The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has extended the deadlines of the UK REACH transitional registration by three years.

A three-year amendment passes through Parliament and applies to all UK and ‘Grandfathered’ REACH registrations.  

An oil company has been fined £650,000 for health and safety failings which led to the tragic death of a contractor.  BP Exploration Operating Company Limited was found guilty of a health and safety breach at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on 14 July 2023.

MD Safety comment:  Always pre-qualify your Contractors to make sure they are demonstably competent.

A self-employed plumber has received a suspended prison sentence after carrying out unsafe gas work in Hampshire and for pretending to be Gas Safe registered.

MD Safety comment: Often overlooked as it can be difficult to manage, but difficult doesnt mean that it shouldnt be done.  The results of unmanaged exposure can lead to events like this.

A manufacturing company has been fined following reports that two of its employees had been diagnosed with hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).  The two staff members at Ross & Catherall Limited – a company that manufactures and supplies metal bars for the aerospace and automotive industries – worked at the firm’s Forge Lane site in Killamarsh, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, in 2019.

A report examining the Department for Education’s (Dfe) objective around safe and well-maintained school buildings has revealed approximately 700,000 pupils are at risk from unsafe or aging properties.  

MD Safety comment:  More upgrades to requirements for fire safety.

The British Standards Institution’s BS 7273: Part 4 Code of practice for the operation of fire protection measures has recently had its exit system guidance amended.  The amendment features commentary that will accompany the standard so that it will now directly refer to ‘BS EN 13637 Building hardware – Electrically controlled exit systems for use on escape routes’ in respect of any electrically locked door on an escape route.

How can OSH professionals assess the mental health of their organisations and address any risks to health and safety effectively?  One in four people in the UK will have a mental health problem each year (Mind, 2017). The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that depression will become the world’s most common illness by 2030 (2011), and the UN estimates that nearly one billion people globally are living with a mental health disorder (2022). 

MD Safety comment:  We cannot stress enough the importance of obtaining accurate Asbestos Surveys and ensuring Asbestos Awareness Training for staff who may come into contact with these materials.

A former shipyard worker is warning young tradespeople of the dangers of asbestos after losing around a third of his body weight since being diagnosed with mesothelioma.  Before diagnosis he used to weigh 14-and-a-half stone but now touches the scales at just over 9-and-a-half stone.

Tata Steel UK has been fined £120,000 after a worker suffered serious head injuries after being hit in the face with a scaffold pole, causing him to fall backwards.  Gavin Rowlands, an employee at Monolithic Refractories Limited, sustained permanent brain damage as a result of the incident on 3 April 2017.

A family run haulage and storage business, has been fined following the death of a 25-year-old employee at its premises in East Lothian.  Andrew Black Limited was fined £150,000 after the death of Grant Borton, an experienced LGV driver on 31 December 2022.