Breathing airborne wood particles as a result of sanding or cutting may be deadly, with wood dust and the formaldehyde in wood products both classified as Group 1 carcinogens. However the danger of formaldehyde and other resins in Australian-made wood products has been overstated according to managing director of Australian Forest and Wood Products, Ric […]
Workplace bullying costs the Australian economy up to $36 billion each year with cyber bullying the most common or second most common type of bullying, having potentially deadly consequences. In a digital and social media age, cyber bullies are often targeting victims anonymously, at anytime and anywhere, while legislation and employers have struggled to keep […]
Workers in the manufacturing industry suffer a “significant excess incidence of some cancers” as a result of carcinogen exposure in the workplace, with often inadequate controls. The damning insights come from a May 2016 report by Safe Work Australia (SWA), which cites The Australian Work Exposures Study (AWES) along with previous Australian and international studies. […]
If you are managing a business, you are legally required to identify any hazards and manage any risks associated with those hazards that workers may encounter. A hazard is as a task, application, tool, environmental condition or otherwise that has the potential to cause harm – such as an angle grinder, working at heights, loud […]
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Australian has multiple levels of safety regulations to help protect workers with state and federal government safety bodies, regularly updated codes of practice and strong unions fighting for workers’ rights. Yet even with these many checks and balances, mining – one of our largest industries – is still one of our most dangerous, as evidenced […]
Always wear a hard hat: Falls from height often results in head injuries. In fact head injuries accounted for 76 per cent of all fatalities from a fall during 2008 – 11. Plant operator, Peter Haines has experienced first-hand the importance of wearing a hard hat when working at height. He fell five metres from […]
August each year is Australian Tradies National Health Month (TNHM), a campaign to bring awareness to tradies’ health and encourage them to look after their wellbeing. Australian tradies make 190 serious workers’ compensation claims every day – three times the national average – according to a Safe Work Australia analysis of data from 2010-11 to […]
