Congratulations Jason Suller you are our Delegate of the Month

Well done Jason you have been chosen as our Delegate of the Month for June. Jason attended our NEBOSH National General Certificate course in Bristol, and  is currently employed in the  armed forces as an OPS Warrant Officer. Jason is undergoing resettlement training in readiness for when he leaves the forces and  decided to take the NEBOSH Full House package of courses specially put together for Armed Forces Service leavers, the package consists of the NEBOSH National General Certificate, the NEBOSH Fire Safety Certificate and the NEBOSH Certificate in Environmental Management. This pack of courses is an excellent start for anyone wishing to enter the Health, Safety & Environmental Sectors and gives worldwide recognised accredited qualifications. CRS has seen many Service Leavers attending their open courses go on to secure well paid employment and with follow on course packages CRS can continue to support them in their new civilian job roles in the Health, Safety & Environment sectors.
Jason liked the informal relaxed atmosphere. Jason is married with two children and comes from Newport in Gwent, his hobbies are fishing and road cycling. Jason will now be entered into our Delegate of the Month prize draw which will take place in December and has the chance to win a £50 M&S voucher just in time for Christmas shopping.
If you would like to be nominated for our next delegate of the month please contact your tutor or Ros Stacey rs@crsrisk.com . Class picture showing Jason and the other delegates on the course

'Big 10' food and drink companies emit more greenhouse gases than Nordic nations

The 'Big 10’ global food and drink companies together emit more greenhouse gases than the Nordic countries and would rank as the 25th most polluting country in the world if grouped together, the international charity and agency Oxfam claims in a new report on Tuesday. In a highly critical overview of their climate change policies, it warns the companies – which represent the world’s most famous household brands – that they are risking financial ruin if they do not do more to use their clout and size to tackle the climate crisis.

The new report, 'Standing on the Sidelines', says together they churn out more than Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland’s annual total of 250 million tons of greenhouse gases, according to its analysis of the Carbon Disclosure Project for company emissions and the most recent data for country emissions.

Oxfam insists the companies are capable of cutting their combined emissions by 80 million tons by 2020 and says they are not doing enough despite the threat climate change poses to the sustained supply of ingredients needed for their products, their economic might and the need to feed a growing population. Between them, they generate £650 million ($1.1 billion) a day in revenues, equivalent to the total GDP of all the world’s lower income countries.

Oxfam singled out Kellogg and General Mills as two of the worst on climate change policies and is calling on these "clear laggards" to lead the sector towards more responsible policies and practices.

Both have huge UK food businesses – Kellogg best-known for its Corn Flakes and Rice Crispies cereals and General Mills for Haagen-Dazs and Jus-Rol – and Oxfam urges them to disclose their agricultural emissions and biggest polluting suppliers, and set targets to cut emissions from their supply chains.

Climate change is linked to storms, floods, droughts and shifting weather patterns, which affect food supplies and put pressure on prices, causing more hunger and poverty. Oxfam projects that the price of products like corn flakes could spike by up to 44% in 15 years because of climate change.

Oxfam’s director of UK campaigns and policy Sally Copley said: "By failing to cut emissions adequately the 'big 10' are putting short-term profits ahead of the long-term interests of both themselves and the rest of us. Their influence and wealth are the perfect ingredients to stop putting their businesses at risk and making climate change worse."

Kellogg said: "Kellogg is committed to doing what’s right for the environment and society. As part of this commitment, we are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – along with energy use and water use – by 15–20% at our manufacturing facilities by 2015. Oxfam has recognised our commitment to working with global palm oil suppliers to source fully traceable palm oil, produced in a manner that’s environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable."

General Mills said: "Climate Change is a serious issue, and as a food company we are very aware of the impact that climate change could have on agriculture and the world’s food supply. General Mills has been actively engaged in positively influencing climate policy and has been taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its operations for many years."

CRS’S Head of Environment commented ‘ it is clear that Environmental Management is continuing to be in the public eye and organisations need to maintain high standards. There is usually two sides to each story, and organisations need to keep a clear focus and remain ahead of the competition or risk negative media attention. ‘  Corporate Risk Systems offers a range of environmental management courses form in house workforce and EMS courses to those looking to enter of advance in the Environmental Management Sectors.

Source: Green Wise - Rebecca Smithers, Guardian Sustainable Business

Four tonnes of leaking gas put workers and the public at risk

Fife Council has been fined for serious safety failings after workers struck and ruptured an underground gas pipe releasing almost four tonnes of gas.

