May 2017 Road accidents biggest global killer of teenagers
Transcript of May 2017 Road accidents biggest global killer of teenagers
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May 2017
Road accidents biggest global killer of teenagers
Data released by the World Health Organization reveals that
road traffic injuries are the biggest killer of teenagers globally.
In 2015, more than 1.2 million adolescents died. Road injuries
were to blame for about one in 10 of these deaths. Most of
the road fatalities involved males between the ages of 10 and
19. However, chest infections and self-harm were the biggest
global killers of girls and young women.
The top five killers of teens (aged 10-19):
1. Road injury
2. Lower respiratory infections
3. Self-harm (intentional and accidental suicide)
4. Diarrhoeal diseases
5. Drowning
According to the worldwide report, more than 3,000
adolescents die every day. Over two-thirds of these deaths
happen in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and
South East Asia. And most are preventable.
Most young people killed by the top cause - road crashes - are
"vulnerable" road users: pedestrians, cyclists and
motorcyclists. Males aged 15-19 make up the biggest share of
these 115,302 fatalities, mostly in poorer countries in Europe,
the Americas and the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Although far fewer in number, road injuries are still the
leading cause of adolescent death in high-income countries,
shortly followed by deaths from self-harm.
In 2015 in Britain, road accidents killed 145 people aged 10-19,
and left 3,166 more seriously injured.
In some countries, such as the UK, road safety education and
legislation encouraging drivers to slow down appears to be
having the desired effect, reducing road accident rates, says
the WHO report author, Dr Anthony Costello. But other
countries are lagging, he says.
The Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents
report can be accessed at:
http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/
adolescence/framework-accelerated-action/en/
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May 2017
Gender differences in H&S guide
Two companies have been fined a total of £700,000 and a
director has received a suspended prison sentence following
the fatal crushing of four workers at an excavation site in
Norfolk.
The Court at the Old Bailey heard that on 21 January 2011 the
men were constructing a large steel structure as part of the
foundation for a large Pressure Test Facility (PTF) at Claxton
Engineering Services in Great Yarmouth.
The structure, which weighed several tonnes, collapsed on top
of the group. A large-scale emergency response took place to
try and rescue the trapped workers. Adam Taylor, 28, 41-year-
old Peter Johnson and brothers Thomas Hazelton, 26 and
Daniel Hazelton, 30, were all pronounced dead at the scene.
The excavation for the horizontal PTF was more than 23m
long, 3m wide and 2m deep. The horizontal steel cage being
constructed would have weighed about 32 tonnes when
completed.
The group were working for Hazegood Construction Ltd. Daniel
Hazelton was an employee, while the other three were self-
employed contractors. Encompass Project Management Ltd
was the principal contractor, with Hazegood operating as a
contractor.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found
serious flaws in the planning, management and monitoring of
this complex project on the part of Claxton as well as
Encompass and its company director David Groucott.
Claxton Engineering Services Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching
Regulation 9(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and
Management) Regulations 2007. The company was fined
£500,000 and ordered to pay costs of £100,000.
Encompass Project Management Ltd of The Gables, Old
Market Street, Thetford, Norfolk pleaded guilty to breaching
Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It
was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £50,000.
David Groucott of Diss, Norfolk, pleaded guilty to breaching
Section 37(1) of Health and Safety at Work Act. He was
sentenced to a seven and a half month custodial sentence,
suspended for two years. He was ordered to complete 200
hours of unpaid community work within 12 months, and also
ordered to pay costs of £7,500.
Charges against Hazegood Construction Ltd were ordered to
lie on file.
HSE Construction Division Head of Operations Annette Hall
said: “Those sentenced today failed the four workers who
died. They didn’t carry out their legal duties, leading to the
events which caused their deaths.
“This was a long term, large scale and complex civil
engineering project which needed to be planned, designed,
managed and monitored effectively. The tragedy here is that,
in the months leading up to the accident, any one of these
parties could and should have asked basic questions about
building the structure safely. Such an intervention could have
avoided the tragic outcome of this entirely preventable
accident.”
