Browsing: Dangerous substances | Page 12

• PCBU risks higher WHS fine with court challenge; and
  
• PTSD and cancer amendments take effect in WA.

Workplace exposure limits for diesel emissions are likely to be set under the national model WHS laws, with a major Safe Work Australia-commissioned report finding the prevention of diesel-related cancers and other diseases hinges on keeping exposure levels low.

A PCBU whose "deficient" work systems led to a transformer exploding, and causing serious oil burns to a nearby worker, has been handed a pre-discount penalty of $600,000.

• UV-related WHS duties apply on cloudy days;
  
• Older workplace buildings targeted in SA asbestos blitz; and
  
• Old workplace safety Code revoked in WA.

In a unique case, the Ambulance Service of NSW has been fined nearly $200,000 for category-3 WHS breaches, after its auditing processes failed to reveal that a worker was tampering with vials of the opioid fentanyl for personal use.

PCBUs will soon be: required to proactively facilitate the election of health and safety representatives; banned from blocking WHS entry permit holders through technicalities or impractical induction requirements; and handed on-the-spot fines for failing to provide adequate toilets, under review recommendations accepted in Queensland.

An ongoing investigation into an incident that could have resulted in a major methane explosion in a mine has highlighted the WHS duties to implement and maintain ventilation control plans underpinned by frequent inspections and tests.

Poor adherence to safety regulations and exposure to diesel emissions - even at levels below recommended thresholds - have been linked, by two studies, to an increased risk of injuries and biological changes that can lead to cancer.

A PCBU has been been convicted and fined $230,000 for category 2 and 3 WHS breaches, in the second of two cases in one jurisdiction in just over a year involving silicosis diagnoses and heavy penalties across different industries.

Occupational hygienists, health experts and unions have joined to call for blanket bans on engineered stone products and a licensing scheme to oversee their removal, warning that WHS controls for these products can't fully protect workers from silicosis or cancer.