Revision to the Manual Handling Operations Regulations
On 17th October 2007, the HSE published a revised Operational Circular which updates and replaces the information previously contained in OC 313/2(rev) about the application of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations. In brief the amended copy reads that a worker may be at risk if he or she:
- Is physically unsuited to carry out the tasks in question.
- Is wearing unsuitable clothing, footwear or other personal effects.
- Does not have adequate or appropriate knowledge or training.
The 68KB document can be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/fod/oc/300-399/313_5.pdf.
Law Lords Rule Against Asbestos Claims
On 17th October 2007, it was announced that the House of Lords had ruled that workers suffering from asbestos-induced pleural plaques will not be able to claim compensation. Proof of damage was an essential element in a claim of negligence and the symptomless plaques are not compensatable damage.
The Law Lords’ decision, reached after an appeal by the trade union Unite against an earlier ruling by the Court of Appeal in January 2006, removes an established right to compensation for scarring of the chest lining and diaphragm by pleural plaques.
Over time, thickening of the pleural membrane lining the lungs can make breathing difficult and may lead to the development of such diseases as mesothelioma and lung cancer. However, insurance companies had argued that pleural plaques have no disease symptoms and therefore there should be no right to any form of redress.
The original legal case concerned a compensation claim in November 2004 when ten workers took court action against insurance companies, including Zurich UK General Insurance, that wanted to stop payments. In February 2005, the High Court ruled that people suffering from pleural plaques should receive compensation, due to an increased risk of developing other asbestos-related diseases. The High Court reduced payment from between £5,000 and £15,000 to between £3,000 and £7,000.
The ruling does not affect individuals with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related conditions, who will continue to be entitled to compensation.
In November 2007, the Scottish government announced that it would introduce a Bill to reverse the House of Lords’ decision on pleural plaques. The Westminster government in turn committed to examine the Law Lords’ decision after the issue is debated in the Scottish Parliament.
EU Continues with Disputed China Light Bulb Duties
Energy-saving (or low energy) light bulbs use around 20% of the electricity of conventional incandescent bulbs to generate the same amount of light, and last up to 15 times longer. The major manufacturer of such low energy bulbs is China, with smaller exports from Pakistan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Some years ago the European Union imposed a duty of 66.1% on producers in China in order to protect its home market lighting manufacturers. The duty has now become very controversial, as it contradicts declared policy on combating global climate change by controlling carbon emissions.
On 15th October 2007, it was announced that the EU in Luxembourg had approved a one-year extension of its anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese energy-saving light bulbs, despite protests from environmentalists, leading companies and several EU governments.
Both the Dutch electronics group Philips, which imports large quantities of the bulbs, and the Swedish retailer Ikea, which supplies around a fifth of EU demand, opposed the duty extension. However, the German company Osram, which is part of the Siemens group and imports less from China than Philips, sought to have the duties extended for a further five years.
The European Commission compromise of a one-year extension faces a court challenge from Italian lighting company Targetti, which is also seeking reimbursement for duties paid since 2001. It was suggested that Osram might still attempt to keep the duties in place for longer than one year by asking for an official review during 2008. A review, if granted, is likely to take more than a year to carry out.
New British Standard on Maritime Structures
The BSI has announced the publication of BS 6349-8:2007, Maritime structures. Code of practice for the design of Ro-Ro ramps, linkspans and walkways, which gives recommendations for the design of roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) ramps, linkspans and walkways, used for the transfer of passengers and vehicles between shore and ship.
In the past the design of Ro-Ro linkspans and walkways was carried out either by designers of highway bridges or by naval architects, both of whom use different types of design rules. Bridge designers referred to bridge design codes, such as BS 5400, whilst naval architects referred to Lloyd’s Rules. The new standard BS 6349-8 includes recommendations for a number of issues not covered by either BS 5400 or Lloyd's Rules.
Guidance on the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act
New guidance on the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has been published online by the Ministry of Justice. The Act does not form part of health and safety law, but does introduce an important new element in the corporate management of health and safety. The Act clarifies the criminal liabilities where serious failures in the management of health and safety result in a fatality. Prosecutions will be of the corporate body and not individuals, but the liability of directors, board members or other individuals under health and safety law or general criminal law will be unaffected.
The Ministry of Justice has released two guidance documents. The first is a general introduction explaining how the new offence of corporate manslaughter/homicide works and where it will apply. It is intended to provide fundamental information to employers, senior managers and others seeking an overview of the new legislation. It can be downloaded from:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/manslaughterhomicideact07.pdf.
The second document gives detailed guidance on implementation of the Act, including which organisations are covered, the sort of incident to which it applies and those that are exempt, and the test that will be applied by the courts. It is intended for health and safety managers and professionals. The URL is:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/guidetomanslaughterhomicide07.pdf.
Hospitals Fail on Basic Hygiene Standards
The independent Healthcare Commission has found that according to official figures one in four health trusts has failed to meet minimum hygiene standards. The annual performance ratings for every NHS trust under the 2006 Hygiene Code were published in mid-October 2007 and showed that 44 hospital trusts out of 172 had failed at least one of three core standards on infection control. Overall, hygiene was the area where compliance with the core standards set by the Commission for the NHS was lowest.
The finding is the first official confirmation of the poor state of hygiene in the NHS. An investigation by the Commission published a few days before revealed that at least 90 people died at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust hospitals between 2004 and 2006 from the Chlostridium difficile organism as a result of failures in infection control. The Commission also reports that at least 20 trusts had higher rates of infection with Chlostridium difficile than Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.
The Healthcare Commission concludes that NHS trusts are failing to put in place adequate systems to tackle healthcare-associated infections.
Pollution Reduces Average Lifespan
In early October 2007, the European Environment Agency (EEA) presented a 400-page report on greenhouse gas emissions at a ministerial conference held in Belgrade, Serbia. The report states that poor air and water quality, and environmental changes attributed to global warming, have cut the average European life expectancy by nearly a year. The number of premature deaths caused by air pollution runs into the hundreds of thousands. The estimated annual loss of life is significantly greater than that due to car accidents. The current average life expectancy in western and central Europe is 70 for men and 74 for women, but pollution has reduced those numbers by a year, and also presents risks to the development of children.
The pollution situation is similarly bleak across eastern Europe, with contaminants arising mostly from vehicle gas emissions and the expansion of industry in the ex-Soviet nations. The report also notes that more than 100 million people in the region still do not have access to safe drinking water.
The emission of greenhouse gases is increasing in Europe, with additional global- scale damage from overfishing and the loss of crops due to climate change factors.
The EEA states that emissions must be reduced by up to 50% by 2050 to limit rises in the Earth's ocean/atmosphere temperature; this is the target proposed by the EU as necessary to avert future major climate changes.
The relevant EEA documents can be accessed at:
http://www.eea.europa.eu/pan-european/fourth-assessment.
EU Action on Air Pollution
On 17th October 2007, the European Commission Executive initiated legal action against five member states for allowing air pollution levels to exceed EU limits, which are designed to protect the health of citizens. The Commission said that it had started legal procedures against the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Slovenia for permitting excess levels of atmospheric sulphur dioxide (SO2), a pollutant that can cause respiratory difficulties and affect cardiovascular health.
In addition, the Commission has requested 23 national governments to submit information on how they will reduce excess levels of the dangerous polluting air particles known as PM10s to EU-approved standards. The Commission statement said that 70% of towns and cities with a population of 250,000 or more in the EU had reported exceeding limits on PM10 particles, which are blamed for causing asthma, heart problems and lung cancer.
The EU Environment Commission said that member states must align themselves with EU standards so that citizens are properly protected.
EU Action on Electronic Waste
On 17th October 2007, the European Commission Executive initiated legal action against Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for not properly implementing the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which deals with the recycling and disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment. It covers equipment on sale from July 2006.
The Commission also noted that Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Malta, Finland and Sweden had all failed to transpose into their national legislation the EU law banning the use of some heavy metals and other hazardous materials in electronic equipment. They have been sent warning letters and may later face legal action from Brussels.
WEEE rules require manufacturers to accept used refrigerators, computers, mobile phones and other appliances from consumers and to recycle them. The aim is to reduce the amount of such waste that ends up in landfill, where it can release hazardous substances into the environment.
In other environmental areas, the Commission started legal action against Bulgaria for inadequate waste management infrastructure in Sofia; Malta is alleged to unlawfully permit the hunting of certain species of birds during the crucial spring migration and breeding period; and the UK is charged with not complying with an EU court decision concerning waste water treatment in seven towns and might face fines if it does not bring its waste water treatment up to EU standards. The Commission started legal action against a handful of countries, including Belgium and Portugal, for not submitting plans which outline energy efficiency measures.
No Solution for Cement Manufacture Emissions
Cement is a basic constructional material with no obvious substitutes. Present global production of cement amounts to over two billion tonnes per annum. The manufacture of one tonne of cement releases 900 kg of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. In fact, cement production releases twice as much carbon dioxide as the sum total of the world's airline industry, and accounts for 5% of total artificial emissions. In consequence, cement manufacturers have attempted to maintain a low profile in order to avoid restrictive legislation.
A recent cement producers’ conference was organised in Brussels by the Cement Sustainability Initiative to discuss how they plan to cope with expected rapid future growth and pollution caps under emissions trading schemes. Options for reducing the environmental impact of their activities are in fact very limited. Steps can be taken to clean up manufacturing processes by changing cement oven minerals and recycling some emissions through waste treatment, but significant CO2 reductions seem unlikely.
Unexpected Growth in Atmospheric CO2
The results of a research study carried out by the Global Carbon Project, the University of East Anglia (UK) and the British Antarctic Survey were published on 22nd October 2007 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and describe an unexpected rise in the rate at which carbon dioxide is being added to the atmosphere. The reference is J. G. Canadell, et al, “Contributions to accelerating atmospheric CO2 growth from economic activity, carbon intensity, and efficiency of natural sinks”, PNAS, October 2007.
