New Bill on Health and Safety Training Proposed to Parliament
The Health and Safety (Education and Training) Bill was read on 22nd October 2008 by George Howarth MP under the parliamentary Ten Minute Rule, calling for health and safety elements to be embedded throughout the UK education system. Relevant health and safety elements for vocational and professional curricula, e.g. for architects, planners, designers, engineers, managers, doctors and teachers, would be delivered at every level of the workforce.
The Private Member's Bill was supported by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and aims to plug gaps in health and safety awareness that may be putting employees’ lives at risk. It has been estimated that the financial cost of workplace accidents and ill-health to society, including social security payments, NHS treatments and lost taxes, totals up to £31 billion each year.
It was argued that tackling health and safety education in schools before students start their work experience reflects the vision espoused by Dame Carol Black following her review of the health of the working age population in the report, Working for a Healthier Tomorrow.
Health and Safety Statistics for 2007/08
At the end of October 2008, the Health and Safety Executive published online their Health and Safety Statistics for 2007/08 at:
www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/hssoct08.htm
The figures show a reduction in the numbers of people killed, injured or made ill by work during 2007/08. Since 2001 there has been a trend for reported major injuries at work to fall, at a rate equivalent to around 9%. Work-related ill-health has also fallen in the same period, although the rate of improvement is not as great as hoped. Workplace deaths fell by around 5%.
In summary the numbers are:
- 2.1 million people were suffering from work-related illnesses.
- Over 136,000 workers suffered injuries such as amputations, burns or fractures.
- 34 million working days were lost in Great Britain due to injury and ill-health.
- 229 people were killed at work.
- 1,028 offences were prosecuted by the HSE.
- 354 offences were prosecuted by local authorities.
The PAS 2050 Carbon Audit Standard
The carbon audit system known as PAS 2050 will be managed by the British Standards Institution (BSI). PAS 2050 has been developed by the BSI following consultation and has been introduced as a new standard that allows UK firms of all sizes to measure the size of the carbon footprints of their goods. The audit involved will show users how much CO2 has been emitted during the production, consumption and disposal of a range of products. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is a co-sponsor of the scheme.
The precursor to PAS 2050 was initially launched in 2006 by the government-funded organisation, Carbon Trust, in response to growing consumer demand for such information. At present, only a statistically insignificant number of firms know the size of their operation’s carbon footprint.
The Climate Change Act 2008 commits future governments to reducing carbon emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.
Pesticide Risk in the European Union
A study published on 22nd October 2008 in the journal Environmental Health (reference Marina Bjorling-Poulsen, Helle Raun Andersen, Philippe Grandjean, “Potential developmental neurotoxicity of pesticides used in Europe”, Env Health 2008, 7:50doi:10.1186/1476-069X-7-50) claimed that many pesticides used in the European Union may damage brain growth in foetuses and young children and urged the EU to greater testing and caution in approving such chemicals because of uncertainties about their effects.
The paper is based on a review of nearly 200 scientific reports worldwide about the brain and pesticides. The authors point out that toxicity to the brain is not routinely included in the testing of pesticides. Because many pesticides are by design neurotoxic to insects, it is very likely that they are also toxic to human brains.
The study focused on the use of pesticides in the 27 nations of the EU, which is currently reviewing pesticide laws. Pesticides used on food crops in the EU exceed 140,000 tonnes a year, corresponding to 280 grams per EU citizen. The study found that more than 25% of fruits, vegetables and cereals on offer for sale to the public contain detectable residues of at least two pesticides.
Unregulated Fishing and Resource Wastage
A study entitled “Forage Fish: From Ecosystems to Markets” was published by Jacqueline Alder, et al, in Annual Review of Environment and Resources, November 2008, Vol. 33, pages 153-166, reference doi:10.1146/annurev.environ.33.020807.143204.
The authors write that one-third of the world's ocean fish catch is ground up for animal feed in intensive food production, representing a potential problem for marine ecosystems and the waste of a resource that could directly nourish humans. The types of fish being used to feed pigs, chickens and farm-raised fish are often thought of as bait, including anchovies, sardines, menhaden and other small- to medium-sized species. They are known commercially as forage fish and account for 37% or 31.5 million tonnes of all fish taken from the world's oceans each year. Of that catch 90% is turned into fishmeal or fish oil, most of which is used as agricultural and aquaculture feed.
Forage fish are near the base of the marine food web and provide a food source for larger fish, ocean-dwelling marine mammals and sea birds, especially puffins and gulls. Unlike such highly regarded human food fish as tuna, swordfish and cod, the extraction of forage fish is largely unregulated, and the excessive removal of the small fish from the ocean environment is thought to be damaging the species that feed on them. It also interferes with food security for humans. On average it takes 1.36 to 2.27 kg of fishmeal to produce 0.45 kg of farm-raised fish, i.e. to produce 1 kg of fish-farm meat takes 3 to 5 kg of edible forage fish protein. Most forage fish are rich in omega 3 fatty acids associated with heart health, so it makes more sense to consume them rather than use them as fish-farm feed.
The study argues that there is considerable scope for policy-makers to change the current management of forage fisheries and to enhance their contribution to food security and economic development. Industry and consumers have an important role in finding the balance between those fisheries contributing to human food security and poverty alleviation on the one hand, and sustaining intensive animal food production systems, especially aquaculture, on the other.
Workplace Anthrax Death in London
In early November 2008, the second UK drum maker in two years died after inhaling anthrax spores from imported animal skins. Before he died the man was in intensive care for more than a week after handling skins at his drum-making workshop in London. Such deaths among drum makers are in fact quite rare; there have been six known cases globally since 1974.
There are no official statistics on the number of drum makers and handlers of skins for drum making in Britain as it is very much a small-scale, independent craft industry. However, members of African communities who make or carry out repairs are at inhalation or open wound risk from skins contaminated with the resistant spores of the Bacillus anthracis organism. The early symptoms are similar to influenza, but if untreated may be followed by severe breathing difficulties, blood poisoning and fatal shock.
Anthrax is a disease of sporadic appearance that can affect cattle and goats, llamas, yaks and bison anywhere in the world. The hides of cows and goats are used to make African drums, and they are imported mainly from Gambia and Senegal; but outside the African tradition drum skins are usually more extensively processed and purchased by the maker prepared without any hair. Drum makers are most at risk during the preparation of the skin, which involves stretching it over a frame and scraping hair from the hide to give it a smooth finish.
Most contemporary European drums are made from artificial fibres, except for some antique orchestral drums and the Irish bodhrán, which are made from goat or deer hide; but musicians who play such instruments prefer the thicker, cool climate skins of North European animals, prepared under more rigorous legislative restrictions.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) stated that there are no other occupations known to be at risk, as such employment as rug making is more rigorously regulated. However, the HPA stated that it would review its guidance following an investigation into the recent death.
Suppliers' Duties under REACH
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has included 15 substances on its Candidate List of chemicals deemed to be in the category of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs). An SVHC is defined as a substance that may have very serious or irreversible harmful effects on humans and the environment. Substances on the Candidate List may subsequently become subject to authorisation by decision of the European Commission.
From 28th October 2008, EU and EEA suppliers of SVHCs became subject to new rules governing their safe use under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. If their products contain substances on the List in a concentration above 0.1% (w/w) they must provide customers with sufficient information to ensure the safe use of the articles, and a safety data sheet if a substance is included on the List. Suppliers must also provide sufficient information to consumers within 45 days of receiving a request.
There are also new rules for preparations not classified as dangerous, according to the Dangerous Preparations Directive (1999/45/EC). Suppliers will still have to provide recipients with a safety data sheet if the preparation contains at least one substance on the Candidate List, and its individual concentration is at least 0.1% (w/w) for non-gaseous preparations, and at least 0.2% by volume for gaseous preparations.
