New substances will be regulated under The Control of Explosives Precursors and Poisons Regulations 2023 from 1 October 2023

What are these regulations?

Many common substances utilised within detergents and disinfectants can be re-purposed as poisons or to create homemade explosive devices such as those used in the Manchester Arena and Parsons Green attacks. Since 2021, legislation has been in force across the EU and Northern Ireland to control the sale and supply of these substances and from 1st October 2023 Great Britain will be following suit.

Will I still be able to source these products?

Yes, however in order to comply with these regulations you must verify the legitimacy of your use with the supplier through a request for information on your business and an authorised person on site (including a photographic I.D.) for products containing regulated substances.

What are the products?

In general, substances present in hygiene products fall into two categories: –

Regulated Substances	Reportable Substances
Hydrochloric acid above 10% w/w	Potassium hydroxide above 17%w/w
Hydrogen Peroxide above 12 w/w	Sodium hydroxide above 12%w/w
Nitric acid above 3% w/w	Sodium hypochlorite above 6%w/w available chlorine
Phosphoric acid above 30% w/w	Hydrogen Peroxide above 2% w/w
Sulphuric acid above 15% w/w
Oxalic acid above 10% w/w

 

What are my responsibilities?

Take all reasonable steps to control and manage the stocks held on your site and restrict access to only those authorised persons.

For both products containing either Regulated or Reportable substances, any suspicious activity must be reported to the “Report Suspicious Chemical Activity Service” and significant disappearances or thefts of these products to the Police on 0800 789321 within 24 hours.

As part of your supplier’s conditions of sale, they will be required to collect the following information for any product formulation containing Regulated substances prior to supplying you – this information must be collected every 18 months:

• Business name, address and nature of business
• VAT number (if VAT registered)
• Name of authorised person and job title
• Photo I.D. of the authorised person.

 

This statement will be required for each delivery address so must be completed on a site-by-site basis. Please be aware that without this Customer Statement being fully completed the supplier cannot, and will not, supply products containing Regulated substances.

Where can I go for further information?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplying-explosives-precursors

Nine UK health and safety organisations have come together to form the Occupational Safety and Health Stakeholder Alliance, which aims to support good practice and encourage progress on health and safety issues.

Mental health will be an immediate area of focus for the alliance, which claims the UK is “less well advanced” than many EU nations in preventing and supporting employees with mental health issues.

“The consequences of this go far beyond the direct impact on individuals and their employers, including an already-stretched NHS,” the organisation said.

“An early priority for the alliance will be to prioritise, identify, develop and implement measures to equip the [occupational safety and health] profession to more effectively mitigate the risk factors giving rise to mental health issues in the workplace.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Stakeholder Alliance (OSHSA) said it expects to provide a unified voice for the industry, and inform and support the creation of government and business health and safety policies.

It also aims to increase the visibility of the health and safety profession and the role it plays in achieving business objectives.

In May, seven organisations – the British Occupational Hygiene Society, British Safety Council, British Safety Industry Federation, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, International Institute of Risk and Safety Management, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents – signed a memorandum of understanding to create OSHSA .

Two further organisations – the National Examination Board for Occupational Safety and Health and the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors – have joined more recently.

Although Britain’s health and safety record has improved overall, there was a 10% increase in work-related deaths in the year to March 2023. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) the industries with the highest deaths were construction; agriculture, forestry and fishing; manufacturing; and transportation and storage.

Personnel Today
August 2023

DVSA have worked with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and industry stakeholders to publish an updated code of practice on load security.

It will help vehicle operators, drivers and those involved in the loading of a vehicle to understand their responsibilities when transporting different loads and how to make them safe.

• 1. Responsibility for load security

  Why load security is important, what operators, drivers and consignors must do when loading and transporting goods, and how load security is enforced.

• 2. Load securing: the basics

  How to decide on a load securing system, what to check before loading a vehicle, and how to stabilise a load.

• 3. What to do if a load becomes unstable during a journey

  How to safely decide whether you can continue your journey or take other action.

