Quick thinking by workmates prevented a Graincorp employee from suffocating when he was sucked into wheat grain during the unloading of a silo at Gilgandra in May 2000. [ + ]

Birdstrikes continue to be a problem for aviation worldwide, costing approximately US$3 billion annually. Increasingly, funds are being directed towards research which focuses on bird control and avoidance methods. Two such methods which are proving to be successful are the use of handheld laser devices to scare birds from the airport environment, and the use of the US developed Avian Hazard Advisory System (AHAS), which allows aircraft to avoid high-risk birdstrike areas. [ + ]

The number of people diagnosed with deadly asbestos-related diseases has reached epidemic levels and is expected to rise dramatically in the next 30 years, a victims' support group has warned. [ + ]

Exposure to agricultural chemicals, petroleum products and other substances are leading occupational health and safety concerns on Australian farms. [ + ]

The revamped WorkCover NSW scheme will continue to lose money at least until next year, an independent assessment said recently. [ + ]

Research at Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU) and the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) have shown that a benzene derivative damages the nervous system. [ + ]

Birdstrikes continue to be a problem for aviation worldwide, costing approximately US$3 billion annually. [ + ]

The number of people diagnosed with deadly asbestos-related diseases has reached epidemic levels and is expected to rise dramatically in the next 30 years, a victims' support group has warned. [ + ]

Thousands of former British coal miners now living in Australia and New Zealand will be able to seek compensation for work-related illnesses, in what is believed to be the biggest class action in the world. [ + ]

The senate of the US state of Washington has voted to make employer compliance with ergonomics program standards voluntary. [ + ]

Leading consulting firm, Sinclair Knight Merz, has appointed Michael Walsh as its Group Safety Manager. [ + ]

Scientists at the UK's Nottingham University are searching for fresh ways to make working environments safer. Using advanced experimental facilities in the university's newly opened Centre for Geomechanics (NCG), they are looking into some of the complex problems that are faced by the construction, mining and oil industries. The NCG's international team consists of 11 academic staff and 25 researchers and is headed by Professor Hai-Sui Yu. [ + ]

A new suite of evacuation software - aimed at helping building, aircraft and ship designers save lives - has won the top award at the prestigious British Computer Society IT Awards. Created by the internationally renowned Fire Safety Engineering Group at Greenwich University, London, Exodus has become the leading tool for the worldwide safety industry. [ + ]

According to some of the latest statistics Australia's trucking industry is very safe indeed. Trucks comprise some 400,000 of nearly 14 million vehicles on our roads yet their accident rate is the lowest at just 9.45 per cent of fatal accidents. [ + ]

A joint venture between Leighton Holdings and Abigroup has officially secured NSW's biggest single road construction contract, the $1.5 billion Western Sydney Orbital (WSO) tollway. [ + ]