Call for nominations for 4th European good practice awards 2003
News release - 05.05.2003
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work invites nominations for the fourth European Good Practice Awards in occupational health and safety. The 2003 award scheme will recognise companies or organisations that have made outstanding and innovative contributions to the prevention of risks from dangerous substances at work, within enterprises. This includes prevention of risks from both chemical and biological substances. The awards will provide the winners with European recognition for their role in improving working conditions in Europe. In addition: Awarded enterprises/organisations will be invited to the closing event and award ceremony of the
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work invites nominations for the fourth European Good Practice Awards in occupational health and safety. The 2003 award scheme will recognise companies or organisations that have made outstanding and innovative contributions to the prevention of risks from dangerous substances at work, within enterprises. This includes prevention of risks from both chemical and biological substances.
The awards will provide the winners with European recognition for their role in improving working conditions in Europe. In addition:
- Awarded enterprises/organisations will be invited to the closing event and award ceremony of the European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2003 which takes place in Bilbao towards the end of 2003.
- The selected examples will be presented in an Agency brochure to be widely distributed across Europe and presented on the Agency’s website.
Good practice examples are implemented solutions to prevent the exposure of workers to dangerous substances. All entries should show good management, particularly the effective use of risk assessment and implementation of its findings, and be focused on ‘successful prevention of risks to workers from dangerous substances’. They could be examples of successful initiatives to eliminate, substitute or reduce worker exposure to dangerous substances or examples of effective methods of communicating safety and health information on dangerous substances to those that are handling them at the workplace.
The Director of the European Agency, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, said
‘Dangerous substances are encountered in many workplaces, often on a daily basis, and contribute significantly to the 350 million days lost through occupational ill health in the EU. In many cases, there are safer alternatives available, so that the use of dangerous substance is no longer required, or the process itself can be changed, so there is no longer any exposure. The good practice awards aim to demonstrate, by example, to all European employers and workers the benefits of following good safety and health practices to prevent risks from dangerous substances at work’
- ENDS -
Further information
Further information on the good practice awards can be found at http://osha.europa.eu/ew2003/gp.htm
European Week reports and factsheets are available in the ‘information resources’ section of the European Week website at http://osha.europa.eu/ew2003/resources.htm
Press contact:
Andrew Smith, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Tel: +34 94 479 5733 or +34 94 479 4382 email: smith@osha.europa.eu
Other enquiries:
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain, email: information@osha.europa.eu , fax: +34 94 479 4383
Notes for editors
Background to the Agency and the European Week for Safety and Health at Work
- The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was set up by the European Union to help meet the information needs in the field of occupational safety and health. Based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency aims to improve the lives of people at work by stimulating the flow of technical, scientific and economic information between all those involved in occupational safety and health issues.
- This is the fourth year of the awards, which come under the umbrella of the annual European Week for Safety and Health at Work. The Week, which will take place during October 2003, is an information campaign designed to raise awareness and promote activities to make Europe a safe and healthy place to work. It is coordinated by the European Agency and will be run in the Member States, EFTA and candidate countries in October 2003 with each Member State deciding the precise week. The Week is aimed at the workplace and all safety and health institutions and organisations, trade unions, companies, managers, employees and safety representatives are invited to take part and organise their own activities. These can include special audits and risk assessment activities in the workplace, organising training, distributing information material, launching a new workplace policy, suggestion schemes, encouraging participation of employees and their representatives or linking-up with other organisations, businesses or sub contractors to carry out activities in partnership. The slogan of EW2003 is "Dangerous Substances – Handle with Care".
- For the purposes of the Agency's European Week on Safety and Health at Work 2003, a dangerous substance is defined as any liquid, gas or solid, chemical or biological agent, that poses a toxicological risk to employees' health, excluding radioactive, inflammable and explosive substances. These risks can occur through either direct or indirect contact with the product, for example via contaminated surfaces.
- The statistics quoted in this news release came from: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions; Eurostat, The International Labour Organisation and national occupational health and safety authorities and organisations
