Employers urged to act after diesel declared carcinogenic; Definition of worker in NT workers' comp laws to change; FSU seeks exemption from NSW workers' comp changes; and NT employer fined for fall breach on boat.

Employers urged to act after diesel declared carcinogenic

Employers in the mining industry and other sectors are being urged to more effectively manage diesel emissions, after the World Health Organisation last week classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans.

Dr Christopher Portier of the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer, said in a statement the decision was made after a week-long meeting of international experts.

"The scientific evidence was compelling and the working group's conclusion was unanimous: diesel engine exhaust causes lung cancer in humans," he said.

"Given the additional health impacts from diesel particulates, exposure to this mixture of chemicals should be reduced worldwide."

Col Chandler, the CEO of Queensland emissions monitoring and reduction technology developer Peak3, said the WHO move came as no surprise, and warned that invisible particles were the most hazardous.

"Many people associate diesel exhaust 'smoke' with emissions danger but it's not the smoke that is the problem, it is the nano particles that are created by diesel engines," Chandler said.

"Ironically the big black particles that can be seen in sooty smoke are generally sneezed or coughed out, but it is the nano particles which are often coated in harmful organic compounds from the fuel and lubricants and were able to penetrate more deeply into the lungs.

"As the WHO has confirmed, this dramatically increases the risks of cancer and unfortunately newer engines are not a protection from this because in many cases they simply reduced the smoke or mass but could in some cases actually increase the number of diesel particulates."

According to Chandler, diesel emissions posed a significant threat to underground miners. He said it was vital for mining companies to effectively measure particles and then treat them.

Peak3, in collaboration with the CSIRO and the Australian Coal Association Research Program, had developed technology that treated nano and ultrafine particulates using "ultrasonic agglomeration", he said.

Definition of worker in NT workers' comp laws to change

NT WorkSafe is reminding employers that the definition of "worker" will change, and older workers will have greater access to compensation, when amendments to the Northern Territory Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act take effect on 1 July 2012.

According to WorkSafe, the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment Bill:

• clarifies a test for determining whether a person is a worker or an independent contractor for the purposes of the scheme;
• allows workers who are injured in Australia but reside overseas to access compensation;
• provides immediate and fairer access to compensation for injured older workers to reflect the Federal Government's decision to increase the qualifying age for the aged pension; and
• clarifies the types of benefits that can be taken into account in calculating an injured worker's normal weekly earnings.

FSU seeks exemption from NSW workers' comp changes

The Finance Sector Union is calling on ANZ and Westpac to seek exemption from the proposed changes to the WorkCover NSW scheme.

As reported by OHS Alert earlier today, the Upper House is currently debating a workers' compensation amendment Bill that removes or reduces a number of entitlements for injured workers.

The amendments will not apply to police officers (see Schedule 12 of the Bill).

According to the FSU's NSW/ACT secretary Geoff Derrick, WorkCover's ballooning deficit, which was being used to justify the changes, had no connection to his sector because the big banks were all self-insurers.

"The parliamentary inquiry recognised police as deserving exemption from the cutbacks and we reckon that bank workers should also be exempt," he said.

"Not only do many of them face the risk of hold-ups at work, but their employers are self-insured, meaning that they don't rely upon the pooled funds of the NSW WorkCover scheme to cover their liabilities."

Derrick said that if bank workers were not exempt, the changes "will simply be a windfall gain in additional profits for ANZ and Westpac at the expense of their injured staff".

NT employer fined for fall breach on boat

A Northern Territory employer has been fined $10,000 in the Darwin Magistrates Court for failing to ensure fall protection measures were in place on the roof of a boat.

In September 2011, a Paspaley Pearling Company cook fell two metres through the roof of a docked pearling vessel onto the lower deck, sustaining serious injuries.

He had just crossed a gang plank between the wharf and the vessel when the incident occurred. An investigation found Paspaley did not have a system in place to prevent workers from stepping onto the roof, which could not bear the weight of a person.

It also found the employer had not properly instructed the worker in the safe use of the portable gangway and the landing platform.

"The above incident highlights the dangers Territory workers face when working at heights as it only takes a momentary lapse in concentration or loss of footing for an injury to occur," NT WorkSafe executive director Laurene Hull said after the decision.

She urged employers to consult the Northern Territory's three Codes of Practice on the prevention of falls.