The UK government's concern over the toxicity of mercury and the increasing emissions of the element from crematoria has led to the implementation of steps to sharply reduce this source of pollution derived from fillings in teeth, reckoned to be responsible for up to 16% of all UK emissions. [ + ]

A Queensland company that failed to have in place a system for removing by-products has been found negligent for failing to ensure safe access to a workplace. [ + ]

Safety Solutions magazine is giving away one full set of Toolbox Video collections (worth $1595) to one lucky reader of the magazine. [ + ]

Manual workers are more likely to die young than non-manual workers, a new study has found, but the difference is unlikely to be due to the actual features of their employment. [ + ]

A team of mathematicians at CSIRO is developing a system that can predict the likelihood of hospital emergency departments having to go on bypass and turn away ambulances carrying critically ill workers. [ + ]

The Department of Defence has announced that the Beryllium Information Service (BIS) is now operational via the ADF Defence Service Centre, Cooma, providing an opportunity for concerned Defence personnel and the public to register their names. Individuals who believe they were exposed to beryllium as a result of Defence-related activities will be offered the opportunity to register their details with the Defence Service Centre. [ + ]

Victorian WorkCover Minister John Lenders has given more than $350,000 to investigate workplace safety in Victoria's horse racing industry. [ + ]

Alarming results from a study on the long-term effects of mobile phone usage have been published by the Swedish Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) forcing a rethink of technology that has become so embedded in our daily lives. [ + ]

There were 103 Taser stun-gun-related deaths in the United States and Canada between June 2001 and March 2005, according to an Amnesty International report. [ + ]

Following growing concerns around the potential danger of certain potting mixes on the market, SAI Global has issued a warning to green thumbs across the country. [ + ]

The national addiction with home renovation is being blamed for a huge surge in cases of the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma, so much so that home renovators are being warned that even small jobs can be fatal. New figures in Victoria show mesothelioma cases have more than quadrupled since 1982, and Queensland Health figures show the number of terminal asbestos cases has risen from 49 to 1993 to 73 in 1998 - a 50% increase in just five years. [ + ]

The acting chief executive officer WorkCover NSW, John Watson, has announced a revised Code of Practice for Noise Management and Protection of Hearing at Work. [ + ]

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has ruled that the common chemical formaldehyde is a carcinogen. [ + ]

A Sydney company which specialises in iris recognition technology that provides security identity checks more accurate than DNA has taken out the honours in the annual Australian Technology Showcase (ATS) Patrons' Award. [ + ]

Australians use more cannabis than people in the United States, Britain and the Netherlands. [ + ]