Construction Industry Briefing: Issue 4 (June 07)
The following topics are covered in this issue: health statistics, asbestos, legislation, risk assessments and indoor air
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work reported on ‘High speed work and working to tight deadlines’. This highlighted the high work pressure and working to tight deadlines in the construction industry. Further details are available below:
http://osha.europa.eu/riskob/paceofwork/summary_html/view?searchterm=construction
An article written by L Waterman has been published in the May issue of the ‘Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health'. It focuses on occupational health issues relating to the construction programme for the 2012 Olympic Games. You will be able to view the abstract on thePubmed web site by entering 'Waterman' and 'Olympic' in the search box:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez
The Construction Law Handbook is a legal reference work that is updated annually. It is aimed at professionals who need access to the most up-to-date construction law guidance. The 2007 edition has been published. The book is edited by Sir Vivian Ramsey QC and others (publisher: Thomas Telford; ISBN: 9780727734853), and includes chapters on construction health and safety law and environmental issues.
OHS online reports that the voluntary US consensus standard ‘Reduction of musculoskeletal problems in construction (ANSI/ASSE A10.40-200x), which is aimed at reducing musculoskeletal disorders in construction workers, will be submitted to ANSI for final review:
http://www.ohsonline.com/articles/48397/
An article in the June issue of Environmental Health Perspectives discusses the design of healthy buildings including the issue of good indoor air quality: ‘Elements that contribute to healthy building design’ by Vivian Loftness and others:
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2007/8988/8988.html