The Candidate List web pages are at:
www.echa.europa.eu/chem_data/candidate_list_table_en.asp
Illegal Vaccine Triggers Bluetongue Outbreak
On 24th October 2008, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture announced that four cows in the Netherlands had contracted a strain of the bluetongue virus never before seen in Europe. It was most likely introduced by the illegal use of a live vaccine and there was concern that the virus strain might spread, complicating attempts to control the disease. The bluetongue virus is spread between cattle, sheep and goats by biting midges; some 24 serotypes have been identified, several of which are becoming more common in Europe. The serotype called BTV1 is at present moving northward across France; another called BTV8, which probably originated in Africa, appeared on Dutch farms in 2006 and has since spread as far as Sweden, Spain, the UK, and Hungary.
In October, the Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen University in Lelystad, the Netherlands, discovered the new virus variant after autopsies on dead cattle. A detailed genetic analysis at the UK Institute for Animal Health in Pirbright, revealed that the outbreak was caused by serotype BTV6 and almost certainly caused by a live bluetongue vaccine produced by Onderstepoort Biological Products, a company in South Africa. The vaccine is used in Africa and the Middle East but is not registered for use in Europe. Most European countries are reluctant to use live bluetongue vaccines because of the risk of causing disease or of mutation to a more virulent form.
The Dutch Agriculture Ministry ordered an investigation into the origin of the outbreak. The owners of the dead cows had vaccinated using a registered bluetongue vaccine, and it was thought their cattle had become infected by other farm stock in the region that had been illegally vaccinated. The Onderstepoort vaccine is designed only for goats and sheep and comprises three injections that together offer protection against 15 serotypes, including BTV6. The company did not know how the unsuitable vaccine had got to Europe.
Due to the considerable economic importance of controlling the disease, the European Commission said on 29th October 2008 that it proposed to spend an extra €100 million on fighting bluetongue in 2009, on top of the €60 million already pledged. The measure has yet to be approved by the European Parliament and the member states.
Near-Perfect Solar Panel Coating
A research paper published in early November 2008 in the journal Optics Letters, Vol. 33, Issue 21, pages 2527-2529, describes a new type of reflective coating that can make solar panels much more efficient, enabling them to soak up nearly all available sunlight from nearly any angle. Current solar panels absorb only about two-thirds of available sunlight, but surfaces treated with a coating developed at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, can boost the amount of light captured by solar panels and allow them to absorb 96.21% of the entire spectrum of sunlight from any angle, regardless of the sun’s position in the sky. This means that only 3.79% of the sunlight is reflected and unharvested. The gain in absorption is consistent across the entire spectrum from ultraviolet to visible light and infrared, and moves solar power a significant step forward to economic viability.
The coating of silicon dioxide and titanium dioxide nanorods is made up of seven layers of porous material stacked in such a way that each enhances the antireflective properties of the layer below. Together they act as a buffer zone, trapping light from all angles and increasing efficiency by 30%. The material could be applied to all types of solar cells and does not require many added instruments to adopt the technology.
The paper reference is M. Kuo, D. J. Poxson, Y. S. Kim, F. W. Mont, J. K. Kim, E. F. Schubert, and S. Lin, "Realisation of a near-perfect antireflection coating for silicon solar energy utilisation", Opt. Lett. 33, 2527-2529 (2008), doi:10.1364/OL.33.002527.
The abstract can be read at:
www.opticsinfobase.org/ol/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-33-21-2527
Musicians’ Noise Exposure
On 7th November 2008, the Health and Safety Executive published its research report RR664, Musicians' hearing protection: A review. The music and entertainment industry is unique in that high noise levels are often regarded as an essential element for the enjoyment of people attending concerts and live music events; but those who work in the industry are at risk of hearing damage. One of the methods used to reduce noise exposure is the use of appropriate hearing protection. Many different types of hearing protection have been marketed for musicians, including pre-moulded earplugs, custom-moulded earplugs and in-ear monitors; but in general musicians are unaware of such equipment and those who choose to wear ear defenders tend to buy standard industrial models, which may not be suitable for this use.
The report concludes that custom-moulded musicians' vented earplugs, which use interchangeable filters to offer different levels of protection between 9 and 25 dB, are the most suitable for ensemble use as they have attenuation characteristics that follow the natural frequency response of the open ear but at a reduced level to preserve sound quality. Unfortunately they are expensive and more likely to be used by musicians whose employers provide them free of charge. There were also difficulties found in fitting the earplugs while holding an instrument at the same time, and having very little time within a piece of music to fit the earplugs.
The report can be downloaded from:
www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr664.pdf
Declining Health and Safety Enforcement
A research report by the Centre for Corporate Accountability, commissioned by the trade union Unite, Lack of Investigation 2001-2007, www.amicustheunion.org/pdf/finalreportamic27May%20v1.pdf , finds that Health and Safety Executive investigations into major workplace injuries have fallen dramatically. Between 2001-02 and 2006-07, the number of investigations into major injuries under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 declined by 43%. The latest year for which statistics were available was 2006-07, when only 10.5% of such reported injuries were investigated. Over the period 2001-2007 there was a 69% fall in the number of 'over-three-day' injuries investigated, a 31% decline in the number of 'dangerous occurrences' investigated, and a 68% drop in the number of investigations of work-activity-related injuries to members of the public.
The issue of investigation levels is crucial to deciding whether an injury or dangerous occurrence was caused by a health and safety failure. Unite maintains that the significant reduction in the level of investigations and prosecutions can result in failures both in relation to prevention and in securing criminal accountability, and is a symptom of the under-resourcing of the HSE.
The HSE Annual Reports for 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 are available online at:
www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/hsinhse0607.pdf
www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/hsinhse0708.pdf
Wind Energy Blown Off Course
UK Government plans for renewable energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS) have hit a swathe of problems that threaten to blow them well off course. Royal Dutch Shell withdrew from the UK wind energy market in 2008, citing escalating costs. In November 2008, BP announced that it was abandoning UK wind energy and concentrating instead on the better returns available in the USA market. It was also withdrawing its bid for a government-funded scheme to develop a coal-fired power plant using CCS. BP said it was unable to find suitable partners to form a consortium for the project. However, other companies are still believed to be interested in the scheme, including E.ON UK, Peel Holdings and Scottish Power.
The companies building wind farms also complain of a shortage of turbines and difficulties in connecting to the national power grid for both onshore and offshore facilities. There are only two offshore turbine manufacturers, Siemens AG and Vestas Wind Systems A/S, and both makers are subject to short-term supply constraints.
The British target is to generate 15% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, representing 33 gigawatts of wind power, but the current rate at which wind farms are being completed means the UK will generate only about 5% of its energy from renewables by 2020. At present there are 149 offshore turbines in UK waters, compared with an extra 3,000 required to hit the 2020 target. Planning problems, the lack of financial incentives and the trebling of costs since 2003 have resulted in many major developers seeking the more established investment climates available overseas.
Radioactive Leak into the River Tamar
Investigations by several enforcing agencies were initiated after 280 litres of coolant water contaminated with radioactive tritium were discharged by the nuclear submarine, “HMS Trafalgar”, into the Hamoaze area of the River Tamar. The leakage was caused by a hose rupture while the primary coolant was being transferred from the submarine to an effluent tank on the jetty at Devonport. The incident took place during maintenance activities on the night of 6th/7th November 2008. The Royal Navy said no-one had been hurt and the vessel's nuclear power plant was unaffected.
The Environment Agency, Health and Safety Executive and the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator were informed of the incident. Investigations were being carried out by the Ministry of Defence and the Environment Agency in liaison with the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate.
A previous radioactive spill at the dockyard was reported in October 2005, when ten litres of water leaked out as the main reactor circuit of “HMS Victorious” was being cleaned to reduce radiation. Earlier the same year the Environment Agency threatened legal action against former dockyard owner Devonport Management Limited after two spillages within the space of a week.
