At least 78 Victorian workers have been diagnosed with potentially deadly lung disease silicosis since the State Government banned certain high-risk work processes and launched a health screening program last year, figures released today show. Meanwhile, the former team manager of an A-League club has alleged he was bullied and injured in the role.
A coronial inquest has found a major workplace's "grossly deficient" record keeping was the main cause of a worker's asphyxiation death, and referred the actions "or inactions" of the manager allegedly responsible for updating the relevant records to a safety regulator for further investigation.
An international academy of leading occupational and environmental health experts has called for employers of all sizes to take all necessary steps to protect workers in the COVID-19 pandemic, which include appointing an "infection control officer", prioritising higher order controls and reducing exposure to dust and fumes, which increase the severity of infection.
> Indoor work temperature could affect COVID-19 spread; > Workplace consultation key to WHS compliance in pandemic; and > ACT workers affected by pandemic offered portable leave.
A company and its director have been fined nearly $160,000 after two young workers, including a work experience student, were injured in an explosion after being directed to mix hazardous chemicals in a home-made contraption.
Hazelwood Power Corporation Pty Ltd has been fined a total of $1.56 million - or just 12 per cent of the maximum available penalty - for 10 OHS breaches relating to the devastating Hazelwood coal mine fire, after the Victorian Supreme Court found the fire didn't result from the company's safety contraventions.
A significant proportion of adult asthma cases can be attributed to workplace triggers and workers can develop the illness in as little as two years, a US study spanning five decades has found. The researchers say the results underscore the need for employers to reduce exposures and monitor staff.
The worker convicted and a fined over the Sydney hospital gas incidents that killed one newborn baby, and severely injured another, could have averted the tragedies by conducting the simple tests he was qualified and paid to perform, the sentencing remarks show.
