizens should act in the event of a major accident. When an accident happens, the relevant authorities will need to inform anyone likely to be affected by it and the main measures taken to address it.

Three companies were ordered to pay a total of £232,000 in fines and costs after two workers on an Exeter building site suffered severe injuries when the platform they were working on collapsed and fell four storeys down a lift shaft.

One of the companies had been served with a prohibition notice by the HSE following an inspection at the site, which banned them from working until safety measures had been put in place to stop workers falling down the lift shaft.

A wooden platform was then erected over the shaft but two weeks later this collapsed, sending Ricki Slocombe and Matthew Blackmore falling to the ground floor.

The number of offshore oil and gas leaks that could potentially lead to a major incident continues to fall, new safety statistics have revealed.

But Steve Walker, the head of offshore safety at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), has warned industry not to be complacent following the encouraging figures. He said:

"While we welcome the continued downward trend, the industry will need continued focus to achieve its target of halving the number of hydrocarbon releases by April 2013. The major gas release from the Elgin platform at the end of March was a salutary reminder of the potential consequences that such releases can present.

A TUC survey has revealed that despite laws which say employers must give their staff personal protective equipment (PPE) free of charge, more than one in five workers are being forced to pay for it out of their own pocket.

PPE includes protective clothing, helmets and goggles designed to protect workers from injury, electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection. More than one in 10 (11.6%) of those who responded to the TUC questionnaire said that although their work required them to wear safety equipment of some kind, their employer failed to provide or pay for this. A further 8.9% cent were made to pay for any replacement equipment if their original PPE was damaged.

Women workers were even less likely than men to have their safety equipment provided, with more than 15% having to provide all or some of their own attire - usually foot protection or overalls - compared to 10.5% of men.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has served an Improvement Notice on an Edinburgh company for alleged failures to adequately control the risk of legionella in a cooling tower.

The Notice was served for a failure to devise and implement a sustained and effective biocide control programme in one cooling tower.

HSE visited the company as part of an ongoing investigation into a Legionnaires disease outbreak in South West Edinburgh. Visits to other companies are ongoing.