World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2013 The World Day for Safety and Health at Work in 2013 focuses on the prevention of occupational diseases.

Worldwide, occupational diseases continue to be the leading cause of work-related deaths. According to ILO estimates, out of 2.34 million occupational fatalities every year, only 321,000 are due to accidents. The remaining 2.02 million deaths are caused by various types of work-related diseases, which correspond to a daily average of more than 5,500 deaths. This is an unacceptable Decent Work deficit.

The inadequate prevention of occupational diseases has profound negative effects not only on workers and their families but also on society at large due to the tremendous costs that it generates; particularly, in terms of loss of productivity and burdening of social security systems. Prevention is more effective and less costly than treatment and rehabilitation. All countries can take concrete steps now to improve their capacity for preventing occupational diseases. As every year, the ILO Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment has prepared a report which calls on governments, employers, workers and their organizations to collaborate in the development and implementation of national policies and strategies aimed at preventing occupational and work-related diseases
Health and safety at work: Facts and figures

• 2.02 million people die each year from work-related diseases.
• 321,000 people die each year from occupational accidents.
• 160 million non-fatal work-related diseases per year.
• 317 million non –fatal occupational accidents per year.

This means that:

• Every 15 seconds, a worker dies from a work-related accident or disease.
• Every 15 seconds, 151 workers have a work-related accident.

Deaths and injuries take a particularly heavy toll in developing countries, where a large part of the population is engaged in hazardous activities, such as agriculture, construction, fishing and mining. 

PCB to set up station for real time data on pollution

The station to record levels of various harmful gases

A real time Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) will come in the city soon. The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) will set up the station on the premises of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) Guest House on Bandar Road.

The real time CAAQMS will generate a comprehensive real time data, which helps in analysing the pollution levels.

The PCB is contemplating arranging a digital display board to inform the people about the pollution in the city. The people can have real-time data if PCB plans are successful.

The station, being set up with Central Pollution Control Board assistance, will record the levels of various harmful gases, including carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, benzene, toluene and xylene, on an hourly basis. Meteorological parameters like wind speed, wind direction, temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation are subjects of study at the station, according to PCB officials.

The PCB, hitherto, has been monitoring the ambient air quality at three locations at Benz Circle, Police control Room (PCR) and Autonagar Industrial area. The CAAQM is an advanced system to asses the pollution in the city. The CAAQM station is one of the six proposed in the State. Other places to get this facility are Hyderabad (2), Visakhapatnam (2) and Tirumala (1).

The PCB has set up a real-time noise pollution monitoring system near All India Radio Station on Bandar road in the city to assess the noise levels (sound pollution). 

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/pcb-to-set-up-station-for-real-time-data-on-pollution/article4663075.ece

What is water?

Water is a very important substance, as it makes up the larger part of an organism's body. But what exactly is water? Inside the body of a human being there is a skeleton, which makes your body solid and makes sure you can stand up without falling apart. Water is also a kind of skeleton. It consists of tiny particles, the atoms, just like every other substance on earth. One of these atoms is called hydrogen and the other is called oxygen. As you probably know the air that we breathe also contains oxygen. One particle of water is called a molecule. When lots of water molecules melt together we can see the water and drink it or use it, for instance to flush a toilet.

How is a water molecule built up?

A water molecule consists of three atoms; an oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, which are bond together like little magnets. The atoms consist of matter that has a nucleus in the centre. The difference between atoms is expressed by atomic numbers. The atomic number of an atom depends on the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom. Protons are small positively charged particles. Hydrogen has one proton in the nucleus and oxygen has eight. There are also uncharged particles in the nucleus, called neutrons. Next to protons and neutrons, atoms also consist of negatively charged electrons, which can be found in the electron cloud around the nucleus. The number of electrons in an atom equals the number of protons in the nucleus. The attraction between the protons and electrons is what keeps an atom together.

How much does a water molecule weigh?

