Spotlight on Health and Safety

News from NIPSA Health & Safety Committee

September 2015

Tinnitus The Unseen Challenge The Union Effect Union Health and Safety Reps save millions in taxpayers money

NIPSA Health and Safety Conference Monday 19th October 2015, City Hotel, Derry

Asbestos

The Silent Killer

Working Women and Breast Cancer Raised cancer risk for women

…plus more

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Spotlight on Health and Safety

September 2015

The Union Effect

Union Health and Safety Reps save millions in taxpayers money According to government research union health and safety representatives save taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds each year by reducing lost time from occupational injuries and work-related illness.

Having highly trained union health and safety reps in the workplace save hundreds of lives, prevent tens of thousands of injuries and illnesses. Workplaces with union representatives and a Joint Safety Committee have half the serious injury rate of those without.

Any reasonable employer welcomes the presence of health and safety representatives. They recognise the invaluable contribution they make not only to reducing injuries and illnesses caused by work but to the safety culture within an organisation.

Appointing safety reps and legal rights to paid time off

The appointment of safety reps from recognised trade unions is provided for by Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work (NI) Order 1978. Safety reps are entitled under European and Northern Ireland law,

The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1979 (SRSCR) to paid time off work to carry out their functions and to undergo union and ICTU training courses. This right is absolute and there is nothing that says an employer can decide to restrict it. If representatives need time off they have a statutory right to the time off.

If any rep is expressing difficulties in exercising their right to paid time off, particularly for attending training, it is important to raise this with your fulltime official and report this to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland.

Safety reps’ functions Safety representatives’ functions are set out in Regulation 4 of SRSCR. ●● Investigating complaints by members. ●● Inspecting the workplace. ●● Making representations to managers. ●● Investigating the causes of accidents. ●● Investigating potential hazards and dangerous occurrences. ●● Inspecting documents relevant to safety in the workplace. ●● Receiving information from enforcement inspectors. ●● Representing members’ interests in meetings with enforcement inspectors. ●● Receiving information from management. ●● Being consulted by management about issues relating to health and safety in the workplace. ●● Attending meetings of safety committees.

Latest news from the NIPSA Health and Safety Committee

6th Annual NIPSA Health and Safety Conference Monday 19th October 2015 City Hotel, Derry Austerity and its impact on the health, safety and welfare of members will be the focus of this year’s Annual Health and Safety Conference.

As part of the Stormont House Agreement we are set to lose thousands of jobs in the public sector and this is on top of thousands of jobs already gone in the public sector as part of the Government’s austerity programme. Something has to give and all too often it is the health and wellbeing of our members.

According to the TUC’s latest survey of union health and safety reps, published in 2014, stress is a particularly high concern in the public services that have been most affected by austerity. This view has been reinforced in a recent report in March 2015 from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which says that cuts to jobs, budgets etc., are leaving the staff delivering public services facing “unsustainable stress”.

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Health & Safety

Conference 2015

This year’s Conference which is taking place during European Health and Safety Week on Monday 19 October 2015 in the City Hotel, Derry/Londonderry will be linking austerity to increased incidents of bullying and harassment, levels of absenteeism, poverty and mental ill-health.

Information on the Conference and nomination forms to be a delegate elected to the Health and Safety Committee have been issued to branches and are available from the NIPSA website.

http://www.nipsa.org.uk/NIPSA-in-Action/Healthand-Safety/Health-and-Safety-Conference

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Spotlight on Health and Safety

September 2015

Asbestos The Silent Killer What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material that was a popular building material up until the 1990s. It was used extensively because it is an insulator, has good fire protection properties, has tensile strength, and is resistant to chemical erosion.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to know if you’re working with asbestos because it is often mixed with other materials. However, if you work in a building built before 1990, it’s likely that at least some parts of the building will contain asbestos.

Why is asbestos dangerous?

