Friday, January 22, 2021
Australia
Certain NICNAS Exemption Provisions Available Until August 31, 2022: Australia announced on December 17, 2020, that under the transitional arrangements, some exemption provisions that existed under the previous law, the Industrial Chemicals (Notification and Assessment) Act 1989, will be available to introducers until
August 31, 2022. Introductions made under this arrangement are taken to be Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) “reported introductions” under Section 27 of the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (current law). Australia states that this means that if the introduction meets the criteria for one of the exemption provisions that existed under the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS), companies are authorized to introduce the chemical under AICIS as a “reported introduction” until
NFF spokesman Ben Rogers said the organisation believed the government’s proposals were a “sensible middle ground”.
“On the one hand there’s the safety risk, but on the other hand there’s the risk of overregulation and making them impossible to be used or generally unavailable,” he said.
“We recognise quad bikes are an important vehicle. We want to continue to have use of them.
“But we have to be realistic that there is a serious safety risk here. If it’s not addressed in some way shape or form, some more drastic measures are going to be taken, either by work, health and safety regulators or the federal government banning them.”
But the most effective way to reduce risk of spread in buildings and workplaces “is through ensuring physical distancing requirements are complied with, encouraging staff and any visitors to maintain good hygiene, and environmental cleaning,” the Safe Work Australia advice says.
What is the latest international advice?
Poorly maintained HVAC systems may be a concern. World Health Organization advice states a well-maintained system can reduce the spread in indoor spaces by increasing the rate of air change, reducing recirculation of air and increasing the use of outdoor air. “Recirculation modes should not be used,” the advice says. “HVAC systems should be regularly inspected, maintained, and cleaned.”
traumatic joint/ligament and muscle/tendon injuries (39% of all serious claims)
wounds, lacerations, amputations and internal organ damage (16%)
musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases (16%).
Key findings from the trend analysis from 2008-09 to 2017-18 include:
The rate of serious claims per million hours worked decreased by 26% (from 7.7 to 5.7 serious claims per million hours worked) from 2008-09 to 2017-18.
The median time lost for a serious claim increased by 24% (from 5.0 to 6.2 working weeks) from 2008-09 to 2017-18.
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