There were ten nuclear leaks at the base between 1980 and 1998, during which 570 litres of radioactive liquid were lost. The worst incident was in 1985 when around 350 litres were spilled. The dockyard is licensed to discharge low-level radioactive water in the Tamar. The limits were increased by 500% in 2002.
New Standard on Emergency Lighting
In November 2008, the British Standards Institution published BS 5266-10:2008, Guide to the design and provision of emergency lighting to reduce the risks from hazards in the event of failure of the normal lighting supply.
The existing standards, BS 5266-1, BS EN 1838/BS 5266-7 and BS EN 50172/BS 5266-8, suggest minimum lighting levels necessary to allow safe evacuation or process shut-down, but references are given in general terms. BS 5266-10:2008 provides specific guidance on the hazards that can arise in a building as a result of the type or number of occupants, the design of the premises and activities carried out within it; and on the actions occupants have a responsibility to perform in the event of a normal lighting supply failure. It also provides advice for inspecting engineers on the suitability of the emergency lighting design and installation for new and existing systems.
EU Global Warming Limit Not Achievable
A pre-publication release by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on 7th November 2008 of its annual publication, World Energy Outlook, warned that the European Union target to limit warming of the planet to no more than 2 degrees Celsius, set by the EU Council of Ministers in 1996, might not be technically achievable. The report concludes that even ignoring the debate about political feasibility it is uncertain whether the scale of the transformation envisaged is even technically possible, as the scenario assumes broad development of technologies that have not yet been proven.
The implication is that the world may have to accept higher warming limits than targeted by the EU since 1996, and prepare for such consequences as more droughts, floods and rising sea levels. The UN climate panel (IPCC) said in 2007 that for an average global temperature rise above 3 degrees, hundreds of millions of people would be exposed to increased water shortages. The IEA is the energy adviser to 28 industrialised countries. It writes that stronger action to fight climate change will involve rapidly escalating costs to deploy expensive, untested technologies, such as carbon scrubbers, and even the abandoning of assets such as high-carbon, coal- burning plants. The IEA states that the reality of the cost of early capital retirement of polluting assets must be faced in order to deliver deep cuts in emissions.
The IEA document analyses two scenarios to limit warming to 2 degrees and 3 degrees, and estimates that they would cost about $180 and $90 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions respectively. The present EU carbon price is about €18 (US $23.20) and accounts for about one fifth of European consumer electricity prices.
Sharp Rise in Fire-Fighter Deaths
A report and press release issued by the fire-fighters’ union, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), on 10th November 2008 drew attention to the sharp rise in fire-fighter deaths over the past five years. Between February 1996 and October 2002 there were no recorded fire-fighter deaths at fires in the UK, but in the last five years (2003-2007) at least 13 fire-fighters died while on duty attending fires. Eight died on duty in 2007 alone.
The report, In the Line of Duty – Fire-fighter deaths in the UK since 1978, was commissioned by the FBU from the Labour Research Department, and identifies five contributory factors to the increasing death rate:
- There is no current safety-critical operational guidance from central government.
- Fire-fighters have been committed to emergency incidents on the basis of inadequate assessments of the risks.
- Some integrated risk management plans and risk assessments have been inadequate to the point of compromising fire-fighter safety.
- There is insufficient training for emergency response, not enough training for incident command, not enough time spent on realistic “hot fire” training, and not enough specialist training in safety-critical areas such as breathing apparatus and building construction.
- Crewing levels were not high enough in six areas of England.
The report calls for the creation of a national Fire and Rescue Service body, responsible for ensuring that the findings and recommendations from fatal or other serious incidents are considered and implemented across all fire authorities; the body should be given the task of keeping adequate records of incidents involving the deaths and serious injury of fire-fighters at national level and be responsible for developing and agreeing safety-critical national guidance based on the lessons learned from deaths and from other serious incidents. Also called for is greater investment in training, with a greater emphasis on training for operational emergency response and the technical knowledge that is required to support such response. Improvements in the emergency planning guidance and in emergency response are necessary.
Implementation of Buncefield Recommendations
On 14th November 2008, the Health and Safety Executive published online implementation guidance based on the recommendations of the Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board (MIIB) report, Emergency Preparedness Response and Recovery. The URL is:
www.hse.gov.uk/comah/buncefield/recommendations.pdf
Recommendations 1 and 3-6 of the report are aimed at “Buncefield-type sites” and apply to all sites defined in the Buncefield Standards Task Group (BSTG) initial report; Recommendations 7 and 8 apply to all sites regulated under the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999.
The Government response to two of the four major reports made by the MIIB was published online as Command Paper CM.7491 at:
www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2008/buncefield.pdf
Climate Change Bill Passed
Parliament gave its final approval to the Climate Change Bill on 19th November 2008 (most of the Bill was passed in October 2008 by 463 votes to 3). The legislation commits the UK Government to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. This makes Britain the first country to pass such a legally binding framework on climate change, although cynics might comment that no present Member of Parliament will be around to answer for possible failure. The cost of the emissions reduction is claimed to be equivalent to around 1% to 2% of gross domestic product.
The Bill creates an independent Committee on Climate Change to advise the Government on new carbon budgets, which will cap carbon emissions over a running series of five-year periods. The Government is obliged to report to Parliament on how it plans to meet the limits, which cover all industries including international shipping and aviation to and from the country. The legislation also contains powers to establish emissions trading schemes, measures on biofuels, powers to reduce household waste and to require retailers to reduce the use of plastic bags. Ministers are obliged to report every five years on the risks climate change poses to Britain, and state how they intend to address them.
Proposals to Regulate Ship-Breaking
The EU Environment Commission issued a statement on 19th November 2008 containing proposals for a new international convention on ship-breaking. Between 200 and 600 large merchant ships are dismantled every year in order to recover and recycle scrap metal. Those ships removed from service in Europe are usually broken on beaches in such countries as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. While ship-breaking does create thousands of jobs, the lives of workers are being put at risk by the deplorable conditions and coastal areas are being polluted by toxic waste seepages. The workers are exposed to asbestos and other hazardous materials, and there is a high accident rate. The Commission notes that in 2006 the decommissioned French warship “Clemenceau” was rejected from Indian waters because it contained an estimated 270 tonnes of asbestos and other toxic substances.
The International Maritime Organisation is preparing a globally binding convention to provide comprehensive control and enforcement on safe ship recycling. Negotiations are due to finish by May 2009, but it is not expected to enter into force before 2015. There is some urgency in dealing with the situation as some 800 single-hull oil tankers are currently being phased out and will soon be banned; all will probably be sent to breakers in South Asia, but they should be dismantled under the highest possible safety standards and more rigorous supervision.
In the meantime the EU Executive Commission has proposed measures which include:
- Technical assistance and support to developing countries for safety training and basic infrastructure for environmental and health protection.
- Enforcement of waste shipment rules and more checks at European ports.
- Establishing a list of ships ready for scrapping.
- Certification and mandatory inventories of hazardous materials onboard hulks.
- Making warships and other government vessels subject to EU rules for clean dismantling, if not covered by the convention.
Asbestos Liability is from Point of Exposure
A diagnosis of asbestos-induced mesothelioma may not be made until 40 years after exposure to asbestos dust in the workplace, at which point death occurs on average within 14 months. Before 2006, the insurers had argued successfully that their liability under the policies they sold was triggered only when the disease developed, rather than from the time of exposure.
On 21st November 2008, a High Court ruled that the insurers of employers of persons who bring an action for compensation for asbestos-related lung cancer face liability from when the victims were exposed to asbestos fibres, and not the point at which the disease is diagnosed.
The ruling confirmed the finding of a Court of Appeal more than two years ago, which was contested in a complex legal action brought in 2008 by insurance companies that have either ceased trading or not provided policies for a number of years, and which concerned occupiers’ liability insurance rather than employers’ liability insurance.
The High Court decided that whereas the date of manifestation of mesothelioma by medical diagnosis is clear, the point at which the injurious event takes place, or when the disease is present, is the point at which liability arises. The injury or disease is present in the body of the sufferer long before the date of the onset of symptoms.
