E-fact 44 - Checklist for the prevention of manual handling risks

Emergency services: occupational safety and health risks

The report shows that emergency workers have a high risk of suffering fatal accidents, injuries and other occupational diseases. Past disasters demonstrate that both communities and companies are often not fully prepared for major accidents and catastrophes. Better protection for emergency workers against occupational hazards should be given high priority, as current environmental, economic, and political developments suggest an increase in the severity and frequency of future disasters.

Summary - New risks and trends in the safety and health of women at work

In 2009 and 2010, the Agency commissioned an update to its previous research on gender issues at work , which found that inequality both inside and outside the workplace can have an effect on the health and safety of women at work. This summary provides a policy perspective and is meant to contribute to the task outlined by the European strategy on health and safety at work for EU-OSHA’s European Risk Observatory, “examining the specific challenges in terms of health and safety posed by the more extensive integration of women in the labour market”. It provides a statistical overview of the trends in employment and working conditions, hazard exposure and work-related accidents and health problems for women at work. It explores selected issues (combined exposures, occupational cancer, access to rehabilitation, women and informal work, and “emerging” female professions such as home care and domestic work). The research highlights the type of work carried out by women, issues faced by younger and older women, the growth of the service sector, violence and harassment, and increasingly diversified working time patterns as major risk factors.

European good practice awards 2010/11 - a European campaign on safe maintenance

As part of the European Campaign 2010–11 on Safe Maintenance, EU-OSHA organised the European Good Practice Awards Competition (the tenth such competition), aiming to identify examples of good practice in the management of occupational safety and health during maintenance. The awards recognise organisations that have made an outstanding and innovative contribution to Safe Maintenance. Through the competition EU-OSHA promotes good practice solutions at the workplace and shares information about good practice across Europe. Forty entries from 22 Member States and Turkey were received, including organisations of all sizes and from a wide variety of industrial sectors.