SafeWork SA and the Environment Protection Authority are conducting an ongoing audit to examine licence compliance among asbestos removalists in South Australia.

Fifteen percent of the state’s licensed asbestos removalists have already been audited between June 2012 and January 2013.

“The incorrect and illegal removal of asbestos, as well as its transport and dumping, remain areas of concern to SafeWork SA and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA),” said SafeWork SA Executive Director, Bryan Russell.

“For this reason, SafeWork SA and the EPA are auditing all asbestos removalists’ licences under the Asbestos Audit Project (the Project). The ongoing audit is assessing licence compliance and confirming that licensed operators are meeting their legal obligations to identify and control the risks associated with asbestos removal.”

So far, a total of 74 Statutory Notices were issued for non-compliance, as follows:

• One Prohibition Notice
• 73 Improvement Notices under the Occupational Health, Safety and Wlefare Act 1986 and the Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 2010. Five of the Improvement Notices were for the safe storage and/or transit of asbestos waste.

More information about this can be accessed on the SafeWork SA website.

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The report sets out 67 recommendations to improve the scheme’s coverage, governance, workers’ compensation costs and legislative inconsistencies.

A number of the recommendations seek to align the Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992 with the reforms recently proposed to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 by Mr Peter Hanks QC.

It also recommends that the Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993 be updated to make it consistent with the model Work Health and Safety laws where appropriate for the maritime industry.

“Consistent with the Gillard Government’s approach across work health and safety, we want to ensure we have an equitable and cost-effective workers’ compensation system which has an emphasis on rehabilitation and return to work,” said Mr Shorten.

“The maritime industry is vital to our economy. It is important that those workers and employers covered by the Seacare Scheme have a modern, best practice scheme that reduces the risk of injury in what is an inherently dangerous industry.

“We are committed to harmonising and modernising the Seacare Scheme to help injured workers recover quickly and return to work safely,” he said.

The Government commissioned the review in 2012 to make sure that the Seacare Scheme was useful and effective for Australian seafarers. The Scheme has not been comprehensively reviewed since its establishment in 1992.

“The legislation underpinning the Seacare Scheme has not kept pace with changes in harmonisation of work health and safety laws, workers’ compensation reforms or maritime reforms,” said Mr Shorten.

“This has made the scheme complex and resulted in uncertainties in determining which vessels are covered under the Scheme and which are covered under the various state or territory schemes.”

Minister Shorten will be consulting with Seacare Scheme stakeholders on the review’s recommendations.

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A five year old boy was flung from a spinning carnival ride called the Frisbeem during a school fete near Toowoomba.

He received severe head injuries and was flown to the Mater Children’s Hospital with a suspected fracture of the skull.

According to witnesses he was at the top of the wheel of the ride when he was ejected from his seat. He landed on top of a fairy floss stall a number of metres away from the ride he had been on.

Police at the scene said that he may have slipped under the safety bar because he was too small for the ride.

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Easternwell Camp Management received a grant of $ 37,000 to assist with the funding for its ‘Live Well with Easternwell’ program that encourages safer and healthier worksites.

The Easternwell program has a number of different strategies as well as activities such as toolbox talks and practical workshops that aim to empower workers and encourage them to eat well, be active, quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption.

The company is also providing healthy meals at the camp and provides on site gym equipment for the workers to use.

Shamrock Civil Engineering Pty Ltd received $ 42,000 for its ‘Dig It! Healthy For Life’ program that has promotions such as a family expo, health checks, education and awareness campaigns, a pedometer challenge and a weight loss challenge.

Both organisations operate at Darling Downs mining sites and are just two of the 14 companies across Queensland that shared the $ 500,000 funding available for the High Risk Industry Work Health Funding Program.

The High Risk Industry Work Health Funding Program works to improve the health and wellbeing of workers engaged in high-risk industries such as:

- Building and construction industry

- Transport and storage industry

- Mining and resources industry and associated supply chain in rural and regional Queensland.

To be eligible for the funding programs need to tackle one or more of the risk factors of:

- Smoking

- Poor nutrition

- Harmful alcohol consumption

- Physical inactivity

- Obesity.

Information and practical resources to assist organisations to plan and implement effective workplace health and wellbeing initiatives are available at www.worksafe.qld.gov.au.

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WorkSafe ACT will be referring the builder involved to the Director of Public Prosecutions because workers have put the family at risk for illnesses related to asbestos.

The family left their house last month for more than three weeks after builders cut through asbestos sheeting in their bathroom with angle grinders, the entire house was contaminated.

The couple said that a neighbour approached them and said that they thought asbestos was being removed from and placed in front of their house.

They spoke to the builder who denied there were asbestos products so WorkSafe was called. They tested the sheets and confirmed that they were very dangerous.

The couple with their two children had been living in the house whilst renovations were conducted and toxic substances constantly had to be removed from the kitchen and living areas.

All of the members of the family will need to undergo annual tests for asbestos related illnesses.

Mark McCabe, the WorkSafe ACT Commissioner, said that three prohibition notices, two improvement notices and two infringements had been issued to the company.

He said that if anyone is concerned about work being done in their home they should contact either ACT Planning and Land Authority or WorkSafe and they will investigate.

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WorkSafe WA Commissioner Lex McCulloch said they have received additional reports of fraudulent licences since after they issued a warning this week.

“We issued a warning on Tuesday to check on NSW-issued High Risk Work Licences after two fake licences were discovered in WA,” said Mr McCulloch.