The joint study found that CO2 levels in the atmosphere have risen 35% faster than expected since 2000 (at 1.93 parts per million per year, compared to 1.58 ppm in the 1980s and 1.49 ppm for the 1990s). The cause is attributed to the inefficient use of fossil fuels, which contributed to an increase of 17%, whilst the other 18% came from a decline in the efficiency of natural land and ocean sinks to soak up CO2 from the atmosphere.
Natural sinks absorb about half of all CO2 emissions from human activity, but the study suggests that the efficiency of the sinks has fallen as a result of the intensification of wind patterns over the oceans and droughts or degradation on land. The efficiency of natural sinks has been declining for 50 years, but the rate seems to be accelerating.
The Southern Ocean winds have increased in response to greenhouse gases and ozone depletion. The increase in winds has led to the release of natural CO2 stored in the deep ocean, which is preventing further absorption of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. A similar effect has been reported in the North Atlantic.
The study states that global CO2 emissions were up to 9.9 billion tonnes of carbon in 2006, which is 35% above emissions in 1990 (the reference base rate year used in the Kyoto Protocol).
The report concludes that the decline in global sink efficiency suggests that stabilisation of atmospheric CO2 is even more difficult to achieve than previously thought.
EU Pesticides Control Legislation Under Way
On 23rd October 2007, the European Parliament began its voting process on a new package of measures to control the use of pesticides. The aim of the measures proposed by the European Commission (EC) is to safeguard health and food quality by reducing the quantity of pesticides used by farmers, gardeners, park-keepers and foresters. The proposals were opposed by the agricultural and chemical industry lobbies.
There will be heavy restrictions on using pesticides near schools, playgrounds, parks, recreation grounds and hospitals, and there will be a general ban on aerial crop spraying. Buffer zones will be set up to separate the usage or storage of pesticides from rivers, lakes and waterways. Conditions of use will involve an obligation to warn any neighbours who could be exposed to spray drift before a product is used and who have asked to be informed.
The use of "active substances of very high concern" will have to be cut by at least half by 2013. The use of less harmful alternatives would be encouraged, and some products in use today would eventually be banned. A list of active substances or key ingredients of pesticides will be drawn up at EU level and new pesticides would then be authorised at national level based upon it.
The EC expects the proposals will result in the banning of 5% to 6% of pesticides currently in use in the EU, where 230,000 tonnes are used every year, equal to a quarter of the world total, even though the EU has only 4% of all arable land.
Global Oil Output in Decline
The Peak Oil Theory of M. Hubbert King has been around since 1956 and has been continually confounded by developing events. Whilst it is true that oil production per capita peaked in 1979, there has always been a problem with the opacity of the figures used to quantify proven oil reserves.
However, the German organisation Energy Watch Group has claimed in a recent report on global oil supply, presented at the Foreign Press Association in London, that global oil output peaked in 2006 and forecasts a future decline of 7% per year. Energy Watch said that oil production will decline by around 50% by as early as 2030, leading to economic and social upheaval as the energy supply gap cannot be adequately closed by growing contributions from other fossil, nuclear or alternative energy sources within the timeframe.
The International Energy Agency, which advises 26 industrialised countries, said in a July report that world demand would rise faster than expected to 2012, while supply lagged, leading to a supply crunch.
Business Waste Rules Change
New rules governing business waste in England and Wales came into effect on 30th October 2007 under the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002, which form part of the UK Government drive to encourage recycling and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill sites. Companies must now either recycle or treat their waste before it is taken to landfill. The new rules have already come into force in Scotland.
Liquid wastes are now banned from landfill and other waste must be treated before it can be landfilled. Businesses must demonstrate that their waste has been treated in either a physical, thermal, chemical or biological process.
It has been claimed that fewer than 20% of small businesses were aware of the impending changes, and larger concerns were not much better informed with only 45% being prepared.
Naphtha Tower Blaze at COMAH Site
On 31st October 2007, fire broke out after an initial explosion at the Petroplus Holdings AG Coryton UK oil refinery near Stanford-le-Hope in Essex. The Swiss oil company Petroplus purchased the refinery, originally constructed in 1953, from BP PLC in April 2007. It has a crude oil throughput capacity of 172,000 barrels a day and additional throughput capacity of up to 70,000 barrels a day of other feedstocks. Products from Coryton are distributed primarily in the south, although gasoline and fuel oil are also exported to other regions. The site is responsible for loading about 700 road tankers per day to meet 22% of UK forecourt demand.
The seat of the fire was in the column of a naphtha tower and the company was forced to shut several processing units. Emergency response units from Essex County Fire and Rescue Service supplied ten pumps and seven special appliances to the fire site on the ground floor of the refinery's naphtha tower. Flames were reported to have climbed 30 metres inside the tower. No workers at the site were injured and all personnel were evacuated and accounted for, and no offsite environmental impact was reported. No information as to the cause of the explosion and fire was available. Fire-fighters suppressed the fire with foam and used cooling monitors to try to avert potential for a further explosion.
The HSE, whose inspectors had visited the site the previous day for routine checks, announced that it would conduct an investigation into what it regarded as a major incident.
HSE Accident and Injury Statistics for 2006/2007
On 1st November 2007, the HSE published a series of statistical documents dealing with work-related ill-health, injuries, dangerous occurrences, enforcement and gas safety.
The key figures for ill-health show that:
- 2.2 million people were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by workplace exposure.
- 646,000 of that number were new cases in the last 12 months.
- 2,037 people died of mesothelioma, and thousands more from other occupational cancers and lung diseases.
- 36 million working days were lost (1.5 days per worker), 30 million due to work-related ill-health and six million due to workplace injury. (This number has risen in the last year.)
The key figures for workplace injuries show that:
- 241 workers were killed at work, a rate of 0.8 per 100,000 workers.
- 141,350 other injuries to employees were reported under RIDDOR, a rate of 535.1 per 100,000 employees.
- 274,000 reportable injuries occurred, according to the Labour Force Survey, a rate of 1,000 per 100,000 workers.
Enforcement figures must be considered in relation to Government-imposed staff cuts and procedural changes:
- 1,141 offences were prosecuted by the HSE.
- 257 offences were prosecuted by local authorities (2005/06).
The latest top-level statistics on work-related ill-health, workplace fatalities and injuries, and enforcement can be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh0607.pdf.
The document Statistics of Fatal Injuries 2006/07 covering the latest provisional UK statistics on workplace fatal injuries can be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/fatl0607.pdf.
Bleak Warning on Global Development
The United Nations Environment Programme fourth report, GEO-4, Global Environment Outlook: environment for development, was published on 25th October 2007. It is the most comprehensive UN report on the environment, prepared by nearly 400 experts and reviewed by more than 1,000 others across the world. It is the latest in a series of UNEP reports and provides an overview assessment of the current state of the global atmosphere, land, water and biodiversity. It describes changes that have taken place since 1987 and identifies unresolved priorities for action, including climate change, the rate of extinction of species, and the challenge of feeding a growing population. GEO-4 states that the world's finite resources are being depleted at a wholly unsustainable rate, despite urgent warnings sounded by UNEP two decades ago.
The report applauds the international community for reducing by 95% the production of ozone-layer-damaging chemicals over the past 20 years; for creating a greenhouse gas emission reduction treaty, along with innovative carbon trading and carbon offset markets; increasing protected land areas to cover roughly 12% of the Earth; and devising numerous instruments covering issues from biodiversity and desertification to the trade in hazardous wastes and living modified organisms.
There remain persistent and intractable problems, such as the rapid rise of oxygen 'dead zones' in the oceans, and the resurgence of new and old diseases linked in part with environmental degradation. The threats from global climate change are now so urgent that large cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 are essential to human survival.
GEO-4 warns that we are living far beyond our means, as the human population is now so large that the amount of resources needed to sustain it exceeds what is available. The human environmental demand is 21.9 hectares per person, while the average biological capacity of the Earth is only 15.7 ha/person. The report maintains that there are no separate crises, since environment, development and energy are all one, driven by growing human numbers, the rising consumption of the rich and the desperation of the poor.
GEO-4 criticises the lack of urgency and inadequate response to the issue of climate change, a global priority demanding political will and leadership. While several major polluting countries refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, among those that did industrial lobbying successfully undermined political will such that nothing was achieved.
Among the critical resources assessed are the following:
- Escalating demand for freshwater which cannot be met, because 70% of the available supply is already used for irrigation.
- Consumption of fish more than tripled from 1961 to 2001, whilst catches have stagnated or declined since the 1980s. Fishing capacity is around 250% more than is necessary to catch the oceans' sustainable production.
- Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Human activity is creating a mass extinction event.
The report discusses the potential impacts of climate change on all seven of the world's regions: degradation and desertification in Africa; degradation, water quality and pollution in Asia and the Pacific; unsustainable production and consumption, high energy use and poor urban air quality in Europe; biodiversity loss and coastal damage in Latin America and the Caribbean, and deforestation in the Amazon; overconsumption of all resources in North America; degradation and water resources in West Asia; pollution and environmental change in the polar regions.
GEO-4 explores how current trends may unfold by 2050 in four scenarios, pointing out that for some of the persistent problems the damage may already be irreversible.
The report also warns that tackling the underlying causes of environmental pressures often affects the vested interests of powerful groups able to influence policy decisions. The only way to address these harder problems requires moving the environment from the periphery to the core of decision-making: environment for development, not development to the detriment of environment. The systematic destruction of the Earth's natural and nature-based resources has reached a point where the economic viability of economies is being challenged.
Carbon Trading Scheme Developments
On 30th October 2007, the European Union announced that the third phase of its first European carbon emissions trading scheme will run from 2013 to 2020. The European Commission is revising the system to include gases and sectors not currently included. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels.
The EU admitted that it had issued too many emissions permits in the first stage of the trading scheme between 2005 and 2007, causing considerable damage to its credibility as a vehicle against climate change. Even so, most EU member states failed to meet their binding greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. The worst offenders were Spain, Portugal and Italy.