The weight of a molecule is determined by the atomic masses of the atoms that it is built of. The atomic mass of an atom is determined by the addition of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus, because the electrons hardly weigh anything. When the atomic masses of the separate atoms are known, one simply has to add them up to find the total atomic mass of a molecule, expressed in grams per mol. A mol is an expression of the molair weight of a molecule, derived from the weight of a hydrogen molecule, which is 1 mol.
Hydrogen has a relative atomic mass of 1 g/ mol and oxygen has a relative atomic mass of 16 g/ mol. Water consists of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. This means that the mass of a water molecule is 1g + 1g + 16g = 18 g/ mol.
When the number of moles of water is known, one can calculate how many grams of weight this is, by using the molar weight of water.

In what states (phases) can water be found?

Water exists in three states: solid, liquid and gaseous. At a normal temperature of about 25^oC it is liquid, but below 0^oC it will freeze and turn to ice. Water can be found in the gaseous state above 100^oC, this is called the boiling point of water, at which water starts to evaporate. The water turns to gas and is then odourless and colourless.
How fast water evaporates depends on the temperature; if the temperature is high, water will evaporate sooner.

What happens if water changes phase?

The phase changes of water

The changes from a liquid to a solid or to a gas are called phase changes. When a substance such as water changes phase, its physical appearance changes, but not its chemical properties. This is because the chemical structure remains the same, but the molecules of which it consists will float a little further apart. In the solid state the water molecules are fairly close together, but in the liquid state they are a bit further apart. The water becomes liquid as a result of parting molecules. When water changes from liquid to gas the molecules will part even further, that is why we cannot detect it.

Why does ice float on water?

When substances freeze, usually the molecules come closer together. Water has an abnormality there: it freezes below 0^oC, but when temperatures goes below 4^oC, water starts to expand again and as a result the density becomes lower. Density of a substance means the weight in kilograms of a cubic metre of a substance. When two substances are mixed but do not dissolve in one another, the substance with the lowest density floats on the other substance. In this case that substance is ice, due to the decreased density of water.

How come not all substances are water-soluble?

Polarity determines if a substance is water-soluble. A polair substance is a substance that has two kinds of 'poles', as in a magnet. When another substance is also polair the poles of the substances attract each other and as a result the substances mix. A substance then dissolves in water.
Substances that contain no 'poles' are called apolair substances. Oil for instance is an apolair substance, which is why oil does not dissolve in water. In fact it floats on water, just like ice, due to its smaller density.

What is hard water?

When water is referred to as 'hard' this simply means, that it contains more minerals than ordinary water. These are especially the minerals calcium and magnesium. The degree of hardness of the water exceeds, when more calcium and magnesium dissolve.
Magnesium and calcium are positively charged ions. Because of their presence, other positively charged substances will dissolve less easy in hard water than in water that does not contain calcium and magnesium. This is the cause of the fact that soap doesn't really dissolve in hard water.

What are physical and chemical properties?

Physical properties of a substance are properties that have everything to do with the substance's appearance. Chemical properties are properties that are often used in chemistry, to address the state of a substance. Physical and chemical properties can tell us something about the behaviour of a substance in certain circumstances.

Which physical and chemical properties does water have?

There are several different physical and chemical properties, which are often used alternately. We can name the following:
- Density. The density of water means the weight of a certain amount of water. It is usually expressed in kilograms per cubic metre. (physical)
- Thermal properties. This refers to what happens to water when it is heated; at which temperature it becomes gaseous and that sort of thing. (physical)
- Conductivity. This means the amount of electricity that water can conduct. It is expressed in a chemical magnitude. (physical)
- Light absorption. This is the amount of light a certain amount of water can absorb over time. (chemical)
- Viscosity. This means the syrupiness of water and it determines the mobility of water. When the temperature rises, the viscosity degrades; this means that water will be more mobile at higher temperatures. (physical)
- The pH. The pH has its own scale, running up from 1 to 14. The pH shows whether a substance is acid (pH 1-6), neutral (pH 7) or basic (pH 8-14). The number of hydrogen atoms in the substance determines the pH. The more hydrogen atoms a substance contains, the lower the pH will be. A substance that contains many hydrogen atoms is acid. We can measure the pH by dipping a special colouring paper in the substance, the colours shows which pH the substance has. (chemical)
- Alkalinity. This is the capacity of water to neutralize an acid or a base, so that the pH of the water will not change. (chemical)

What is water pollution?