“We have since received unconfirmed reports that fraudulent licences can be obtained overseas quickly and at low cost in places such as Thailand. Although the report is hearsay at this stage, it is good practice to make sure licences are genuine.

Hence, I am repeating the warning on checking these licences and recommending that all High Risk Work Licences be verified before accepting them, no matter where they were issued.

He said verifying High Risk Work Licences are quick and easy.

“Western Australian licences can be very simply verified in a matter of minutes on the home page of the WorkSafe website.

“Simply click on Advanced Search in the Search for Licence Holders box, then select the type of licence from the drop-down menu and enter the licence number. The checking facility will verify the authenticity of the licence.

Mr McCulloch said licences obtained in other states can easily be verified with the relevant authority in the State or Territory of issue.

“As I said earlier this week, it is of great concern that holders of High Risk Work Licences may not be adequately trained to perform high risk work safely and competently, and I urge employers, assessors and trainers to verify any High Risk Work Licences presented to them.”

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The report released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found that the paramedic and the injured man were accidentally pulled from the rock ledge as the helicopter was manoeuvred in preparation to lift them out using its winch.

The ATSB also identified safety issues related to training and the use of the helicopter’s lighting and radios. Several organisation issues that could adversely influence the way crews act in similar circumstance were also identified.

ATSB chief commissioner, Martin Dolan through an ABC report said the crew had assumed the paramedic had given a hand signal to show he was ready.

“On our analysis of the evidence that securing rope was not done, so there was clearly a miscommunication at that point,” said Mr Dolan.

“This is a tragic accident – and it is an accident – and we stress that the pulling off the ledge was an accidental consequence in a situation where there was low light conditions,” he said.

In response to the accident, the Ambulance Service of New South Wales as well as the helicopter operator took some safety actions on the operating scope applied to retrieval operations and procedures used by helicopters and emergency crews.

Paramedics have also been required to conduct annual night winching currency training. Safety actions were also taken in the areas of general crew training and operational risk assessment.

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Trucking is regarded as one of the most high risk industries in the state, with more than 5500 injuries recorded over three years, from 2008 to 2010, along with 29 fatalities.

WorkCover NSW launched a transport action plan yesterday in Orange with the aim being to reduce the number of injuries and illnesses in the transport industry.

The plan is the result of collaboration and consultation with business, industry and workers over the last couple of years.

John Watson, WorkCover’s work health and safety general manager, said that there are four main issues that are the focus of the plan:

- Onsite traffic management systems

- Loading and getting out of trucks

- Return to work and injury management

- Driver wellness

He said that inadequate traffic management is a big factor when it comes to injuries and fatalities as a result of being struck by a vehicle in a loading zone.

Mr Watson said that the new plan is designed to fix safety issues in the transport industry and incorporate areas such as driver wellness to help prevent long term issues occurring.

In the three years that the consultation took place for this plan workplace injuries in the NSW transport industry cost $ 157 million.

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Photo: SafetyCulture Library

A 44-year-old worker was brought to Albury Hospital on Monday when his thigh was severely lacerated with an angle grinder.

According to a Border Mail report, the accident happened on a building site in Wodonga. Paramedics were called in to the site at 9.20 am. Several of the victim’s colleagues assisted the paramedics in carrying him off the site.

Paramedic, Mike Fuery, said the man will need surgery to repair his muscle tissue which was deeply lacerated during the accident.

“This was quite a deep laceration but it managed to avoid any major arteries and veins or nerves, although there was significant muscular damage,” said Mr Fuery.

“This patient’s going to require some specialist surgery to repair his muscle tissue.”

The building site will be subject to an investigation by WorkSafe inspectors.

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Master Electricians Australia has called on the Victorian Government to order the immediate legislation of safety switches as mandatory in all Victorian homes to avoid accidents.

MEA Australia VIC state manager Carl Rankin said now is the best time for Victoria to act against electrical fatalities and injuries.

“We’ve seen a shocking spate of severe electrical safety incidents in New South Wales of late where electricians suffered electric shocks resulting in serious injuries, burns or death,” said Mr Rankin.

“This follows the 2009 death of three tradespeople in Queensland who were installing foil insulation under the federal government’s Home Insulation Program (HIP), not to mention numerous other close calls for electricians who have narrowly avoided losing their lives to a lapse in electrical safety.

“Although electricians are more at risk due to the nature of their work, the dangers of electrical safety incidents also apply to home owners, who do not fully understand the dangers of carrying out their own electrical work around their homes.

“Our research shows around 15 people are killed and 300 hospitalised every year as a result of injuries from electric shocks at home – accidents that could be easily prevented by taking the necessary safety precautions such as having a safety switch installed.

“Victoria has a chance now to learn from the past mistakes of our neighbours and take action before the horse has bolted. A safety switch can prevent an electric shock by cutting the flow of current in a few hundredths of a second, faster than the critical phase of a heartbeat.

“We urge the Victorian Government to take immediate action and legislate for the mandatory fitting of safety switches in all safety switch capable sub-circuits in all Victorian homes.”

A research conducted by the Master Electricians Australia found that while about 60 percent of Australian homes have at least one safety switch, this did not represent total protection for the home owners or tradespeople who may need to access the roof space.

“This prompts the questions as to why, with the overwhelming evidence on the effectiveness of these life saving devices, government has not legislated to make the fitting of safety switches on all capable circuits compulsory in all Australian homes.

“There is absolutely no excuse for complacency regarding electrical related injuries and fatalities when the solution is known. We urge the Victorian Government to take action quickly before lives are unnecessarily lost,” he said.

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