July 7, 2003—The UK’s Health and Safety Minister Nick Brown recently urged organizations that use hazardous chemicals to look at ways of preventing ill health in the workplace, including cancers, respiratory diseases, and skin diseases. The HSE is offering an Action Pack in conjunction with the upcoming European Week for Safety and Health, which begins October 13. The free Action Pack includes a 12-page European Week Newsletter, a mini CD ROM, stickers, fact sheets, leaflets, and a poster, all focusing on the theme of this year’s week, Dangerous Substances. It is designed to help organizations that use potentially harmful chemicals plan an initiative to protect workers’ health.
The HSE asserts that with the right prevention and control measures, most of the ill health effects can be reduced or eliminated. Most of the 1.3 million companies covered by specific chemical legislation are small and medium sized enterprises who may not think of themselves as using harmful chemicals. Others only partially understand what they need to do to protect their employees and other people from risks from the use of chemicals.
An estimated 6,000 people die from cancer due to occupational causes every year and an estimated 66,000 people suffer from new or existing skin diseases caused by work—around two thirds have dermatitis or eczema. In addition, 7,000 new cases of asthma are occupationally caused or have work as a significant contributing factor, every year—with an estimated cost over the next 10 years of between 579 million and 1,159 million.
Requests for action packs can be made by visiting HSE/Euroweek.