The partly built steel structure before it collapsed
The same structure after the collapse
Man paralysed after gas pipe falls on him
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May 2017
IOSH Working safely online training
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May 2017
Chrysotile (or white asbestos) will not be added to the Rotterdam Convention’s list of hazardous substances.
Agreement could not be reached in Geneva recently to list
Chrysotile as a hazardous substance under the Rotterdam
Convention. This was despite a recommendation from its own
scientific committee. The decision requires unanimity and a
handful of countries blocked the listing during the eighth
meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam
Convention (COP-8).
“This is a catastrophe. I didn’t expect this decision,” said
Thomas Kraus, specialist in occupational medicine at Aachen
University in Germany, who had advised the World Health
Organization (WHO) on the topic. He continued:
“All types of asbestos are harmful to people and all types are
carcinogenic. This is a ridiculous decision.”
The WHO states that exposure to chrysotile fibres causes
cancer of the lung, larynx and ovary; the lung cancer
mesothelioma; and asbestosis. Its position is clear: chrysotile
should be banned worldwide. However, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Zimbabwe, India and Syria all blocked listing of
chrysotile as a hazardous substance.
Listing can be blocked by a single convention signatory.
Asbestos campaigners say the decision discredits the entire
Rotterdam Convention.
Chrysotile (often referred to as white asbestos)
The Chemical Review Committee of Rotterdam first
recommended listing of chrysotile asbestos in 2006. The
committee is made up of 31 government-designated experts
from around the world. Listing under annex III of the
convention means prior informed consent is required from an
importing country before it can receive it.
“It is absolutely disgusting that a small number of countries
that pedal death and disease to the rest of the world can block
over 190 countries wanting to – not ban a product – but label
it for what it is: an extremely toxic and dangerous, cancer-
causing agent,” said Arthur Frank, a public health scientist at
Drexel University, US, who had given expert testimony in
hundreds of asbestos lawsuits in the US.
The International Chrysotile Association welcomed the
decision, arguing that chrysotile is less dusty and is more easily
eliminated from the human body than other types of asbestos.
Twelve African countries put forward a motion to have the
rules for Rotterdam altered so that a three-quarters majority
was enough. Discussions will now continue, though changes
would have to be ratified by signatory countries. At past
conventions, asbestos exporters stymied the listing. Russia and
Kazakhstan are major exporters of asbestos, accounting for as
much as 70% of global production.
A 2016 study estimated that 180,000 deaths occur each year
from asbestos-related diseases. Once exposed to asbestos,
fibres can stay in the body and disease may not manifest for
between 20 and 40 years.
Ceiling tiles were just one of the uses for Chrysotile
Chrysotile was widely used in the UK up
until it was eventually banned in
November 1999. Anyone that works on
structures that were built or refurbished
before 2000 are at risk from exposure.
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May 2017
Instagram 'worst for young mental health'
Instagram is rated as the worst social media platform when it
comes to its impact on young people's mental health, a UK
snapshot survey suggests. The poll asked 1,479 people aged 14
-24 to score popular apps on issues such as anxiety,
depression, loneliness, bullying and body image.
The RSPH report says that "social media may be fuelling a
mental health crisis" in young people. However, it can also be
used as a tool for good, the report said. Instagram, for
example, was found to have a positive effect on self-
expression and self-identity.
About 90% of young people use social media - more than any
other age group - so they are particularly vulnerable to its
effects, although it is not clear what these are on current
evidence.
The online survey asked participants a series of questions
about whether YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and
Twitter had an impact on their health and well-being.
Participants were asked to score each platform on 14 health
and well-being issues.
Based on these ratings, YouTube was considered to have the
most positive impact on mental health, followed by Twitter
and then Facebook. Snapchat and Instagram were given the
lowest scores overall.
