Significantly lower air contamination thresholds have not only meant greater responsibility for employers in assessing the potential release of hazardous substances as part of the risk analysis and the health and safety documentation process but have also introduced higher standards for estimating exposure levels. One problem is that the performance limits of the measurement and analysis equipment make it difficult ...
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Basic Principles of Explosion Protection
While explosions are fortunately quite rare, if they do happen the consequences are usually serious – explosions are among the five most frequent causes of fatal accidents. It is therefore extremely important to prevent their occurrence and, if that is not possible, at least to limit their impact and contain their spread. 1 How does an explosion occur? The four ...
Read More »Mine Rescue Services in Germany after the End of Hard Coal Mining
With the decline in domestic hard coal production and its termination at the end of 2018, and the subsequent transition to post-mining, the number of mine rescuers in this mining branch has dropped from almost 1,000 around ten years ago to fewer than 300 in 2020. In the German non-coal mining sector, the reduction in numbers has been less pronounced ...
Read More »Milestone Set – Gap Closed
Many member companies of the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (BG RCI) with its headquarter in Heidelberg use processing machinery and plants for raw materials, from crushing, milling and screening of raw material in quarries to the recycling of construction material (Figure 1). Serious, sometimes fatal, accidents are a recurring issue in, and ...
Read More »Elimination of Cyclone Blockages in a Cement Works – Reaching Effective Protective Measures with a Risk Assessment
The work required for the elimination of cyclone blockages is among the most dangerous in the process of cement production. Based on the example presented here, the risk and stress assessments that are at the centre of all occupational safety measures are explained step by step. Particular attention is thereby paid to the assessment of the residual risk, which nevertheless ...
Read More »All Good Things Come in Fours // The Effort Has Been Well Worth While // Legal Certainty for Blasting Operations // All-Time Low in Workplace Accidents
By the second half of 2020 the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (BG RCI), Heidelberg/Germany, was again endowing companies with its Systematic Safety seal of approval, the recipients being the cement and concrete producers Schwenk Beton Nordost GmbH & Co. KG, Rostock, and the Edelsplitt- und Rheinkieswerk Helmlingen GmbH & Co. KG, Rheinau/Germany. ...
Read More »Assessment of Working Conditions at Mining-Metallurgical Enterprises
In this paper, a comprehensive assessment of the psycho-physiological state of coke production workers within real production scenarios regarding mining enterprises was completed. The objects of research have been workers of the coke-chemical production ArcelorMittal Temirtau in Kazakhstan. To define preventive measures, the criteria to identify risk groups and loss of efficiency were calculated and a prediction model for the ...
Read More »Coronavirus Impacts Accident Statistics
The coronavirus pandemic had a significant impact on the incidence of accidents and illnesses at work in the first half of 2020. The situation is underscored by the provisional figures published by the federation of employers’ liability associations and social accident insurance funds, the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV), Berlin/Germany, on 5th October 2020. While the number of accidents at ...
Read More »An End to Chaotic Notes, Smombies and Hazardous Solvents
The VISION ZERO promotion award of the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (BG RCI), Heidelberg/Germany, was awarded for the 22nd time in 2020. A total of 447 women and men from all across Germany submitted 189 entries for their participation in the competition. Awards in five categories honoured 20 winners from five companies ...
Read More »Expedient and Efficient Action for Safety and Health at Work
Appropriate actions for the protection of employees from contracting the SARS-CoV-2 Virus – this can be a real challenge because anyone delving into the subject quickly comes across a large number of publications and recommendations from a wide variety of sources. What can easily be lost in the process is the view of the “big picture”. What really needs to ...
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