Volume 16 Number 1, 2011

SAFETY
The AWU NATioNAl ohS MAgAziNe

say
IN THIS ISSUE OHS asphyxiation and workplace adoption programs A history of factory fires Conclusions from fatalities?

The Body Count System of Improvement

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Volume 16 Number 1, 2011

SAFETY
The AWU NATioNAl ohS MAgAziNe
Front Cover drawing: Kirsti Sarmiala-Berger

say

CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
The body count system of improvement

FEATURE OHS ISSUE

OHS asphyxiation and workplace adoption programs

FEATURE HAZARD
Conclusions from fatalities

WRITE IN, ASK WHO TOLD YA? NATIONAL SECRETARY

Paul Howes Guard It or Ban It campaign

14 18 20

NEWS IN THE mAKINg

Correspondence to:

Dr Yossi Berger Say Safety AWU National OHS Unit Level 10, 377-383 Sussex Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Phone: (02) 8005 3333 Fax: (02) 8005 3300 Email: nat.office@awu.net.au
Editorial has been supplied by the Australian Workers Union OHS Unit. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. Responsibility for all editorial comment fully accepted by Yossi Berger. No responsibility is accepted by the publisher for the accuracy of information contained in the text or the advertisements.

Authority in denial?

21 23

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A SPOT OF HISTORY
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SPOT THE HAZARD

33

Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 1

Getting home safely has its own rewards.

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editorial
The body count system of improvement
t has been a tragic period for so many people in the world: devastation, ruin, huge numbers of people killed... and you could almost hear hearts breaking in the aftermath and continuing pain. The editorial below, from notes by a professional historian (also see article by Dr Beris Penrose p.24), captures the pain from a century ago when workers were burnt alive in a workplace incident. One thing from that incident is foolishly repeated today: it takes OHS catastrophes for major improvements to OHS to take place. This is the body count mechanism of improvements in OHS standards!

In less than 30 minutes, 146 of them were dead.

100 years on When Frederick Winslow Taylor brought in scientific management in the US, he said, all possible brain work should be removed from the shop and centred in the planning or layout department. A New Jersey garment factory fire in 1910 is a prime example of
Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 3

how that thinking kills workers. The fire was in a multi-use building and started in the Anchor Lamp factory, which was below the garment factory. Over 20 workers perished in that fire. Four months later, at 4:40pm on Saturday 25 March 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist clothing factory in New York City just as the shift was ending. Around 500 people were in the building at the time. In less than 30 minutes, 146 of them were dead. I must have called different from usual I dont know how it started, Sadie Hampson explained to the coroners jury regarding the Anchor Lamp fire, because I dont understand electricity. The boss understands, and hell tell you if you ask him. The boss always told me to be careful, and I was 4 Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1

careful. There was a flash of fire into my face, and I screamed, Mr. McQuat! I guess I must I have called different from usual, for I often call Mr. McQuat! when I get out of carbons, and he calls back, Wait a minute! But this time he ran right out of the office, so I must I have called different. I dont know what happened next. No, I dont know how I got out of the building, I was frantic with fright. I only know there was an awful flash and I called Mr. McQuat! I just thought that if I got my boss everything would be all right. Sadie Hampson was flashing filaments for lamps at her machine. She placed the filaments, or carbons, in a vacuum pump, removed the air, and filled the vacuum with gasoline vapor, switched an electric current through the filaments, and thus carbonised them. This is the process, but the girl had no

understanding of it at all. All she knew was that she pushed carbons into an opening and pressed buttons like it was a typewriter. She also knew that at night she must cover the meter and carry it into the office. Beyond this she knew nothing at all about her machine. She wasnt hired to understand about the vacuum and the gas and the electric current; she was hired to press buttons, and, if anything went wrong, to call the boss. That is the common way in factories many workers at machines to perform mechanical actions, and a boss to do the thinking for all.

Feature OHS Issue

OHS asphyxiation and workplace adoption programs
[A]
Good OHS thinking and practice are being slowly asphyxiated they are the victims. By far most suggestions by workers, unions or good consultants for H&S improvements are choked by management naysayers and bureaucrats more in touch with their current ministers moods than workplace reality. Theyre not choked immediately or blatantly. In fact, that person may be patted on the back and encouraged to raise more OHS matters. Yes, mate, good! Tell us what else were doing wrong, very very helpful. You just keep on telling us. And slowly any significant discussion about OHS problems is suppressed and killed. The majority of workers in Australia work in small workplaces where (typically) practical OHS programs are regarded by too many managers as a nuisance, a bit of over-the-top nonsense that slows productivity. OHS is regarded as an irritant that will pass, like politically correct things to say. Of course there are exceptions, both in large and small workplaces, and there are outstanding managers, but this

always be biased towards those who bear the brunt of the risk
is rare. Usually the current OHS speak, with its heaps of bumptious documents, is all there is. Even in the very large workplaces (huge internationally-linked workplaces that I visited after fatalities), where people seemed, at face value, to sing the praises of the OHS system, I found simmering unease and unexpressed cynicism. The wisdoms found in the work of professors like Hopkins, Gunningham, Quinlan, Weick and Reason is not actively transferred into the workplace (in practice). One-line grabs like mindfulness or The Swiss cheese model become surrogates for actually doing something. I believe that such frivolous treatment is, in part, an element of the biography of some terrible tragedies at work.

