Commercial composting is becoming more prevalent in the UK as biodegradable municipal waste is being diverted from landfill. Exposure to the organisms actively grown during the composting of waste are known to cause adverse effects on respiratory health when these organisms, or fragments of these organisms, become airborne forming a ‘bioaerosol’. The aim of this Thesis is to characterise compost workers’ exposure levels to bioaerosols by measuring their exposure to dust, endotoxin and β-(1-3) glucan and to use this exposure data to inform the development of evidence-based risk assessment and risk mitigation measures. In general, workers’ exposure to dust was low in the four sites studied but there was extensive variation in personal exposure levels. The inhalable fraction was found to be the predominant fraction of concern. Manual sorting and the screening of final product gave rise to high exposures to inhalable dust on occasion. Despite dust levels being generally low, workers’ exposures to endotoxin and to a lesser extent β-(1-3) glucan were elevated and workers were exposed to levels thought to be related to respiratory symptoms and disease. Any activities involving the movement of waste resulted in elevated levels of endotoxin and β-(1-3) glucan at all four sites investigated in this study. Vehicle operators’ exposure levels were high and a multi-faceted strategy is needed to reduce exposure levels to an acceptable level. Currently, no Workplace Exposure Limits or agreed dose-response estimates exist in the UK to manage workers’ exposure levels. Consequently the risk to worker’s health is difficult to characterise. The COSHH Regulations require employers to reduce compost workers’ exposure levels to bioaerosols ‘so far as is reasonably practical’. This study discusses the need for site-specific, task-specific risk assessments to be conducted and that robust risk mitigation measures are required to minimise the impact on compost workers health.

No description available.

No description available.

The construction industry contributes one in six industrial fatalities per year with approximately 60,000 deaths on construction sites around the world. Undeniably, health and safety in the UK construction industry has improved significantly; however the industry is still considered as one of the most dangerous, responsible for 39 fatalities in 2012/13. Unfortunately, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in construction account for 90% of these fatalities at work. However, some may assert although not at zero accidents, large companies have got health and safety ‘just as good as it can get’. Arguably, an average SME’s health and safety performance is often undermined by a rigid dichotomy between perceived need for commitment to health and safety and profitability. Some proponents of commitment to health and safety claim that upholding safety best practice is, without doubt, the most crucial investment that can be made. However, there is substantial cynicism by most SMEs as to this claim; and it is often the case that financial pressure and the disbelief about returns on commitment to safety make SMEs cut corners. Attempts by past studies to measure commitment to health and safety against the profitability of organisations, seem to be scarce. Thus, this study aim is to explore the role of organisations’ commitment to health and safety in the profitability of construction organisations. Construction firms that are committed to health and safety may reap the benefits of: having cleaner sites, better-motivated workers, reduced insurance premiums, avoid unexpected cost of safety, better productivity and thus better profitability. The study employed a mixed methods research design over two phases. The first phase was conducted using key SMEs operating in the UK to derive the influence of SMEs’ commitment to health and safety best practice against profitability. Eighty seven participants representing various firms completed a questionnaire. The profitability over five years of companies for whom the participants worked was determined by reference to company’s accounts published at Companies House Ltd. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten industry practitioners and two academics; in order to support the development of discussion and conclusion. The research findings show that SMEs’ commitment to health and safety is good but falls short of being very good, excellent or outstanding. The study conclude that, there is a relationship between percentage commitment to health and safety and the profitability of organisations; in addition the study also inferred that remedial costs of safety (depending on severity of adverse safety incident) is likely to negatively affect the profitability of organisations.

This research investigates the risk-factors associated with workplace accidents by analysing data generated by Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), a framework in which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) collects reports of workplace accidents and injuries. It is reported by the HSE that work-related accidents are a significant problem facing today's workforce. Unfortunately, however, occupational health and safety have largely been under researched. Little work has previously been carried out surrounding the key determinants of workplace accidents, how these determinants might vary geographically, and whether physical conditions, such as the weather and levels of daylight, might impact levels of occupational health and safety. This research therefore seeks to address these gaps by examining the socio-economic and physical determinants of workplace accidents and injuries, and examines whether the relationships between these risk-factors and accident rates vary geographically and seasonally. Three distinct methods are utilised in analysing the RIDDOR data. These methods include: a global regression analysis based on a set of socio-economic characteristics of workers, a Geographically Weighted Regression analysis of these characteristics on three case study regions: North West England, North East England and London, and text mining, in the form of topic modelling the free-text fields of descriptions of incidents reported under RIDDOR. The key results reveal that age and socio-economic class are influencing factors of workplace accidents. Occupation type is also found to have an effect on workplace accident risk, with workers in low skilled jobs associated with an increased risk of having a work-related injury compared to workers in highly skilled occupations. The relationships between these risk-factors and accident rates have been found to vary geographically, with risk-factors appearing to have a stronger relationship with workplace accidents in particular seasons compared to others. Policy recommendations are formulated to equip the HSE with the knowledge of the key high-risk groups within the workplace population so that preventative measures can be established to reduce the rates of workplace accidents in the future.