The ruling means that affected employees can claim against their former employers’ historic insurers without having to present exact proof of when life-threatening tumours developed. The number of deaths attributed to asbestos-related conditions is around 2,000 a year, and is likely to rise to a peak around 2015.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rise to Record Levels
The Atmospheric Environment and Research Division of the United Nations World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) published its fourth annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin on 25th November 2008 at:
www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/ghg/documents/ghg-bulletin-4-final-english.pdf
The WMO bulletins represent the consensus of a consortium of networks and report on the latest trends and atmospheric burdens of the most influential and long-lived greenhouse gases, as well as providing a summary of the contributions of the lesser gases.
The 2008 report finds that global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) reached record high levels in 2007, symptomatic of a long-term, steadily rising trend that shows no sign of levelling off. Methane (CH4), a more aggressive greenhouse gas than CO2, showed its largest annual increase in a decade. These three major gases contribute around 88% of the increase in radiative forcing of the atmosphere by changes in long-lived greenhouse gases occurring since the beginning of the industrial age (1750).
The WMO also found that levels of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons have continued their slow decrease, the result of emission cuts introduced under the 1987 Montreal Protocol which aims to protect the shielding layer of the atmosphere that blocks harmful solar rays. The phase-out of ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol has in addition had a positive effect on climate.
The UN has warned repeatedly that high atmospheric levels of the radiation-trapping greenhouse gases emitted by factories, cars and agriculture will lead to rising sea levels, more frequent and severe storms, more heatwaves and more droughts.
The current Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 and has been rendered ineffective because the United States refused to ratify the original accord, and the rapidly industrialising nations of China and India were not subject to emissions targets. A new international climate pact is expected by the end of 2009, perhaps this time with the co-operation of America and China.
Clinical Waste and the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Manual
The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2007 (CDG 2007) and the European agreement, “Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises dangereuses par route”, known as ADR, together regulate the carriage of dangerous goods by road and are highly prescriptive. The Regulations were substantially restructured for 2007 and include the carriage of radioactive substances. The Health and Safety Executive publishes an accompanying CDG manual intended for enforcement officers, who may include dangerous goods safety advisers. The manual has been updated from 1st December 2008 and now contains an extended section on clinical waste and revised enforcement guidance referring to the use of new style “Instructions in Writing”.
Buncefield Operators Face Prosecution
On 1st December 2008, the Environment Agency released a statement in which it announced that five companies are to be prosecuted over the Buncefield oil depot fire in December 2005, which caused widespread damage and left 43 people injured. Criminal proceedings had begun against Total UK, Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd and the British Pipeline Agency. TAV Engineering and Motherwell Control Systems 2003 are also being prosecuted. The decision to prosecute followed a complex criminal investigation conducted by the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency.
Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd, the Buncefield site operator, faces two charges which allege that it failed to take all measures necessary to prevent major accidents. The French company that owns Total UK, a 60% shareholder of Hertfordshire Oil Storage, faces three charges alleging that it failed to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that persons not in its employment were not exposed to risks to their health or safety. Both companies, along with the British Pipeline Agency, are also accused of polluting groundwater supplies with fuel and other chemicals. TAV Engineering and Motherwell Control Systems 2003 face one charge each of failing to adequately protect the health and safety of members of the public.
At the time of the announcement a separate civil case involving householders and businesses suing for compensation was still in progress at the High Court in London.
Giant Wind Farm for North Wales
On 3rd December 2008, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) granted approval to the construction of the Gwynt y Môr 750 MW offshore wind farm, which will consist of 250 turbines sited eight miles offshore and ten miles away from Llandudno, Conwy. Gwynt y Môr, combined with three other nearby wind farms, will provide enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of 680,000 homes. The wind farm is planned to start producing power from 2012, subject to consent for onshore electricity works.
The Welsh Assembly Government had requested that the DECC hold a public inquiry into the Gwynt y Môr proposal on the grounds of its visual impact and Llandudno's historic built environment, but the request was overruled by ministerial decision. In granting approval, the DECC said that it took into account both the distance of the development from the shore and work the developer, Npower Renewables Ltd, had done to minimise the visual impact
Other wind farms off the North Wales coast include North Hoyle with 30 turbines, and Burbo with 25, both sites currently generating power; Rhyl Flats, with 25 turbines, is close to construction completion.
Thirteen Pesticides Identified as Food Health Risk
The food risk assessment agency, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which is based in Parma, stated on 24th November 2008 that it had identified 13 substances whose use should be reduced in growing fruit and vegetables to protect human health. EFSA is at present risk-assessing 300 active substances, including chemicals and micro-organisms, used in pesticides across the European Union countries to establish whether the existing maximum residue levels (MRLs) are safe for human consumption. EFSA was asked by the European Commission to assess the safety of 15 active substances, and expressed concern in 13 cases. See:
www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1211902194715.htm
The agency proposed lower MRLs where it found safety concerns and also for substances where there were not enough data available to prove the safety of the current levels, or where active substances not authorised for use in the European Union were present as residues on or in imported food and feed.
The European Union is reviewing pesticide laws, prompted by growing concern about the effects of chemical use on consumers. EFSA began to co-ordinate the review of MRLs for pesticides in 2008 and aims to complete it by the end of 2010. From 2009 it will make annual reports on actual consumer exposure to pesticides. The approach taken by EFSA is based on internationally recognised methodology and takes into account different food consumption patterns and products available across the EU. EFSA verifies that exposure levels are safe for all consumers, including potential vulnerable groups such as young children, the elderly and vegetarians. The actual exposure of consumers to pesticides will be evaluated in the EFSA Annual Report on Pesticide Residues.
Cancer Risk from Industrial Organic Solvents
Italian research published in November 2008 by Adele Seniori Constantini and colleagues of the Centre for Study and Prevention of Cancer found that an increased risk of chronic lymphoid leukaemia is associated with workplace benzene exposure. The reference is American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Volume 51, Issue 11, November 2008, pages 803-811, reference DOI:10.1002/ajim.20592. Two other hydrocarbon-based industrial chemicals, xylene and toluene, were also found to be associated with greater chronic lymphoid leukaemia risk. Benzene is a known carcinogen used in the manufacture of plastics, synthetic rubber, dyes and drugs. It has long been established that exposure causes acute myeloid leukaemia, but its association with multiple myeloma and chronic lymphoid leukaemia risk was less clear.
The team carried out a population-based, case-control study to investigate and identify all cases of blood and lymphatic cancers diagnosed in people 20 to 74 years old between 1991 and 1993 in 11 regions in Italy, including a total of 2,737 malignancies. They studied 586 cases of leukaemia (and 1,278 population controls) found in seven of the regions, comparing chemical exposures for the ill individuals to those for 1,278 controls, based on occupation. There was no association between acute myeloid leukaemia and benzene, probably because the disease develops within a relatively short time after exposure and the cases were diagnosed about 30 years after the use of benzene in industrial materials was limited to 2% by a law passed in 1963. The researchers did find a link between multiple myeloma (MM) and chronic lymphoid leukaemia and benzene exposure (263 cases of MM with 1,100 population controls).
Overall, medium to high levels of benzene exposure nearly doubled the risk of these two blood cancers. The more intense exposure was and the longer it lasted, the greater the risk. Exposure to medium to high levels of benzene for more than 15 years increased a person's chronic lymphoid leukaemia risk 4.7-fold, while the same degree of exposure to xylene more than tripled risk. Similar exposure to toluene boosted chronic lymphoid leukaemia risk 4.4-fold. However, the increased risk for multiple myeloma was seen only with benzene, not with exposure to the other two chemicals.
The conclusion was that the findings were in agreement with the hypothesis that acute myeloid leukaemia risk following benzene exposure declines in time while chronic lymphoid leukaemia and multiple myeloma risks are not seen until a longer latency period has passed.
