The effectiveness of workplace safety management practices applied to chemicals requires urgent verification, according to preventive medicine researchers, who have found that working in premises where regulated chemicals are handled is associated with a high risk of developing cancer.
The national model Work Health and Safety Regulations have been amended to expressly ban hazardous work processes and update references to certain Australian Standards.
Researchers have called for "crucial" preventative strategies for workers struggling with asthma, and have identified jobs and chemicals that escalate the risk of one of the most common cancers among male workers.
A company accused of breaching Fair Work laws by blocking a union official from testing respirable dust levels, on a major project, has claimed it complies with all air-monitoring-related WHS rules, and the suitability of the union's testing device is questionable.
European researchers have identified factors that increase the likelihood of workers contracting the flu, and the occupations most vulnerable to infection.