One hundred homes and businesses, as well as a primary school, were evacuated following the incident at the council’s Milesmark Depot in Carnock Road, Dunfermline, on 11 June 2010.

Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard  that although there were no casualties as a result of the incident, members of the public were put at risk of injury or death.

The court was told that drainage works were being carried out at the depot by the council’s own employees. On the day of the incident the employees, who were not supervised, decided to excavate a new trench unaware a decision had been taken the day before not to dig in that particular area.

During the excavation, using a hand held power tool and mechanical digger, they exposed and disturbed whinstone dust, which is an indicator of the presence of gas or water pipes. In spite of this, they continued the excavation and the digger struck and ruptured a gas valve on a six-inch pressure main.

They immediately evacuated the area and reported the incident. The emergency services and Scotland Gas Networks were called to the scene and all properties in the area evacuated for five hours while the damage was repaired.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed various failings by the council including:

• failure to assess the risks to members of the public near the depot;

• failure to provide and maintain a safe system of work for the excavation, which included failing to refer to utility plans showing the location of underground services and failing to use devices or hand tools to locate underground services;

• failure to provide the necessary information, instruction and supervision to the excavation works to ensure the health and safety of nearby members of the public.

Fife Council, of Fife House, North Street, Glenrothes, was fined £24,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

NEBOSH Certificate in Construction Health &  Safety

Mighty Mini race report Brands Hatch

Rounds 3 & 4 of the Mighty Mini Championship were held at the Brands Hatch, Kent as part of the annual Mini Festival. Team CRS Risk have worked hard over the last few weeks and the Mini is looking great after being rebuilt following the damage from Silverstone.

Here is Caroline’s report:

There is always a small amount of trepidation when racing at Brands having rolled my car there a few years ago at Paddock Hill! The slightly damp conditions in qualifying didn’t help and it was a disappointing 18^th place I would be starting from in race 1.

The start line at Brands has quite a big slope to it so you have to either use the hand brake or hold the car on the biting point, both of which make it tricky for a good start. It was a very quick light sequence in race 1 which almost caught me out as I was still deciding whether to use the hand brake!!  Despite this I made a fairly good start and made a couple of places off the start. As the cars came round into Paddock Hill for the first time I was boxed in with nowhere to go, the places I’d made now lost.

The front packs broke away and I found myself racing with Darren Nightingale again. I followed Daz for a few laps and had a couple of attempts to pass him thwarted. Eventually I made dive up the inside at Paddock Hill catching Daz by surprise and taking the place from him. I set about catching the cars in front but there was not enough laps left and I finished 17^th out of 27.

The second race was later on Sunday afternoon. I started from the same row but opposite side of the grid, having decided earlier this time to use the handbrake I was ready for the lights!!! I made another reasonable get away overtaking cars on the start again.. With slightly more room to get round Paddock  I held onto them this time.

There were 5 cars in the pack I was racing in and a couple of laps into the race I had to take evasive action as Penny Jones in the car in front lost control at Clearways and spun the car sideways in front of me. The next cars, Daz and Ella had pulled a small gap due to me breaking to avoid Penny. Within a couple of laps I was on the back of them and quickly set about passing Daz through Clearway and onto the main straight and then a couple of laps later a cheeky move at Druids allowed me to pass Ella. I started pulling away from Daz and Ella until the race was red flagged a few laps early due to Penny braking down in a dangerous position. I finished 14th out of 27 the fastest Lady racer for round 4.

The next rounds are being held at Zolder, Belgium on the 7/8 June but unfortunately we have decided to miss this one round. Team CRS next race will be in action at rounds 7 & 8 of the championship at Oulton Park on the 4^th of July.