Resource Limitations to Green Energy
Much of the information released to the media by governments and multinational companies on the subject of their future plans for carbon-free energy is essentially rhetoric based on a failure to understand basic resource limitations. Limitations on growth is not a new idea; the Club of Rome published a seminal work on the topic more than 30 years ago (D. H. Meadows, D. L. Meadows, J. Randers, W. W. Behrens, 1972, The Limits to Growth, Pan Books Ltd). Some current examples are outlined here.
Lithium ion batteries reached commercial-scale production in the early 1990s, since when demand for and use of the technology has grown rapidly. Such devices as watches, cameras, laptop computers, mobile phones, Blackberrys and iPods rely on lithium batteries to power them. Between 2003 and 2007, industrial demand for lithium doubled to around 80,000 tonnes per year. Unfortunately, known global reserves of lithium are limited. The metal is difficult to extract and hazardous to process, and it is restricted in occurrence to small areas in South America. Proposals by the major vehicle manufacturers to install lithium ion batteries in cars to mass-produce emissions-free electric vehicles are simply not viable, because to power one car would require batteries containing around 100 times as much lithium as a laptop. The American Tesla electric sports car is powered by the equivalent of 6,000 lithium laptop batteries. On current calculations there are around four million tonnes of lithium in the world that can be economically extracted, but production cannot possibly be expanded to meet the foreseeable demands of the vehicle manufacturers. Whatever they may claim, the car makers have no choice but to use heavier and less efficient nickel batteries if they intend to produce electric vehicles.
It seems as though nearly every government in the world has decided to build new nuclear power generation plants. According to the World Nuclear Association, 237 new nuclear reactors are due to be built before 2030. In reality this will not happen. There is only one source for reactor cores, the Japan Steel Works (JSW) forge on Hokkaido, where in a virtual monopoly situation the world’s reactor cores are made from individual 600-tonne steel ingots. The highly specialised output of JSW is limited to four reactor cores per year. The company (which also makes samurai swords) has found itself under extreme pressure from potential customers and is investing heavily to double its output, but even that will not open the bottleneck.
In China there is a major problem in developing wind power generation. They cannot find enough specialised gearboxes or bearings to produce the number of wind turbines they need. Those components are made in Germany, where the manufacturers cannot satisfy current demand. The escalating selling price and profitability of wind turbines will encourage manufacturers to train new personnel and invest in new plant, solving the component supply crisis for wind energy within a few years.
The Czech Vitkovice Group announced in 2007 that its heavy machinery division could upgrade facilities to produce heavy nuclear forgings in two years, but the engineering constraints of working the giant Japanese steel ingots are unlikely to be resolved in time to prevent further climate deterioration.
Occupational Health and Safety Management Standards
The British Standards Institution has published two new standards relevant to occupational health and safety management:
- BS OHSAS 18002, Occupational health and safety management systems. Guidelines for the implementation of BS OHSAS 18001:2007, which provides generic assistance for establishing, implementing or improving an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system and demonstrates successful implementation of BS OHSAS 18001.
- BS 18004:2008, Guide to achieving effective occupational health and safety performance, which provides guidance for an OH&S management system or the OH&S elements of an organisation's overall management system. It enables an organisation to control its OH&S risks and improve its performance.
Underground Bulk Gas Storage in the UK
Because of its reliance on North Sea gas, the UK has no infrastructure capable of bulk storing natural gas to meet seasonal demand spikes and security of supply. Recent excessive increases in the cost of gas to consumers and industry derive from the gas utilities being forced to buy gas on the international spot market to meet short-term needs. This situation will become worse, as Britain is fast running out of indigenous supplies and by 2015 will be importing 80% of its gas.
The developing gas supply constraints were well known ten years ago, but only now is the UK Government considering the possibility of storing natural gas in a variety of underground gas storage (UGS) facilities. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) commissioned the British Geological Survey to identify the main types of facilities currently in operation worldwide and any documented or reported failures and incidents which have led to release (i.e. leakage) of stored product. The Health and Safety Laboratory was also commissioned by the HSE to carry out an assessment of UGS facilities to confirm whether or not the failure of the storage cavern itself through geological causes is significant enough to be considered for Land Use Planning purposes.
The European Standard for UGS is BS EN 1918. In summary, the rate for a geological failure of the storage cavity in a UGS facility is in the order of 10-5 failures per well year. The findings of the commissioned work have been published by the HSE as research report RR671, Failure rates for underground gas storage. Significance for land use planning assessments. The report is available online at:
www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr671.pdf
Buncefield Investigation Board Final Report
The Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board published online its Final Report on 11th December 2008. The report is presented in two volumes, the first containing some new elements including an assessment of the economic impact (around £1 billion) and the explosion mechanism. It is more readable than previous technical reports and contains all 78 of the Board’s recommendations.
Volume 1 (size 6.4 MB) is at:
www.buncefieldinvestigation.gov.uk/reports/volume1.pdf
Volume 2A (size 4.3 MB) is at:
www.buncefieldinvestigation.gov.uk/reports/volume2a.pdf
Volume 2B (size 3 MB) is at:
www.buncefieldinvestigation.gov.uk/reports/volume2b.pdf
Earlier Health and Safety Executive reports concerning the Buncefield incident can be accessed at:
www.buncefieldinvestigation.gov.uk/reports/index.htm#final
EU Agency Workers Directive
The EU Agency Workers Directive (AWD), which is not a piece of health and safety legislation, will come into force in the UK on or before 5th December 2011. The aim of the AWD is to improve the quality of temporary agency work by not permitting discrimination in favour of permanent staff and by creating a framework for the employment of temporary agency workers across the EU. The UK currently has an estimated 1.4 million agency workers legally accounted for, representing around one third of all the temporary workers in the EU. When transposed into UK law, the AWD will differ from other member states in that somewhat harsher terms and conditions will apply to a new employee for the first 12 weeks of temporary employment.
Government Inquiry into Construction Fatalities
In December 2008, the Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced the commission of an inquiry into the underlying causes of construction fatalities. The construction industry is one of the most dangerous sectors in the UK with more than 2,800 fatalities from workplace accidents and injuries in the past 25 years. The DWP considers that insufficient progress has been made on addressing the poor record of the construction industry.
The inquiry will look into the underlying causes of construction fatal incidents in an attempt to reduce the toll. The inquiry will be undertaken in three phases: a comprehensive review of existing work to consolidate the understanding of fatal injuries in the construction industry, with specific reference to vulnerability; a deeper analysis of the underlying causes, including factors outside the health and safety system; and finally reporting the findings to Ministers and the Health and Safety Executive Board in 2009.
Offshore Safety Statistics 2007/2008
In December 2008, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published HID Statistics Report HSR 2008 - 1, Offshore Injury, Ill-Health and Incident Statistics 2007/2008. The document can be downloaded from:
www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/statistics/hsr0708.pdf?ebul=hsegen/15-dec-2008&cr=18
Although no fatalities were reported in 2007/08, the number of major injuries increased by 12.8%, from 39 to 44. The major injury rate increased by 13%, from 138.4 major injuries per 100,000 workers to 156.41.
The number of reported dangerous occurrences at 509 increased from 485 in 2006/07. The estimated size of the offshore workforce was 28,176 in 2006/07 and 28,132 in 2007/08.
The “maintenance/construction” work process environment continued to produce the highest number of “all injuries” and “major injuries” in this year, followed by “deck operations”. “Struck by” moving or falling objects was the most common type of accident, followed by “handling, lifting or carrying” accidents and “slips, trips and falls”. These three categories account for 84% of all injuries. The most significant category of major injuries was to limbs, with most affecting the upper limb, especially parts of the hand or wrist.
The number of HSE offshore inspectors has fallen from 146 in 2004 to 116 in 2008.