Queensland, Beaconsfield gold mine in Tasmania), the many postcatastrophe parliamentary reports, or when you torture yourself and read the kilograms of reports about offshore or mining disasters, youll note that they appear to have been written by the same hand using the same script: more training, more education, increased awareness, more supervision, more rock dust (said after every coal mine explosion) in short, more and more repetitive talk. Were not likely to get increased numbers of inspectors who understand that they ought not to be objective and unbiased, but that they in fact should always be biased towards those who bear the brunt of the risk. They must go beyond the silly notion of objectivity (an illusion anyway) and seek to discover what really goes on at work in any way possible. But this does not mean that they should be blinded by vested interests of any kind, or frivolous claims. Subjectivity, perceptions, egos and careers will make up what ends up being labelled as the facts. Fear of what happens in courtrooms is no substitute for doing good OHS. I have worked with inspectors who understood this and had great
Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 5

[B]
When you consider various coroners findings (e.g. quad bikes, asbestos, explosions), or recommendations by various inquiries (Moura coal mines in

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style in delivering improvements, but not many. And the laws? They will be obeyed by a few, but most managers will take no note of them harmonised, homogenised or scrambled. Thats the simple truth. Safe Work Australia and all, including the many changes in governments and the changing gallery of new ministers, will not make any difference on their own. So what might help?

[C]
In my view, involvement of the community, more transparency, and active interaction with unions would help. Heres an idea: since for some time communities have been encouraged to adopt roads and streets, parks, and foreshores, and some towns and cities have been linked to sister towns and cities elsewhere in the world, could we not encourage communities to adopt a number of workplaces in their region? This would mean that in your suburb or region the local newspaper would publish a list of workplaces willing to be adopted by an organised group of people. This group would meet, say, once every two months and discuss

whats going on in this industry and specifically in this workplace. It would conduct various inspections and hold continuous discussions with workers, union delegates (where there are any) and the unions. It would talk to the regulator (and thereby bring them closer to the workplace) and of course management. It would be a constructive partner in the improvement of H&S at that workplace. The community would be involved not because its the aftermath of devastating floods or terrifying cyclones, but because the lack of good OHS is a permanent, slow-moving menace thats killing and maiming. After all, these are all our families that work in these environments.

to create a living sense of decent community expectations.

[D]
Is there any hope this will happen? No, I dont think so. But I do think its worth a try. Even if the effort only generates more original thinking and increases debate, it may generate some momentum in the right direction. The more good people think about all this, and think about it with both feet in the workplace, the greater the likelihood that some practical ideas will emerge. Governments provide various grants for different projects, such as Landcare. Why not for workplace issues through community participation in this kind of program?

In my view, involvement of the community, more transparency, and active interaction with unions
The goal would be to encourage and nurture good OHS standards, attend more sharply to good practice and use of H&S principles rather than just to misuse and abuse. This may help

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Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 7

Stay Safe. Be Comfortable.

SafeWork SA promotes and encourages safe, fair, productive working lives.

Contact the SafeWork SA Help Centre on 1300 365 255 for information about: Asbestos Amusement Structure Registration Awards and Wages (State and Local Government) Boiler and Pressure Vessels Certification (Crane Operators, Scaffolders, Riggers etc) Chemicals (Storage/ Handling) Dangerous Goods and Explosives Dangerous Substance Licensing and Registration Daylight Saving Long Service Leave Occupational Health and Safety Petroleum Products Licensing Public Holidays Shop Trading Hours Workplace Agreements

Think safe before you think work

To report all serious workplace injuries and incidents, telephone 1800 777 209 (24 hour service). To find out more visit www.safework.sa.gov.au

SafeWork SA Head Office is now located at Level 4, World Park A, 33 Richmond Road, Keswick. The SafeWork SA Library and Bookshop remain at ground floor, 100 Waymouth Street, Adelaide.

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Feature Hazard
Conclusions from fatalities:
How much significant information do workplace fatalities provide?
orkplace fatalities are terrible, lingering tragedies that generally dont teach anything new about OHS failures. I couldnt find anything new in the frightening detail in the news story (inset) or in scores of Google searches of industrial/occupational fatalities; though disease fatality epidemiology can be informative. If all workplace fatalities in Australia were stopped overnight, most workers wouldnt notice a single improvement in their own workplace. Theyd still be working in the same cluster of hazards, useless risk assessments and a regular sprinkling of near misses and daily shortcuts. Despite regulators and politicians shrieks of dismay at workplace deaths, such fatalities dont represent the main OHS problem at work. If any regulator was informed in advance in some detail that in a particular industry there would be three fatalities in the next three months (or even intolerable risk) they wouldnt know how to prevent them. Example? Think of the insulation program, which still has some way to go and a few more surprises in store. Example? Over the next six months there are likely to be between three and six quad bike-related fatalities in Australia, mostly as a result of rollovers.

If all workplace fatalities in Australia were stopped overnight, most workers wouldnt notice a single improvement in their own workplace
Or think of the value of risk assessments. Example? Consider the 60,00080,000 barrels (10,000 tonnes) of the most dangerous hexachlorobenzene (HCB) waste being repackaged (ultimately, drum to drum) by workers in a primitive work process at Botany Bay Industrial Park, Sydney. This is one of the worlds largest stockpiles of such dangerous waste that no one around the world is prepared to handle. This is the only place Ive ever had to wear two layers of protection to inspect. What has the regulator done? But it could be argued: 1. That theres not much new under the sun, and, like so many proverbs this one has limited truth. There are many new things, but human behaviour, responses and emotions remain similar. The more it changes, the more it stays the same, is a wink in

this direction. So it could be argued that health and safety failures at work have only a limited repertoire of how they can happen. Things can fall, they can explode, they can hit someone or someone can run into them. Biology means that workers can be poisoned, they can be made sick by various mists, smokes, dusts, aerosols, fumes, and by various organisms, for example in agriculture. But the category list is really very small. Therefore, is it any surprise that those circumstances that kill workers tend to be from the same list? 2. Secondly, that series of events that led up to the fatality also makes up only a small list. That is as an example: A Kaboody gizmo was delivered to the factory by a truck; It was unloaded; Jack was asked to work on the round Linto on the Kaboody; The employer was required by law to provide a safe workplace; But the gizmo wasnt checked, and then it exploded. 3. Any such biography of catastrophic events is likely to repeat the repetition of the last
Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 9

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repeat after the last fatality. You see the point. And inquiry after inquiry, inquest after inquest will generate very similar findings and almost identical recommendations. But its worse than just a small number of work life scripts. Consider the evolution of an OHS catastrophe its career, so to speak. Pick one at random: the Longford explosions and fires, Victoria? The Beaconsfield gold mine, Tasmania? The Cross City Tunnel fatality in Sydney? The BP Texas Refinery, US? Walk the small, developing and often closelycoupled steps of the growing crisis, the insidious lining up of Reasons Swiss cheese holes, so to speak. At which exact point could the regulator have made a critical difference and how? The fashionable and vague response (nowadays almost a reflex) about culture change is in my view no more than hot air: ask most workers! In practice, the utterance, Its a problem of safety culture, has become an obnoxious hazard all by itself; its a defence that diverts practical actions.