The major power-generating companies within the EU passed on to electricity consumers the cost of emissions permits, which they received free, earning themselves €20 billion (US $28.74 billion) in windfall profits annually. This practice has attracted mounting criticism.
The second phase of the scheme runs from 2008 to 2012, with revised emissions quotas for member states equivalent to a 10% reduction. National governments had tabled requests for 2.3 billion tonnes, 12% more than the final quota set at 2.1 billion. The EU scheme is meant to create a shortage of permits for industry equivalent to about 250 million tonnes of CO2 emissions during the five-year period. Thus the price of power will continue to increase for all consumers. Seven member states around the Baltic and in central Europe announced they would appeal against the Commission.
The EU has already decided to add airlines and shipping to the trading system. The Commission was also considering adding methane emissions from coal mines.
Boreal Forest Carbon Sinks in Decline
Two research studies published at the end of October 2007, one by T. Gower in the journal Nature and the other by Christine Wiedinmyer in Carbon Balance and Management, find that the great forests of the boreal northern hemisphere, which extend from China and Siberia to Canada and Alaska, are in danger of becoming a gigantic source of carbon dioxide rather than being a major terrestrial sink that helps to offset man-made emissions of the greenhouse gas. The northern forests are seen as a key element in the overall equations to mitigate the effect of man-made CO2 emissions.
An effect of climate change already apparent is the increasing risk of fires (ignited by lightning strike) in the forests of the north; and in the temperate woodland zone the forests are beginning to lose their ability to be an overall absorber of carbon dioxide. The danger is that there may soon come a point where the amount of CO2 released from burning vegetation in the northern forests and the drying out of the soil will exceed the amount absorbed during the annual growth of trees elsewhere. The soil is the major carbon source and plants are the major sink, and the interplay of the two over the life of a stand of trees determines whether the boreal forest is a sink or a source of carbon.
In some years, forest fires in the USA (such as those in California) result in more carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere over the space of a couple of months than the entire annual emissions coming from cars and energy production of a typical US state (estimates based on satellite imaging data).
Over a 60-year period it was found that the intensity and frequency of forest fires in one million square kilometres of Canadian wilderness had increased significantly, largely as a result of drier conditions caused by global warming and climate change. Fires had a greater impact on overall carbon emissions from boreal forests than other factors such as rainfall, yet climate change is the driver because heatwaves and drier undergrowth trigger the fires.
Health and Safety Guidance for Directors
The HSC and the Institute of Directors have published a joint document written by directors for directors and board members, INDG 417, Leading Health and Safety at Work (450 KB).
The document contains practical health and safety guidelines applicable to organisations of all sizes and deals with the lead responsibilities of directors to establish policies and practices that make health and safety an integral part of their culture and values. It covers planning, delivering, monitoring and reviewing health and safety in the workplace.
INDG417 can be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg417.pdf.
HSE Guidance on Employment of Overseas Workers
The HSE has published a free leaflet providing guidance for employers, employment agencies, businesses, gangmasters, etc., on their health, safety and welfare responsibilities in regard to temporary, including migrant, workers. It can be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg414.pdf.
Occupational Cancer in Great Britain
On 1st November 2007, the HSE published its research report RR595, The Burden of Occupational Cancer in Great Britain, which provides an updated estimate of the current burden of occupational cancer in Britain. The proportion of cancer deaths in 2004 attributable to occupational exposure was estimated to be 8.0% in men and 1.5% in women, with an overall estimate of 4.9% for men plus women. Estimated numbers of deaths attributable to occupation were 6,259 for men and 1,058 for women, giving a total of 7,317. The total number of cancer registrations in 2003 attributable to occupational causes was 13,338 for men plus women.
The largest number of deaths is attributed to asbestos (mesothelioma and lung cancer), followed by mineral oils (mainly non-melanoma skin cancer, or NMSC), solar radiation (NMSC), silica (lung cancer) and diesel engine exhaust (lung and bladder cancer).
The main industrial categories where workers are exposed to several carcinogenic agents over the risk exposure periods are construction, agriculture, machinery and other equipment manufacture, wood products manufacture, land transport, metal working, painting, welding and textiles.
The main report gives the study findings for bladder cancer, leukaemia, cancer of the lung, mesothelioma, non-melanoma skin cancer and sinonasal cancer.
HSE Revised Information for Providers and Users of Health and Safety Services
The HSE has published a revised version of its leaflet containing key information for external specialist providers of health and safety assistance, such as occupational health and safety practitioners, engineers, occupational hygienists, occupational health professionals, ergonomists, ionising and non-ionising radiation protection advisors, noise and vibration specialists and microbiologists. The leaflet deals with the issues of competence, resources and risk reduction, and can be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/externalproviders.pdf.
There is also a revised companion leaflet for those who seek information about looking for specialist health and safety help for their businesses, which is available online at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg420.pdf.
Employment Dispute Resolution Procedures Reform
In early November 2007, the Government announced their intention for yet another reform of the current employment dispute resolution regulations as part of their proposed Employment Bill. Employers and trade unions are known to be unhappy with the results of the last reform and had asked for a review of the existing disciplinary and grievance procedures, which they claim to have extended rather than shortened the time it takes to resolve a dispute. The new Bill will scrap the present statutory procedures in favour of a non-regulatory system designed to encourage quick and informal resolutions, which the Government thinks will cut the administrative burden on businesses by as much as £180 million a year. In essence, it will involve the implementation of the Gibbons Dispute Resolution Review.
Global CO2 Emissions Increase
Greenhouse gas emissions by the developed nations rose close to an all-time high in 2005, led by the USA and Russia. According to data released in November 2007 by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, total carbon dioxide emissions by 40 leading industrial nations edged up to 18.2 billion tonnes in 2005 from 18.1 billion in 2004, which is just 2.8% below the record of 18.7 billion in 1990. The 2005 rise confirmed an upward trend in recent years despite efforts to reduce emissions by many governments.
Emissions by the United States, the world's worst polluter, rose to 7.24 billion tonnes in 2005 from 7.19 billion in 2004. Emissions from China are now a close match to those of America. In eight years’ time, India is predicted to become the third largest polluter.
Revived economic growth in the former Eastern bloc nations was a main spur to the overall rise in emissions, with Russian CO2 rising to 2.l3 billion tonnes in 2005 from 2.09 billion in 2004. Russian output was still far below the 3.00 billion tonnes emitted in 1990 before the collapse of the Soviet Union forced the closure of inefficient industries across the former communist bloc.
Among other major emitters, greenhouse gases fell in the European Union and Canada in 2005 from 2004, but were fractionally higher in Japan.
Of the countries covered by the UN data, Latvia had the largest decrease in emissions (59%) from 1990 to 2005, while those of Turkey surged by 74%.
Overall emissions from the energy sector rose by 0.5% from 1990 to 2005, with transport responsible for the largest increment.
At the same time, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published its World Energy Outlook 2007 report, which warns that the global demand for energy is set to grow inexorably through to 2030 if governments do not change their policies, threatening energy security and accelerating climatic deterioration. The IEA predicts that energy needs in 2030 could be more than 50% above current levels, with fossil fuels still dominant.
Rapid economic growth in China and India would be the main drivers behind the increase. Chinese CO2 emissions could rise by 57%, from 27 giga-tonnes in 2005 to 42 giga-tonnes in 2030, by which time China would be importing as much oil as is presently consumed by all 27 European Union member states combined. The IEA point out that the legitimate aspiration for economic development in those countries must be accommodated and supported by the rest of the world, or the redrawn world energy map could create severe strains.
The IEA state that exceptionally quick and vigorous policy action by all countries, and unprecedented technological advances entailing substantial costs, would be required to stabilise CO2 levels in the atmosphere at about 450 parts per million. But they conclude that it is a lack of international political will, not technological innovation, which prevents the reduction of emissions while securing energy supplies to power homes and businesses.
UK Still the Dustbin of Europe
Research published in November 2007 by the Local Government Association (LGA) suggests that, on the basis of comparable European landfill statistics, households in the UK (and the municipal authorities representing those householders) send more than 22.6 million tonnes of rubbish to landfill, a higher figure than any other country in the European Union.
The LGA note that around 109 square miles is already taken up by landfill sites, and if the current trend continues, it is estimated that the UK will run out of landfill space in less than nine years’ time. Although the quantity of household waste sent to landfill in Britain declined by one million tonnes in 2005/2006 according to figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, other European countries have made far more drastic reductions, leaving the UK as the worst offender.
Research indicates that up to 40% of the contents of a regular household shopping basket cannot be recycled, and without significant reform recycling rates will not rise fast enough to meet the requirement of the EU Landfill Directive that by 2020 the amount of biodegradable municipal waste, including household rubbish, sent to landfill in the UK should be no more than 35% of the amount produced in 1995.
This will incur penalties the Government will recoup through additional taxation, as local councils face fines of up to £150 per tonne of rubbish sent to landfill in excess of a given allowance. The National Audit Office estimate is that fines of up to £200 million could be imposed on households for the failure to cut landfill waste.
New Guidance on Asbestos Removal in Confined Spaces
The Asbestos Removal Contractors Association (ARCA) has published a new guidance note, aimed at both clients and contractors, for the removal of asbestos in confined spaces under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. It provides practical guidance for dealing with the additional problems encountered by those undertaking asbestos removal in such difficult working environments.
Before carrying out any work in a confined space, a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks for all work activities must be carried out (under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999) for the purpose of deciding what measures are necessary for safety. For work in confined spaces it is necessary to identify the hazards present, assess the risks and determine what precautions to take. The ARCA guidance note gives practical advice in assessing and eliminating or managing the risks. The document can be downloaded from:
The URL is: http://www.arca.org.uk/publications.asp.
Atmospheric Pollution by Shipping
Recent research into the release by shipping of minute airborne particles from the combustion of fuel oil has indicated that this form of pollution is responsible for at least 60,000 deaths per year, and unless action is taken to address the problem by switching to cleaner fuels, the death toll will continue to climb. Every year ships release an estimated 1.2 million to 1.6 million metric tonnes of ultra-fine airborne soot particles less than 10 micrometres in diameter. They include carbon particulates, sulphites, nitrogen oxides and benzene compounds. It has been predicted that premature deaths due to ultra-fine particles emitted by ships will increase by 40% globally by 2012 if no action is taken.
