Health and Safety International | Issue 33
Articles you will find in this issue include:
Filtrating Respiratory Protection Devices - tools against hazardous particles
Respiratory protective devices provide protection against different types of air contamination e.g. dusts, fumes, gases and vapours that are hazardous for human health. Respirators are generally classified two basic categories: filtering devices – used as the simplest protection equipment against chemical agents, and breathing apparatus – generally used by specially trained end-users in complex environments.
Author | Piotr Petrowski, Central Institute for Labour Protection
Safety Is In Your Hands
Hands are precious, irreplaceable tools that we use in almost everything we do. As a result, they may also be exposed to a whole range of risks that often require a specific approach in terms of safety. However, not every protective glove is the same. The challenge is to select the most appropriate glove for the intended task or situation and to use it in the proper way.
Author | Guido Van Duren, President of Febelsafe, Vice-president of the European Safety Federation
Slip Resistance of Footwear - Worn outdoor footwear and work footwear: a comparison
Worn outdoor footwear exhibits a wide range of potential slip resistance. The roughness, tread and hardness are components with only a minor influence upon the slip resistance. The material combination is probably the decisive factor determining the slip resistance.
Sound Practice - Noise Measurements in Health and Safety
Adrian Hirst argues that whilst the measurement of noise can be an involved process, the evolution of modern noise measurement equipment has been a boon for the technophobes as well as the technophiles.
Author | Adrian Hirst, Hirst Consulting
Take the High Ground - Falls from height change lives
Latest statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveal that falls from height remain one of the most common causes of fatality and major injury in the workplace. Last year 35 workers died as a result of a fall from height in the workplace and in the same period more than 4000 employees suffered major injuries. At their most extreme, falls can result in death and by their very nature, injuries to workers have the potential to be life changing, not only affecting the people themselves, but also impacting upon their families.
Author | Alison Wellens, Health and Safety Executive and Louise Robinson, Health and Safety Laboratory
Task Lighting in Hazardous Areas
With so many different types of light source available to us today, we tend to forget that for many years people who worked in coal mines had to use candles, using a naked flame with the potential for ignition and explosion if there was a leak of methane. At that time, one of the most important jobs in the mine was that of “fireman”. His purpose in life was not to put out fires, as we might think today, but to actually ignite small fires so that any methane which collected in the roof of the mine was burnt off before it had a chance to ignite. He passed through the mine workings with a lighted taper on the end of a long pole, deliberately inserting the flame into any pockets in the roof where the methane (at about half the density of air) would collect. Rumour has it that he was either the best paid man in the mine or, using a modern phrase, a “prisoner on day release”.
Author | Ron Sinclair, Baseefa
Workwear - Putting the Workers into Workwear
What people wear to work is important. They will be spending up to 12 hours a day on the activities relating to their employment. The environment may involve temperature extremes – hot or cold: it may involve hazardous substances: radiation; or physical hazards such as handling glass, sharp materials etc. In the global world of work, workers need protecting from many hazards.
Author | Nigel Bryson
As well as information about the following new Regulations