What lessons from the fatality at Beaconsfield gold mine in Tasmania (for example) would have helped the regulator in WA stop the repeated BHP Billiton fatalities in mining? Or the horrendous New Zealand Pike River coal mine explosions and tragedies? I firmly believe there are

resourced and strictly supervised workplaces. But since some 80 per cent of workers work in small to medium workplaces you can see the rest of the argument. Sprinkle into that daily cluster of hazards some OHS bullying and fear of job loss (You dont really like working here as part of The Team, do you, matey?!) and you can see that the daily struggle by workers for OHS improvements is difficult and personally risky. So what would make a difference? A vivid and effective intolerance of small daily risk (forget the big canvases), and actively encouraging managers to talk with their workers and unions about the pervading OHS scepticism and daily problems at their own task. Obviously workplace fatalities are appalling tragedies, but overall from most workers points of view they are rare events. In themselves they inform very little about the real OHS standards in most workplaces. Accurate knowledge of the constant, small, daily risks taken, and an aggressive intolerance of them would make a difference, almost overnight.

You dont really like working here as part of The Team, do you, matey?!
ways, but not the current way. Just in passing, after all the closely argued and well-presented books in which Andrew Hopkins wrote about learning the lessons (actually in the title) post- various catastrophes, his last book to date is called Failure to Learn (BP Texas City Refinery). Is that failure really just a one off? The culture, attitude, behaviour, OHS systems, Step 5, Step 3 etc. are in practice poor tutorial room exercises. They may work, in part, in large, well-

Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 11

North Wales News UK

Saltney dads safety fears before fatal blast

Dec 14 2010 by Eryl Crump, Daily Post dad killed in an explosion at a scrapyard feared someone would die because health and safety was so lax at his workplace. Mark Wrights mum told how her son predicted his own death, as two companies and a manager were fined a total of 440,000 over health and safety failures. Mr Wright, 37, from Saltney, suffered 90 per cent burns when he was engulfed in a fireball after aerosol canisters he was crushing caught fire. His mum, Dorothy Wright, revealed hed suffered numerous burns and injuries at Deeside Metal Co in Saltney, and told her he feared someone would be killed just days before his death. Mr Wrights employer, Deeside Metal Co, had received the 12 Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1

canisters from Jeyes UK, which had failed to clearly label and segregate them from less hazardous waste, Caernarfon Crown Court heard. There were multiple management failures by both firms and the risk of fire should have been both obvious and foreseeable to them, and to scrapyard manager Robert Roberts, who faced separate charges. Deeside Metal Co Ltd, of Chester Road, Saltney and Jeyes UK Ltd, of Bromfield Industrial Estate, Mold, admitted failing to have proper controls in place to manage the extremely flammable materials. Andrew Moran, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, said: Employees handling the canisters assumed they were

empty when in fact they contained substances which should have been labelled extremely flammable and treated as such. The manager of Deeside Metal Co, Robert Roberts, instructed Mr Wright to crush the canisters in a metal baler. When the baler was switched off a spark ignited a vapour cloud, engulfing Mr Wright in flames. Neither company had carried out suitable risk assessments before allowing workers to handle potentially hazardous materials such as aerosols, and both had failed to train or monitor staff in their disposal.

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Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 13

The silence of the miner

None of this is going to be new to you or your readers. But I can tell you that there are all sorts of hazards in the mine I work in, and Ive worked in many mines in a number of states. Theyre all the same, and what else is the same? Workers more and more are scared to open their mouths to talk openly about the risks. They open their mouth and they wont have a job, maybe not immediately but soon enough. What the hell is the union doing about all this? - Miner (currently in Victoria) REPLY: As youd know, fear of job loss is not new. In many workplaces it actually destroys most OHS programs. All the talk about culture change, risk assessment, risk management, tool box meeting and the like amount to nonsense if workers and managers are not prepared to talk openly about difficult OHS issues. And particularly about any bad news, problems, hazards and, just by the way, avoid calling them challenges.

matter and won the case, and still these managers make it difficult. Its a constant struggle.

Asbestos on boats
Ive read plenty about asbestos in many workplaces but very little on ships, boats and barges. Is this not an issue? Has it never been an issue? Arent the risks just the same? Or is it not talked about as much because the asbestos material is not directly on site? - Worker, Tasmania

Theres no one I can talk to because they are all in it and they dont think they are doing anything very wrong
deliberately confuse me and then blame me for being all over the place. Theres no one I can talk to because they are all in it and they dont think they are doing anything very wrong. All in good fun they reckon. You have no idea what this is doing to me. I have a constant headache, mostly I dont sleep well, and I mull over this lots of the time. I reckon Im stressed out and all. Is there much I can do, I mean really in the real world? - Worker, NSW REPLY: Theres nothing trivial about the pressure and stresses you are being exposed to at work. These can ruin peoples wellbeing for 10 years at a time Ive seen just that. First, start making a very brief record of the occasions where people hassle you. Date, time, who and what happened. Second, urgently contact your union organiser, privately. Explain in detail what is happening, and maybe by then youll have a bit of a record to show him/her. Explain what this has done to you and exactly what you want. Keep in mind that at times depending on circumstances its best to get out of a workplace thats going to make you seriously ill. But, in my view, this should only be a last resort and only after some of the culprits are taught a lesson theyll never forget. It all depends on the top boss, and at times they are beyond hope.