What is water pollution? Water pollution is any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality of water that has a harmful effect on any living thing that drinks or uses or lives (in) it. When humans drink polluted water it often has serious effects on their health. Water pollution can also make water unsuited for the desired use.
What are the major water pollutants? There are several classes of water pollutants. The first are disease-causing agents. These are bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms that enter sewage systems and untreated waste. A second category of water pollutants is oxygen-demanding wastes; wastes that can be decomposed by oxygen-requiring bacteria. When large populations of decomposing bacteria are converting these wastes it can deplete oxygen levels in the water. This causes other organisms in the water, such as fish, to die. A third class of water pollutants is water-soluble inorganic pollutants, such as acids, salts and toxic metals. Large quantities of these compounds will make water unfit to drink and will cause the death of aquatic life. Another class of water pollutants are nutrients; they are water-soluble nitrates and phosphates that cause excessive growth of algae and other water plants, which deplete the water's oxygen supply. This kills fish and, when found in drinking water, can kill young children. Water can also be polluted by a number of organic compounds such as oil, plastics and pesticides, which are harmful to humans and all plants and animals in the water. A very dangerous category is suspended sediment, because it causes depletion in the water's light absorption and the particles spread dangerous compounds such as pesticides through the water. Finally, water-soluble radioactive compounds can cause cancer, birth defects and genetic damage and are thus very dangerous water pollutants.
Where does water pollution come from? Water pollution is usually caused by human activities. Different human sources add to the pollution of water. There are two sorts of sources, point and nonpoint sources. Point sources discharge pollutants at specific locations through pipelines or sewers into the surface water. Nonpoint sources are sources that cannot be traced to a single site of discharge. Examples of point sources are: factories, sewage treatment plants, underground mines, oil wells, oil tankers and agriculture. Examples of nonpoint sources are: acid deposition from the air, traffic, pollutants that are spread through rivers and pollutants that enter the water through groundwater. Nonpoint pollution is hard to control because the perpetrators cannot be traced. How do we detect water pollution? Water pollution is detected in laboratories, where small samples of water are analysed for different contaminants. Living organisms such as fish can also be used for the detection of water pollution. Changes in their behaviour or growth show us, that the water they live in is polluted. Specific properties of these organisms can give information on the sort of pollution in their environment. Laboratories also use computer models to determine what dangers there can be in certain waters. They import the data they own on the water into the computer, and the computer then determines if the water has any impurities. What is heat pollution, what causes it and what are the dangers? In most manufacturing processes a lot of heat originates that must be released into the environment, because it is waste heat. The cheapest way to do this is to withdraw nearby surface water, pass it through the plant, and return the heated water to the body of surface water. The heat that is released in the water has negative effects on all life in the receiving surface water. This is the kind of pollution that is commonly known as heat pollution or thermal pollution. The warmer water decreases the solubility of oxygen in the water and it also causes water organisms to breathe faster. Many water organisms will then die from oxygen shortages, or they become more susceptible to diseases. What is eutrophication, what causes it and what are the dangers? Eutrophication means natural nutrient enrichment of streams and lakes. The enrichment is often increased by human activities, such as agriculture (manure addition). Over time, lakes then become eutrophic due to an increase in nutrients. Eutrophication is mainly caused by an increase in nitrate and phosphate levels and has a negative influence on water life. This is because, due to the enrichment, water plants such as algae will grow extensively. As a result the water will absorb less light and certain aerobic bacteria will become more active. These bacteria deplete oxygen levels even further, so that only anaerobic bacteria can be active. This makes life in the water impossible for fish and other organisms. What is acid rain and how does it develop? Typical rainwater has a pH of about 5 to 6. This means that it is naturally a neutral, slightly acidic liquid. During precipitation rainwater dissolves gasses such as carbon dioxide and oxygen. The industry now emits great amounts of acidifying gasses, such as sulphuric oxides and carbon monoxide. These gasses also dissolve in rainwater. This causes a change in pH of the precipitation – the pH of rain will fall to a value of or below 4. When a substance has a pH of below 6.5, it is acid. The lower the pH, the more acid the substance is. That is why rain with a lower pH, due to dissolved industrial emissions, is called acid rain. Why does water sometimes smell like rotten eggs? When water is enriched with nutrients, eventually anaerobic bacteria, which do not need oxygen to practice their functions, will become highly active. These bacteria produce certain gasses during their activities. One of these gases is hydrogen sulphide. This compounds smells like rotten eggs. When water smells like rotten eggs we can conclude that there is hydrogen present, due to a shortage of oxygen in the specific water. What causes white deposit on showers and bathroom walls? Water contains many compounds. A few of these compounds are calcium and carbonate. Carbonate works as a buffer in water and is thus a very important component. When calcium reacts with carbonate a solid substance is formed, that is called lime. This lime is what causes the white deposit on showers and bathroom walls and is commonly known as lime deposit. It can be removed by using a specially suited cleaning agent.