●● Asbestos still kills around 5000 workers each year, this is more than the number of people killed on the road; ●● Around 20 tradesman die each week as a result of past exposure; ●● However, asbestos is not just a problem of the past. It can be present today in any building built or refurbished before the year 2000.

When materials that contain asbestos are disturbed or damaged, fibres are released into the air. When these fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases.

These diseases will not affect you immediately; they often take a long time to develop, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything. This is why it is important that you protect yourself now.

Asbestos-related lung cancer: Asbestos-related lung cancer is the same as (looks the same as) lung cancer caused by smoking and other causes. It is estimated that there is around one lung cancer for every mesothelioma death

Asbestosis: Asbestosis is a serious scarring condition of the lung that normally occurs after heavy exposure to asbestos over many years. This condition can cause progressive shortness of breath, and in severe cases can be fatal

Pleural thickening: Pleural thickening is generally a problem that happens after heavy asbestos exposure. The lining of the lung (pleura) thickens and swells. If this gets worse, the lung itself can be squeezed, and can cause shortness of breath and discomfort in the chest

Where can you find asbestos?

Asbestos can be found in any industrial or residential building built or refurbished before the year 2000.

It is in many of the common materials used in the building trade that you may come across during your work. And, as the recent closure of St Joseph’s school in Antrim shows, asbestos can be found anywhere.

Am I at risk?

Asbestos can cause the following fatal and serious diseases:

Workers involved in refurbishment, maintenance and other similar trades, could be at risk of exposure to asbestos during their work

Mesothelioma:

When am I most at risk?

Mesothelioma is a cancer which affects the lining of the lungs (pleura) and the lining surrounding the lower digestive tract (peritoneum). It is almost exclusively related to asbestos exposure and by the time it is diagnosed, it is almost always fatal

You are most at risk when: ●● the building you are working on was built before the year 2000; ●● you are working on an unfamiliar site; ●● asbestos-containing materials were identified before the job was started;

not

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Latest news from the NIPSA Health and Safety Committee

●● asbestos-containing materials were identified but this information was not passed on by the people in charge to the people doing the work; ●● you haven’t done a risk assessment; ●● you don’t know how to recognise and work safely with asbestos; ●● you have not had appropriate information, instruction and training; ●● you know how to work safely with asbestos, but you choose to put yourself at risk by not following proper precautions, perhaps to save time or because no one else is following proper procedures.

Remember ●● you can’t see or smell asbestos fibres in the air;

Asbestos information, instruction and training

Every employer must make sure that anyone who is liable to disturb asbestos during their normal work, or who supervises those employees, gets the correct level of information, instruction and training so that they can work safely and competently without risk to themselves or others.

Online learning (often referred to as e–learning) is increasingly used as a method of providing asbestos awareness training. The HSENI recognises the use of e-learning as a viable delivery method, among others, for asbestos awareness training, provided it satisfies the requirements of Regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2012 and the supporting Approved Code of Practice L143 ‘Managing and working with asbestos’.

●● the effects of being exposed to asbestos take many years to show up - avoid breathing it in now; ●● people who smoke and are also exposed to asbestos fibres are at a much greater risk of developing lung cancer; ●● asbestos is only a danger when fibres are made airborne and breathed in; ●● as long as the asbestos is in good condition and it is located somewhere where it can’t be easily damaged then it shouldn’t be a risk to you.

Image courtesy of © 2011 Nephron via Wikipedia

Micrograph of a pleural fluid showing mesothelioma.

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Spotlight on Health and Safety

Managing and working with asbestos

Before you start any work in a building that might contain asbestos (eg built or refurbished before the year 2000), you need to do the following: 1. Identify whether asbestos is present and determine its type and condition: People responsible for maintenance of non-domestic premises, have a ‘duty to manage’ the asbestos in them, and should provide you with information on where any asbestos is in the building and what condition it is in. ( Asbestos register) 2. Carry out a risk assessment – note: Most asbestos removal work will require a contractor holding a licence from HSENI. 3. Ensure those carrying out the work are suitably trained

The duty to manage asbestos

The duty to manage asbestos is directed at those who manage non-domestic premises: the people with responsibility for protecting others who work in such premises, or use them in other ways, from the risks to ill health that exposure to asbestos causes.