No progress in halting biodiversity loss

Many of England’s habitats and native species have declined over the past five years, reveals Defra, although some progress has been made in the longer-term. The environment department has published its annual assessment of England’s natural environment and confirmed that numbers of priority species are continuing to fall, river quality is failing to improve and water abstraction levels remain unsustainable.
Launched last year, following a commitment in the government’s natural environment white paper, the annual assessment draws on existing data to provide an overview of progress towards protecting and improving England’s countryside and natural resources. Defra has analysed progress against 13 “natural environment indicators”, which include land-use, stocks of natural resources and wildlife species. The report examines 24 measures, such as the number of breeding wetland birds, the total area of woodland being actively managed and the amount of raw materials being consumed, over the long-term (with data sources from as far back as the 1970s) and short term (the last five years in most cases).
In last year’s report, Defra concluded that 10 of the measures showed improvement over the short-term and five showed signs of deterioration, however, the latest report concludes that this trend has reversed. Just five measures are rated as improving in recent years while nine were assessed as being in decline, the bulk of which are related to wildlife species.
The number of butterflies, breeding wetland birds and priority species remain in long-term steady decline, for example, while levels of water abstraction and the biological quality of England’s rivers have both deteriorated over the past five years or so. The public's interest in the environment is also seen to be declining with fewer people volunteering for conservation projects and children making fewer visits to the countryside.
On a more positive note, Defra’s assessment reveals that levels of marine litter and the proportion of large fish in English waters have improved in the past five years or so, following long-term declines. And that levels of resource consumption and the water quality of rivers remains stable.
Defra acknowledges that the results reveal a “mixed picture” when it comes to progress on improving England’s natural environment. “Despite clear action and some success, notably in the marine environment, many species and habitats are still in decline and public engagement with the natural environment has fallen in the recent past,” states the report.
The report, and links to detailed assessments of each of the indicators, are available from gov.uk/defra.

Source: Environmentalist

Waste company loses permit appeal

Recycling firm Think Environmental has lost its bid to prevent its permit being revoked after ignoring a “raft of enforcement measures”The Northamptonshire firm’s waste management centre at Blackbridge Farm in Burton Latimer was the subject of multiple warnings from the Environment Agency as well as an enforcement notice from the local authority, but the company took no action to remove excess waste and bring the site into compliance with its permit, concluded planning inspector Isobel McCretton.
Following a hearing at the end of last year, McCretton today (16 May) upheld the agency’s decision in May 2013 to revoke the site’s environmental permit, saying that there was a “pattern of offending with serious impact on health and the environment”. In October 2012, Think Environmental was fined £30,000 after pleading guilty to failing to stop smells from the site between April 2010 and July 2011, and a further £3,000 for failing to remove illegally buried waste.
The agency issued 10 formal warnings to the company that it had to deal with odours from its site, after receiving 345 complains in a two-year period from September 2009. However, the firm’s director did not accept there was an issue and the odour-control plans submitted by the firm were deemed inadequate by the agency. In October 2011, two fires at the site caused significant air pollution, resulting in the closure of the A6 and the death of fish in a nearby brook. In upholding the revocation of the site’s environmental permit, McCretton commented: “Given the sustained non-compliance and offending at the site, and failure to comply with a raft of enforcement measures, I consider that the environmental permit should be revoked.
“Advice, warnings, other enforcement action, voluntary agreements and post-conviction plans all failed to secure removal of the excess waste from the site and compliance with the permit conditions.
“There were ongoing environmental problems at the site and the agency considered that the appellant was likely to re-offend.”

NEBOSH Environmental Candidate of the Year 2014 Award

Richard Ball – Head of Environment  at Corporate Risk Systems one of the largest providers of Health Safety and Environmental Training in the UK with 15 venues nationwide presented their annual NEBOSH Environmental Candidate of the year 2014 Award at a special presentation at Sahara Force India Silverstone last week to  Howard Broomhead. Howard achieved a distinction and overall the highest marks, he was chosen from over 150 candidates who had attended a CRS NEBOSH Environmental Course at one of their training venues.
Howard said after the presentation ‘I had done a fair amount of research prior to attending the course and used the pre-reading link provided by CRS to ensure I was really prepared. But it’s wonderful to be chosen for this award’ Howard attended the NEBOSH Certificate in  Environmental Management at our Southampton Training venue and Rodger Hope was the trainer. Rodger  is currently getting  all  his delegates to obtain a 100% pass on each of his courses.
 
The presentation was also attended by representatives from Oil, Gas, Construction, MOD and Food sectors who also came to find out more about the follow on course MIEMA (Incorporating the  IEMA Associate Certificate in Environmental Management) and to hear a short presentation from IEMA given by Nico Fekete – IEMA Partnership Liaison Officer.  If you missed the free seminar and would like to come to the next one on Friday 12^th September - Silverstone please contact Ros on 01283 509175 or email rs@crsrisk.com