A study by Aaron Cohen, published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 2007, Vol. 68, p. 1301, suggested that particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres, the category released by shipping, are responsible for 0.8 million deaths worldwide each year, or 1.2% of all premature deaths.
Another study by James Corbett, et al, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2007, Vol. 287, p. 1132, also deals with determination of the portion of premature deaths that can be linked to soot emissions from the shipping industry. The researchers fed two independent inventories of emissions produced by the global shipping industry into computerised climate models to predict where the emissions are carried by winds. Using population data from the World Health Organisation, they overlaid the location and concentration of the shipping emissions and population density. By relating concentrations of microparticles to the incidence of premature deaths, they derived an estimate of the total number of deaths that can be attributed to shipping emissions. Their best estimate was 60,000 deaths worldwide each year, concentrated in densely populated regions close to the major shipping lanes, mostly in Europe, Asia and the eastern USA.
The Corbett team ran a simulation to predict what might happen in 2012 based upon current estimates of the growth in trade and found a 40% rise in premature deaths, related to shipping fuel quality. The results were published in Environmental Science & Technology, and suggest that the PM10 particles would be responsible for more than 60% of the total deaths linked to shipping emissions. Emissions of all of these particles could be limited by using more refined fuels than diesel.
Shipping emissions produce other effects as well. Research on ship emission plumes by Mathias Schreier, et al, published in Geophysical Research Letters, found that sulphur particles cause local atmospheric cooling by generating condensation trails in the sky, similar to the condensation trails left by aircraft.
The shipping sector is to be included in the EU carbon emissions trading scheme by 2012, as the European Commission has concluded that efforts to cut emissions globally through the International Maritime Organisation are not bearing fruit quickly enough.
UK Climate Change Bill
The UK Government published its proposed Climate Change Bill on 15th November 2007, which it intends to lead to a legally binding limit on national carbon emissions within six months. The Bill sets out a series of rolling five-year budgets with targets of cutting national emissions of carbon dioxide by around 30% by 2025 and 60% by 2050.
Although UK carbon emissions have increased steadily since 1997, there remains a good chance that the UK will be able to meet its Kyoto Protocol commitment to cut CO2 emissions by 12.5% from 1990 levels by 2012, but due more to industrial decline than effective planning policy.
Warwickshire Packing Plant Fire
The press gave wide coverage to a fire at the Wealmoor Atherstone Ltd vegetable packing plant in Warwickshire in which four fire-fighters died whilst tackling the blaze. It became known later that the section of the plant in which the fire broke out had been constructed recently and had yet to be given a local authority building control completion certificate, and had not been granted a fire safety order. The new 64,000 sq ft section was in use but fire doors and firewalls had not been installed. The roof of the 160,000 sq ft plant consisted of foam-cored sandwich panels, which are not fully fire-resistant. The possibility is therefore raised of invalidation of the company’s insurance policy and prosecution of the owners for involuntary manslaughter by gross negligence.
The company is believed to be the largest UK fruit and vegetable wholesaler and supplies leading British supermarket chains.
Compensation Culture a Myth
A research survey commissioned by the HSE and carried out by the University of Warwick School of Law found that, contrary to opinion in the mass media, the number of workplace personal injury claims against allegedly negligent companies and organisations is falling, and the so-called ‘compensation culture’ is a myth.
An investigation was made into whether there had been an increase in claims for damages arising from occupational injury or ill-health related to breaches of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR). The result was that the number of legal actions was consistently falling in both the High Court and the County Courts.
The number of civil liability claims arising from the introduction of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations 2003, which removed the civil liability exclusions contained in MHSWR, has not increased because workers already had available the right to bring actions in negligence as well as the right to bring actions for breach of statutory duty under other legislation, where there was no exclusion of civil liability.
The research report, A survey of changes in the volume and composition of claims for damages for occupational injury or ill-health resulting from the Management of Health and Safety at Work and Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations 2003, can be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr593.pdf
New HSE Consultative Document on Amending Legislation
The HSE has published Consultative Document CD214, containing proposals to amend various items of legislation under the title of the Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments and Revocations) Regulations:
- Amendments to explosives legislation, intended to reduce paperwork for police and holders of explosives certificates and to address issues in the Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations that have come to light since the Regulations came into force in 2005.
- The revocation of 224 sets of local mining regulations, originally applicable only to specific mines.
- An amendment to address an oversight in the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 by including a requirement for hearing protection supplied for use at work to comply with the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002.
The ConDoc is available at:
http://consultations.hse.gov.uk/inovem/gf2.ti/f/5282/155301.1/PDF/-/cd214.pdf
Developments in Corporate Manslaughter Legislation
The Sentencing Advisory Panel (SAP) is an independent advisory and consultative body constituted under Section 169 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. The SAP has been considering sentencing guidelines and key penalties ahead of the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which takes effect in April 2008. The SAP advised in a consultation paper published on 15th November 2007 that a company convicted of a first offence of corporate manslaughter after pleading not guilty should pay a fine equivalent to 5% of its annual turnover, averaged over three years. Depending on the circumstances, the fine could range between 2.5% and 10% of turnover. The panel also recommended that the courts should issue 'publicity orders', a new sanction compelling an offending organisation to publicise its own conviction in national media, on the company website and in its annual report.
In response, the Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) pointed out that the proposed fines are lower than those for breaches of European competition law. The CCA also think that the fines and publicity order provisions in the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 fail to address the need for a full range of effective corporate penalties to be available to the courts.
The consultation period for responses to the paper closed on 7th February 2008.
IPCC Summary Report Highlights
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), meeting in Valencia, Spain, agreed a summary guide for policymakers on the rising risks of climate change and the need for quick action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:
- The warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.
- Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is due to the observed increase in greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities.
- Total global annual greenhouse gas emissions from human activities have risen by 70% since 1970, and CO2 concentrations now far exceed the natural range over the last 650,000 years.
- Average global temperatures are likely to rise by between 1.1C and 6.4C (2.0 F and 11.5 F) and sea levels by between 18 cms and 59 cms this century.
- Africa, the Arctic, small islands and the great Asian deltas are likely to be especially affected by climate change. Sea level rise will continue for centuries because of the momentum of thermal expansion, even if greenhouse gas levels are stabilised.
- Warming could lead to impacts that are abrupt or irreversible. About one third of species will be at increasing risk of extinction if future temperature rises exceed 1.5C to 2.5C.
The reasons for concern are listed as:
- Risks to unique and threatened systems, such as polar or high mountain ecosystems, coral reefs and small islands.
- Risks of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts and heatwaves.
- The impacts will be most severe on the poor and the elderly; and on countries near the equator, mostly in Africa and Asia, where there is a greater risk of desertification or floods.
- Any benefits of warming would be at lower temperatures than previously forecast by the IPCC and damage from larger temperature rises would be greater.
- There are large-scale risks, such as rising sea levels over centuries; the rise in sea levels contributed by melting ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland could be larger than projected by ice sheet models.
Solutions and costs:
- Governments have available a wide range of tools, including higher taxes on emissions, emissions regulations, tradeable permits and research. An effective carbon price could help CO2 reductions.
- Emissions of greenhouse gases would have to peak by 2015 to limit global temperature rises to 2.0C to 2.4C over pre-industrial times, the strictest goal assessed. The costs of fighting warming will range from less than 0.12% of global gross domestic product (GDP) per year for the most stringent scenarios until 2030, to less than 0.06% for a less demanding goal. In the most costly case, it means a loss of GDP by 2030 of less than 3%.
The new synthesis report is written in more urgent and pressing language than earlier documents, referring to dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system and warning of the increased risk of more severe climate change impacts if emission reductions are delayed by political objections.
The IPCC stress that some of the changes they had previously projected to occur around 2020 or 2030 are happening now, such as the Arctic ice melt and changes in the geographical spread of living species, including disease agents. There are indications that projected increases in droughts are also happening earlier than expected.
This summary guide marks the end of a six-year review of the scientific evidence on climate change. The IPCC scientists received the Nobel Peace Prize during the UN Climate Change Conference held in Bali in December 2007, for resisting pressure from governments to weaken the report.
Historic Links between War and Global Climate Change
A recent paper by Peter Brecke, et al, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reference DOI:10.1073/pnas.0707304104, describes a clear link between war and changing global temperatures as identified in historical data for the past 500 years. The results are significant in view of predictions that current and future climate change may result in widespread global unrest and conflict arising from desertification, ecological degradation and a scarcity of essential resources.
The researchers’ model was based on the hypothesis that deviations in temperature can hamper crop production, leading to increasing food prices, a greater risk of famine and starvation, and increased social tension culminating in violent conflict. They compared global historical records on food prices, population levels and conflicts with data for long-term temperature records as far back as 1400 AD, a period that encompasses the Maunder Minimum or ‘Little Ice Age’.
The study revealed evidence of a broad pattern of climate change leading to conflict, a pattern found in both European and Chinese history. Cooling temperatures were the cause of falling crop yields which exacerbated human conflict. Converse warming periods briefly relieved social tensions, but they resumed when temperatures dropped again.
The researchers conclude that although the world is now warming, the associated environmental stresses will still lead to long-term food shortages by disrupting global water cycles, the hydrological cycle being the most important feedback loop in the Earth's climate system. Technological solutions unavailable in the past will aid in coping with such changes, but if a wide range of environmental impacts occur at the same time, as predicted by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, they may prove inadequate for the task. If the combined effect of climate change is to impede our ability to address food shortages then it may lead to warfare.
Flame-Retardant Chemical Becomes a Global Contaminant
The flame-retardant chlorinated substance Dechlorane Plus (DP) is listed by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a high production volume chemical. It is manufactured by OxyChem and has been in use for more than 40 years in a wide variety of products, including electrical wire coatings and computer connectors. Its structure is similar to that of banned organochlorine pesticides such as heptachlor, chlordane and mirex, but its large molecular size was thought to hinder its availability to participate in biological systems. However, little toxicity data is available for it.
