A tribunal has ruled that workplace chemicals caused a worker's terminal cancer, after identifying a "significant gap" in the available protections against direct skin exposure.
A significant proportion of Australian workers are exposed to noise levels above regulated occupational limits, and nearly all of those are at risk of further hearing loss through exposure to chemicals.
> WHS tools for officers and psychological risks released; > Fuel controls urged after three workers burned in NSW; and > Gas, fume and dust alerts issued in wake of WA inspections.
The growing evidence from animal studies that nanomaterials can be harmful to health should compel employers to eliminate or reduce exposure to the tiny particles through the hierarchy of controls - immediately, according to special guidance from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Young workers emulate their co-workers' and managers' risk-taking behaviours and tackling the high risk of injury among them requires raising organisational safety and cultural standards, according to Nordic researchers.
The Federal Government has reconfirmed its commitment to slashing the number of industrial chemicals requiring pre-introduction regulatory scrutiny by more than 70 per cent, but has postponed the start date for the new scheme by another year.
New WHS and workers' comp standards have commenced or been postponed in three jurisdictions, while two jurisdictions have issued confined space alerts after three deaths and an electric shock.
A PCBU's failure to show a worker the material safety data sheet (MSDS) for a hazardous chemical caused him to suffer serious burns because he didn't know what to do when it spilt on him, a court has found. Meanwhile, a PCBU has been fined after scaffolding assembled by an untrained subcontractor collapsed.