Boss gets suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay £13,500

The Environment Agency has prosecuted a man who illegally stored more than 780 tonnes of waste tyres at his Portsmouth waste facility. Mr Brian Wade, sole director of Southern Rubber Products Ltd, based out of Unit 6, West Building, Claybank Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on Monday 12 May. Mr Wade pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 8 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, in addition to a curfew order to remain indoors between 7pm and 6am (electronic tag) plus an £80 victim surcharge.
Mr Wade’s company, Southern Rubber Products Ltd, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay the £3,511 costs claimed.
The court heard that Southern Rubber Products Ltd collected, stored, treated and exported waste tyres from the Portsmouth premises. In order to carry out this operation a permit is required from the Environment Agency.  Some exemptions exist to allow certain waste activities to take place without the need for a permit. For these to be valid strict criteria have to be met. Southern Rubber Products Limited had a number of exemptions in place for the site but, due to the vast number of tyres and their illegal storage, none of the exemptions covered the waste activities on site.
On 29 August 2013, Environment Agency Officers inspected the site, where approximately 780 tonnes of waste tyres were seen to be deposited. The site had been vacated by the company and the tyres had been left behind, leaving the landlord with the responsibility to clear them from the land. The total cost for the removal of the illegally deposited tyres was £24,959.
Mr Wade was interviewed by the Environment Agency and admitted that he was the sole director of the company and that he was responsible for depositing the tyres on site. He stated that there were issues in getting rid of the tyres, that the landlord wanted him off the premises and that he had health problems.
Kirsty Mayo of the Environment Agency said:
It is very disappointing that Mr Wade continued to deliberately operate an illegal site despite having an understanding of his responsibilities. He was registered with us for some exemptions, so he had little excuse in claiming he was unaware his waste obligations.
The net is closing in on people who think they can make easy money undercutting legitimate waste businesses by putting the local environment at risk. We are constantly gathering information on illegal waste sites, criminal activities and environmental crime in Hampshire and across the south east.
We are taking a zero tolerance approach against offenders. In cases like this where individuals consistently operate illegally, we have absolutely no hesitation in prosecuting them as we want to make sure that waste crime doesn’t pay.
The Magistrates presiding over the case stated that their sentence was reached due to a number of aggravating factors including the offences being a deliberate act over a long period of time.
Source: DEFRA

Food giant Heinz sentenced after engineer’s life-changing injury

Date:

16 May 2014

Global food producer Heinz was today (16 May) fined for serious safety failings after an engineer had his hand severed when it became trapped in live, unguarded machinery at its Norfolk plant.
Alec ‘Alf’ Brackenbury, 49, from Bacton, Norfolk, was servicing a potato peeling machine at Heinz’s Westwick manufacturing plant in Station Road, Worstead, Norfolk, on the first day of a maintenance shutdown on 20 June 2013.
As he tried to retrieve a dropped bolt, he climbed down from the peeling machine which was electrically isolated and put his hand into the slurry pump below, which operated and severed his right hand.
He was treated at Norfolk and Norwich hospital for two weeks and has had to undergo eight separate operations on the stump. He is now unable to drive, work or even carry out many day to day activities.
The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive, which prosecuted Heinz Manufacturing UK Ltd for a safety breach at Norwich Crown Court.
The court was told that self-employed engineer Mr Brackenbury was servicing a ‘brush and belt’ peeler, a large machine used to remove skins from potatoes, of which he had previous experience. The machine was isolated and locked off by both Heinz and Mr Brackenbury before he began work.
While stripping the peeler down, he dropped a bolt which he thought had fallen through the peeler and into a slurry pump underneath – a single cavity pump with a screw auger at the bottom which removes waste water and peelings when the peeler is in operation. He reached into the slurry pump to retrieve the bolt and the pump started, slicing through his wrist.
HSE’s investigation revealed that although the slurry pump appeared to be an integral part of the peeler, it was in fact a separate machine with its own power supply and isolation point. Alf Brackenbury was unaware of this and believed he had isolated the pump along with the peeler at the main distribution box.
Crucially, a protective grate bolted on top of the pump to prevent access, was absent, enabling Mr Brackenbury to reach into dangerous parts of the machine including the screw auger. HSE said the guard had possibly been absent for some time.
H J Heinz Manufacturing Ltd of Hayes Park, Hayes, Middlesex, was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,661 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
Following the case, HSE Inspector Tony Brookes, said:
“Alf Brackenbury suffered a horrific injury in an incident that was wholly avoidable.
“Maintenance activities on production machinery will invariably involve additional hazards beyond those present in normal operation. Mr. Brackenbury was put at risk by Heinz Ltd’s inadequate assessment of risks and lack of effective measures to stop access to dangerous parts of equipment.
“It is the duty of the employer to ensure their employees and contractors can carry out their work safely. Sadly in this case Heinz failed to protect Mr Brackenbury while he was contracted to carry out maintenance work at their Westwick plant and, as a result, he has suffered a life-changing injury.”
For more information about safety in the food manufacturing industry visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/food/index.htm