New research suggests that Dechlorane Plus has become ubiquitous in the global environment and may break down into more bioaccumulative compounds. It has been detected in the atmosphere of Europe and Asia, as well as North America, and its degradation products have been found in tree bark in the USA, Korea and China (the latter suggesting that the compound may also be manufactured in Asia). The compound is present at low levels in European trees, but not in northern Canada.
An article by Xinghua Qiu and Ronald A. Hites, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, reference DOI:10.1021/es072039a, Dechlorane Plus and Other Flame Retardants in Tree Bark from the Northeastern United States, describes research on tree bark in the Great Lakes region. Another article in the same journal, reference DOI: 10.1021/es0710104, reports on the atmospheric spread of DP and on its environmental breakdown.
A second group of Canadian researchers, led by Ed Sverko of the National Laboratory for Environmental Testing at Environment Canada, looked at concentrations of DP in Great Lakes sediments. They documented the concentrations of DP isomers in sediments from Lake Ontario, where waste water is discharged by the OxyChem Niagara Falls plant, the sole manufacturing source, and found that levels were up to 60 times higher than those in nearby Lake Erie sediments. They noted that isomer-specific microbial degradation might be taking place. Previous research (Env Sci & Tech, 2007, 41, 2249–2254) had demonstrated bioaccumulation of DP isomers through the food chain in Great Lakes fish, especially in those at the top of the food web.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation, the parent company of OxyChem, stated that they continue to believe that DP is a safe and effective product.
Statutory Instruments Enforced by the HSE
Safety, health and environmental legislative enforcement is a complex tangle of responsibilities which varies from country to country. A full cross-linked list of those Regulations owned and enforced in the UK by the HSE appears on the HSE website at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/statinstruments.htm.
New Fire Safety Standards
The BSI has announced publication of new standards relating to fire safety, including:
- BS EN 1866-1:2007, Mobile fire extinguishers. Characteristics, performance and test methods. This is a European Standard specifying the rules of design, type testing and inspection during manufacturing, ratings and classification of mobile fire extinguishers and test methods to be used. It covers powder extinguishers, water-based extinguishers and CO2 extinguishers.
- BS ISO 7240-8:2007, Fire detection and alarm systems. Carbon monoxide fire detectors using an electro-chemical cell in combination with a heat sensor. Carbon monoxide gas as a product of combustion spreads by diffusion as well as convection. In low energy fires, CO can move ahead of the smoke plume and thus provide earlier detection. CO fire detectors alone might not react quickly to flaming fires and the addition of a heat sensor as described in this part of ISO 7240 provides better detection of a broader spectrum of fires.
New Environmental Management Standard
The BSI has announced publication of BS 8485:2007, Code of practice for the characterisation and remediation from ground gas in affected developments. The standard gives recommendations and describes methods for the investigation and assessment of the ground gases methane and carbon dioxide during new building and/or development work on or adjacent to brownfield sites, sites where degradable materials are present in the ground, and in areas of mineworkings, where there is a potential risk of the generation of ground gases and their accumulation to hazardous concentrations within confined spaces, giving rise to a potential risk of explosion or asphyxiation within buildings. It is not intended for the assessment of completed developments, and does not consider ground gases other than methane and carbon dioxide.
HSE Safety Warning on Vertical Fall Arrest System
The HSE has issued a safety alert on the HACA fixed rail vertical fall arrest system type 0529.7102, manufactured by HACA Leitern, Lorenz Hazenbach GmbH, Bad Camberg, Germany. This equipment is covered by BS EN 353-1:2002 and is applicable under the hierarchy of precautions in the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
The HSE report that it has failed tests under BS EN 353-1:2002, the appropriate standard for such equipment, and a further test advised by the HSE in 2004. The HSE advises users to cease the use of this particular device as a matter of urgency and consult with their safety adviser and supplier about a safe alternative.
Details are given online at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/fixedrail011007.htm?ebul=hsegen/19-nov-2007&cr=16.
Offshore Fire Incidents in the North Sea
HSE investigations began after fire broke out on 25th November 2007 on the Thistle Alpha Michael Mulford platform, 190 km north-east of Shetland. There were no casualties and more than 100 of the 159 people onboard were airlifted to safety on the nearby Murchison and Dunlin platforms by seven British RAF and Norwegian helicopters. The seat of the fire was in the turbine module. The fire was extinguished within two hours and workers returned to the platform, which is operated by Petrofac on behalf of Swedish company Lundin Petroleum (LUPE.SK). Around 5,000 barrels per day of crude output was shut down during the incident. Output from Thistle Alpha is a fraction of total Brent crude output of around 200,000 bpd.
Two days later on 27th November, another fire broke out on the Shell North Cormorant platform, 160 km north-east of Shetland. The fire was small and quickly contained by the platform fire protection system.
At the same time, the HSE expressed concern to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee that some offshore rigs were being operated for far longer than the period for which they were initially designed, without the necessary investment in upkeep and repairs, describing the offshore sector as very challenged on safety grounds.
Nuclear Industry in Decline
An audit study commissioned by the European parliamentary group, The Greens, was published in Brussels in late November 2007, reference Mycle Schneider and Antony Froggatt, The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2007. The report attempts to provide elements of key information for analysis and informed decision-making on perspectives of the global nuclear industry. The authors conclude that many ageing reactors are due to close before 2030, and 338 new ones would have to be built just to replace them. The nuclear power industry is growing too slowly to meet this target and may even be shrinking.
They point out that as of 1st November 2007 there were 439 nuclear reactors operating in the world, that is five fewer than five years ago. There are 32 units listed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as being under construction, mostly in Asia and eastern Europe, which is around 20 less than in the late 1990s. In 1989, a total of 177 nuclear reactors had been operating in what are now the 27 EU Member States, but the number shrank to 146 units as of 1st November 2007.
In 1992, the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, WISE-Paris and Greenpeace International published the first World Nuclear Industry Status Report, reviewed and updated in 2004. It showed that the combined installed nuclear capacity of the 436 units operating in the world in the year 2000 was less than 352,000 megawatts. Today the 439 worldwide operating reactors total 371,000 megawatts, with nuclear power plants providing 16% of total electricity, 6% of commercial primary energy and 2.5% of final energy in the world.
The tendency is downwards and there is no prospect of nuclear power experiencing major growth. With planning and construction lead times of ten years or more, it is practically impossible to maintain or even increase the number of operating nuclear power plants over the next 20 years unless operating lifetimes are substantially increased beyond 40 years on average, but there is no valid basis for such an assumption. Lack of a trained workforce (confirmed independently by the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD group), massive loss of competence, severe manufacturing bottlenecks (only one facility in the world, Japan Steel Works, can cast large forgings for reactor pressure vessels), lack of confidence of international finance institutions, and strong competition from highly dynamic natural gas and renewable energy systems, combine to exacerbate the aging problems of the industry.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions at Record High
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the UN weather agency based in Geneva, published its latest Greenhouse Gas Bulletin on 23rd November 2007. It reports that in 2006, globally-averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached their highest levels ever recorded at 381.2 parts per million (ppm), an increase of 0.53% from 379.2 ppm in 2005. Concentrations of N2O also reached record highs in 2006, up 0.25% from 319.2 parts per billion (ppb) to 320.1 ppb, while methane remained almost unchanged at 1,782 ppb.
The WMO find that CO2 is contributing more to global warming than previously. The gas contributed 87% to the warming effect over the last decade, but in the last five years alone its contribution was 91%, showing that it is gaining in importance as a greenhouse gas. This upward trend is expected to continue.
The information is based on observations from the WMO Global Carbon Dioxide and Methane Monitoring Network, a comprehensive climate network based on data readings from 44 countries, and recognised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Apart from water vapour, CO2, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are the three most prevalent greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The 36% rise in CO2 since the late 1700s has largely been generated by emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels. Around one third of N2O discharged into the air is a result of human activities, such as fuel combustion, biomass burning, fertiliser use and some industrial processes. Methane emissions arise from fossil fuel exploitation, rice agriculture, biomass burning, landfill gas and ruminant farm animals, in total accounting for around 60% of atmospheric CH4. Natural processes, including those produced by wetlands and termites, are responsible for the remaining 40% of CH4.
Climate Change and Disaster Incidence
Readers of this newsletter might be forgiven for thinking there is nothing but disaster in the world to report, but it is in the nature of the subject to learn from the mistakes, misfortunes and findings of others. On 25th November 2007, the international organisation Oxfam published a report on the increasing frequency of climatic disasters attributable to rising greenhouse gas emissions, claiming that the incidence of natural disasters has increased fourfold over the last 20 years, from an average of 120 a year in the early 1980s to as many as 500 today. The increase in these extreme climatic events is in line with climate models developed by the international scientific community.
The number of people affected by all disasters has risen from an average of 174 million a year between 1985 and 1994 to 254 million a year between 1995 and 2004. In 2007, the Asian floods alone affected 248 million people. There has been a six-fold increase in floods since 1980. The number of floods and wind-storms rose from 60 in 1980 to 240 in 2007. The number of geothermal events, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, has remained static in accordance with historical records.
Oxfam argue that 2007 was not a freak year, as it follows a pattern of more frequent, erratic, unpredictable and extreme weather events. They suggest that action is needed now to prepare for more disasters or humanitarian assistance will be overwhelmed. The report also indicates a trend for an increase in small to medium-sized disasters, with the death toll from such events more than doubling in two decades.
Some countries, such as Vietnam, are particularly prone to weather-related disasters in the form of flooding and landslides. Vietnam is the country likely to be hardest hit by rising sea levels, according to World Bank research. The incidence of drought is also increasing. There is an association between rising temperatures and plagues of locusts.