Asbestos was present and still is present on many ships

REPLY: In fact, much of the early research from the US was in the maritime industry. Asbestos was present and still is present on many ships, not only commercial. Im aware of various barges and boats having asbestos as insulation in engine rooms. Over the years the MUA has done a lot of good work to clean up the industry, but its an ongoing program, particularly with the many different ships that come to Australian ports. There have been many asbestos-related fatalities amongst wharfies over the years. Let me know which vessel youre talking about and Ill see what we can do.

They open their mouth and they wont have a job

The union struggles with all of these. Youd also be aware of just how hard mine managers make it for union organisers to enter the mine. And this isnt only in mines. Many of them dont support the notion that a new pair of eyes considering H&S matters is a good thing. The AWU has taken some of them to court on this 14 Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1

Psychological hazards
Not sure if this will interest you. I work in the office of a large factory and a number of different managers constantly make jokes about me, ask me to do things that are not in my job description,

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GUARD BAN
OR IT

Every yea Australia. campaign to tag and proper gua the regula

If you are aware of any machinery ope your workplace without proper guardin your union official immediately

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ar some 675 amputations occur in workplaces across The AWU says enough is enough. Our Guard or Ban it n condemns the use of such machines. We ask our members d ban any such machinery. Removal of such tags before arding is put in place will result in an immediate call out to ators inspector.

erating in ng contact y.

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WHO TOLD A?
Which is the best answer in each case?

All inquests about workplace fatalities must take place within two years. a) b) c) d) True. False. Only in multiple fatalities. Only in the public interest.

By law good OHS training can replace good machine guarding. a) b) c) d) True. False. Only if at a very high level. Only if certified.

Under no circumstances can such an inquest occur after five years waiting. a) b) c) d) True. False. Depends on the family. Depends on the age of the deceased.

Machine guarding is no longer an issue nowadays. a) b) c) d) True. False. In heavy engineering. In the textile industry.

All fines for breaches of OHS must go to improve H&S standards. Answers: 1. (b); 2. (b); 3. (b); 4. (b); 5(b). a) b) c) d) True. False. In mining. In government departments.

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a note from the

National Secretary
Guard It or Ban It campaign

huge amounts of information and knowledge at its fingertips. So how come workers are still being killed and maimed by machines without guards on moving parts? How is it that workers are horribly injured because of poor or no guarding systems? Why is an 18-year-old apprentice almost ripped apart and killed by an unguarded machine? (SA, 2004) Why are workers still having arms ripped off by poorly guarded conveyor belts? Can you believe it? Poor or no guarding is one of the oldest workplace hazards in modern industry, and its still with us today! Its for these reasons that the AWU has launched the Guard It or Ban It Campaign. Any machine that has no guard or effective guarding system that presents the risks just described will be banned. There are plenty of ways to guard moving parts of machines, and its highly irresponsible to require workers to operate such dangerous machines. Unfortunately, such machines are operated in quarries, manufacturing, mining, the recycling industry and many other workplaces. Industry stands warned: workers are being killed and crippled. The AWU will not accept such conditions.

n the scheme of things you would have thought that machine guards and guarding methods would no longer be an issue. Its 2011, a fast, modern, sophisticated, well-connected world with

20 Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1

NEWS IN THE MAKING

Authority in denial?

Polite or ignorant?

oroners can be a polite lot, preferring what they would call substance to emotion, accuracy to grandstanding. They also hope that their Findings make a difference and help to protect people against a range of lethal circumstances. Ex-coroner Graeme Johnstone (Victoria) was an outstanding example in OHS. So any comments in their findings ought to be considered against this background. However, the comments by the South Australian State Coroner, Mark Frederick Johns, in his Findings (09/02/11) in the death of Daniel Nicholas Madeley, who died (06/06/04) as a result of an occupational incident, are puzzling. Either the man is being very polite

or is seriously ignorant of what really goes on in industry. And it does matter, because coroners carry a lot of authority. Work by Johnstone, Olle and Tasmanian coroners (mining disasters) has been very helpful. Poor guarding To paraphrase: Daniel was 18 years old when he died of horrific injuries sustained when he was caught in a horizontal boring machine. He became entangled in the machine and was spun violently around so that his feet were amputated by the force when they came into contact with parts of the machine. This imported machine was old, probably built between 1960 and 1970 in the then U.S.S.R. The

machine had no guarding or other safety devices that might have prevented the occurrence of an event such as that which took Mr Madeleys life. Preventable and unbelievable He wrote that this ...tragic death was entirely preventable and that the company was operating a machine which was clearly unsafe. So far so good. But then he goes on to write: It is inexplicable in an age in which occupational health, welfare and safety is so much a part of the modern workplace, [where has this man been?!] that a workplace could have existed so recently as 2004 with a machine that was so obviously unsafe The system of work employed in its operation, namely the need to lean in towards the work with the plastic bottle of lubricant and squirt it on the work, was a major accident waiting to happen. The horizontal boring machine and the method of its operation might have been something one could have expected to see in a workplace in the 1950s, but certainly not in 2004. I simply cannot understand how such a workplace existed in South Australia in 2004, bearing in mind the existence of SafeWork SA and its various predecessors, and the WorkCover Corporation, which, I understand, also takes an interest in occupational health, welfare and safety. I would have thought that an intelligent strategic intervention by SafeWork SA might have decided to target small manufacturing businesses in possession of heavy machinery such as the horizontal borer. I certainly would have
Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 21

