WorkCover NSW Chief Executive Officer Jon Blackwell announced an amnesty for workers who hold Certificates of Competency without completing a proper knowledge or practical assessment. [ + ]

The iconic image of the Australian bush - a horseman rounding up stock with a battered Akubra on his head - is under threat. It could disappear as farms are forced to concentrate on safety and possible legal action if farm workers are injured. [ + ]

Danish researchers claim they have produced a plant that can help detect landmines by changing its colour from green to red when its roots come in contact with explosives. [ + ]

A National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority is on track to open its doors for business on 1 January 2005, after the Senate passed enabling legislation in the year's final sitting period. [ + ]

Sickness among millions of office workers in industrialised countries could be reduced by the use of ultraviolet radiation to kill bacteria and moulds in ventilation systems, conclude the Canadian authors of a study published in The Lancet journal. [ + ]

Bill Weems and Phil Bishop [ + ]

Between bacterial outbreaks, viral pandemics, irradiation and the continuing controversy surrounding food additives and genetic modification, it seems that the safety of what we consume regularly comes into question. The issue of food safety is a multi-faceted and cross-dimensional issue, covering many disparate areas and a plethora of often-conflicting scientific data. Since this issue affects each and every human being alive today, the question that needs to be asked is: “How safe is the food we eat?†[ + ]

At a recent congressional hearing in Manhattan, experts testified about long-term health problems among workers who inhaled fumes and dust while performing cleanup at the World Trade Center site. [ + ]

A project management and engineering company has been fined $8000 for its role in an incident in which part of the first floor of a building under construction collapsed during a concrete pour. [ + ]

Cyclonic winds can batter a house with uplift forces at a typical roof truss connection equivalent to the weight of a car, which is good reason for homeowners to ensure their dwellings are up to scratch for the cyclone season, says David Henderson, the manager of James Cook University's (JCU) Cyclone Testing Station. [ + ]

Handling cash is as risky as handling radioactive material, according to Security Consultant Terry Flanders who was speaking at a major workplace safety conference, recently presented by the Safety Institute of Australia. [ + ]

The Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) has developed a revolutionary material that can be used for bullet-proof, anti-theft and shrapnel protection applications. The patent rights were sold to Exote Oy, a Finnish company that forecasts a multi-million dollar market for the new material. The company is planning to build a new production facility in southern Finland. The material will most likely be used to produce completely new types of structures for civil and military vehicles. [ + ]

Preventing injuries in Australian Defence Force personnel will be the focus of a new study announced by Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, Danna Vale. [ + ]

Disaster management, through the tracking of bushfires like the one that swept through Canberra suburbs at the start of 2003, will become a more accurate science with the opening of Australia’s largest commercial investment in geospatial technology. [ + ]

WorkSafe has urged businesses to think of a $200,000 fine imposed on a company after a worker died as an urgent wake-up call. [ + ]