Oxfam called on world governments to agree a mandate to negotiate a global deal on new approaches to humanitarian action to provide assistance to developing countries coping with the impacts of climate change (disaster risk reduction or DRR); and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with rich countries moving first and fastest since they are most responsible for climate change.
British Standards on Explosive Atmospheres
The BSI has announced publication of the following standards:
- BS EN 60079-17:2007, Explosive atmospheres. Electrical installations inspection and maintenance. This standard applies to users and covers factors directly related to the inspection and maintenance of electrical installations within hazardous areas only, where the hazard may be caused by flammable gases, vapours, mists, dusts, fibres or flyings.
- BS EN 60079-19: 2007, Explosive atmospheres. Equipment repair, overhaul and reclamation. This standard gives guidance on the practical means of maintaining the electrical safety and performance requirements of repaired equipment. It also defines procedures for maintaining (after repair, overhaul or reclamation) compliance of the equipment with the provisions of the certificate of conformity or with the provisions of the appropriate explosion protection standard where a certificate is not available.
- BS EN 60079-1:2007, Explosive atmospheres. Equipment protection by flameproof enclosures "d". This standard contains specific requirements for the construction and testing of electrical equipment with the type of protection flameproof enclosure “d”, intended for use in explosive gas atmospheres. BS EN 60079-1 supplements and modifies the general requirements of IEC 60079-0.
New Guidance on Work-Related Stress
The HSE has published HSG218, Managing the causes of work-related stress: A step-by-step approach using the Management Standards. Work-related stress is a major cause of occupational ill-health and may result in sickness absence, high staff turnover and poor productivity. This new guide on managing the issue is aimed at employers, employee representatives, and anyone with responsibility for co-ordinating a stress risk assessment. It is based on the HSE Management Standards, which represent a set of conditions that reflect high levels of health, wellbeing and organisational performance.
The publication is available from HSE Books in either hard copy or CD Rom format.
Occupational Exposure to Industrial Carcinogen MbOCA
A recent survey by the HSE on occupational exposure to the industrial carcinogen MbOCA, or 4,4’-methylene-bis (2-chloroaniline), found that controls, and provision and use of personal protective equipment were inadequate, worker training was poor and exposure levels were unacceptable. The document, A survey of occupational exposure to MbOCA in the polyurethane elastomer industry in Great Britain 2005-2006, reports that HSE investigators found that around 75% of employer risk assessments were insufficient and unsuitable. The necessary exposure control measures for risk reduction are known, but their implementation has not been sustained.
The HSE found evidence of poor exposure control, sloppy handling of MbOCA throughout the industry in the form of poor housekeeping, allowing the agent to contaminate adjacent areas such as canteens. Urine samples from subjects without direct exposure to MbOCA or isocyanates contained evidence of both substances, indicating poor exposure control. Local exhaust ventilation systems used to control exposure during MbOCA and resin handling were ineffective, inefficient and poorly maintained.
The HSE found a lack of provision of information, instruction and training on the hazards associated with the handling of MbOCA and isocyanates, and on the measures to control exposure. These are all breaches of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.
The report can be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/plastics/mbocasurvey.pdf.
UK Energy Prices Set to Escalate
The European Union Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD) is aimed at cutting emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and dust by imposing caps on how long coal- and oil-fired power stations can operate. In practice, it means that around 12 gigawatts of UK generating plant capacity can run only for about 27 months in the next seven years. The limited running time will force the private owners of plant to save their generation credits for the 20,000 hours from 2008-15 when they think wholesale power prices will be at their highest.
Under conditions of high demand and narrow supply margins, the network operator National Grid will have to pay higher prices to obtain energy, and any wholesale power cost increases will inevitably be passed on to consumers. From 1st January 2008, the 11 power stations that will have their output capped will still be operational, but National Grid will have to offer their owners more than at present because they will be holding out for bigger future returns. This will have an impact on electricity bought for immediate use.
The largest UK coal-fired plants, such as Drax in Yorkshire and Longannet in Scotland, have opted to trade certificates in a nationwide scheme which caps the total emissions of all the facilities in the plan, in accordance with EU limits. Others will work within their own limits.
Anti-Smoking Drug Linked to Violent Behaviour
The anti-smoking drug Chantix is manufactured by Pfizer Inc. and has been available on the US market for around 18 months. It is a prescription medicine in which the active ingredient is varenicline, a tartrate salt which partially blocks nicotine receptors. It was recommended for use in the UK in May 2007 by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. In November 2007, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the substance would be subject to an investigation after reports linked its use to symptoms of extreme behaviour.
The investigation was prompted following an unstated number of incidents in which users of Chantix have displayed violent or suicidal impulses, the latest fatal example of which was reported in the Texas news media on 1st December 2007. It has been claimed that nicotine withdrawal symptoms may exacerbate any underlying psychiatric illness in a user, but the FDA also notes that the same side effects have been reported by Chantix users who have not stopped smoking, and by users with no record of psychiatric illness.
Planning Large-Scale Petrol Storage Sites after Buncefield
Following the explosion and fire at the Buncefield Oil Storage Depot in December 2005 and the consequent Major Incident Investigation, the findings enabled the HSE to review its policy for giving land use planning advice around this and other similar sites. In 2007, the HSE carried out a public consultation on Proposals for revised policies for HSE advice on development control around large-scale petrol storage sites, ConDoc CD211.
The HSE has decided to implement Option 4 as set out in the consultation document, that is to increase the size of the consultation distance at most large-scale petrol storage sites to 400 metres. Within this a new Development Proximity Zone will be introduced (an area measuring 150 metres radius from the petrol storage area) within which the HSE would advise against new developments other than those “not normally occupied”.
The HSE proposes to put these arrangements in place by early summer 2008, until such time as the results of research into the vapour cloud explosion mechanism may allow the adoption of a more demonstrably risk-based policy.
British Energy Extends Life of Nuclear Reactors
In an attempt to stave off an impending energy supply shortfall in the UK, the nuclear operator British Energy (BE) announced on 12th December 2007 that it would extend the lives of two reactors, Hinkley Point in Somerset and Hunterston in Scotland, by an extra five years to 2016 at a cost of an additional £90 million. At present Hunterston and Hinkley Point are running at reduced capacity after shutdowns last winter to repair boiler cracks.
The move does not obviate the need for a new generation of reactors, but provides partial covering capacity until they are built. The life extensions will prevent the emission of 37 million tonnes of CO2 that would otherwise have been generated by fossil-fuel power plants filling the gap. BE needs a power price of around £27 per megawatt hour to make the life extensions economically viable, which is well below the current baseload price of around £55.
BE runs eight UK reactors, generating about one-sixth of the national electricity supply. All except one are UK gas-cooled designs.
Offshore Power Pipe Dream
The UK Government’s latest plan, unveiled in December 2007, to power every UK home with offshore turbines has been criticised as a costly fantasy that ignores the potential of onshore wind farms. Government thinking is that up to 33 gigawatts of turbines could be producing carbon-free power by 2020. Unfortunately it overlooks factors of cost, grid management, the manufacture and supply of sufficient turbines, and a shortage of essential skilled labour in a market that cannot meet demand.
The Government target is to obtain 10% of national electricity need from renewable sources, especially onshore wind, by 2010. Onshore wind farms were to have delivered around 50% of the total, but existing planning constraints will prevent that from happening. New planning laws have been introduced, but they do not apply to projects of less than 50 MW, and most onshore wind projects are below that capacity. This viewpoint was in part echoed by the power utility E.ON UK after a parliamentary committee hearing on renewable energy in January 2008, describing the EU renewable energy target set for Britain as "..exceptionally challenging" because of planning system obstacles and lack of equipment component manufacturing capacity.
In consequence, Government attention has shifted offshore to another unattainable target at a potentially much higher cost.
Workplace Fire Safety Update
The HSE has updated the information on its workplace fire safety web page at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/workplace.htm.
It describes the allocation of responsibilities for policy and compliance under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales, Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
The HSE no longer have responsibility for premises under the Fire Certificates (Special Premises) Regulations 1976. This was revoked with effect from 1st October 2006 since the commencement of Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2006. In most cases, responsibility for enforcement of fire safety legislation in respect of “special premises” has been transferred from the HSE to the relevant local fire and rescue authority.
The HSE is mainly concerned with process fire precautions required in any workplace under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974; the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; and more specific health and safety legislation such as the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002.
There are certain sectors where, because of the nature of the work, the HSE has enforcement responsibility for all fire precautions (including general fire precautions) such as offshore installations, underground mines, nuclear sites, ships under construction and some construction sites.
Communities and Local Government are responsible for enforcement of the Building Regulations 2000 in England and Wales and the Scottish Building Standards Agency is responsible for separate building legislation in Scotland.
Passenger Jet Flies on Cooking Oil
In a series of experimental tests an unmodified Czechoslovakian jet, a 1968 L-29 acquired from the Ukrainian military, burning nothing but cooking oil as aviation fuel, flew for 37 minutes at an altitude of up to 5,180 metres. The tests were carried out by two American companies, Biodiesel Solutions Inc. and Green Flight International, using fresh canola oil refined into biodiesel. The L-29 jet is one of few aircraft capable of burning biodiesel, due to a built-in fuel warming system.
The flights were preceded by extensive fuel tests on the ground using different blends of biodiesel and normal Jet A kerosene, progressing to 100% biodiesel as confidence increased. The jet engines reached 98% power on 100% biodiesel.
The experimenters suggested that a blend of biodiesel and kerosene would offer an environmental benefit in terms of reduced emissions of carbon dioxide, since a 20% biodiesel blend was found to reduce carbon emissions by 50%.
The Green Flight team is currently evaluating the exact emissions of biodiesel combustion, as well as observing its effect on seals and rings in the jet engines. The experimental plane was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration until the results of such safety tests are established.
Biological Containment Failure at Pirbright
The release of foot-and-mouth virus from the Pirbright laboratories in Surrey, the site of both IAH Pirbright and the vaccine company Merial, was confirmed in August 2007, but action taken by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to control and eradicate the contamination failed, as demonstrated in September 2007 when a second outbreak was identified as originating from the same source.
