08:51 pm, Friday 1 October, 2010

A 15-year-old boy was hurt after cutting himself with an angle grinder in south-east Queensland on Wednesday.

A call was received by ambulance officers about the incident at a Glastonbury property near Gympie about 8:30am (AEST).

The teen broke his left forearm and sustained a 20-centimetre gash due to the power tool accident.

He was transported by air to a Brisbane hospital for treatment.

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07:53 am, Thursday 30 September, 2010

A two-month campaign has been launched by WorkCover NSW, with inspectors carrying out a statewide inspection of construction sites to ensure workers involved in concrete formwork are properly trained.

Since February this year, formworkers in the state no longer need a Certificate of Competency, but they must still undergo proper safety training.

The decision not to require certificates of competency for people working with formwork or explosive-powered tools had arisen from the Government’s commitment to reduce red tape without compromising safety standards.

Furthermore, an extensive research and consultation revealed no discernible difference in the incident and fatality rate in NSW when compared to the other jurisdictions, where licensing is not required for formwork and explosive-powered tool operators.

The concreting services industry employs about 53,000 NSW workers.

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08:06 am, Tuesday 14 September, 2010

A school in Burpengary has been fined after dangerous asbestos particles were released during a demolition work.

Education Queensland said it is investigating the incident and looking into the issue of asbestos contamination.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) sent an inspector to the school on Wednesday after receiving complaints about a lack of proper barricading and excessive noise at the construction site.

The WHSQ inspector discovered the major safety breach by chance when he saw a contractor disassembling buildings, which are believed to be more than 25 years old.

The worker was reportedly carving through asbestos sheeting with power tools to make way for a Building the Education Revolution-funded teaching block.

According to Education Queensland, none of the 1,050 students and staff were in the area during the incident.

Acting Deputy Director General of Infrastructure Services Graham Atkins said WHSQ has imposed a $1600 penalty due to the incident, payable by the school. The contractor has also been ordered to pay a fine of $800.

Atkins said protocol had been disregarded, noting that a Work Area Access Permit had not been issued by the school to the contractor before demolition started. The document was supposed to identify all locations of asbestos and its condition.

“This matter will be reviewed as part of the department’s investigation into this incident.”

He clarified that the demolition work was not funded by BER, although it was undertaken for preparation for a BER-funded project.

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