The report can be accessed at: https://www.rsph.org.uk/our-
work/policy/social-media-and-young-people-s-mental-health-
and-wellbeing.html
In light of the findings, public health experts are calling for
social media platforms to introduce a series of checks and
measures to help tackle mental health, including:
• Pop-ups warning people that they have used social media
for a long time
• Social media platforms identifying users with mental
health problems and "discreetly signposting places they
can get support"
• Platforms highlighting when photos have been digitally
manipulated - for example, fashion brands, celebrities and
other advertising organisations could sign up to a
voluntary code, allowing a small icon to be displayed on
digitally altered photos
The schoolgirl killed on the Splash Mountain Drayton Manor
ride died after being struck by a boat as she tried to get out of
the water, a source close to the investigation has revealed.
Evha Jannath, from Leicester, was on a school trip when she
fell from the Splash Canyon ride at Drayton Manor Theme Park
on 9 May. The source dismissed earlier reports that the pupil,
from Jameah Girls Academy in Leicester, drowned in up to 5ft
of water after falling out of the boat.
Results of Jannath’s post mortem were published this month
after the coroner released her body back to her family. The
South Staffordshire Coroner’s office said the cause of death
was “blunt force chest trauma”.
Staffordshire police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
are jointly investigating the incident. A police spokesman
confirmed: “The preliminary cause of death has been
identified by the HM Coroner as chest injuries however
investigations continue.”
Schoolgirl killed at Drayton Manor
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May 2017
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May 2017
Three bosses jailed after fatal roof fall
Three company directors have been jailed following the death
of a man who fell while working at a warehouse in Essex.
Nikolai Valkov, 63, died in hospital after falling through the
roof of a warehouse in Harlow on 13 April 2015
Koseoglu Metalworks Ltd admitted an offence of corporate
manslaughter and its sole director, Kadir Kose, admitted a
safety offence.
Ozdil Investments Ltd denied corporate manslaughter and a
safety offence but was convicted following a trial. Two of its
directors, Firat Ozdil and Ozgur Ozdil, were convicted of a
safety offence.
Firat Ozdil was jailed for one year, Ozgur Ozdil for 10 months
and Kose for eight months.
Ozdil Investments was also fined a total of £660,000 and
Koseoglu Metal Works Ltd £400,000.
The court heard how Ozdil Investments Ltd was the owner of
the warehouse where the roof needed repairs.
Both the Health and Safety Executive and Harlow District
Council issued warnings to the company about the dangers
involved in the repair work and specifically the need for safety
measures such as netting to be put in place. Despite this, Firat
Ozdil and Ozgur Ozdil paid their friend Kose and his company
Koseoglu Metalworks Ltd to carry out the work without netting
or other safety measures.
The court heard Koseoglu Metalworks Ltd had no experience
of roofing work and the fee paid by the Ozdils was
approximately £100,000 less than a recognised roofing
contractor would have charged.
Kose did not carry out a risk assessment at the site and sent
staff employed by his company onto the roof without training.
While working on the roof Valkov stepped onto a discoloured
skylight and fell to his death.
Luke Bulpitt, from the CPS, said: “By ignoring the safety
measures they knew were required, the Odzils and their
company risked the lives of everyone working on the roof in an
attempt to save money.
“Kadir Kose and Koseoglu Metalworks undertook the work to
the roof without taking any appropriate safety steps, gambling
with the lives of their employees.
“Faced with the evidence against him, Kose and Koseoglu
Metalworks admitted their guilt but the Ozdils and their
company contested the charges. However, having heard the
compelling case put forward by the prosecution, the jury
returned guilty verdicts.
A construction company and its groundwork contractor have
been fined after a worker was killed by a reversing vehicle.
Exeter Crown Court heard how an employee of Steve Hoskin
Construction Limited was working for the groundwork
contractor at a construction site in Dawlish, Devon when he
was crushed by a reversing telescopic material handler.
John Small, 47-years-old, was crushed by the vehicle after it
reversed while he was walking alongside it. Mr Small was
pronounced dead after suffering multiple injuries.