• 4. Ways to secure a load in an HGV or goods vehicle

  Equipment and methods you can use to secure a load in a goods vehicle and how to use it safely.

• 5. How to load different HGVs, light goods vehicles, small vans and cars

  How to secure loads on different types of vehicle.

• 6. How to carry different types of load in HGVs and goods vehicles

  Ways to load items on a goods vehicle safely.

 

The code of practice replaces all other load security guidance previously published on GOV.UK.

You can view the Code of Practice: Safety of Loads on Vehicles on GOV.UK.

A family run haulage and storage business, has been fined following the death of a 25-year-old employee at its premises in East Lothian.

Andrew Black Limited was fined £150,000 after the death of Grant Borton, an experienced LGV driver on 31 December 2022.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard that after finishing his driving duties, Mr Borton was using the-onsite wash bay to clean his vehicle in preparation for his next shift. Upon exiting the wash bay, he raised the body of his tipper vehicle and made contact with overhead powerlines which resulted in his death by electrocution.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident revealed that a failure to ensure suitable control measures were in place resulted in Mr Borton being electrocuted. Had the risks been recognised and simple controls been implemented, his death could have been avoided.

On 4 July 2023, Andrew Black Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(3) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and were fined £150,000.

Speaking after the case HSE Principal Inspector Fiona MacNeill said “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply ensuring suitable control measures and safe working practices were in place.  HSE guidance clearly sets out the requirements to avoid the risk, or where this is not reasonable, implement suitable controls including establishing safety zones.

“Accidental contact with live overhead power lines kills people and causes many serious injuries every year particularly in agriculture and construction.  Companies should be aware that we will not hesitate to take appropriate action against those that fall below the required standards.”

 

One hundred and thirty-five workers were killed in work-related incidents in Great Britain in the last year, according to figures published today (Thursday July 6) by the Health and Safety Executive.

The industries with the highest deaths were construction (45), agriculture, forestry, and fishing (21), manufacturing (15), and transportation and storage (15). Agriculture, forestry, and fishing has the highest rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers of all the main industrial sectors followed by waste and recycling.

The annual data release published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Great Britain’s workplace regulator, covers the period from April 2022 to March 2023.

The three most common causes of fatal injuries are falls from height (40), being struck by a moving object (29), and being struck by a moving vehicle (20).

The total of 135 worker deaths in 2022/23 is higher than the previous year (123) but is in line with pre-pandemic levels. The figure for 2020/21 was 145.

Great Britain is one of the safest places in the world to work. There has been a long-term downward trend in the rate of fatal injuries to workers, though in the years prior to the coronavirus pandemic the rate was broadly flat.

A further 68 members of the public were killed following a work-related incident in 2022/23. This is a decrease of 20 from last year.

HSE’s Chief Executive Sarah Albon said: “Any loss of life in the workplace is a tragedy.

“While these figures show Great Britain is one of the safest countries in the world to work, safety must continue to be at the top of everyone’s agenda.

“Our mission is to protect people and places and we remain committed to maintaining safe workplaces and holding employers to account for their actions.”

HSE has also published the annual figures for Mesothelioma, a cancer caused by past exposure to asbestos. The figures show 2,268 people died from the disease in 2021. This is a fall of 302 compared with the 2,570 deaths in 2020 and substantially lower than the average of 2,520 deaths per year over the period 2012-2019.

Asbestos-related diseases take decades to develop. Most people with them today will largely have been exposed before the tightening of controls and the use of asbestos was banned in 1999.

The current regulations state that where asbestos is present in buildings it must be managed, maintained in a good condition, and stay undisturbed. If this level of protection cannot be achieved, then asbestos must be removed.

These regulations have led to a significant reduction in exposure and the number of people developing asbestos-related illness is predicted to fall as we get further from the date asbestos was banned in 1999. Prior to that point, asbestos was used extensively in construction.

HSE’s approach to asbestos management is based on evidence that is constantly reviewed. HSE has recently launched a campaign called Asbestos & You to raise awareness of the risks associated with the dangerous substance.