Water pollution and related problems:

1. Humans largely influence the factors that determine water quality, as they depose off their waste in water and add all kinds of substances and contaminants that are not naturally present. We now know more than 70.000 water pollutants.
2. About 450 cubic kilometres of wastewater are carried into coastal areas by rivers and streams every year. These pollution loads require an additional 6,000 cubic kilometres of freshwater to dilute the pollution. This amount equals to two-thirds of the world's total stable run-off.

3. Public water supplies must meet or exceed certain standards. The kind of standards that are used differ for each country. Many public water supplies consistently supply water that is much better than the minimum standards.

4. Four litres (1 gallon) of gasoline can contaminate approximately 2.8 million litres (750,000 gallons) of water.

5. Groundwater supplies serve about 80% of the population, whereas up to 4% of usable groundwater is already polluted.

6. There are 12,000 different toxic chemical compounds in industrial use today, and more than 500 new chemicals are developed each year.

7. Over 70,000 different water contaminants have been identified.

8. Each day almost 10,000 children under the age of 5 in Third World countries die as a result of illnesses contracted by use of impure water.

9. Today, drinking water meets over a hundred different standards for drinking water quality.

10. The principal sources of contamination are associated with the post World War II chemical age.

11. If all new sources of contamination could be eliminated, in 10 years, 98% of all available groundwater would then be free of pollution.

12. Most of the world's people must walk at least 3 hours to fetch water.

13. Freshwater animals are disappearing five times faster than land animals.

water use and saving water:

1. Humans use more and more water each year.

2. Americans use five times the amount of water that Europeans use.

3. Humans daily use about 190 litres (50 gallons) of water.

4. A person pays about 25 cents for water use on a daily basis.

5. Two thirds of the water used in a home is used in the bathroom.

6. To flush a toilet we use 7.5 to 26.5 litres (2 to 7 gallons) of water.

7. In a five-minute shower we use 95 to 190 litres (25 to 50 gallons) of water.

8. To brush your teeth you use 7.5 litres (2 gallons) of water.

9. For an automatic dishwasher 35 to 45 litres (9 to 12 gallons) of water is used.

10. Saving a bottle of cold water in the fridge is better that taking it from the tap, because it saves time and water.

11. While brushing your teeth, instead of leaving the tap running, you should fill up a glass to rinse your mouth.

12. Baths use less water than a typical shower. Soaking in a partially filled tub will use less water than a short shower.

13. The average person spends less than 1 % of his or her total personal expenditure dollars for water, wastewater, and water disposal services.

14. Less than 1% of the water treated by public water systems is used for drinking and cooking.

15. Bottled water can be up to 1000 times more expensive than tap water and it may not be as safe.

16. Today, at least 400 million people live in regions with severe water shortages.

water quantities:

1. As oceans are very wide and there are multiple to be found on earth, oceans store most of the earth's water. This is apparently 97% of the total amount of water on earth, 2% of which is frozen.

2. 80% of the earth's water is surface water. The other 20% is either ground water or atmospheric water vapour.

3. Of all the water on earth, only 2,5% is fresh water. Fresh water is either groundwater (0,5%), or readily accessible water in lakes, streams, rivers, etc. (0,01%).

4. If all the world's water were fit into a gallon jug, the fresh water available for us to use would equal only about one tablespoon.

