Paul Swuste

The safety adviser/manager as agent of organisational change: a new challenge to expert training

Abstract There is a great need for health and safety advisers/managers to act as agents of change, both in respect to the technology of the company and the design of its workplaces, and in the organisation of the company health and safety management system. This article reports on the development of training to meet these increasing needs. The postgraduate masters course ‘Management of Safety, Health and Environment’ of the Delft University of Technology has now introduced a course-module of 1 week, addressing the issue of the learning organisation and the specific role of the safety adviser/manager. The course-module starts from the assumption that for a health and safety adviser/manager his or her personal effectiveness and ability to influence and stimulate others are qualities as important to a company as the quality of a safety and health management system. This paper will describe the development in the role of the safety adviser/manager and the mainstream thinking on change management and training. The consequence for the content and programme features of the course-module is presented as well as the results of the evaluation of its effectiveness.

An Expert System for the Evaluation of Historical Asbestos Exposure as Diagnostic Criterion in Asbestos-related Diseases

Compensation schemes for asbestos-related diseases have developed different strategies for attributing a specific disease to occupational exposure to asbestos in the past. In the absence of quantitative exposure information that allows a valid estimate of an individuals historical exposure, general guidelines are required to retrospectively evaluate asbestos exposure. A risk matrix has been developed that contains qualitative information on the proportion of workers exposed and the level of exposure in particular industries over time. Based on this risk matrix, stepwise decision trees were formulated for decisions regarding the decisive role of historical asbestos exposure in case ascertainment of asbestosis and mesothelioma. Application of decision schemes will serve to speed up the process of verifying compensation claims and also contribute to a uniform decision-making process in legal procedures.

Exposure to inhalable dust and its cyclohexane soluble fraction since the 1970s in the rubber manufacturing industry in the European Union

Objectives: As exposures to airborne particulates in the European rubber industry might still be causing genotoxic risks, it is important to assess trends in levels of inhalable dust and its cyclohexane soluble fraction (CSF) between the 1970s and 2003. Methods: 13 380 inhalable and 816 respirable dust and 5657 CSF measurements, collected within the framework of the European Union Concerted Action EXASRUB, were analysed. Hierarchical mixed effects models were applied to assess exposure trends, taking into account between-factory, between-worker/location and day-to-day variances. Results: Geometric mean levels of inhalable dust and CSF exposure changed by −4 (range −5.8 to +2.9) and −3 (range −8.6 to 0) per year, respectively. Significant reductions in inhalable dust concentrations were found in all countries for handling of crude materials and mixing and milling (−7 to −4 per year), as well as for miscellaneous workers (−11 to −5 per year), while significant CSF exposure reductions were found in curing (−8.6 per year) and maintenance and engineering departments (−5.4 per year). Conclusion: These analyses suggest that on average exposure levels of inhalable dust and its CSF in the European rubber manufacturing industry have steadily declined. Most likely genotoxic risks have also lessened over time since exposure levels have decreased and the most toxic chemicals have been replaced. In addition to differences in exposure reductions and levels among various stages of the production process, large differences across countries were noted. These patterns should be taken into account in retrospective assessment of exposure for epidemiological studies assessing cancer risk in the rubber industry.

Assessment of cancer risks due to environmental exposure to asbestos

In a rural area widespread pollution of friable and non-friable waste products was present, used to harden dirt tracks, yards, and driveways during 1935–1974. Exposure to environmental asbestos was assessed by a site approach, based on number of polluted sites within postal code areas, and by a household approach, based on number of households in the close vicinity to polluted sites within postal code areas. Based on asbestos soil investigations, 293 sites were identified with asbestos waste material at the surface, of which 77% contained crocidolite fibres as well as chrysotile fibres. The 293 sites-at-risk varied from 5 m2 to 2722 m2 and were surrounded by 347 households within 100 m of these sites. Distance to the plant was associated with the number of sites (r=0.36), and with the number of households (r=0.52). However, categorization of postal code areas into low, intermediate or high likelihood of exposure to asbestos showed a modest agreement between the site and household approach. In the site approach a total of 2.3 million person-years at risk were estimated with an average exposure of 1674 fibres/m3 and an expected 1.8 cases of malignant mesothelioma each year. The household approach resulted in estimates of 1.2 million person-years at risk, and 0.9 cases of malignant mesothelioma per year, respectively. This study illustrates that asbestos waste on the surface of roads and yards in an area with over 130,000 inhabitants may result in long-term exposure to asbestos that will cause several cases of malignant mesothelioma each year. Although distance to plant, number of polluted sites and number of exposed household were associated, the modest agreement among these measures of exposure indicate that the exposure assessment strategy chosen in a particular study may result in considerable misclassification. Without detailed information on individual behaviour within the polluted area, it is difficult to show that a more individually oriented approach will perform better than an ecological approach.

Databases on Measures to Prevent Occupational Exposure to Toxic Substances

Abstract In various countries databanks have been set up to collect and stimulate transfer of information on practical experience to prevent occupational exposure to health-threatening factors. This article presents the results of a study of existing databanks. The selection, storage, and retrieval of relevant records was studied along with the effectiveness of existing databanks in transferring information between companies and industries. The databanks provide descriptive and condensed information, two to four pages long, including graphic presentations of the solution, and are primarily focused on an audience with marginal training in occupational safety and health. The main function of existing databanks is to stimulate creativity among user-groups rather than providing clear-cut solutions to be implemented immediately. It is yet unproven whether current public databanks fill a need, and the effectiveness of the databank in transferring information is not yet clear. Databanks within large companies se...