No description available.

No description available.

Many people work in uncomfortable thermal environments where the need to perform manual handling tasks is a fundamental requirement. A review of the research into the effects of performing manual handling in these environments revealed design limitations and gaps in knowledge. Current industry guidance merely states that 'extremes of heat and humidity should be avoided'. The purpose of this thesis was to study participants' physiological and subjective responses while lifting in hot, warm and cold environments. Three studies were conducted using the psychophysical approach where participants self-selected the load in a floor to knuckle-height lift. For the first study 12 males (mean +/- sd), age 25.2 +/- 6 yrs, mass 74.9 +/-11.9 kg, stature 1.73 +/- 0.1m were recruited and acclimated over five days (1 hr sessions) in an environmental chamber at 38°C, 70% relative humidity (RH). They completed 15x35-min trials on consecutive weekdays in five environments: thermoneutral, 21 °C, 45% RH (17°C WBGT); warm-dry, 30°C, 25% RH (22°C WBGT); warm-humid, 30°C, 65% RH (27°C WBGT); hot-dry, 39°C, 22% RH (27°C WBGT); hot-humid, 38°C, 70% RH (34°C WBGT) and three lift frequencies: 1, 4.3 and 6.7 lifts.min -1. Heart rate and aural temperature were significantly higher and maximum acceptable weight of lift (MAWL) significantly lower in the hot-humid environment compared to all others. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were significantly higher in hot-humid compared to both warm-dry and thermoneutral. Although participants reduced workloads in the heat, they did not compensate adequately. There were no significant differences in response between two environments with the same WBGT (27°C).Secondly, 12 males, age 26 +/- 5.6 yrs, mass 75.1 +/- 9.2kg, stature 1.77 +/- 0.1m were recruited. They completed 15x35-min trials in five environments: thermoneutral, 16°C, 65% RH; 10°C, 55% RH; 5°C, 45% RH; 0°C, 55% RH (standard ensemble); 0°C, 55% RH (enhanced ensemble) and the same three lift frequencies. MAWL significantly decreased at higher lift frequencies. Mean aural temperature was significantly lower at 0°C (standard) compared to thermoneutral. Mean MAWLs were higher than in the heat suggesting that participants increased activity to keep warm possibly placing them at greater risk of musculoskeletal injury. In all environments below thermoneutral the mean end aural temperature was < 36.2°C when lifting at 1 lift.min[-1].Finally, 10 males, age 28.4 +/- 5.1 yrs, mass 79.5 +/- 13.1 kg, stature 1.8 +/- 0.1 m were recruited to assess the effects of face-cooling on physiological strain and perceived exertion while lifting at 6.7 lifts.min[-1] in 30°C, 65% RH (27°C WBGT). Face-cooling significantly reduced local skin temperature and heart rate. There were no other significant differences. Face-cooling seems to be limited to mediating RPE (encompassing thermal strain) independent of core temperature which might continue to rise. The following recommendations are suggested for inclusion in future industry guidance. Workers should not regulate their own workloads in uncomfortable environments. RH does not impose additional strain in air temperatures up to 30°C. At ~39°C care must be taken when RH exceeds 25%. Attention must be paid to workers' clothing ensembles in temperatures below 16°C so that they provide adequate insulation. Finally, face-cooling should not be thought of as a protective mechanism against heat stress.

This research study aims to analyse and compare the policies adopted to enforce occupational health and safety regulations by the English and Italian enforcement institutions. The objectives of the study are to a) analyse and compare how English and Italian occupational health and safety enforcement (OHSE) officers perceive, interpret and appreciate discretionary enforcement practices, b) understand the extent to which resources affect English and Italian health and safety enforcement officers’ activities and the criminal justice system’s response to health and safety crimes, and c) understand how English and Italian OHSE officers perceive the attitude and responses of employers, government, judiciary and media towards their work and occupational health and safety crimes. The method used to conduct the research fieldwork seeks to explore the subject area through qualitative, semi-structured interviews with front-line enforcement officers, and data analysed with thematic Framework theory. The comparative nature of the work represents one of its main contributions to knowledge. The analysis shows that permitting discretionary practices, which is allowed but managed in England and prohibited in Italy, might empower enforcement officers excessively. Discretion helps officers and the agency to choose the best policy to achieve compliance, but also the best for their own interests. The analysis also shows that enforcement activities are affected by resources. However, while in England enforcement policies are more easily affected by resources, in Italy resources are more often decided according to the enforcement policies used. The Italian system places greater emphasis on the protections of workers’ civil rights. Lastly, the study discovers that the attitude of employers, government, the judiciary and media towards health and safety can have profound effects on the decisions taken by the enforcement officers and institutions. In particular, it emerges that inspectors are affected mostly by governmental and media influences.

No description available.