thought that such a strategic intervention would have been taken very soon after Mr Madeleys death. However, it was not until more than six years after Mr Madeleys death that the strategic interventions section of SafeWork SA finally commenced a compliance project to identify the number of horizontal and vertical borers at South Australian workplaces and ensure that they are appropriately guarded, amongst other things. In my view this is completely unacceptable. So whats the problem? Whats my problem with what he writes? Ill group the bits that worry me. He writes: 1. It is inexplicable; 2. The horizontal boring machine and the method of its operation might have been something one could have expected to see in a workplace in the 1950s, but certainly not in 2004; 3. I simply cannot understand how such a workplace existed in South Australia in 2004; 4. I would have thought; 5. I certainly would have thought that such a strategic intervention would have been taken very soon after Mr Madeleys death; 6. However, it was not until more than six years after Mr Madeleys death that the strategic interventions section of SafeWork SA finally commenced a compliance project. What does this astonishment represent? I reckon it expresses a studied coronial politeness no irony intended to invoke sympathy for his recommendations so they can actually achieve some improvements. And thats a good thing. It just cannot be the case that someone in such an important 22 Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1

position would not know that such disgustingly dangerous machines, such poor work practices, pressure to get on with the job and not complain about H&S standards, intimidation and fear of job loss if a worker mentions unease with an H&S matter, are all around us. I have found life-threatening conditions in some 80 per cent of workplaces Ive inspected. Workers have been killed because of missing machine guards or poor guarding methods during the very period the coroner talks of, three in New South Wales alone in recent times. Workers have lost arms in circumstances where machine guards were missing or there were no adequate guarding methods. Read about the most recent one in Hobart and the horrendous injuries that the worker suffered.

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SPECIAL ARTICLE
Over 70 per cent of pesticides too dangerous to use (EU)
Jo Immig
recent review of over 1,000 registered pesticides by the European Commission resulted in 67 per cent of pesticides being removed from the market because of missing data about their health and safety impacts. A further seven per cent were banned because they were found to be too dangerous according to current standards. These results are startling and have implications for Australian agricultural workers who could be exposed to these banned pesticides. When we compared pesticides banned in Europe with those still used in Australia we found there are at least 80 pesticides that are still widely used here, but banned in Europe. This includes highly hazardous pesticides such as parathion-methyl, cyfluthrin, dichlorvos and mevinphos.

the sustainable use of pesticides to encourage low-input or pesticidefree cultivation. They are providing funds for research and training to help those reliant on pesticides to make the transition to less pesticide intensive agriculture. The European model, although not perfect, is being hailed as the gold standard in pesticide regulation. It sets a new benchmark that simply cant be ignored. The obvious question is why dont Australian agricultural workers and pest managers have the same level of protection from hazardous pesticides as their European counterparts? The essential difference is that under new European regulation, pesticides have to be proven safe in terms of human health, residues in the food chain and the environment before they are allowed onto the market. This applies to all new pesticides, as well as old pesticides on the market before the new scheme was implemented. In Australia the opposite happens pesticides can stay on the market until they are proven to be harmful. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) allows many old and dangerous pesticides to remain in use, leaving little incentive for smarter, less toxic products to reach the market. We found that at least nine pesticides have been under review for more than 13 years, some up to 15 years. The APVMA does not have a

Reduce the overall impact of pesticides on health and the environment and indeed their actual usage
systematic process for reviewing pesticides. Reviews are done haphazardly, taking years to complete, while leaving people exposed to hazardous pesticides. Australias pesticide regulatory system is not serving the people well, especially as the long-term impacts of exposure to multiple pesticides are more frequently being reported in scientific and medical literature. Long-term health effects Biomonitoring studies which look at pesticides in peoples bodies have found residues in urine, blood, breast milk, placenta, babies cord serum and meconium (the first bowel discharge of newborn babies). The presence of residues in babies means the impact of pesticide exposures is felt across generations. While virtually no research has been done on the health of Australian agricultural workers and their exposure to pesticides, overseas studies have linked exposure to pesticides used in agriculture with cancers of the brain and central nervous system, breast, colon, lung, ovaries, pancreas, kidneys, testicles and stomach. Other diseases, such as Parkinsons disease, are also being
Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 23

there are at least 80 pesticides that are still widely used here, but banned in Europe
Gold standard The European Commission undertook the assessment as part of extensive reforms to pesticide regulation across its member states. Their intention was to reduce the overall impact of pesticides on health and the environment and indeed their actual usage. At the same time, they also developed a broader strategy on

linked to pesticide exposures such as paraquat and 2,4-D. Our research found that there are at least 17 pesticides commonly used in Australia that are known, likely or probable carcinogens, and 48 pesticides flagged as potential endocrine (hormone) disruptors. More than 20 of the listed pesticides are classified as either extremely or highly hazardous by the World Health Organization. In the United States, pesticideexposed farmers, pesticide applicators, crop duster pilots and manufacturers have been found to have elevated rates of prostate cancer, melanoma, other skin cancers, and lip cancer. The evidence against certain pesticides continues to grow, and with cancer being a leading cause of death in Australia, costing $3.8 billion per annum in direct health

A key reform is to introduce a pesticide re-registration process

system costs, this is an area our regulators cannot afford to ignore. Proposed reforms The federal government currently has some proposed reforms, which, if implemented, could make substantial improvements to the regulation of pesticides in Australia. A key reform is to introduce a pesticide re-registration process, which would ensure that all pesticides currently on the market would be assessed to ensure they meet contemporary health, safety and environmental standards. The proposed reforms are outlined in the Ministers Policy Discussion Paper: Better Regulation of Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals. Running concurrently to these reforms are broader COAG reforms, which seek to bring the control of use of pesticides, which currently rests with state and territory governments, under a national scheme. You can download a copy of the List of Australias Most Dangerous at www.ntn.org.au

Jo Immig is an environmental scientist with a long-standing interest in the impacts of pesticides on health and the environment. She has written extensively on pesticide pollution issues and also served six years on the APVMA Community Consultative Committee. She is currently the Coordinator of the National Toxics Network, an expert community group working on pollution issues and securing a toxic-free environment.

