SAFETY UPDATE (Issue 24)

AUSTRALIAN FATALITIES

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR FATALITY
A 25 year old underground electrician employed by an electrical contractor has died underground at a nickel mine in the wheat belt of Western Australia. Initial information indicates that the deceased met his death in a pump chamber at the mine, possibly from electrocution.

The underground supervisor left the deceased in the pump chamber to work on restoring a pump to working condition. When he returned from another job a short time later, he found the electrician next to the pump, apparently deceased, with the pump starter box open. The supervisor commenced CPR, but was not successful in reviving the electrician, who was later declared deceased by RFDS.

FATALITY WHILE INFLATING TRUCK TYRE
An operator was inflating a front tyre on a truck when the lock ring on the front wheel flew off hitting the operator in the face. The operator was rushed to hospital where he died. The main causes of the accident were that the operator was positioned directly in front of the tyre, and that that the tyre pressure was not checked prior to inflation.

TODDLER DIES AFTER BEING RUN OVER BY BOBCAT
A two-year-old boy died from injuries suffered when he was run over by a bobcat. The child’s father had been working on a driveway at a local property when he reversed over the toddler, unaware of his presence behind the machine. The child was struck after running from a shed. The toddler underwent emergency surgery but died shortly after from massive internal injuries.

FATAL ACCIDENT AT OPEN CUT COAL MINE
A senior mining engineer was found deceased at the bottom of the highwall at an open cut coal mine. It appears that while carrying out an investigation of the highwall at the end of his shift, he got too close to the edge of the highwall and slipped over the edge falling some 43 metres into water at the base of the highwall. He survived the fall and was able to swim 100 metres to the water’s edge where he was found the following morning. The gentleman was working alone at the time and there were no witnesses to the incident.

Damages for Back Injury

Supplied by National Safety Mag.

A 57-year-old truck driver who suffered a back injury due to a faulty seat in his dump truck has been awarded more than $500,000 in damages.

On 20 April 1998, the driver began to suffer increasingly intense back pain when, rather than cushioning his ride, the seat of his truck bottomed out on hitting a bump in the ground.

When he contacted is employer to report the problem, he was advised to keep working and told that mechanics would check his seat after his shift. From that day, the driver was permanently incapacitated for work.

The District Court of Western Australia found that the seat was faulty, and that the trucking contractor employing the driver and the mining company at which he was working had been negligent.

The driver was awarded damages of $519,868. The liability of the trucking contractor was upheld in an appeal to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The mining company’s failure to provide a safe system of work also was confirmed.

However, it was found to be entitled to indemnity by the trucking contractor, which was responsible for maintaining the trucks.

Regular Checking of Electrical Equipment

Supplied by Energy Safe Victoria

The Victorian Energy Safety Regulator, Energy Safe Victoria (ESV), has received a number of incident reports from construction sites and other locations around Victoria where workers have suffered an electrical shock or burn while using faulty electrical tools and equipment that had a current test tag attached.

Equipment with a current test tag is not guaranteed to be safe for the remainder of the test cycle. ESV has seen many instances where the supply cord has been nicked, or the casing broken, exposing live parts to possible contact and electric shock, on equipment with a current test tag fitted.

The following safety precautions should be adopted to prevent possible electrocution.

ALWAYS:

• Test and tag electrical leads, tools and equipment regularly.
• Visually inspect electrical leads, tools and equipment for damage before each use.
• Use safety switches (also called RCDs) when using electrical tools and equipment.
• Use competent people to repair damaged electrical leads, tools and equipment.

NEVER:

• Use damaged electrical leads, tools and equipment.
• Use electrical leads tools and equipment in damp or wet conditions unless they are specially designed for use in those conditions.
• Place electrical leads in areas where they may be damaged (eg. On the ground, through doorways and over sharp edges).
• Overload electrical circuits.
• Use modified electrical tools and equipment.

TESTING OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT:

Portable electrical equipment, including flexible electrical cords, needs to be regularly inspected for wear and mechanical damage, and periodically tested for earth continuity and insulation resistance. Procedures for testing of electrical leads, tools and equipment and the frequency of these tests can be found in:

• AS/NZS 3760 In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment; and
• AS/NZS 3012 Electrical installations—Construction and demolition sites

Energy Safe Victoria acknowledges the assistance of WorkSafe Victoria for much of this information.

Working Safely in the Sun

Supplied by WorkSafe

WorkSafe will begin enforcing sun protection on construction sites, following the launch of Working Safely in the Sun, a joint initiative with SunSmart, a program of the Cancer Council Victoria. As part of National Skin Cancer Action Week, Working Safely in the Sun will see WorkSafe inspectors visiting more than 300 worksites to ensure construction workers are adequately protected against sun damage.

“We set out to change the culture of the construction industry from one of stripping off when the sun comes out, to one of covering up,” says WorkSafe’s Construction and Utilities Director, Geoff Thomas. “WorkSafe expects all employers of outdoor workers to have sun protection measures in place during the months when UV radiation is at a harmful level.”

Data from a Cancer Council survey indicates many outdoor worksites are hearing the SunSmart message. 50% of surveyed outdoor workers indicated there was a sun protection policy at their workplace, and over 40% were provided with hats and sunscreen.

Mr Thomas said while these results were encouraging, “it’s time to get tough on workplaces which are failing to put sun protection measures in place.” “Industry has had several years advance notice of this campaign – they have had time to get the message that it’s not acceptable to be exposed to high levels of UV radiation,” he said.

From this summer on, WorkSafe will enforce sun protection measures. Failure to comply could lead to WorkSafe court action. SunSmart program manager, Kylie Strong, agreed that sun protection of outdoor workers must be taken seriously.

“Skin cancer is an almost-entirely preventable disease, and yet affects one in two Australians during their lifetimes,” says Ms Strong. “Because they are generally outside during peak UV radiation times, construction workers are a particularly high-risk group for contracting skin cancer”.

“Employers can play a vital role in protecting their workers against sun damage,” Ms Strong said. “By encouraging workers to wear sun protective clothing such as long pants and a long sleeved shirt, a broad brimmed hat and sunglasses, and re-applying broad spectrumSPF30+ sunscreen every two hours, employers dramatically reduce their staff’s UV exposure levels.”

Over the past two years, 26-per-cent of construction workers who volunteered for WorkSafe funded medical checks were found to have sun damage requiring referral for further medical attention.

For more information on working safely outdoors, including the ‘Sun Protection for Construction and other Outdoor Workers’ guidance note, visit WorkSafe’s website at www.worksafe.vic.gov.au

For more information on sun damage and how to be SunSmart, visit www.sunsmart.com.au

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