Health and Construction

On Monday this week a worker on a construction site in central London, a former US naval building in Grosvenor Square, died after the building he was working on partially collapsed. At least one other person had to be treated treated for minor injuries. Accidents on construction sites are all too common. In the period

Occupational Cancer–The Causes

Following on from my last post on occupational cancer, I thought I’d look at the latest evidence on what causes the 8000 estimated deaths every year that are linked to occupational cancer. HSE commissioned Dr Lesley Rushton and colleagues, from Imperial College London to lead a project in collaboration with experts from the Health and

Asbestos on Ships

A couple of weeks ago, during a short break in London, I paid a visit to HMS Belfast a battle cruiser that served in the Royal Navy from 1939 until 1963. Today it’s moored on the Thames and is part of the Imperial War Museum. I think that most Occupational Hygienists find it difficult to

Frustrated phagocytes and the fibre paradigm

These were a couple of phrases from Rosemary Gibson’s presentation during the nanotechnology workshop during the recent BOHS Conference. The fibre paradigm sets out the basis for the harmful effects caused by resistant fibres such as asbestos.  It states that fibres will damage the lung if they are thin enough to enter the lungs longer

Asbestos survey guide

The HSE has jst  launched it’s new asbestos survey guide. It can be ordered, or, even better, download for free from http://tiny.cc/6XNcH “This heavily illustrated publication replaces and expands on MDHS100, surveying, sampling and assessment of asbestos-containing materials. It is aimed at people carrying out asbestos surveys and people with specific responsibilities for managing asbestos in