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Dr BerIS PenrOSe

A Spot of History
TRiANgle FACToRY FiRe iN NeW YoRK CiTY, 1911

hundred years after the horror Triangle fire, workers lives are still being jeopardised. A list of factory fires in the past 10 years in which workers died because their employers locked doors and other escape routes is shown in the table below.

were in the building at the time. In less than 30 minutes, 146 of them were dead. This was the worst factory fire in American history. It shocked the nation, and newspapers around the world carried the story. It also led to reforms in factory safety in New York State. Those killed were mostly young Jewish women from Russia and Eastern Europe and a smaller number of young women from Italy. One hundred years later, they are still remembered. Fire starts on the eighth floor The Triangle Shirtwaist clothing factory made blouses, or

shirtwaists as they were called then. It was one of New Yorks biggest shirtwaist companies and shipped around 2,000 garments a day. The factory occupied the top three floors of a 10-storey building at the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place. Around 500 workers were employed, cutting, sewing, pressing, and packing blouses. Wooden bins had been built under the cutting tables for the scraps that were sold to rag traders about four times a year. On 15 January 1911, more than a tonne of scraps from these bins was sold on. But between then and the day of the disaster the bins werent emptied. The fire started on the eighth floor in one of these wooden bins filled with kilograms of combustible material scraps. At first the manager, Samuel Bernstein, and some workers tried to put out the fire with buckets of water. But this had no effect. Within seconds it was out of control. Then they tried the fire hoses but no water came out when they were turned on. At the time, about 180 workers were on the eighth floor. They ran to the two exits one on the Greene Street side of the building, the other on the Washington Place side. The Greene Street door was the
Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 25

It also led to reforms in factory safety in New York State

At 4:40pm on Saturday 25 March 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist clothing factory in New York City just as the shift was ending. Around 500 people

recent factory fires where exits were known to have been locked [10-year total = 539] Year 1991 1993 1993 2000 2002 2006 2006 2008 2010 Country US Thailand China Bangladesh India Bangladesh India Morocco Bangladesh Factory Hamlet chicken processing plant Kader toy factory Zhili toy factory Sagar Chowdury garment factory Shree Lee footwear factory KTS Composite Textile Mill Kolkata leather factory Rosamor Ameublements mattress factory Garib & Garib Sweater Factory number Killed 25 188 87 45 43 65 9 55 22

to the tenth floor to help between 40 and 70 people to get to the roof. Escape from the tenth floor roof Flames quickly travelled up the stairwell and many people from the tenth floor had to run through heat and smoke to get to the roof. They found themselves about 40 metres above the footpath and nearly four metres below the top

exit routes were blocked by fire

of the nearest building. Luckily, people in these buildings were able to rig up ladders to bring them to safety. Amongst the lucky ones to escape were the owners Isaac Harris and Max Blanck. Radical lawyer Morris Hillquit concluded that that was the difference between the captains of ships and captains of industry. Limited escape from the ninth floor Escape from the ninth floor was more difficult. The door on the Washington Place side was locked and no one had the key. Sophie Zimmerman said her fellow workers took hold of the handle and they turned it and they tore it they tried to tear it, but they couldnt. Katie Weiner said, I turned the knob this way and that. I pushed it toward myself and I couldnt open it; then I pushed it inward and it wouldnt go I knocked at the door. I seen the flames were too strong I stood at that door still till the last minute. There was a crush of people at the Greene Street door as well, and also at the fire escape that was built in an airshaft at the side of the building. The fire escape was flimsy, and so narrow that people could only go down single file. To get to it, workers had to stand on a small ledge outside the building nine stories above the

THe BrOWn/ASCH BuIlDInG, WHere THe TrAGIC TrIAnGle SHIrTWAIST FACTOrY FIre OCCurreD In 1911.

that was the difference between the captains of ships and captains of industry
one workers used when they came to work or went home. A wooden partition had been built around it so only one worker at a time could pass through. This was so their handbags could be inspected when they left work to make sure they werent stealing lace, material, or blouses. The owners later admitted 26 Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1

that in a year they lost between $8 and $15 worth of goods through pilfering. (The weekly wage of an experienced male worker in the industry was around $17.50.) At the Washington Place exit the door was locked. This was usual practice at knock-off time. Luckily someone had the key. Bernstein pushed many workers through the doors and was the last to leave the eighth floor. He ran to the ninth floor where about 250 people were trapped, including his brother Jacob, who wouldnt survive. He couldnt help so he ran

footpath. Not only that, the fire escape didnt go all the way to the ground; it ended over a basement skylight. Before the building was constructed, city officials pointed that out to the architect who agreed to change it, but didnt.

The funeral of the victims was one of the largest in the citys history
Abe Gordon got as far as the sixth floor but decided the safer option was to go back into the building. He said, I still had one foot on the escape when I heard a loud noise the people were falling all around me, screaming all around me. The fire escape was collapsing. 24 people fell to their deaths. There were also two lifts in the building. One was near the Greene Street stairs and the other near the Washington Place stairs. The drivers made about two or three

trips rescuing people until the lifts couldnt be used any more. One driver, Joseph Zito, said, When I first opened the elevator door on the ninth floor all I could see was a crowd of girls and men with great flames and smoke right behind them. When I came to the floor the [last] time, the girls were standing on the windowsills with fire all around them. People jumped and fell from windows Workers trapped on the ninth floor kept trying to open the locked door on Washington Place without success. On the Greene Street stairs fire from the eighth floor soon blocked their way down, although some managed to get to the tenth floor and then to the roof. Many ran to the bathroom to escape the heat and smoke. Lena Yaller said when she was there, I could not make out what they did say, simply. It was so many languages they all spoke in another language. The smoke and all. And some were screaming

about their children. The fire started around 4:40pm. The fire alarm was raised by pedestrians in the street at 4:45pm when they saw smoke coming from the building. About 30 seconds later the fire alarm was sounded by the Triangle factory itself. At least eight fire wagons responded. When they arrived they saw people at the ninth floor windows begging for help. But the tallest fire ladder in New York City couldnt reach the ninth floor. It was nine metres too short. At 4:50pm the first person jumped rather than be burnt to death. By then the fire escape had collapsed and fire fighters were on the eighth floor trying to control the blaze. By 4:52pm the elevators were on their way down for the last time, and exit routes were