The revised ACOP L143 ‘Managing and working with asbestos’ contains updated information about the requirements to manage asbestos under regulation 4 of CAR 2012

September 2015

What is the duty?

The duty to manage asbestos is contained in regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (NI) 2012. It requires the person who has the duty (ie the ‘dutyholder’) to: ●● take reasonable steps to find out if there are materials containing asbestos in non-domestic premises, and if so, its amount, where it is and what condition it is in; ●● presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not; ●● make, and keep up-to-date, a record of the location and condition of the asbestoscontaining materials - or materials which are presumed to contain asbestos; ●● assess the risk of anyone being exposed to fibres from the materials identified; ●● prepare a plan that sets out in detail how the risks from these materials will be managed; ●● take the necessary steps to put the plan into action; ●● periodically review and monitor the plan and the arrangements to act on it so that the plan remains relevant and up-to-date; ●● provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb them.

There is also a requirement on others to co-operate as far as is necessary to allow the dutyholder to comply with the above requirements.

Serpentine fibres of asbestos in its natural unprocessed state.

Northern Ireland Health and Safety Representative of the Year

- could you be the winner?

Health and safety is a vital part of every workplace in Northern Ireland and Health and Safety Representatives work to make workplaces safer.

That is why the Northern Ireland Health and Safety Representative of the Year Award has been established to recognise the contribution Health and Safety Representatives make to protect workplace safety and improve health and safety standards in workplaces throughout Northern Ireland.

●● publicity for your achievement

Presented by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) and the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (NIC ICTU) the award couldn’t be easier to enter.

●● winner’s trophy to keep for the year

Entry is easy To be considered for the Northern Ireland Health and Safety Representative of the Year Award.* Just ask yourself the following questions: ●● are you a trade union appointed health and safety representative or an elected representative of employee safety? ●● do you make a positive contribution to protecting and improving health and safety in your work place? ●● do you want to be recognised as an ambassador for health and safety excellence?

If you can answer yes, then you are exactly who we are looking for. All you have to do is complete a simple application form and tell us why you’re so great at what you do! You can either complete this yourself or ask your trade union office or employer to complete it on your behalf.

Benefits The benefits of being the award winner are: ●● recognition for the role of the Health and Safety Representative

2016

●● development opportunity for your career ●● a chance to promote good health and safety practice within your organisation ●● invitations to a range of health and safety events ●● framed winner’s certificate Shortlisting and selection will be made by a panel constituted by HSENI and the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (NIC ICTU). The panel’s decision on shortlisting and final selection will be final. The award will be judged on the information you provide in relation to the following areas: ●● your ability to identify health and safety problems and implement improvements ●● your role in communicating and representing on health and safety matters ●● your enthusiasm for seeking out and keeping up to date on what’s new in workplace health and safety.

How do I get an application form?

You can either go online and download it from HSENI’s website www.hseni.gov.uk or contact 0800 0320 121 to arrange for an application form to be posted or emailed to you.

Don’t miss out! The closing date for entries is Friday 23 October 2015.

For further information on the award please contact HSENI’s Helpline on 0800 0320 121 or email colette.maguire@hseni.gov.uk

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Spotlight on Health and Safety

September 2015

Tinnitus

The Unseen Challenge

by Christine Martin

Action on Hearing Loss

Tinnitus is the medical term to describe the noises people hear in one ear, both ears or in the head (or a combination of these) that does not come from an external source. This condition is experienced by 10% of the population and for 1% the impact is severe. So who can have tinnitus? The condition is experienced by people with normal hearing, those with hearing loss and it is possible to be profoundly deaf and have tinnitus.