The Health and Safety at Work Act and the European Convention on Human Rights
In a House of Lords judgment delivered on 10th December 2008, the Lords ruled that in criminal proceedings brought against an employer under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) involving a death or serious injury, the prosecution is under no obligation to identify and prove specific acts or omissions, whereas the defence must show that it has managed the risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
The judgment upheld a Court of Appeal decision in 2007 in the case of R. v. Chargot Ltd and others which concerned the death of a dumper truck driver whose vehicle overturned, shedding its load of spoil and burying him. The defendants were found guilty under Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of HSWA and fined.
The defendants’ legal representatives argued at appeal that it was not enough for the prosecution simply to assert that a state of affairs existed that gave rise to a risk to health or safety. In order to be compatible with the presumption of innocence guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, the prosecution had to identify specific acts and omissions by which it was alleged there was a breach of duty under Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Act.
The prosecution countered that all it had to do to prove a prima facie case was to prove there had been an exposure to risk. The Court of Appeal agreed with the prosecution and the matter then went to the Lords, where the defendants’ argument was rejected again. It was held that Sections 2 and 3 of HSWA do not impose a duty merely to take reasonable care; rather they impose a duty to ensure health and safety, leaving it to the employers to establish if they can, on the balance of probabilities, that it was not reasonable to expect them to do more than they did do to achieve the required objectives of health and safety.
It was not necessary for the prosecutor to identify, allege and prove specific failures on the employer’s part, as if those were necessary ingredients of the offence charged. However, the Lords confirmed that cases that did not result in injury could demand more evidence from the prosecutor. The situation would vary from case to case. Thus the burden of proof continues to fall on the employer to demonstrate compliance with statutory duties.
UK Working Time Directive Opt-Out Scrapped
On 5th November 2008, the European Parliament Employment Committee voted by 35 to 13 in favour of a motion to end in three years the opt-out from the 48-hour week set by the Working Time Directive. In a full Parliamentary vote on 17th December, the European Parliament approved the decision, with the support of more than 60% of MEPs.
The amendments to the Working Time Directive focused on health and safety and preservation of work/life balance, and it was decided "to do away with a provision that undermines worker health and safety protection and the inalienability of fundamental rights". The ratification of the amendments means that the UK will no longer be allowed to opt out of the maximum 48-hour working week if a worker agrees to work.
In June 2008, Britain reached agreement with other EU member states that it could remain outside the Directive, in return for agreeing to boost temporary workers' rights. That has now been overturned and from 2011/2012 no UK workers, i.e. employees, will be allowed to work more than 48 hours in a week.
Changes to First-Aid Training and Approval
Following a consultation exercise on draft guidance for employers and first-aid training providers regarding first-aid at work (FAW) and emergency first-aid at work (EFAW), the Health and Safety Executive has decided to implement changes to the structure and content of training courses for first-aiders in the workplace, as well as the approval of organisations providing such training. New training courses will be introduced from 1st October 2009. The current requirements will remain in place until 1st October 2009. Syllabuses for the new three-day FAW and one-day EFAW courses are at present in draft form, and any new syllabus pilot FAW and EFAW training courses run before 1st October 2009 will not be approved for regulatory purposes. Until then, prospective first-aiders will have to complete successfully an existing four-day FAW course delivered by an HSE-approved training organisation. If a first-aider obtains an FAW certificate just before implementation of the new training regime, they will only have to enter the new training regime when their three- year FAW certificate expires.
The new FAW and EFAW training courses must be treated as separate courses, with training conducted over a minimum of three days and maximum of ten weeks. For regulatory purposes, successfully completing an EFAW course will enable a trainee to act as a first-aider in the workplace. The role of the appointed person will remain and there will continue to be no regulatory requirement for such personnel to undertake first-aid training. However, employers will still be able to send appointed persons on basic first-aid training and organisations would not need HSE approval to offer such training. Some employers may choose instead to send individuals on EFAW courses, in which case they would become first-aiders in regulatory terms.
Training organisations already approved by the HSE will receive automatic approval to run the new FAW and EFAW courses. First-aid training providers who wish to run only EFAW courses must apply for approval to a recognised Awarding Body of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority/ Scottish Qualifications Authority eligible to award an accredited qualification in EFAW. The National Database of Accredited Qualifications can be consulted for relevant Awarding Bodies. For EFAW to be approved by the HSE for regulatory purposes, Awarding Bodies must apply a training standard produced by the HSE which will be based on guidance for HSE-approved training providers.
Detailed guidance for employers will be available as a revision of the current HSE document L74, First-aid at work - the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 – Approved Code of Practice and Guidance. The guidance only will be revised, the Regulations and Approved Code of Practice remaining the same.
Dioxin-Contaminated Meat in Ireland
The European Commission announced on 7th December 2008 that it was keeping a close watch on the finding that pork meat produced in the Republic of Ireland had been contaminated with dioxin. Analytical results revealed the presence of very high levels of dioxins in pork meat of around 100 times the European Union maximum level. Preliminary evidence indicated that the problem is likely to have started in September 2008 with contaminated animal feed. Routine government safety testing first detected the presence of the substance, which has been banned for 30 years. All possibly contaminated animal feed was immediately blocked. The contaminated feed was provided to ten pig farms which between them produce around 10% of the total supply of pigs in Ireland. After slaughter the meat was sent to meat processing plants which are responsible for about 80% of the total supply of pork meat and pork meat products from Ireland.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said that the source of the contamination was probably diesel oil that had found its way from a hot air drier into the recycled bread and dough used to make pig feed in the County Carlow factory of Millstream Power Recycling Ltd. The FSAI reported finding dioxin levels in meat samples that were between 80 and 200 times above the legal limit.
The Irish authorities decided on 6th December to recall from the market all pork products manufactured from pigs slaughtered in Ireland. Possibly contaminated pork meat and pork meat products had been distributed to 21 other countries, including Japan, Germany, Russia, France and the United States.
Besides being distributed to pig farms, the contaminated feed was fed to some 50 cattle herds. Three cattle herds in the Republic tested positive for dioxin (at three times the EU safety limit) and another eight herds in Northern Ireland were also reported positive. All the affected farms were placed under restriction to prevent any more non-compliant meat from entering the food chain. Another effect of the dioxin scare was the temporary closure of at least two meat processing plants in the Irish Republic, resulting in nearly 1,400 workers being laid off.
Since Ireland is unable to store the 30,000 tonnes of recalled pig meat and pig meat products, the European Commission moved to provide an aid scheme that will allow the storage of suspect meat for six months at EU expense. The authorities decided not to withdraw beef or beef products from the market despite possible exposure to the contaminated feed.
Incandescent Light Bulbs to be Banned in the European Union
The standard incandescent light bulb has barely changed since it was first produced commercially by Thomas Edison in 1879, and energy-efficiency design improvements reached a limit around 50 years ago. On 8th December 2008, a European Union expert panel recommended to the EU Presidency that incandescent light bulbs be phased out between September 2009 and September 2012. The proposals will be studied by the European Parliament and member states, and if no objection is raised they could be adopted in a fast-track procedure by the end of March 2009.
European households could initially save up to €50 per year by switching to more efficient halogen, LED and fluorescent CFL lamps. Greater savings are likely as increasing demand lowers the cost of these longer-lasting but at present more expensive bulbs.
The most efficient CFL bulbs are manufactured in China, so the proposal could lead to the loss of 2,000 to 3,000 EU jobs, mostly in Eastern Europe. However, the EU could save between €5 and €10 billion on energy bills.
Thirty-Year Plot of Increasing Global Temperature
Graphs released by the Earth System Science Centre at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, USA, in December 2008 demonstrate that the atmosphere of the Earth has warmed by an average of about 0.72 degrees Fahrenheit or 0.4C over the past 30 years, based on data collected from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) satellites.
However, the planetary study of climate change since 1978, when satellite sensors first began to track the global climate, does not show a uniform pattern of warming. Although some features are anomalous, less than 20% of the planetary surface has not shown any measure of mean temperature increase.