A subsequent independent expert peer review process accepted that the second phase of the outbreak originated from the first phase and was not from a separate second breach in biosecurity. DEFRA had failed to identify premises that had continued to be infected throughout August.
In addition, a Freedom of Information request made recently by the magazine New Scientist revealed that DEFRA does not keep an accurate record of the number and nature of accidents, incidents and near misses at the 68 laboratories handling animal pathogens to which it has issued licences.
The Government announced in December 2007 that DEFRA is to be stripped of its role as regulator for laboratories which handle animal viruses, because of the conflict of interest arising from its other role as a major recipient of research carried out at Pirbright.
Consumer Contamination of Water Sources
A report on the UK water supply published in December 2007 by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Sustainable Water: Chemical Science Priorities, calls for a greater emphasis on its future quality. It claims that chemical substances from consumer products and drugs in use by the wider population are flushed down domestic drains or excreted and could be degrading and recombining into a harmful brew in our water sources.
Many of the synthetic chemicals in shampoos, perfumes, medicines and other healthcare products are passing through the filters at water purification plants, which are not designed to remove all of these types of substances, and so remain in water sources as contaminants. They include phthalates (suspected of causing damage to the testes and other organs in men) and parabens (widely used preservatives found in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, suspected of causing breast cancer).
The reaction chemistry of how such products break down is not fully understood, and neither are the products of breakdown nor how they might recombine. Without that understanding it is not possible to minimise the risks to human and environmental health.
The RSC state that with a more complete understanding of the environmental fate of contaminants it is possible to design chemicals and products that are both effective in their use, and at end of life are reusable and/or recyclable or degrade quickly in the environment to products with minimal risk to human and environmental health.
Amendments to the WEEE Regulations
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (SI 3454) came into force on 1st January 2008. Although there are no major policy changes, the amending regulations clarify how reuse can be counted as partial evidence of compliance and the recording of WEEE arising. The amending legislation was introduced in response to concerns that some recycling projects and compliance schemes might supply inaccurate evidence because of the size of the unit of measurement, as well as causing delays in recycling if the required tonnage had not been met. Producer compliance schemes must now report on their activities in a more precise way by providing evidence of recycling in kilogrammes instead of tonnes.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment) Regulations 2007 include:
- Tightening up the system of issuing evidence of WEEE reuse.
- Evidence to be issued to the nearest kilogramme rather than the nearest tonne.
- Final holders of household WEEE now have the right to hand the equipment into a collection point free of charge.
- Extension of the deadline for submitting compliance evidence for the previous year from February to April.
UN Climate Conference Fails to Save the World
The 13th Convention of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2007. It was attended by 15,000 delegates from 187 countries, who generated an estimated 100,000 tonnes of extra CO2 flying to Indonesia, equivalent to the entire annual emissions of the African state of Chad.
The main aim of the conference was to create the framework basis of a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which runs out in 2012. The delegates failed to agree firm targets for reducing emissions, largely due to intransigence by the USA. Agreement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the range of 25% to 40%, as proposed by the European Union in line with the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, was rejected. No decision was made on how developed and developing countries should share the burden of curbing emissions. No agreement was reached on whether carbon capture and storage projects should qualify for carbon credits.
Pilot projects were agreed that would measure emissions reduction from forestry projects, as a first step towards reforestation, afforestation programmes and avoiding deforestation in future. The conference agreed to launch a United Nations fund to help poor countries adapt to the effects of climate change, such as droughts and flooding.
America, Japan and Canada are now free to continue expanding their very significant carbon emissions until December 2009, when the conference meets again in Copenhagen.
UN Warning on Dwindling Global Food Supply
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome announced on 17th December 2007 that there has been an unforeseen and unprecedented shift in the world food supply, which is dwindling rapidly and causing food prices to soar to historic high levels. The FAO food price index rose by more than 40% in 2007, compared with 9% in 2006. World reserves of cereals are severely depleted, with wheat stores declining 11% in 2007 to the lowest level since 1980. This is equivalent to eight weeks’ supply of corn left globally.
The conflict between supply and demand factors is predicted by the FAO to become permanent as a result of the early effects of global warming on the supply side, which has decreased crop yields in crucial locations (e.g. due to drought in Australia and floods and storms in Ukraine) and a shift away from farming for human consumption toward crops heavily subsidised for biofuels and cattle feed. Demand for grain is increasing with the world population and more is being diverted to feed cattle as the population of upwardly mobile meat-eaters grows. In addition, high oil prices have doubled the shipping costs of food in the past year.
The FAO argues that it no longer makes sense to send food aid to poorer countries, and instead its policy will focus on helping farmers grow food locally to help them adapt to climate change. The FAO states that 37 countries face food crises due to conflict and disaster, noting there has already been tension and political unrest related to food markets in such countries as Morocco, Senegal and Mauritania.
The European Union has reduced farm subsidies and import tariffs, and intentionally set low targets for biofuel use (10% by 2020) to limit food price rises, in contrast to the USA where subsidised corn ethanol is seen as a priority. A new US Energy Bill that became law in December 2007 requires increased use of bioethanol.
Biofuels from Algae
Royal Dutch Shell plc and HR Biopetroleum have formed a joint venture company called Cellana to develop a biofuels project using algae as a source of biofuels. A pilot project will cultivate algae in open seawater ponds, then harvest the crops and extract oil from them for conversion into such fuels as biodiesel. The facility is to be built on land leased from the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) on the Hawaiian island of Kona, where a piped constant supply of clean, fresh ocean water is available to grow the algae.
NELHA was originally built to support a US Department of Energy (DoE) project for ocean thermal energy conversion, and continues to use that project's seawater supply pipes to support a variety of other research projects and commercial enterprises, including facilities that currently grow and harvest algae for pharmaceuticals and nutritional supplements.
Marine microalgae grow rapidly and contain a high percentage of lipids. They represent a more environmentally acceptable source of biofuel feedstocks than such plants as rapeseed, palm, soybean, or jatropha, which consume and effectively sterilise land suitable for human food production. Algae-growing facilities can be built on coastal land unsuitable for conventional agriculture.
Chevron Corporation and the US DoE National Renewable Energy Laboratory have also entered into a collaborative research and development agreement to produce biofuels from algae, with particular attention to identify and develop algal strains that can be economically harvested and processed into jet fuel.
Sea Level Rise to be Faster than Predicted
An international team funded by the EU STOPFEN project (Sea level, Temperature and Ocean circulation, Past and Future, a European Network) has suggested that future sea level rise could be twice as high as the estimates from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The reference is E. J. Rohling, et al, “High rates of sea-level rise during the last interglacial period”, Nature Geoscience, 2007, doi:10.1038/ngeo.2007.28.
The IPCC estimates mainly concern ocean water thermal expansion and surface ice melting, and do not quantify the impact of dynamic ice sheet processes or carbon cycle feedbacks, so their predictions are likely to be too low. Currently the IPCC predicts that sea levels will rise by between 18 and 59 centimetres by the end of the present century. But until now there have been no data that sufficiently constrain the full rate of past sea level rises above the present level.
The EU study was based on a new method for sea level reconstruction during the last interglacial period, known as Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, when global mean surface temperatures were at least 2C warmer than at present. Greenland was 3C to 5C warmer than today, similar to the warming expected by 2070.
The analysis found that the accompanying rates of sea level rise caused by ice volume loss on Greenland and Antarctica were very high, with an average rate of rise of 1.6 metres per century, which is roughly twice as high as the maximum estimates in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.
Increasing Atmospheric CO2 Means Wetter Storms for the Northern Hemisphere
Two recent studies by researchers at the University of Colorado at the Boulder Co-operative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences predict wetter storms for the Arctic and for the Northern Hemisphere because of global warming, but whether or not this means more net precipitation depends on the latitude. The research was published in a 28th December 2007 special edition of the Journal of Geophysical Research -Biogeosciences under the title "Changes in the Arctic Freshwater System: Identification, Attribution and Impacts at Local and Global Scales”. It was based on data sets from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report.
Global climate model predictions for the 21st century indicate an increase in the frequency of storms in the Arctic with no clear trend in the mid-latitudes, but an increase in the amount of precipitation associated with individual storms in both regions. Higher precipitation at high latitudes over the next century could influence important climate factors, such as seasonal snow cover, ice sheet growth and freshwater dilution of the Arctic Ocean. Enhancing freshwater sources to the ocean could, if substantial, affect the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (including the Gulf Stream) that helps maintain the temperate climate of Western Europe and plays a dominant role in global climate.
Mid-latitudes, like the continental United States, will see wetter storms but also a drop in storm frequency, effectively cancelling out any change in net precipitation. It implies an increased chance that individual events will produce severe weather, but a decrease in overall water resources.
The wetter storms and higher precipitation over the Arctic are explained by the heating of the atmosphere as greenhouse gases increase. As the atmosphere warms it can hold more water and this change is largely responsible for the increase in Arctic precipitation that is predicted over the next 100 years.
Carriage of Dangerous Goods Authorisation Update
On 2nd January 2008, the HSE published updated information on Regulation 9 of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2007. Regulation 9 permits either the Health and Safety Executive or the Secretary of State for Transport to authorise carriage of dangerous goods contrary to the prohibitions or requirements of the Regulations. The power does not apply in relation to transportable pressure equipment. The HSE has this power in relation to Class 1 goods (explosives) and the Secretary of State for Transport for other classes of dangerous goods. Authorisations granted under the 2004 regulations continue to apply.
A complete list of current authorisations is available at:
Forthcoming Legislative Changes
Among other legislative changes expected to come into force in 2008 are the following:
- From 6th April 2008, the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 will also apply to companies employing between 50 and 100 staff. (The Regulations do not apply to undertakings with fewer than 50 employees; guidance may be found via the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform website.)
- The Employment Tribunal system is currently under review and changes are expected to implement Part 1 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
- The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 comes into force in the UK on 6th April 2008, when Crown immunity to prosecution will be removed.
