HSE: No waste sector deaths so far in 2011/12
21 September 2011
There have been no deaths so far in the waste and recycling sector in Britain in 2011/12, according to the Health and Safety Executive.
Just a few months after announcing a sharp rise in the number of fatalities in 2010/11 when nine people died (see letsrecycle.com story), the body responsible for encouraging and enforcing health and safety legislation in England, Scotland and Wales told letsrecycle.com last week that none have yet been reported this financial year. There was one fatality in July in Northern Ireland (see letsrecycle.com story) but this is covered by the separate Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland.
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- Chantal Nicholls said that improving standards in the waste sector was still a priority for the HSE
However, despite the encouraging figures the HSE said that the waste sector still lagged behind other industries in terms of health and safety and therefore would remain a priority and be subject to a “significant” number of inspections. These, it said, would continue for the foreseeable future despite government plans to take a more ‘risk-based’ approach to health and safety and cut costs.
HSE principal inspector for waste Chantal Nicholls said: “Waste is a priority sector at the moment as it has been identified as an area which needs proactive intervention. That is likely to remain unless it improves compared to other industries.”
In the wake of concerns from waste companies over government plans to reduce the burden of health and safety legislation on businesses through the Löfstedt Review (see letsrecycle.com story), Ms Nicholls also offered reassurance that standards would not be compromised.
“The idea of the Löfstedt review is certainly not to lessen standards and of course we don’t want to fall foul of any European standard either. If regulations have to be changed and consolidated then industry will be consulted upon that and the cost benefits analysed.
“I don’t think that companies should be worried. If waste companies are doing things right than changing and refining the legislation will not impact upon them. A lot of health and safety is common sense. We would say get involved with the consultation process.”
Fatalities
Turning to sector data once more, Ms Nicholls revealed that the nine workers reported to have died in the waste and recycling sector in 2010/11 excluded four members of the public and two additional deaths which the HSE was aware of - so the figure was likely to rise.
But, on a more positive note, she said that the number of non-fatal accidents during the year had come down. Final figures are due to be published in November 2011.
“We have got to be positive but there is a long way to go. The industry has a lot of challenges to face with a lot of new technologies etc but we have to make sure health and safety keeps to pace with that,” she said.
WEEE
One new area of focus for the HSE is Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) but it continues to also work closely around vehicles – the biggest cause of workplace fatalities.
Wayne Williams, also from the HSE, explained: “WEEE is interesting due to the potential health issues around exposure to substances such as lead and mercury. That is one of the newer areas of focus but work place transport and manual handling are also an ongoing concern as they are where the core things go wrong. Transport will always be a focus.”
Mr Williams added that the HSE was in the second year of a three-year project to research sickness absence in the waste sector and was looking at how local authorities procure to ensure health and safety was given due prominence.
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The organisation is also working on how to influence the behaviour of individuals who have health and safety training but chose not to comply.
“The problem we have got with health and safety in all sectors if that we need to get cultural issues addressed with individuals who choose to do things that they shouldn’t”, Mr Williams explained. “We are looking at how to influence this.”
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