5. Over 90% of the world's supply of fresh water is located in Antarctica.

6. Less than 1% of the water supply on earth can be used as drinking water.

7. The earth's total amount of water has a volume of about 344 million cubic miles.
· 315 million cubic miles is seawater.
· 9 million cubic miles is groundwater in aquifers.
· 7 million cubic miles is frozen in polar ice caps.
· 53,000 cubic miles of water pass through the planet's lakes and streams.
· 4,000 cubic miles of water is atmospheric moisture.
· 3,400 cubic miles of water are locked within the bodies of living things.

8. Approximately 66% of the human body consists of water. Water exists within all our organs and it is transported throughout our body to assist physical functions.

9. The total amount of water in the body of an average adult is 37 litres.

10. Human brains are 75% water.

11. Human bones are 25% water.

12. Human blood is 83% water.

13. 75% of a chicken is water.

14. 80% of a pineapple is water.

15. 95% of a tomato is water.

16. 70% of an elephant is water.

17. Each day the sun evaporates a trillion tons of water.

18. A single tree will give off 265 liters (70 gallons) of water per day in evaporation.

19. An acre of corn will give off 15,000 litres (4,000 gallons) of water per day in evaporation.

20. A small drip from a faucet can waste as much as 75 litres of water a day.

21. The amount of water we deliver on a hot summer day, 308 million litres (80 million gallons), could fill 1.28 billion cups of coffee.

About water & health:

1. A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water. If a human does not absorb enough water dehydration is the result.

2. A person must consume 2 litres of water daily to live healthily. Humans drink an average of 75.000 litres of water throughout their life.

3. Humans cannot drink salt water.

4. More than 2 billion people on earth do not have a safe supply of water.

5. Water regulates the temperature of the human body. If you have caught a fever you should drink lots of water.

6. Water removes waste from the human body.

7. You should never drink water straight from a lake or river, as it can be damaging to your health.

8. If you live in an old house with lead pipelines you could get health problems. Due to weathering of the pipelines lead can end up in your tap water.

9. Your drinking water may be fluoridated to help prevent dental cavities.

10. Water leaves the stomach five minutes after consumption.

11. Centres for Disease Control receive notification of more than 4,000 cases per year of illness due to drinking water contamination.

12. A quarter of the world's population is without safe drinking water.
13. Water can cause serious health damage when it is contaminated by bacteria and other microrganisms.

14. In most cities and towns, drinking water from the tap is treated so that people don't get sick with diseases such as cholera and typhoid, which are caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites found naturally in the water.

History of 28 April Why 28 April?

History of 28 April

Why 28 April?

In 2003, the International Labour Organization (ILO), began to observe World Day in order to stress the prevention of accidents and diseases at work, capitalizing on the ILO's traditional strengths of tripartism and social dialogue.
This celebration is an integral part of the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health of the ILO, as documented in the Conclusions of the International Labour Conference in June 2003. One of the main pillars of the Global Strategy is advocacy, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a significant tool to raise awareness of how to make work safe and healthy and of the need to raise the political profile of occupational safety and health.
28 April is also the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers organized worldwide by the trade union movement since 1996.

Prevention of occupational accidents and diseases

Safety and health at work

• Every 15 seconds, a worker dies from a work-related accident or disease.
• Every 15 seconds, 160 workers have a work-related accident.

The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. It is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem and on how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.
Each of us is responsible for stopping deaths and injuries on the job. As governments we are responsible for providing the infrastructure — laws and services — necessary to ensure that workers remain employable and that enterprises flourish; this includes the development of a national policy and programme and a system of inspection to enforce compliance with occupational safety and health legislation and policy. As employers we are responsible for ensuring that the working environment is safe and healthy. As workers we are responsible to work safely and to protect ourselves and not to endanger others, to know our rights and to participate in the implementation of preventive measures.

Emerging risks at work

New and emerging occupational risks may be caused by technical innovation or by social or organizational change, such as:

• New technologies and production processes, e.g. nanotechnology, biotechnology
• New working conditions, e.g. higher workloads, work intensification from downsizing, poor conditions associated with migration for work, jobs in the informal economy
• Emerging forms of employment, e.g. self-employment, outsourcing, temporary contracts

They may be more widely recognized through better scientific understanding, e.g. the effects of ergonomic risks on musculoskeletal disorders.
They may be influenced by changes in perceptions about the importance of certain risk factors, e.g. the effects of psychosocial factors on work-related stress.