An investigation by the HSE into the incident on 28 June 2013
found that Cavanna Homes, the principal contractor for the
site, failed to ensure the construction site was organised to
enable pedestrians and vehicles to move safely. SHCL had not
fully considered the risks to their employees at the site.
Cavanna Homes (SW) Limited, of Riviera Park, Nicholson Road
Torquay, Devon, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 36(1)
of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations
2007 was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,000.
Steve Hoskin Construction Limited, of Ten Acres Lane, St Ive
Industrial Estate, Pensilva, Liskeard, pleaded guilty to
breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act,
was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,000.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Caroline Penwill said:
“There were inadequate control measures in place to
segregate vehicles and pedestrians at the site and a lack of
proper planning in terms of construction workers’ access and
egress to areas of the site.”
Worker killed by reversing vehicle
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May 2017
Accredited online training courses at affordable prices Company fined after worker’s death
ATE Truck and Trailer Sales Ltd, a company that buys,
refurbishes and sells Heavy Goods Vehicles and trailers has
been sentenced after the death of 63-year-old worker
William Price.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that on 21 February
2013 Mr Price suffered fatal head injuries when he was
struck by the roof of a trailer he was dismantling at the
Marston Industrial Estate site. An investigation by the
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found ATE had
undertaken this task before by its own employees and had
an established method in place. However, it failed to
properly consider the risks involved in this work and did not
provide Mr Price with any information in relation to his
safety when ‘stripping down’ the trailers.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3 of
the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
1999, was fined £475,000 and ordered to pay costs of
£20,000.
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May 2017
Construction company fined three quarters of a million pounds after asbestos failings
Barroerock Construction Limited has been fined after repeated
asbestos failings.
Canterbury Crown Court heard how the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) carried out two investigations of working
practices of the site in 2013 and 2014 while Barroerock were
converting into flats a former nine storey office building in
Ashford, Kent, which was known to contain asbestos.
The first investigation arose from a routine inspection during
one of HSE’s refurbishment campaigns. The Court was told
that while a refurbishment and demolition (R&D) survey had
been carried out, the company had failed to act upon it. This
resulted in up to 40 workers being exposed to asbestos during
the early demolition phase of the project.
The second investigation culminated in a visit to the site in
June 2014 following complaints being made about the health
and safety practices at the site. It was found that despite
engaging a licensed asbestos contractor to remove the
remaining asbestos materials, dangerous practices were
continuing. In addition the company was unable to provide
documentation to show that asbestos materials identified in
the survey had been correctly removed.
When the work on site was halted for the second time about
160 people were working inside the building.
It was found in both HSE investigations that these incidents
could have been prevented if Barroerock ensured they had
effective management controls in place to avoid the risk of
exposure to asbestos.
Barroerock Construction Limited pleaded guilty to two
offences of breaching Regulation 22 (1) (a) of the Construction
Design and Management Regulations 2007 were fined
£750,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,874.68.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Melvyn Stancliffe
said: “The company’s failings in this case has put many
workers at risk to the exposure of asbestos.
“It was clear there was an endemic failure to effectively
manage the construction work on the site in a way which
ensured that asbestos materials were not disturbed until
removed under appropriate conditions. Failing to prevent the
breathing in of asbestos fibres on the site is reckless.”
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May 2017
Fine after worker’s hand crushed
Cardiff based steel manufacturing company Rom Ltd has
been fined after a worker suffered crush injuries to his hand.
The magistrates’ court heard how on 23 October 2015 a 51-
year-old worker was removing leftover steel from the a
machine called the Koch Straightener, used for straightening
steel wire, when he trapped his hand between the rotating
rollers inside the machine.
The worker suffered serious crush injuries to his hand and lost
the top of his right index finger as a result of this incident at
Rom Ltd’s site in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
found the company failed to identify the risks associated with
workers manually operating this machine, nor were steps
taken to ensure the machine was correctly guarded.
It was found the company also failed to provide the required
level of supervision to this activity and as a result led to the
worker suffering these injuries.