The fastest warming area of the planet is near the Northern Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The greatest warming has been in Greenland, where temperatures have risen as much as 4.60 F in 30 years. In the same period the Antarctic cooled by as much as Greenland has warmed.
The monthly pattern of temperatures on the 30-year graph shows a series of warmer than normal months following the major El Niño Pacific Ocean warming event of 1997-1998. The frequency of La Niña Pacific Ocean cooling events is also increasing and another was reported to be developing in January 2009.
Population Growth and Carbon Emissions Growth
An important but usually ignored factor in reducing the burden of greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere by human activity is the stabilisation of the physical number of human beings on the planet. Governments are reluctant to address the topic of uncontrolled human population growth, despite population pressure being a major driving force behind the increase in carbon emissions, in the form of ever greater demands upon resources and energy. The global population is expected to reach more than nine billion by 2050, or three times what it was in 1960.
In December 2008, the United Nations (UN) climate conference in Poznan, Poland, considered only the setting of carbon emissions targets and funding renewable energy projects. The UN reasoning is that proposing policies on population growth would provoke argument between rich and poor nations over who is responsible for global warming. The developing world would oppose introducing population into the discussion on the grounds that it would hold them accountable for a problem they blame on the West. In addition, Catholic and Muslim countries are opposed to population policies as they might increase support for abortion and birth control.
Research has suggested that slowing population growth would make it easier to solve the climate crisis. A crucial element lies simply in understanding the role that population plays in the increase in emissions. There is substantial evidence showing a strong correlation between a country's economic growth and its emissions. Population control is not an excuse for coercive family planning policies, but by slowing population growth it is possible to reduce emissions significantly and enable society to cope better with adverse climate change. Another population factor is economic migration, urbanisation and the growth of megacities in China and India, which could increase emissions by up to 70% by 2100.
It is thought that eventually the international community will have to accept that a more rapidly rising population will make it far more difficult to curb climate-damaging emissions.
Contentious EU Agreement on Carbon Emissions
In December 2008, European Union leaders agreed a deal on tackling global climate change which they claimed would see EU greenhouse gas emissions fall 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. It was decided that the nine eastern European member states with low GDP per capita and dependent upon coal as an energy source will receive free carbon emissions permits under the next phase of the European trading scheme equal to 70% of their current average annual emissions until 2020. The EU agreed that 300 million permits, with a value of around €5 billion, would be targeted at carbon capture and storage technology.
Overall the agreement still leaves emissions-intensive industries such as power generation, the steel, cement and aluminium industries free to take no action other than buying offset carbon credits abroad. At present they receive free emissions allowances and from 2013 may buy up to 30% of their allowances. They will also be able to apply for exemptions to grant them up to 100% free emission permits even after 2020.
ConDoc on CHIP 4
In December 2008, the Health and Safety Executive published consultative document CD220, Proposals for the Chemical (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2009 - CHIP 4, in which it is proposed to revoke and replace the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002 (CHIP 3), as amended. The new amended Regulations will be known as the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2009 (CHIP 4).
The current CHIP Regulations must be amended as a consequence of the adoption and entry into force of the European Regulation on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP). The CLP Regulation represents the European Union adoption of the internationally agreed Global Harmonised System on the classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS).
The consultative document can be downloaded from:
www.consultations.hse.gov.uk/inovem/gf2.ti/f/7170/215525.1/pdf/-/cd220.pdf
UK Electricity Generating Capacity
In an interview for The Times in December 2008, the Chief Executive of National Grid said that the UK was facing an acute shortage of electricity generating capacity because a string of nuclear and coal-fired plants are due to be retired from service on grounds of age or pollution control. This would lead to regular power outages or blackouts within seven years as the Government has failed to attract enough investment in new plant. There will not be sufficient generating capacity to meet peak demand by around 2015. To ensure the stability of the power grid the Government will have to guarantee that £100 billion of investment is made over the next decade.
National Grid is investing £3 billion per year in the power and gas transmission network to replace ageing pipes and cables and connect in new power plants and wind farms. Even so, critics complain that the pace of connecting new projects to the grid is too slow, as is the process of obtaining planning consent for renewable energy projects.
In the face of exponentially rising costs and the withdrawal of major players, the energy industry regulator, Ofgem, announced that it was considering fresh incentives to encourage the development of renewable energy schemes in Britain.
In fact around 10% of UK power plants are likely to face closure by 2013, around two and a half years ahead of schedule. The owners of inefficient and polluting coal-burning plants were given the option under an EU directive to either upgrade their plants to new emissions standards or close them down after 20,000 operating hours, or by 2015 if that time allowance was not reached. The problem is that the nine UK opt-out plants are running at historically high rates and will reach their commission limit much sooner than anticipated.
Also, in December 2008 the European Commission placed several conditions on the proposed £12.4 billion takeover of British Energy Group PLC by Electricité de France SA (EDF). The deal to hand over eight British Energy nuclear plants to EDF was approved by the French and British Governments. The EU Commission concluded there would be serious market concerns and ordered EDF to divest its power generation plant at Sutton Bridge and British Energy to shed its Eggborough plant. It also imposed several other measures before it would give clearance.
UK Government Faces Court Action over Air Pollution
The European Environment Commissioner confirmed on 22nd December 2008 that the UK Government will face legal action because of its failure to control levels of air pollution in London. The available data demonstrate that six air quality zones suffer from higher levels of atmospheric PM10 particles than are allowed under European directives along more than 125 miles of roads. He also warned that the abatement task in order to achieve compliance would be very challenging.
When the EU Air Quality Directive came into force in June 2008, member states were given an opportunity to appeal for extra time to reduce PM10 levels. The deadline for making appeals for a time extension expired on 31st October 2008 without the British Government making such a request, perhaps because it knew it had no valid grounds for an exemption. The EU Commission services were therefore preparing to launch infringement proceedings against the UK.
Air pollution is monitored to European limits at a network of recording stations across London. Many are sited in central London, reflecting the density of buildings and traffic use. Most exceeded European constraints in 2008, according to the Air Quality Network run by King's College.
The Government’s Carbon Footprint
An article published in The Guardian on 23rd December 2008 following a Freedom of Information Act request, reported that the unpublished findings of an energy efficiency audit of 18,000 public buildings, including ministerial offices, police stations, museums and art galleries, show that the 8,849 buildings audited so far produce 5.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. The figure is equivalent to all the greenhouse gas emissions saved by the UK wind power industry. One in six of the buildings examined received the lowest possible energy efficiency rating.
The Houses of Parliament and the Bank of England together consumed enough electricity and gas to emit 21,356 tonnes of CO2 per year. The head office of the Energy and Climate Change Secretary in Whitehall Place is one of the worst offenders, pumping out 1,336 tonnes of CO2 a year and receiving the lowest grade efficiency rating. Only 55 of the audited buildings inspected received an A rating. The public sector has an annual energy bill of around £4 billion.
On the basis of results so far, the overall carbon dioxide emission level is estimated at 11 million tonnes, which is larger than the carbon footprint of the whole of Kenya. Responsibility for the energy performance of public buildings falls under the Office of Government Commerce.
Cement Batch Recalled on Safety Grounds
The Lafarge Blue Circle Cement Works of Westbury in Wiltshire announced the precautionary recall of around 2,500 tonnes of cement in late December 2008 after it was discovered that a batch of cement may contain higher than safe levels of chromium VI. Lafarge contacted builders’ merchants and DIY stores to ask them to remove stock supplied before Thursday 4th December 2008. The Environment Agency, Trading Standards and the Health and Safety Executive were informed.
Chromium VI (hexavalent chromium) compounds are known human carcinogens, causing lung cancer and stomach tumours. Exposure is usually by ingestion or by breathing contaminated workplace air. Limits for chromium in cement were introduced in 2005.
Fatal Accidents in Agriculture
Agricultural statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive for 2007/08 show that 39 workers died, bringing the ten-year total death toll to 455. Over the last ten years the number of deaths in agriculture has remained at a consistently high level, making it one of the most dangerous occupations in the UK. Less than 1.5% of the working population is employed in agriculture, yet the sector is responsible for between 15% and 20% of fatalities to workers in Britain each year.