Linking Expert Judgement and Trends in Occupational Exposure into a Job-Exposure Matrix for Historical Exposure to Asbestos in The Netherlands

The aim of this article was to describe the structure and content of a job-exposure matrix (JEM) for historical asbestos exposure in The Netherlands. The JEM contained 309 occupational job title groups in 70 branches of industry during 10 periods of 5 years during 1945-1994, resulting in 3090 evaluations. Dutch sources on asbestos exposure measurements provided quantitative guidance for 69 evaluations (2.2%) in 25 occupational title groups. In addition, three databases from the UK Health and Safety Executive contributed to 222 evaluations (7.2%) and several other sources aided in another 133 evaluations (4.3%). These evaluations resulted in seven categories of exposure levels for all 3090 combinations of occupational title groups and periods. A verification process with five experts was used to adjust the assignments of exposure categories. The trends in exposure patterns over time were described in relation to production activities, operational control measures and the presence of dust control measures. For the majority of asbestos-related diseases in the past decades, reliable information on their historical exposure patterns was lacking. The limited availability of exposure measurements in the past illustrates the need for a structured assessment of historical asbestos exposure through a JEM.

Evaluation of accident scenarios in a dutch steel works using a hazard and operability study

This paper investigates the usefulness of the Hazard and Operability technique, (HAZOP) as a tool for predicting relevant accident scenarios by applying this technique, together with a specific design analysis technique, in a Dutch steelworks. Adaptation of the hazop guide words to the steelworks process functions enables the identification of possible production deviations in the newly built ladle arc furnace and in the transport to and from the furnace. The deviations, which are all related to disturbances in the production process, are clustered on a common consequence base and by assigning high and low incidence grades to the clusters, 13 accident scenarios can be formulated. Reviewing 16 months of experience with the ladle arc furnace shows that 58% of actual deviations can be brought under the defined production-related accident scenarios. Another 28% can be explained by introducing three additional maintenance-related accident scenarios.

Asbestos, Asbestos-related Diseases, and Compensation Claims in The Netherlands

Abstract In The Netherlands the number of asbestos-related diseases is increasing. An age-cohort model predicts a steep rise in pleural mesothelioma deaths up to 490 cases per year among men, with a total death. toll close over 12,000 cases during 2000–2028. In the past decade the number of Cornpensation claims for asbestos-related diseases has more than doubled, with increasingly verdicts in favor of claimants. In addition to the medical information, information about the state of the art of preventive measures in different periods of time plays a decisive role in these claims. The use of asbestos in The Netherlands, the occurrence of, asbestos related diseases, the national asbestos regulations, and the position of the claimants in asbestos lawsuits in The Netherlands are reviewed.

Sharing workplace solutions by solution data banks

Abstract The need to exchange information on solutions and control measures to reduce occupational hazards has become an important issue amongst occupational safety and health professionals. During the first conference of the IOHA this issue was discussed during the successful workshop “Sharing knowledge on preventive measures”. An expert working group of the European Commission has recently drawn up a report advising the development of a European initiative in this area, and in September 1994 a WHO working group was formed on this topic. Data banks on solutions are one of the possible ways to supply this information. This article summarizes the conclusions of the review of existing data banks and specifies the objectives and structure of a proposed bank. Based upon a consideration of the available classification systems for information on solutions, it specifies how data on solutions could be stored, and provides intelligent assistance to users in locating solutions close to the source or in gaining access to information on comparable processes which are intrinsically less hazardous. The proposed data bank has a navigation system with two principle entry points, corresponding to two basic types of solution: firstly based on the production process, subdivided into the production principle and function as an access point to substitute methods of production; secondly the hazard and its emission and transmission process as an access point for more conventional hygiene control measures. A third access directly to control measures can be used by expert users.

Avoiding square wheels: International experience in sharing solutions

Following initiatives in the UK and Sweden, pioneering work was carried out in Ballarat to set up schemes for sharing health and safety solutions in industry. Since 1990 work coordinated from the Netherlands has been undertaken to extend and develop the systems available in Europe and internationally for exchange of information about solutions. An inventory of existing schemes and initiatives led to the establishment of a network of interested organisations at European level and to the establishment of a group under the auspices of the World Health Organisation (PACE). This network has lobbied successfully for the incorporation of the task of information dissemination in the objectives of the European Health and Safety Agency. Currently a pilot project is being set up to develop and test the necessary collection, storage, coding and dissemination networks in a number of European countries. The core of a successful scheme is the support it gives to people with specific problems searching for useful solutions. An intelligent software support system has been developed in prototype and will be tested in the pilot project. Its development has forced the research team to take a close look at the fundamental principles linking health and safety problems to solutions and to question some of the assumptions underlying them. The codification of existing knowledge about practical solutions and how to stimulate people to consider and use them turns out to be far more complex than most experts at first anticipate.