Tinnitus is an electrical activity on the neurons on the auditory nerve and is perceived as a whistling, humming, buzzing, throbbing, musical notes, or machinery like noise or a combination of some of these, and can be of a high or low frequency. It can be continuous or intermittent and there are various causes of tinnitus, for example, ear wax or infection, hearing loss, exposure to loud noise, head injuries, menieres or vertigo and some medications (check with GP if concerned) and stress.

The impact of tinnitus is different for people but some of those listed include: isolation, frustration, lack of sleep, lack of concentration, lack of understanding from friends, family and colleagues, stress, anxiety, depression and impact on mental health. The impact of these can contribute to causing great difficulty for those with the condition and particularly for those in the workplace.

Thus it is vital that both employee and employer discuss these difficulties.

Often the employee is struggling to cope, particularly in early days, and afraid to mention it to colleagues or Line Managers for fear of misunderstanding and possible loss of job. If the employee mentions the tinnitus they can become anxious and feel if Occupational Health are involved that they are not supportive because they do not comprehend the difficulties and may suggest the employee should make a decision about being in work or taking early retirement on grounds of ill health. The employee may become so stressed that they need to go on sick leave and then return still stressed and hiding their condition as often employers are not knowledgeable about tinnitus and its impact. Employees tend to go on sick leave for stress but the tinnitus is the main cause.

As one client said ‘I just thought they wouldn’t really understand and I felt embarrassed that this wasn’t

Latest news from the NIPSA Health and Safety Committee

Northern Ireland visibly apparent as a physical illness would be’. My advice to employees is be open about it, and get the necessary information about tinnitus from ENT, Sensory Support Teams or Action on Hearing Loss. Some clients also have hearing loss and it is vital to have an Access to Work check carried out in case there is equipment that could be provided to assist and any reasonable adjustments that would make life easier for the employee.

on Hearing Loss offer a short talk to staff by the Tinnitus Support Officer who has tinnitus and this can help provide information to employers and the employees’ colleagues.

The more information both employee and employer receive creates a greater understanding and helps to reduce the anxiety and fear of the condition. One tip I would give is not to ask the employee every day ‘How is the tinnitus today?’ This may be seen as a caring comment, and of course is well meant, but if the employee has gone into work and is not thinking about the tinnitus this will immediately make it high profile again.

‘I just thought they wouldn’t really understand and I felt embarrassed that this wasn’t visibly apparent as a physical illness would be’.

Some people experiencing tinnitus also have hyperacusis, an oversensitivity to sound or hearing and in this case noise becomes a further difficulty. If the workplace is a noisy environment it is important that attention is given to ear protection and that employees wear it. It can be difficult to get the balance right but with the correct assistance this can be overcome so again ask for support. Where an employee works in a large office an employer may be able to find an alternative working area where there is less noise. However, if the employee is a Line Manager, it is important that consideration is given to keeping them close to their team, and not set aside in an office a couple of floors away as this can increase stress and isolation.

To employers I would advise that if a member of staff has tinnitus and you are not familiar with the difficulties information should be sought immediately. The staff member is likely to be distressed, angry, confused and anxious dealing with psychological difficulties as well as the practical difficulties in work and these are often worse when an employee first develops tinnitus. It is important that they are reassured. The best advice is to ask the employee what they need in terms of support. Once this has been identified the employee will relax and gain more control of their condition and control is the essence of life.

It can take some time for people to learn the management techniques to enable them to cope and control their response to tinnitus. Action

In addition to the Tinnitus Support Service, Action on Hearing Loss Northern Ireland also provide a range of other services for people with hearing loss and deafness, this includes: ●● Running free Hear to Help clinics throughout Northern Ireland to assist people with their hearing aids; ●● An information, advice and equipment service ●● A befriending service which aims to reduce isolation amongst older people with hearing loss; ●● An employment service, supporting people who are deaf or have hearing loss to find work, education and further training; ●● We provide qualified, experienced sign-language interpreters and other communications professionals; ●● We work with the Northern Ireland Assembly, service providers, and other organisations to campaign to improve services for people with hearing loss, deafness and tinnitus; ●● We run Ireland’s only specialist residential care home for people who are profoundly deaf and have additional needs, in Harkness Gardens, Derry/Londonderry.