The major causes of agricultural deaths in 2007/08 were:
- Accidents involving overturning vehicles or being struck by vehicles - 34%.
- As a result of a moving or falling object - 21%.
- Falls - 14%.
- As a result of injury by an animal - 7%.
The Fatal Injuries in Farming, Forestry, Horticulture and Associated Industries 2007/2008 report is available online at:
www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/index.htm
Low Cost Bioengineering
The utility, South West Water, announced in January 2009 that it was planning to release around 50 beavers into the countryside bordering Devon and Cornwall as part of a novel approach to water treatment and conservation. The native beaver was hunted to extinction in England in the 1780s and across most of Europe by the 1900s.
Their instinctive behaviour of damming small courses is anticipated to create a water filtration system with the potential to remove the silt and pollutants that usually enter a reservoir and require expensive treatment in a water processing plant. The beavers work 24 hours a day for nothing, and at the same time shape a sustainable improved environment for other species, including brown trout, water voles, otters and insects.
A trial to see if beavers can improve water quality will take place around the Roadford reservoir, a large artificial lake created in 1989. The introduced animals are from Bavaria and currently acclimatising to British weather under controlled conditions. Planned beaver releases have been made elsewhere in Europe with considerable success, but widespread opposition from local authorities is anticipated in the UK.
Offshore Explosion-Protected Heaters
In early January 2009, the Health and Safety Executive issued Offshore Safety Notice SN1/2009: Explosion protected electrical heaters. It follows a recent incident on an offshore installation in which there was an explosion in an open drains tank containing oily water. The tank contained an electric heater which was Ex certified. However, the sheath on the electric heating element had corroded, exposing the conductor. The incident is still under investigation, but the HSE think that this fault led to ignition of flammable material in the tank. The HSE found that duty holders do not necessarily have a complete list of such heaters, and so cannot be in a position to manage their inspection and maintenance.
Duty holders should ensure that they are aware of all Ex certified electric heaters on their installations and should ensure that the purpose of each heater is understood. Redundant heaters should be decommissioned and the risks associated with those remaining in service should be appropriately managed in order to reduce those risks to a level which is as low as is reasonably practicable. The Safety Notice states that duty holders should:
- Ensure that the interior of a tank has an appropriate hazardous area classification if it can contain a potentially flammable atmosphere and has any potential source of ignition.
- Ensure that any relevant apparatus in a tank whose interior is classified as a hazardous area is appropriately Ex certified, and address any special conditions for the safe use of Ex certified electric heaters on their installations.
- Address the routine inspection and maintenance activities of the tank internals and test the condition of the heater element sheaths and the electric elements. The instrument protection systems, especially the operation of any temperature control function and any protective trip functions, should be addressed.
BS EN 60079-17:2007 Explosive Atmospheres: Electrical installations inspection and maintenance, Reference 1 Table 11 addresses the inspection schedule for Ex “d” apparatus and mentions checks on automatic electrical protective devices.
The relevant statutory instruments are the Offshore Installations (Prevention of Fire and Explosion, and Emergency Response) Regulations 1995, in which Regulation 9(2)(d) requires measures to control electrical or other sources of ignition; and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Regulation 12(2)(e), which requires measures to control unintended explosions.
Corus Steelworks Explosion Report
The Health and Safety Executive has published a report on its joint investigation with South Wales Police into the blast incident seven years ago at the Corus Steelworks in Port Talbot, South Wales, in which three workers were killed and 12 others seriously injured. The report concludes that the cause of the incident was water entering the blast furnace, following the failure of safety-critical water cooling systems. The resulting explosion lifted the 5,000-tonne furnace around 0.75 m from its supporting lap joint, releasing an estimated 200 tonnes of hot solids, semi-solids, some molten metal and gases into the cast house. The report contains 18 lessons to be learned from the incident.
The outcome was the result of many failings in safety management by the company over an extended period. The explosion took place after a prolonged attempt to recover the furnace from a chilled-hearth situation caused by cooling water ingress. The immediate cause was the mixing of water and hot materials within the lower part of the furnace; the precise mechanism is not fully resolved.
Corus UK Ltd was prosecuted in December 2006 under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974, Sections 2(1) and 3(1). The company was fined £1.33 million and ordered to pay costs of £1.74 million.
The Explosion of No. 5 Blast Furnace, Corus UK Ltd, Port Talbot, 8 November 2001 is available online at:
www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/web34.pdf
Indoor Radon Gas and Lung Cancer Mortality
A research paper by Alastair Gray based on epidemiological data and entitled “Lung cancer deaths from indoor radon and the cost effectiveness and potential of policies to reduce them” was published in the British Medical Journal of 6th January 2009 (reference BMJ 2009; 338:a3110, doi:10.1136/bmj.a3110). It states that the building regulations should be changed so that all new homes built in the UK would be fitted with basic measures to prevent the build-up of the radioactive inert gas radon. The gas can seep from the ground into houses and may contribute to around 1,100 deaths a year from lung cancer (or 3.3% of all deaths from lung cancer). The paper finds that more than 85% of the 1,100 lung cancer deaths were caused jointly by radon in the home and active smoking, the radon exposure arising from concentrations below 100 Bq/m3.
The gas 222Radon is ubiquitous but is more of a problem where houses overlie certain types of bedrock, such as granite or black shales, where it is a product of the radioactive decay of 238Uranium. The problem is preventable by simple methods costing around £100 per dwelling, such as fitting a lining membrane beneath the floor or underfloor ventilation. Gray claims that remedial measures against radon in homes are likely to be a highly cost-effective public health intervention if taken in conjunction with existing policies to reduce smoking, and could make a modest but worthwhile contribution to cutting the number of lung cancer deaths in the UK.
Honey Laundering and Health Risk
In 2006, honey bee colonies began to decline and disappear across much of the Western world. There are thought to be multiple factors causing bee deaths, the phenomenon being known as Colony Collapse Disorder. The role of bees in fertilising food crops is of far greater importance than their production of honey; a recent study by the Journal of Economics found that the annual value of insect pollination is $215 billion, representing around 9.5% of global agriculture trade.
According to the American National Honey Board, the USA is one of the world’s biggest honey consumers, buying up to 200 million kilos every year. Two years ago the USA was able to produce almost two thirds of all its honey, but that has fallen to one third. Current retail prices for honey traceable to a reputable source are around $9.70 per kilo, a significant rise on a few years ago.
A rising price in a restricted supply market has attracted the attention of international smugglers based in China, where at present there is no apparent shortage of honey. The method they use is to ‘launder’ drums of Chinese honey by exporting it to a distributor in another country, where the product is re-packaged and re-exported under a misleading label that conceals its true source. Such shipments have been routed to Western countries through India, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand. The product is often labelled falsely as being of Polish or Russian origin. Food processing companies that incorporate honey in their products are less concerned about origin than price. The reason for the subterfuge is to avoid health and safety checks and import fees, and in the case of the USA and some other countries to evade the special tariffs imposed on Chinese food products ‘dumped’ on the market at below the cost of production.
The illegal trade is of concern to health officials in view of the tainted food products from China that have dominated news headlines recently. A more immediate concern is the action first taken by Chinese beekeepers in 1997, when a bacterial epidemic almost wiped out Chinese beehives. The beekeepers did not destroy infected hives; instead they treated them with Chloramphenicol, a toxic antibiotic which is known to cause aplastic anaemia, bone marrow suppression and leukaemia in humans. The use of Chloramphenicol was later banned by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, but there is evidence from tests conducted by American health officials that it is still in use, along with two other antibiotics known as Ciprofloxacin (which may cause Achilles tendon rupture and kidney failure in mammals) and Enrofloxacin (thought to be less harmful to people). All these substances were detected in imported honey.
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