United Nations World Day for Safety and Health at Work 28 April

Theme 2013: Prevention of occupational diseases

The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an annual international campaign to promote safe, healthy and decent work. It is held on 28 April and has been observed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) since 2003.
28 April has also for long been associated with the world's trade union movement's commemoration of the victims of occupational accidents and diseases.
Worldwide, occupational diseases continue to be the leading cause of work-related deaths. According to ILO estimates, out of 2.34 million occupational fatalities every year, only 321,000 are due to accidents. The remaining 2.02 million deaths are caused by various types of work-related diseases, which correspond to a daily average of more than 5,500 deaths. This is an unacceptable Decent Work deficit.
The inadequate prevention of occupational diseases has profound negative effects not only on workers and their families but also on society at large due to the tremendous costs that it generates; particularly, in terms of loss of productivity and burdening of social security systems. Prevention is more effective and less costly than treatment and rehabilitation. All countries can take concrete steps now to improve their capacity for preventing occupational diseases.

As every year, the ILO Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment prepared a report to serve as a background to the theme, a poster and other promotional material for the occasion. This report for the World Day for Safety and Health at Work outlines the current situation concerning occupational diseases and presents proposals for addressing this serious Decent Work deficit.

Health and safety at work: workers' and employers' agreement is helping to deal with stress at work Over the last ten years, work-related stress has increased in nine Member States and has only fallen in Sweden. Studies suggest that between 50% and 60% of all lost working days are related to stress. In France for example, the cost of stress has been reported to reach at least €2 to €3 billion each year. In the UK it's estimated that 10 million working days are lost due to anxiety, stress and depression linked to work. The direct costs related to stress at work are now estimated to be as high as 4% of EU GDP. In response to these developments, European workers' and employers' representatives reached an agreement in 2004 to ensure a minimum level of protection against stress at work. The European Commission has published an evaluation of this agreement, concluding that it has had positive effects where implemented. In particular, employers' and workers' efforts have led to policy developments in 12 Member States where little had been done before. Although the agreement has not been implemented evenly in all countries, 19 Member States now have legislation or binding collective agreements that address stress or other psychological risks at work. Presenting the new report, László Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said: “Here we see how a European agreement followed up by employers and workers at national level can concretely improve working conditions in Europe. He added: "We know that stress can be a structural problem related to work organisation rather than to individuals, which is why the social partners are often best placed to take action in this area. I call on employers and workers to continue their positive work and address shortcomings, particularly in those countries where joint action has been limited so far.” The 2004 social partner agreement – concluded by all cross-industry European social partners (Business Europe, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC) – aims to raise awareness of work-related stress and provide a framework for action. The role of employers is to identify risk factors for stress and to try to match responsibility better with skills; consult workers on restructuring and new technologies; and to provide support to individuals and teams. The Commission's evaluation of the agreement concludes that the 2004 agreement has successfully triggered social dialogue and policy developments in the field of occupational stress in most Member States. The rules on work-related stress have been enshrined in different ways through collective or general social partner agreements, guidelines or legislation. In many countries, the social partners complemented action with effective awareness-raising campaigns and practical instruments, such as stress assessment tools and training. At the same time, the agreement has not been implemented evenly throughout Europe. Social partners in Malta, Cyprus, Poland and Slovenia have not reported on the follow-up to their commitments and results in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Estonia have fallen short of expectations. The report emphasises how improvements must be made across the board. According to social partners, while individuals are ‘well adapted to cope with short-term exposure to pressure’, prolonged exposure to stressful situations can do significant damage. The most important stress factors are work demands, room for manoeuvre, social relations, emotional demands, value and ethical conflicts and employment insecurity. Over time, these factors have increased. For instance, the share of workers reporting that they work to tight deadlines or at high working speed at least a quarter of their time rose from 50% in 1991 to over 60% in 2005 and has remained stable since then. Background In 2002, during a social partner consultation, the Commission highlighted the need for a minimum level of protection of workers against work-related stress building on the general provisions of the EU Health and Safety Framework Directive (Directive 89/391/EEC). The European social partners chose to deal with this through a European autonomous framework agreement, as provided for by Article 155 of the Lisbon Treaty. These agreements can be implemented either through EU legislation or via the action of national affiliates of EU social partners, in line with traditions and practices specific to each Member State. At EU level, there are four agreements implemented by workers' and employers' representatives covering telework, stress at work, violence and harassment and inclusive labour markets. The agreement on stress at work is the second agreement of this kind..