Rom Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 Provision
and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, was fined
£200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £17,200.63.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector David Keane said:
“This man suffered a life-changing injury. The company failed
to protect the worker from harm by not properly considering
the risks associated with manually operating dangerous
machinery such as this.”
Two companies have been fined after a worker was seriously
injured by a trolley carrying hydraulic rams.
Stafford Crown Court heard how an employee of DHL Services
Limited (DHL) was auditing in-coming deliveries of equipment
in an outside yard at JCB World Headquarters when he was
struck from behind by falling machinery. At the time of the
incident the machinery was being towed by an electric tug and
weighed approximately 770kg.
The trolley toppled on its side trapping the DHL employee
between it and a stillage. He suffered multiple serious injuries
including fractures and internal injuries.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into
the incident which occurred on 16 October 2013 found there
were a number of safety failures related to this auditing
activity and the segregation between employees and vehicles
using the area, leading to an unsafe system of work.
In addition to the injured worker, the investigation also
identified that employees of JC Bamford Excavators Ltd
accessed the area as pedestrians when vehicles were
operating.
DHL Services Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1)
of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined
£266,000 and ordered to pay costs of £23,370.22.
J C Bamford Excavators Limited pleaded guilty to breaching
Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work
etc. Act 1974, and was fined £375,000 and ordered to pay
costs of £37,235.42.
HSE Inspector David Brassington said after the hearing: “The
dangers of failing to provide effective segregation between
pedestrians and vehicles are well known. Both of these
companies were well versed in transport risk management and
both fell well below the required standard in ensuring that
such risks were effectively managed in this area.”
Two companies fined for vehicle related accident
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May 2017
Call for tax on plastic drinking straws
BusinessWaste.co.uk, says manufacturers should revert to old-
style paper straws, which biodegrade. The firm suggests a 5p
plastic straw tax, in the footsteps of the plastic bag tax, which
has radically cut the use of single-use bags. It follows news
that the most hated products for recyclers are Pringles and
Lucozade Sport.
BusinessWaste's spokesman Mark Hall said: "A plastic straw
has a lifespan of around 20 minutes, and then it's thrown
away.
"Where recycling facilities exist, most pubs and bars don't
bother separating out used straws to recycle because it's
fiddly, and - frankly - they've been in the mouth of a stranger.
"They are pretty much the ultimate in human wastefulness,
and a problem that can so easily be solved with very little
effort."
An uninhabited island in the South Pacific is littered with the
highest density of plastic waste anywhere in the world,
according to a study.
Henderson Island, part of the UK's Pitcairn Islands group, has
an estimated 37.7 million pieces of debris on its beaches.
The island is near the centre of an ocean current, meaning it
collects rubbish from boats and South America. It is 120 miles
from Pitcairn Island, about 5,000km from Chile, and sits near
the centre of the South Pacific Gyre - a massive rotating
current.
The joint Australian and British study said the rubbish
amounted to 671 items per square metre and a total of 17
tonnes.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, described how remote islands act as a
"sink" for the world's rubbish. The report can be accessed at:
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/05/09/1619818114
Crossrail
has produced six
thought-provoking
health and safety
videos which
highlight the impact
of not following good
health and safety
practice as part of its
Learning
Legacy Programme.
The films underline the importance of safety and health during
construction and fit-out of the new railway, and are now
available through Crossrail’s Learning Legacy Programme – an
initiative to share knowledge and best practice from Europe’s
largest construction project, with the wider UK infrastructure
industry.
The six films use different fictional scenarios to depict realistic
situations, which could happen when basic health and safety
controls are not followed.
Designed for impact and to leave a lasting memory, the films
encourage safe and responsible behaviour and while focussing
on mental health, exposure to dust, hot works, working at
height and working near electricity and machinery.
The videos can be accessed at:
http://learninglegacy.crossrail.co.uk/document-theme/health-
and-safety-impact-videos/
Island has worst plastic rubbish density Crossrail safety videos