Industry News
New rural safety campaign
With eight workplace fatalities recorded on Victorian farms already this year, Victorian WorkCover Minister Rob Hulls has launched a TV campaign that urges farmers to be as passionate about farm safety as they are about country football.
[ + ]Unions cry foul over safety strategy
A federal target to reduce deaths at work by a fifth over 10 years has been spurned by the construction workers union as "pure rhetoric".
[ + ]SRA fined for serious workplace injury
The State Rail Authority of NSW has been fined $149,500 by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission sitting in court session following the serious injury of a guard who fell from a moving train at Mortdale railway station.
[ + ]Protector takes hearing protection to the track
Protector Technologies has linked with the Dick Johnson Racing Team to provide high-tech, leading edge hearing protection that also facilitates clear and consistent team communication.
[ + ]Avian flu as a workplace health risk
Avian influenza - or avian flu, or simply bird flu - is a bird disease caused by a strain of the influenza virus and it can be transferred to humans through contact with bird droppings and respiratory secretions.
[ + ]Defence invests in pilot safety
The Australian Defence Force will invest $129 million over the next 10 years on its search and rescue capability to protect RAAF pilots, Defence Minister Robert Hill announced recently.
[ + ]Football sickens players
Participants in a charity 'mud football' competition in Western Australia recently didn't just get exercise and entertainment - more than one-quarter of the players went to the emergency room the next day with infected wounds, according to a study in the April 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.
[ + ]James Hardie to keep fighting asbestos allegations
The company at the centre of an asbestos inquiry in NSW, James Hardie Industries, has said it would continue to fight allegations it was liable for an $800 million shortfall in asbestos-related claims.
[ + ]2004 safety awards
The search is again on to find those individuals and organisations whose innovation and commitment to workplace health and safety can be officially recognised and shared with others. They are being encouraged to enter this year's WorkSafe Victoria Awards.
[ + ]Crane firm fined for serious incident
Fines totalling $164,750 have been imposed by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission sitting in Court Session following a serious workplace incident on a Sydney construction site in which a concrete panel fell onto the roof of a neighbouring factory. As a result of the incident, Combined Crane and Rigging Pty Ltd has received two fines totalling $155,000 after being found guilty of breaching Sections 15(1) and 16(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983, for failing to ensure the health and safety of their employees and other people in the workplace.
[ + ]Heavy fines after tractor fatality
A total of $376,250 in fines has been imposed by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission sitting in Court Session following the death of a worker at a poultry farm in Sydney's outer west.
[ + ]WorkCover CEO warns on falls from heights
WorkCover NSW Chief Executive Officer, Jon Blackwell has issued a strong reminder to employers and workers on the hazards of working at heights.
[ + ]Coffee now a health product
That essential morning coffee may be just what the doctor ordered: coffee could help ward off adult onset diabetes, says Finland's National Public Health Institute.
[ + ]BOC opens remote operating centre for South Pacific
BOC has opened its South Pacific Operating Centre (SPOC) at its Australian headquarters in North Ryde (New South Wales). SPOC remotely operates 22 major plants at 12 major sites across Australia and New Zealand, to optimise operations and ensure supply with maximum efficiency.
[ + ]Mining safety - nice in theory?
The recent compromise of worker safety at a uranium mine in the Northern Territory raises questions over whether attempts to streamline the approach to mine safety will continue to remain a dream of the industry rather than a practical reality.
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