IP/11/223

Brussels, 24 February 2011

Health and safety at work: workers' and employers' agreement is helping to deal with stress at work

Over the last ten years, work-related stress has increased in nine Member States and has only fallen in Sweden. Studies suggest that between 50% and 60% of all lost working days are related to stress. In France for example, the cost of stress has been reported to reach at least €2 to €3 billion each year. In the UK it's estimated that 10 million working days are lost due to anxiety, stress and depression linked to work. The direct costs related to stress at work are now estimated to be as high as 4% of EU GDP. In response to these developments, European workers' and employers' representatives reached an agreement in 2004 to ensure a minimum level of protection against stress at work. The European Commission has published an evaluation of this agreement, concluding that it has had positive effects where implemented. In particular, employers' and workers' efforts have led to policy developments in 12 Member States where little had been done before. Although the agreement has not been implemented evenly in all countries, 19 Member States now have legislation or binding collective agreements that address stress or other psychological risks at work.

Presenting the new report, László Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said: “Here we see how a European agreement followed up by employers and workers at national level can concretely improve working conditions in Europe. He added: "We know that stress can be a structural problem related to work organisation rather than to individuals, which is why the social partners are often best placed to take action in this area. I call on employers and workers to continue their positive work and address shortcomings, particularly in those countries where joint action has been limited so far.”

The 2004 social partner agreement – concluded by all cross-industry European social partners (Business Europe, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC) – aims to raise awareness of work-related stress and provide a framework for action. The role of employers is to identify risk factors for stress and to try to match responsibility better with skills; consult workers on restructuring and new technologies; and to provide support to individuals and teams.

The Commission's evaluation of the agreement concludes that the 2004 agreement has successfully triggered social dialogue and policy developments in the field of occupational stress in most Member States. The rules on work-related stress have been enshrined in different ways through collective or general social partner agreements, guidelines or legislation. In many countries, the social partners complemented action with effective awareness-raising campaigns and practical instruments, such as stress assessment tools and training.

At the same time, the agreement has not been implemented evenly throughout Europe. Social partners in Malta, Cyprus, Poland and Slovenia have not reported on the follow-up to their commitments and results in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Estonia have fallen short of expectations. The report emphasises how improvements must be made across the board.

According to social partners, while individuals are ‘well adapted to cope with short-term exposure to pressure’, prolonged exposure to stressful situations can do significant damage. The most important stress factors are work demands, room for manoeuvre, social relations, emotional demands, value and ethical conflicts and employment insecurity. Over time, these factors have increased. For instance, the share of workers reporting that they work to tight deadlines or at high working speed at least a quarter of their time rose from 50% in 1991 to over 60% in 2005 and has remained stable since then.

Background

In 2002, during a social partner consultation, the Commission highlighted the need for a minimum level of protection of workers against work-related stress building on the general provisions of the EU Health and Safety Framework Directive (Directive 89/391/EEC). The European social partners chose to deal with this through a European autonomous framework agreement, as provided for by Article 155 of the Lisbon Treaty. These agreements can be implemented either through EU legislation or via the action of national affiliates of EU social partners, in line with traditions and practices specific to each Member State.

At EU level, there are four agreements implemented by workers' and employers' representatives covering telework, stress at work, violence and harassment and inclusive labour markets. The agreement on stress at work is the second agreement of this kind..

Mega-capacity Urea Plants – TEC’s Approach

Mega-capacity Urea Plants

– TEC’s Approach

H. M

ORIKAWA

, E. S

AKATA

, Y. K

OJIMA

, G. N

ISHIKAWA

Toyo Engineering Corporation

2-8-1 Akanehama, Narashin

o-shi, Chiba 275-0024, Japan

In accordance with increased production capacity of the recent ammonia plants, the

production capacity of urea plant also becomes large. To meet such demands, TEC 

has established the design of 3,500 metric tons per day (mtpd) urea plants based on

the ACES Urea Process by confirming all considerable aspects of process, equipment

fabrication, construction and so forth.This paper reports how TEC evaluates the

investigation results and concluded thatthe Mega-capacity Urea Plantdesign and construction in comparison with currentlyoperated 1,750 mtpd ACES Process urea plants can be realized. 