In the US, panic bars were being massproduced by 1908

Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 27

In New York in 1911 it was controlled by insurance brokers who made their money by selling policies, not by lowering the fire risk
blocked by fire. The fire brigade took out their safety nets, although no one had been known to survive a jump from the ninth floor of a building. Nor did they survive this time. Within three minutes, the fire brigade put their nets away. But people kept jumping or falling from the windows and down the elevator shafts. One witness said, Girls were burning to death before our eyes ... down came bodies in a shower, burning, smoking, lighted bodies. Aftermath That night a makeshift morgue was set up where relatives and friends could view the bodies and make an identification. This wasnt easy because many people were badly burnt. Two days after the fire, Serafino Maltese identified his two daughters Lucia, aged 20, and Rosaria, aged 14 the youngest victim. But it wasnt until 18 December that he was able to identify his wife Catherine. Teenager Esther Rosen identified her 35-year-old widowed mother Julia by her braids. But it took another four days for her to identify her 17-year-old brother Israel. In fact, six people were never identified. Many young people travelled from Europe to the US unaccompanied. Rosie Freedman was one of them. By the time she was 15 she had survived a violent attack on her community in Bialystok, Russia, and then travelled alone to her uncle and aunt in New York City. Rosie was 18 when she died in the fire.

The funeral of the victims was one of the largest in the citys history. One hundred thousand people followed the coffins through the streets and another 250,000 lined the pavements. A Joint Relief Committee made up of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, the Womens Trade Union League, The Workmens Circle, the Jewish Daily Forward newspaper, and the United Hebrew Trades was set up to help the victims families and the injured survivors. It paid for the burial of seven Italian victims and 14 Jewish ones; gave money to families who wanted to properly observe the Easter or Passover holidays; supervised the care of children orphaned by the fire; secured work and housing for injured workers; and distributed money to the families of the dead. A number of the Triangle workers were the sole supporters of their families back in Europe. Rosie Freedman was one such worker. The relief committee gave her uncle $25 for her burial and after investigating her home circumstances gave her family in Russia a lump sum of around $500. The Hebrew Free Burial Society also helped with the burial of the Triangle victims, both Jewish and Italian. It said there is at present no Italian organisation to take the place the society fills among the East Side Jews. Fire safety equipment in 1911 These workers need not have died. Even in 1911 many fire safety devices and practices existed that, if theyd been used by the owners, could have saved their lives. Panic bars (also called crash bars or push bars) Panic bars are familiar to most of us theyre often on exit doors of public buildings and on doors from fire escapes. In the UK they were first legislated after 183 children were crushed to death in a stampede to get through

a narrow door in Victoria Hall theatre in Sunderland, England, in 1883. In the US, panic bars were being mass-produced by 1908. They became widely used after a fire at the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago in 1903 killed 602 people. But they werent installed at the Triangle factory. Outward-opening doors After 175 people, mostly students, died in a fire at Lake View School in Collinwood, Ohio, in 1908 it became national policy for doors on public buildings to open outward. Section 80 of the New York State Labor Law said factory doors shall be so constructed as to open outwardly, where practicable, and shall not be locked, bolted or fastened during working hours. The doors at the Triangle factory were inward-opening because the last step of the staircase came up to the door itself. This made it difficult to initially get out of the Washington Place door on the eighth floor once it was unlocked because of the crush of people trying to escape. Sprinklers The first manual sprinkler system was invented in the UK in 1812. By 1864 automatic sprinklers had been invented and were being used in the US by 1874. The building where the Triangle factory was located was originally built as a warehouse. Because of that the city officials said it didnt need a sprinkler system. But the officials never updated their opinion even after the building was converted into factories. Locking factory doors It was illegal in New York State to lock factory doors during working hours. But this was ignored by the Triangle owners, who wanted to stop petty theft. With only 47 city inspectors to supervise 50,000 buildings, there was little chance they would be caught breaking the

28 Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1

law. In 1911 firewalls and fire stairs also existed, but none were installed at the Triangle factory. Precedent Four months before the disaster, 25 garment workers died in a factory fire in Newark, New Jersey. The exit doors were locked, the two fire escapes were difficult to get to, and one ended in mid-air, while the other ended over the roof of the boiler house. There had been 10 fires in the building in the previous 10 years, but there were no fire alarms. After this, Peter McKeon, Consulting Engineer on Fire Insurance and Fire Protection, said that thousands of buildings in New York were of ordinary nonfire-proof construction, with the same wood stairways and outside fire-escapes that made the Newark factory a fire-trap. Insurance The biggest obstacle to making these fire-traps safe was the way

insurance industry operated. In New York in 1911 it was controlled by insurance brokers who made their money by selling policies, not by lowering the fire risk. Brokers collected a percentage of every sale, so they made more on policies with higher premiums. The safer the building the lower the premium; therefore, the lower their commission. Insurance companies were protected from huge losses on these policies because the brokers divided them into smaller shares and distributed them between a number of companies. The Triangle factory was highrisk. There had been three major fires previously two in 1902 and one in 1905 all when it was idle. The owners other blouse factory, the Diamond Waist Company, also had two major fires previously one in 1907 and the other in 1910 also when the factory was empty. On all five occasions the owners collected insurance. Consequently, their response to

the fire risk wasnt to install safety measures. It was to increase their insurance policies. At the time of the 1911 fire, the factory was insured for about $200,000, even though its value was estimated at around $80,000. The trial The Triangle owners, Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, were charged with the manslaughter of one worker, Margaret Schwartz. The penalty was the same whether they were charged with the manslaughter of one person or 146 people. Harris and Blanck hired the best lawyer in New York City. His fee was at around $20,000. During the trial their lawyer objected to Yiddish translators being used, he implied that a key witness who survived the fire on the ninth floor was coached by the union, he objected to details of the deaths being retold to the court, and he argued that the Washington Place door on the ninth floor had never been locked. But it was the judges

Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 29

instructions to the jury that ensured the owners were found not guilty. He told them it wasnt enough to find that the door was locked, but that the owners knew at the time of the fire it was locked, and if the door was locked that Margaret Schwartz, whose body was found near it, would have lived if shed escaped through the door. It didnt take long for the jury to find Harris and Blanck innocent. Two years after the Triangle fire, in September 1913, Max Blanck was fined $20 for locking the doors of his garment factory on Fifth Avenue during working hours. Reform After the Triangle fire, religious leaders were highly critical of poor working conditions. Reverend R. McArthur of the Calvary Baptist church prayed that God would teach employers the duties which they owe to those under their care in the proper construction of

factories, in making proper exits and in all other ways caring for the comforts and especially the lives of those in their employ. Rabbi Stephen Wise said the life of the lowliest worker in the nation is sacred and inviolable, and, if that sacred human right be violated, we shall stand adjudged and condemned before the tribunal of God and of history. The public was also critical and wanted changes in factory laws. In response, the state government set up the Factory Investigating Committee, which carried out a comprehensive study of factory safety, working conditions, wages, and living conditions across the state. The Committee recommended stricter factory codes, better fire safety, better factory ventilation, improved factory sanitation, better machine guarding, the registration of all factories with the Department of Labor, medical supervision of workers in

industries that exposed them to toxic chemicals, and special safety measures for foundries, bakeries, and shops. Although industry objected that its recommendations would be costly and inconvenient, the Committee represented a significant point in the long and ongoing struggle for the basic human right a safe place of work.

30 Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1

Dear Mother
The quantity of things
ts beginning to feel like some sort of mental blank, Mother. One disaster follows another. Floods, cyclones, more floods, earthquakes, tsunamis. So many people devastated and ruined, so many people killed. What can you do that would make a difference? What can people generally do? In many ways, individuals extend themselves and have a go at helping in any way they can, helping almost desperately. In the meantime, occupational fatalities continue in Australia, and its still just as hard to draw local regulators or politicians attention to specific workplace H&S standards. Just as a result of riding quad bikes there have been four fatalities in Tasmania and Victoria combined in a two-week period. One happened not half an hour from where I live. Its coming closer, Mother, as if to persistently call me up.
ArTWOrK: KIrSTI SArmIAlA-BerGer

In Queensland and Victoria, many people have now been even more exposed to asbestos fibres as a result of the floods and cyclone. They will have breathed extra fibres into their lungs. Most people will not be harmed, but some may be killed. Some people will cynically tell you that this is the cost of modern society. But workers dont like it, they are anxious; they agitate and try to make a difference in many ways. I am regularly contacted by workers who privately seek more information, more literature, and more solutions to a range of hazards. They work in dangerous conditions, in part because the alternatives often mean great changes in their lives or much harder and victimising conditions. Believe me, its rampant. So we go on tackling one issue at a time, hearing about floods, cyclones...

Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 31

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LIGHT METAL GRAVITY DIE CASTING
136-140 Gaffney Street, Coburg, Victoria 3058 Phone (03) 9354 7529 Fax (03) 9354 3741
www.melbournegravity.com.au

(03) 5625 6600

Fax (03) 5625 4986

Phone 0418 316 809

s
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Rewarding your hard work

Eligible workers should register with QLeave to ensure you receive long service leave after 10 years of service.
For further information visit the website or: Free Call 1800 803 491 Email members@qleave.qld.gov.au

Proudly supporting the AWUs stand on safety

Supporting the AWU

MINE SITE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

civil engineers and service contractors to the mining industry

Rock N Road Bitumen Pty Ltd

PH 07 4955 5235 Fax 07 4955 5236

39-43 MURRAY ROAD, WELSHPOOL,WA 6106

Phone (08) 9356 2776

Fax (08) 9356 1330 Email: info@alliedgold.com.au
1 3/25/11

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12:20

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Prime Super is the super fund of choice for rural and regional Australia.

IN SITU

PTY LTD Est. 1963

Give us a call to nd out how we can help you manage your super obligations

MANUFACTURERS OF TERRAZZO TILES AND CONCRETE PAVERS IN VARIOUS SIZES, THICKNESS & COLOURS

(02) 9604 3100

Mobile: 0401 695 070 Fax: (02) 9725 2607 Email: pebblecrete@pacific.net.au www.pebblecrete.com.au SHOWROOM AND FACTORY: 238 WOODPARK ROAD, SMITHFIELD, NSW 2164
TRAINING LABOUR HIRE RECRUITMENT
Supplying temporary and permanent staff for:

1800 675 839

www.primesuper.com.au

Prime Super ABN (60 562 335 823) is issued by Prime Super Pty Ltd (ABN 81 067 241 016, AFSL 219723). Call 1800 675 839 for a Product Disclosure Statement.

ALL ABOUT PEOPLE

PHONE: 1300 7 AXIAL

MINING ENGINEERING MANUFACTURING CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION HOSPITALITY

All workers are drug & alcohol tested All workers complete medicals

32 Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1

Sp t

HAZARD the

Start from the centre then carefully and systematically check out each square one at a time, say, clockwise. Ask yourself, Do I understand whats going on? How would I explain whats happening in the photo?

HAZARD

Yossi Berger

1. ............................................................................................................................... 2. ............................................................................................................................... 3. ...............................................................................................................................

Say Safety 2011Vol 16 No 1 33

Mareeba

Cairns Innisfail

Townsville Mt Isa Proserpine Moranbah Airlie Beach Mackay Rockhampton Gladstone Bundaberg Maryborough Charleville Roma Dalby Toowoomba Sunshine Coast Ipswich Gold Coast Warwick