- In June 2008, the European Chemicals Agency created under the REACH regulations will become operational, and suppliers will be obliged to carry out an inventory and identify where in the supply chain the chemicals come from.
- A single waste management environmental permit will be introduced under the Environmental Permitting Programme from April 2008, amending the previous waste management licence (WML) and pollution prevention and control (PPC) systems. All existing WML or PPC permits will automatically become environmental permits. Outstanding applications will become environmental permits if the application is granted.
Workplace Exposure Limit for Flour Dust
The HSE has published updated guidance for inspectors on the significance of the workplace exposure limit when enforcing measures to achieve adequate control of exposure to flour dust in bakeries. The guidance is available at:
Flour dust presents an explosion hazard, and is a substance hazardous to health and an asthmagen as defined in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended). The Regulations require every employer to ensure that the exposure of his employees to substances hazardous to health is either prevented or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled.
The current workplace exposure limit is set at 10 mg/m3, 8-hour time-weighted average. Bakeries that comply with good control practice can normally expect to reduce exposures to less than 2 mg/m3, although there is still a risk of asthma below that level. The EU Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits recently issued a draft recommendation that there would be only a low risk of developing respiratory symptoms, including asthma, with exposures to inhalable flour dust in the region of 0.5 - 1 mg/m3. Above this exposure range, there is an increasing risk of such effects.
Power Generation to Go Nuclear in England and Wales
On 10th January 2008, the UK Government announced a series of measures to encourage the building of a new generation of nuclear power stations. In brief, the Government plans include:
- Speeding up the planning process to make construction easier.
- There will be no public subsidies for nuclear power, except in (unspecified) emergencies.
- No limit will be set to the amount of electricity generated by nuclear power.
- A new independent body will monitor decommissioning costs.
- Nuclear waste will be stored at an “interim” facility until a suitable permanent underground site is found (none having been identified in the past half century, despite numerous detailed surveys).
- Investment in wind and wave power will be trebled.
Private operators will build the new reactors and the Government does not propose to make public money available (so far, no nuclear plant has been built anywhere in the world without public money). Instead, it will concentrate on “streamlining” the planning process and identifying likely sites for new plants.
The Government will liaise through a body called the Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurances Board, whose duties will include overseeing decommissioning costs and their impact on end-user prices, and a review of potential sites for new reactors (i.e. next to existing plants).
According to the Government analysis, the rising price of hydrocarbon energy and EU carbon penalties mean that nuclear power will become one of the cheapest electricity generating options available (excluding the cost of decommissioning from the public purse, which has not happened so far). The French energy company EDF said that it plans to build four nuclear plants in the UK by 2017, without subsidies.
The Government’s nuclear plans could still be subject to a legal challenge from Greenpeace, on the grounds of a flawed review process. Greenpeace claims that research shows that even ten new reactors would reduce UK carbon emissions only by 4% some time after 2025.
The Scottish Parliament has control of the planning system in Scotland and must give consent under the Electricity Act to the construction of new power stations above a certain size. They are unlikely to agree to more nuclear power stations being built in Scotland.
The Government is also publishing an Energy Bill designed to reduce carbon emissions and secure UK power supplies.
Occupational Exposure Risks of Fire-Fighters
In many countries, the state authorities have already acknowledged that fire-fighters are exposed to a wider range of workplace risks than the general population. In Canada, legislation exists in six provinces to compensate fire-fighters for work-related cancer deaths, as is the case in many states in the USA. The government in Australia Capital Territory announced recently that it is setting up a working group to investigate possible links between escalating cancer rates among fire-fighters and their workplace environment.
The Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Research Institute (IRSST) has published four reviews of the scientific literature concerning the occupational exposure risks of fire-fighters to developing certain forms of cancer. The main areas of concern were colorectal cancer, leukaemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, cancer of the respiratory system, oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, prostate, testicles and skin.
The general conclusions were that the epidemiological data only provided evidence of an increased risk in relation to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, arising from exposure to possible carcinogenic substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene, 1,3-butadiene and diesel emissions.
The papers can be downloaded from:
http://www.irsst.qc.ca/en/_projet_3368.html.
HSE Workplace Transport Injury Statistics
On 11th January 2008, the HSE published statistics on workplace transport injuries to workers reported under RIDDOR in 2006/07 and recent years. The report can be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/rhstran.pdf.
- Fatal workplace transport injuries over the past two years amount to 103, comprising 51 in 2005/06 and 52 in 2006/07.
- Major workplace transport injuries over the past two years stand at 3,879, consisting of 1,948 in 2005/06 and 1,931 in 2006/07.
- There were 4,368 over-three-day injuries to workers in 2005/06; and 4,233 in 2006/07.
The accidents are classified into five types:
- Struck by a moving vehicle.
- People falling from a vehicle.
- Materials falling from a vehicle.
- Collapse/overturn of a vehicle.
- Hit against a vehicle.
EU Changes Biofuel Policy
The European Union acknowledged in January 2008 that it had initially underestimated the danger to rainforests, the risk of increasing water scarcity and of forcing up food prices from its policy of setting binding targets for the use of biofuels.
In March 2007, the EU set a mandatory target that at least 10% of transport fuel should come from biofuels by 2020. The implementation of that target is likely to change, because the drive for transport fuels produced from crops has resulted in unforeseen damage.
Tougher environmental criteria will be set for biofuels under the heading of sustainability, including social and environmental issues. The EU will introduce a certification scheme for biofuels, including a clampdown on biodiesel from palm oil, which is leading to forest destruction in Indonesia. There is still debate over the extent to which the EU should favour imports of biofuels from such countries as Brazil and to what extent it should use agricultural subsidies to produce them at home. Crops grown to make biofuels include corn, soybeans, rapeseed and sugar cane. The subsidies to grow these crops could further increase the rising cost of food, and the benefits have not been properly measured.
A recent UK report, Sustainable Biofuels: Prospects and Challenges, from the Royal Society, commented that a directive requiring fuel suppliers to use more biofuels would do little to combat climate change because it is not linked to targets for reducing greenhouse gases. The Royal Society report can be downloaded from:
http://royalsociety.org/displaypagedoc.asp?id=28632.
Warwickshire Packing Plant Fire Investigation
Following the Wealmoor Atherstone Ltd packing plant fire at Atherstone-on-Stour in Warwickshire in which four fire-fighters died in November 2007, the HSE served an Improvement Notice to the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Authority (WFRA) as the employer under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
HSE investigators formed the opinion that the current arrangements employed by the Fire and Rescue Authority do not comply with the statutory duties to provide its fire- fighters with all the information they should have to assist them in making the appropriate decisions when attending a fire. The Improvement Notice requires the Fire and Rescue Authority to make the appropriate arrangements to gather and take action in response to information about special risks which may be present at premises where fire-fighters may have to deal with emergencies. The WFRA is required to make an Action Plan for the inspection of premises that ensures links are made between the relevant prevention, enforcement and operations sections of WFRA and which, in return, gives priority to higher-risk premises. This is to be done within a realistic timescale, taking account of all the information gathered and received by WFRA. The Improvement Notice also requires the Authority to ensure that the arrangements are reviewed at appropriate periods. The Authority is permitted to take equally effective steps to meet the requirements of health and safety legislation.
Severn Barrage Feasibility Study
In late January 2008, the European Union announced an Order requiring the UK to increase the amount of energy it generates from renewable sources from 2% to 15% by 2020. This pressured the British Government into announcing details of a feasibility study into the construction of a Severn Barrage, extending from the South Wales coast to Weston-super-Mare. As a tidal power project utilising the Severn Bore phenomenon it could satisfy around 5% of present UK electricity demand. A two-year study will include the social, environmental and economic impacts of all the proposals and be open to a full public consultation in 2010.
The barrage would be on a scale never before attempted in the UK and the environmental havoc it would wreak is likely to be immense. The Government can grant itself powers to bypass existing national planning procedures, but cannot evade EU law on the issues. Perhaps more relevant is the question of who would pay for such a giant project, conservatively estimated at around £15 billion.
Information on REACH
In addition to four existing guidance documents, the HSE has added four new information leaflets to its REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals) information and guidance page at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/reach/resources.htm.
The new topics, downloadable as individual PDF documents, deal with:
- REACH - The basics.
- REACH - Timeline.
- REACH - Pre-registration.
- REACH - Exemptions.
EU Energy and Climate Plan
On 24th January 2008, the European Commission presented draft laws on energy sector reform and ways to fight climate change, based on binding targets agreed by EU leaders last March. The main aims of the proposals, which must be approved by the 27 member states and the European Parliament, are:
- A 20% reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases by 2020 compared to a 1990 base level. This is well below the 25% to 40% target agreed internationally at the UN Bali Conference in December 2007. The cut would be increased to 30% if there were an international agreement on the issue.
- That 20% of power production should be from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, wave, hydroelectric and biomass by 2020, from the current level of 8.5%.
- That usage of biofuels should amount to 10% of transport fuel, but new criteria will ensure that biofuels produce less CO2 and their growth in use does not endanger the environment. This is in conflict with the view that biomass fuels are more efficiently used for electricity and heat production, rather than wasted by high-consumption road vehicles. The “new criteria” include a saving in carbon dioxide emissions of 35% compared to crude oil, crops must not be produced on "land of high biodiversity", may not be produced from land with high carbon stocks, and must use best agricultural practices.
After 2012, the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will be extended to more industries, such as chemicals and aluminium. Aviation will also be “partly included”. Emissions covered by the scheme will be cut by 21% from the 2005 level.
There will be a full auctioning of emissions permits for industries able to pass on the cost, including the power sector, and a gradual phase-in of auctioning of permits for refineries and the aviation sector, starting at 20% in 2013 and rising to 100% in 2020.
The initial free allocation of permits to energy-intensive industries such as steel, aluminium and cement will be phased out gradually. Leftover credits from 2008-2012 can be used in 2013-2020.
Emissions from sectors not covered by the ETS, such as transport, building, services and agriculture, are to be cut by an average of 10% from the 2005 level.
Countries unable to reach their