 

 

2002_Mega-capacity_Urea_Plants.pdf 884K   View   Download

Control the Power of Your Lockout/Tagout Training

The objective of the following exercise is to evaluate authorized employees' understanding of hazardous energy sources and control of hazardous energy with lockout/tagout.

Instructions:

1. Discuss your workplace lockout/tagout program and procedures. Bring lockout/tagout devices that are used at your operation and review their uses.______________________________________________________
2. List the types of energy sources at your workplace. Identify the equipment at your workplace that needs to be locked out.
   ________________________________________________________
3. Discuss an incident or near miss when equipment accidentally started. What was the root cause? What was changed to prevent reoccurrence?
   ________________________________________________________
4. Choose a machine or piece of equipment subject to lockout/tagout. Identify all energy sources that have to be locked out/tagged out before anyone can service or repair the machine or equipment. Have an authorized employee demonstrate your company's specific shutdown and restart procedures.
   
   Note any recommendations or observations during the exercise, and discuss them with the appropriate personnel.

---

Guidance

The following are examples of lockout/tagout and restart procedures.
The lockout/tagout procedures must include the following steps:

1. Preparing for shutdown,
2. Shutting down the machine(s) or equipment,
3. Isolating the machine or equipment from the energy source(s),
4. Supplying the lockout or tagout device(s) to the energy-isolating device(s),
5. Safely releasing all potentially hazardous stored or residual energy, and
6. Verifying the isolation of the machine(s) or equipment before the start of service or maintenance work.

        
In addition, before lockout or tagout devices are removed and energy is restored to the machines or equipment, certain steps must be taken to reenergize equipment after service is completed, including:

1. Ensuring that machines or equipment components are operationally intact; and
2. Notifying affected employees that lockout or tagout devices are removed from each energy-isolating device by the employee who applied the device.   

Remember

All employees must understand the purpose, function, and restrictions of the energy control program and understand that authorized employees possess the knowledge and skills necessary for the safe application, use, and removal of energy controls.

Why It Matters

• Almost 3 million workers in the United States are at risk every day from uncontrolled energy when servicing equipment—there are roughly 3,600 disabling and 4,000 nondisabling electrical contact injuries every year.
• In many cases, injuries could have been avoided by simply turning off equipment.
• According to a recent survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80% of workers fail to turn off equipment before performing service work.
• In a recent year, more employers failed to comply with OSHA's strict lockout/tagout regulations than any other standard except hazard communication.

                                                                                                                                                          

REPAIR WORKS IN UREA SYNTHESIS REACTOR - ANTICORROSIVE LINING WITH TITANIUM

REPAIR WORKS IN UREA SYNTHESIS REACTOR - ANTICORROSIVE LINING WITH TITANIUM Processes for the production of urea normally used in industry comprise at least one section which operates at high temperatures and pressures (synthesis loop), at which the process fluids, i.e. water, ammonia and especially saline solutions, become particularly aggressive. Normal carbon steel is not capable of resisting the corrosion of these fluids at a high temperature and undergoes a progressive deterioration which weakens the structure causing external losses and even explosions. Corrosion or erosion is particularly caused in urea reactors by contact with solutions of ammonium carbamate at the high temperatures and pressures necessary for the synthesis of urea. There are numerous metals and alloys capable of withstanding for sufficiently long periods, the potentially corrosive conditions arising inside a synthesis reactor of urea. Anticorrosive titanium lining of urea reactor is obtained by the assembly of titanium element having adequate resistance to corrosion, so as to form, at the end, a hermetically sealed structure at the high operating pressure. Titanium material used for the protective lining is capable of tolerating contact with the process fluids without undergoing corrosion or alterations in urea reactor for prolonged periods. TITANIUM LINING WORKS IN UREA REACTOR

Compilation of EHSQ COMMENTS

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