The following Incidents must be immediately reported to the Worksafe Queensland

a)   the death of a person; or

b)  a serious injury or illness of a person; or

c) a dangerous incident.

A serious injury is any of the following:

a) immediate treatment as an in-patient in a hospital;

b) immediate treatment for—

• the amputation of any part of his or her body; or
• a serious head injury; or
• a serious eye injury; or
• a serious burn; or
• the separation of his or her skin from an underlying
  tissue (for example, degloving or scalping); or
• a spinal injury; or
• the loss of a bodily function; or
• serious lacerations; or

c)  medical treatment within 48 hours of exposure to a substance;

and includes any other injury or illness prescribed under a regulation but does not include an illness or injury of a prescribed kind.

A dangerous incident means an incident in relation to a workplace that exposes a worker or any other person to a serious risk to a person’s health or safety emanating
from an immediate or imminent exposure to—

•  an uncontrolled escape, spillage or leakage of a substance; or
•  an uncontrolled implosion, explosion or fire; or
•  an uncontrolled escape of gas or steam; or
•  an uncontrolled escape of a pressurised substance; or
•  electric shock; or
•  the fall or release from a height of any plant, substance or thing; or
•  the collapse, overturning, failure or malfunction of, or damage to, any plant that is required to be authorised for use under a regulation; or
•  the collapse or partial collapse of a structure; or
•  the collapse or failure of an excavation or of any shoring supporting an excavation; or
•  the inrush of water, mud or gas in workings, in an underground excavation or tunnel; or
• the interruption of the main system of ventilation in an underground excavation or tunnel; or
•  any other event prescribed under a regulation;

but does not include an incident of a prescribed kind.

The notice must be given as required under this section and by the fastest possible means.

The notice must be given—

a)  by telephone; or

b)    in writing.
Example— The written notice can be given by facsimile, email or other electronic
means.

A person giving notice by telephone must—

a)  give the details of the incident requested by the regulator; and

b)  if required by the regulator, give a written notice of the incident within 48 hours of that requirement being made.

A written notice must be in a form, or contain the details, approved by the regulator.

A new draft Code of Practice for Managing the Work Environment and Facilities has been placed on the website.

The new code may be downloaded at. www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au

If your not familiar with the content of the new act, you may access it through the Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Website at.

http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/workplace/law/harmonisationohslaws/index.htm

Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 you will: 

•  have a completely new set of safety obligations (Duties) - If you are an ‘officer’ of a company (i.e. a director, secretary, general manager, chief executive officer, chief operations officer or chief financial officer), you will be obliged by law to exercise ‘due diligence’ to ensure your organisation does not breach OHS laws. This means you will have a legal responsibility to keep informed about health and safety matters, and act immediately on any OHS risks that are brought to your attention. 
•  be responsible for the health and safety of a lot more people – The new laws will place a requirement on anyone who conducts a business or undertaking to provide a safe workplace for all employees and workers affected by that business. And under the new laws, the definition of both ‘worker’ and ‘workplace’ will be broadened, most notably to include contractors and labour hire workers. In short, this means your duty of care will expand significantly.
•  be exposed to a massive increase in penalties and fines – Under the proposed new laws, corporations face fines of up to $3 million per offence, while individuals face fines of $600,000 or five years in jail.

QSafe Solutions acknowledges Qld Division of Workplace Health and Safety and Master Builders as contributors to this article.

How will this impact the way you do business?

WHSOs provide valuable assistance to businesses in meeting their duties under current workplace health and safety laws and can continue to do so under the new harmonised laws. Workplace Health and Safety (WHSQ) expects that many businesses will voluntarily retain their WHSOs to assist them in complying with their obligations under the new model laws when they commence on 1 January 2012.

In particular the model Work Health and Safety laws impose a specific duty on officers of corporations and unincorporated bodies such as clubs and associations to exercise due diligence to ensure that the corporation, club or association meets its work health and safety obligations. This requires officers to be proactive in ensuring that the corporation, club or association complies with its duties. In demonstrating due diligence, officers will need to show that they have taken reasonable steps to complete all of the following:

• acquire and update their knowledge of health and safety matters
• understand the operations being carried out by the person conducting the business or undertaking in which they are employed, and the hazards and risks associated with the operations
• ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has, and uses, appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise health and safety risks arising from work being done
• ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has appropriate processes in place to receive and respond promptly to information regarding incidents, hazards and risks
• ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has, and uses, processes for complying with duties or obligations under the WHS Bill.

Workplace Health and Safety Officers are employed to provide information on hazards and risks associated with the workplace or work activities. WHSQ sees advantages for a corporation, club or association in retaining a trained safety advisor to assist an officer to satisfy their ‘due diligence’ obligations.

It is important to note the duty to exercise due diligence will always remain with the senior officer and cannot be outsourced or delegated to a safety advisor such as a WHSO. Employing a WHSO or safety advisor is one available option to help officers meet their duties.

QSafe Solutions acknowledges Department of Justice and Attorney-General as the principle contributor to this article.

Under the national model WHS laws these licences will be held by a business rather than an individual. Workers engaged in work to remove 10 square metres or more of bonded asbestos containing material will be required to hold a qualification in the relevant unit of competency. The competency unit is currently being developed nationally.

There will be a transition period from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012 for the changeover from an individual to a business licence. Application requirements will be detailed on this website after the model WHS laws and internal procedures are finalised (expected to be during the latter half of 2011).

The requirements for a business to obtain an A or B class asbestos removal licence are outlined in part 8.10 of the Model WHS Regulations which can be found on the Safe Work Australia website. www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au

PCBs may enter the air, water and soil from manufacturing, accidental spills and improper disposal. They do not break down readily and can persist in the environment for very long periods of time. They can be transported as particles in water and air and some  PCBs can be measured as vapour in the air. Only a small amount of PCBs can dissolve in water with most adhering to organic particles (such as compost) and sediments.

How can exposure to PCBs occur?

Old appliances such as refrigerators, fluorescent lights and toaster ovens (more than 30 years old) may leak PCBs, and vapours accumulating in confined environments can be inhaled or make contact with the skin. Liquid PCBs may also be absorbed through skin contact from such appliances. PCBs may be ingested if consuming contaminated food or may be inhaled from contaminated hazardous waste sites.

Exposure may also occur in workplace environments involved in repair and maintenance of PCB transformers, through accidents and spills, and disposal of PCBs and PCB-contaminated equipment.

If an appliance is more than 30 years old and is leaking an oily fluid that is clear to slightly yellow suspect PCBs as being present.  The appliance or other source should be carefully disposed of and definitely not placed into the domestic waste collection service.  Special precautions need to be taken when handling any appliance that may contain PCBs as they readily penetrate the skin. Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) or Butyl rubber gloves must be worn as PCBs can penetrate latex rubber or Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) gloves.

Possible Health effects of being exposed to PCBs?

The most common health effects in people with large exposures to PCBs are skin conditions including acne and rashes.

In workers exposed to high levels of PCBs, tests have indicated liver damage. Some studies in workers suggest PCB exposure may cause nose and lung irritation, gastro-intestinal discomfort, depression and fatigue.

Both the US Environmental Protection Agency and the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer consider PCBs to be probably carcinogenic to humans.

QSafe Solutions acknowledges the SA Government as a source of the information contained in this post