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Spotlight on Health and Safety

September 2015

New report exposes raised cancer risk for women The TUC has called for urgent action on occupational exposure to breast cancer in women following new research by the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Fund. The report, “Working Women and Breast Cancer: The State of the Evidence,” is the product of more than two years of work overseen and is a review of most of the scientific studies that have been published in the past 25 years.

It found a link between breast cancer and a number of workplace exposures including solvents, pesticides, ionizing radiation and other toxic materials. There also was an association with night shift work. The report concluded “Research is inadequate, but there is enough to raise alarm about women’s work, occupational exposures and breast cancer. At the same time, policies are insufficient to protect worker health.”

This review, the first of its kind, also links more than 20 occupations with considerably increased risk of breast cancer compared to the risk for the general population. These include Nurses, with a 50% higher risk than for the general population, food and beverage production workers, up to 5 times more, hairdressers and cosmetologists, also up to 5 times more and manufacturing and machinery workers, where the risk is up to 3 times more.

TUC head of health and safety, Hugh Robertson said “This is a damning report and shows that much more must be done to protect women from exposure to chemicals at work. Only last month we asked the

HSE to produce now guidance on night work to help protect women from breast cancer, but this report shows that more needs to be done across the board to reduce the risk from work.”

The report also recommended that women should be included in occupational studies and they have “historically been excluded…which means that health issues that predominantly affect women, including breast cancer, have been at best understudied and at worst ignored.” http://www.breastcancerfund.org/assets/pdfs/ publications/working-women-and-breast-cancer. pdf

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Latest news from the NIPSA Health and Safety Committee

Display Screen Equipment Ergonomic Workstation Assessment ●● Adjust the brightness and contrast controls on the screen to suit lighting conditions in the room. ●● Make sure the screen surface is clean. ●● Individual characters on the screen should be sharply focused and should not flicker or move. If they do, the VDU may need servicing or adjustment. ●● Position the mouse within easy reach, so it can be used with the wrist straight. ●● Sit upright and close to the desk, so you don’t have to work with your mouse arm stretched.

approx 90°

●● Don’t sit in the same position for long periods. Make sure you change your posture as often as practicable. ●● Most jobs provide opportunities to take a break from the screen, eg to do filing or photocopying. ●● Frequent short breaks are better than fewer long ones.

●● Adjust your keyboard to get a good keying position.

A space in front of the keyboard is sometimes helpful for resting the hands and wrists when not keying. ●● Try to keep your wrists straight when keying.

Keep a soft touch on the keys and don’t overstretch your fingers. Good keyboard technique is important.

●● Adjust your chair (lumbar support, arm rests angle and height of seat) and VDU to find the most comfortable position for your work. As a broad guide, your forearms should be approximately horizontal and your eyes the same height as the top of the VDU. ●● Avoid excess pressure from the edge of your seat on the backs of your legs and knees. ●● A footrest may be helpful, particularly for smaller users.

Health& Safety PUBLICATIONS

The latest publications from NIPSA Health and Safety Committee are available in print from NIPSA Headquarters and also available to download from the NIPSA website. Back issues of Spotlight and Spotlight eZines are also available from the NIPSA website: https://www.nipsa.org.uk/NIPSA-in-Action/ Health-and-Safety/Newsletters .org.uk

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dignity work A Guide to

Also Available

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We also have a new updated edition A Guide to Dignity at Work available from NIPSA Headquarters or a download from the NIPSA Website.

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Views expressed in this Newsletter are not, unless otherwise stated, the views of NIPSA.