RISK
MANAGEMENT CONTROL FOR HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
A
little known fact by many Australians is that there are more
people killed in Australia through workplace accidents than
the carnage on our roads.
For
example, in 1999 there were 1759 people killed as a result of
road accidents nationwide. 1998 workplace related deaths numbered
more than 2,300 and the figure keep escalating.
The
ACTU believes that this is just the tip of the iceberg - after
leaving the workplace, many people have been known to become
sick and eventually die and though not able to be quantified
at this stage, much of this is as a result of breathing in toxic
substances in the workplace over many years.
Though
not often given much consideration, it is documented that across
all industries and in the agricultural sector, there are constant
requirements to handle a variety of substances, be it to mix,
sift, transport, silo store and so on. It is becoming increasingly
evident that using basic traditional methods to do these things
causes the fumes, powders or liquids to be expelled. And they
can be and indeed in many instances are deadly.
A
simple product such as talcum powder, which is used by millions
everyday, can cause death when sufficiently inhaled by the human
body.
Workers
in bakeries, breweries, etc., have and can develop “Bakers
Lungs” and die due to the yeast ingredient entering their
body.
At
the other end of the scale, there is a need for better control
of the manufacturing process to eliminate the potential hazard
of product contamination which is not only dangerous to workers,
but also to consumers.
For
example, a recently documented case showed that a consumer died
after eating chocolate because of the peanut dust it contained.
Not normally a problem to most people, however, there are workers
in the chocolate and similar manufacturing industries who are
subjected to the same or other dust, who’s health is being
greatly jeopardised. In fact, John Melbourne, the author of
this submission is allergic to Iodine, and undoubtedly there
are others the same, who might be accidentally exposed to it
in their work environment.
J
S Melbourne Controls Pty Ltd is a totally Australian owned company
based in the Melbourne suburb of Bayswater.
Alarmed
by the ever increasing neglect of worker safety practices, managing
director and self-taught engineer John Melbourne has been specialising
in providing innovative solutions to workplace safety hazards,
particularly toxic substances - be they air borne fumes and
powders, or liquids.
His
often unconventional approaches have seen the development of
several products into the Australian and international markets
which greatly reduce or totally eliminate hazards to people
in the workplace. Many of these approaches have been controversial
to many conventionally held engineering principles, but they
are proving to do what John Melbourne intended, and that is
to enhance “risk management control for hazardous substances”.
