Work-related fatalities still not acceptable

Accidents cut in paper industry, but work-related fatalities still not acceptable An industry safety initiative conducted between April 1998 and March 2001 cut deaths and serious injuries.

An industry safety initiative conducted between April 1998 and March 2001 cut deaths and serious injuries by over a quarter and led to a marked improvement in health and safety in the UK's paper mills, according to new research published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Greenstreet Berman, who have carried out the research on behalf of HSE, are confirming that there has been a 27% reduction in the rates of fatal and major accidents within paper mills in the UK.

They have also concluded that there have been significant improvements in a range of other health and safety performance indicators within the industry which, if sustained, are likely to lead to further reductions in accidents.

The reduction in the so-called PABIAC initiative fell well short of the 50% which the industry set itself as a target, though it was achieved against a backdrop of a difficult economic climate and a 30% increase in production.

Meanwhile, provisional statistics for the year 2001/2002 indicate a decrease of 15% in the number of fatal injuries amongst Britain's workers generally, with 249 deaths compared to 292 in 2000/01.

The rate of fatal injury dropped from 1.03 to 0.88 per 100,000 workers over the same period.

The number of fatal injuries to employees fell from 213 to 204, while fatal injuries to the self-employed fell from 79 to 45.

Of the 249 fatalities, 79 occurred in the construction industry and 39 in agriculture.

In terms of type of fatality 698 deaths were due to falls from height, 43 from moving or flying objects, and 40 from moving vehicles.

However, the figures are still 13% higher than two years ago.

Back to top