CENTRAL LABOUR INSTITUTE: CIS NATIONAL CENTRE OF INDIA FOR INFORMATION ON INTERNATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

CIS (from the French name, Centre International d’information dr securite et d’hygiene du travail) i.e. International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre, is a part of the International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland. The mission of CIS is to collect world literature that can contribute to the prevention of occupational hazards and to disseminate this information at an international level. CIS imparts to its users the most comprehensive and up-to-date information in the field of Occupational Safety and Health. The work of CIS is supported by a worldwide Safety and Health information exchange network, which includes over 91 Centres. Central Labour Institute, Mumbai has been designated as the CIS National Centres of India. CIS can offer you rapid access to comprehensive information on occupational safety and health through its abstracts on latest OSH publications, the CIS Thesaurus and ILO Bulletin ‘Safety and health at Work’.

EXCERPTS FROM CIS DOC

TITLE: A universal model for safety excellence.

(CIS 08-19)

Senior executives seeking to improve safety results in their organizations continue to ask themselves why employees act unsafely and have accidents. This article argues that the basic reasons for poor safety performance lie with management, and include unclear vision, weak values, poor leadership, faulty organization, poor human relationships, inadequate communications, inaccurate measurement and lack of consequences. To achieve safety excellence, senior executives need to: clarify their vision; establish their values; demonstrate their leadership; assign key roles within their organizations; build trusting relationships; communicate performance expectations; measure important metrics; implement consequences (rewards and penalties) that drive desired behaviour and results. (107537)

TITLE: Enhanced preventive programme at a Beryllium Oxide ceramics facility reduces Beryllium sensitization among new workers. (CIS 08-61)

A 1998 survey at a beryllium oxide ceramics manufacturing facility in the US found that 10% of workers hired in the previous six years had beryllium sensitization as determined by the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT). In response, the facility implemented an enhanced preventive programme to reduce sensitization, including increased respiratory and dermal protection. The aim of this study was to assess the programme's effectiveness. In 2000, the facility began testing newly hired workers for beryllium sensitization with the BeLPT at time of hire and at regular intervals during employment. The sensitization rate and prevalence for workers hired from 2000 to 2004 were compared with that for workers hired from 1993 to 1998, who were tested in the 1998 survey. It was found that the sensitization prevalence for the 1993-1998 workers was 8.4 times higher than that for the 2000-2004 workers, while airborne beryllium levels for production workers for the two periods were similar. (107588)

TITLE: Malignant mesothelioma: Global incidence and relationship with asbestos. (CIS 08-66)

Literature survey Mesothelioma incidence varies markedly from one country to another. The areas of high incidence generally correspond to the sites of industries with high asbestos use, such as shipbuilding and asbestos-cement industry. However, in some countries with high asbestos consumption, mesothelioma incidence is low. The reasons for this situation are not clear. Mesotheliomas generally develop after long-time exposures to asbestos and with latency periods of often more than 40 years. An inverse relationship exists between intensity of asbestos exposure and the length of the latency period. Some recent studies show that the risk increases with the duration of exposure. Possible co-factors in the pathogenesis of asbestos-related mesothelioma include genetic predisposition, diets poor in fruit and vegetables, some viruses, immune impairment and recurrent pleural inflammation. While a levelling-off in mesothelioma incidence has been registered in some countries, a worsening of the epidemic is predictable in large parts of the world. (107556)

Title: Mortality from non-malignant respiratory diseases among people with silicosis in Hong Kong: Exposure-response analyses for exposure to silica dust. (CIS 08-72)

The objective of this study was to examine the exposure-response relationships between exposure to silica dust and the mortality from non-malignant respiratory diseases (NMRDs) and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPDs) among a cohort of 2789 workers with silicosis in Hong Kong. Exposures in each industry were evaluated on the basis of historical industrial hygiene data. Exposure indices included cumulative dust exposure (CDE) and mean dust concentration (MDC). Findings were subjected to statistical analyses. From 1981 to 1999, there were 371 deaths from NMRDs in the cohort, of which and 101 were COPDs. CDE and MDC were significantly associated only with NMRD mortality. Subgroup analysis showed that deaths were significantly associated with both CDE and MDC among underground caisson workers and among those with high exposure to silica dust. A clear upward trend was also found for both NMRDs and COPDs mortality with increasing severity of radiological silicosis. (107585)

NOTE: For details, write to CIS National Centre for India, Central Labour Institute, Sion, Mumbai 400 022.

Ph. No.:- 022-24092203, Fax. No.:- 022-24071986.

Website: www.dgfasli.nic.in

QUOTABLE QUOTES

· “Safety first” is “Safety always”

– Charles M. Hayes

· Carelessness doesn’t bounce; it shatters

– Hartman Jule