Thomas Appleby congratulations you are our Delegate of the Month

Well done to Thomas Appleby who has been chosen as our Delegate of the Month for March. Thomas  was one of 12 delegates who attended our NEBOSH Certificate in Environmental Management course which was held at our Manchester training venue last week. Thomas was nominated by our tutor Paul Johnson. When we asked Thomas what he liked about the course he said “I found the course stimulating, interesting, relevant and engaging, the tutor made the course content easy to understand”. Thomas booked his course online through one of CRS’s third party introducers, and found the booking system really easy. Thomas is a single and well-travelled chap, who likes outdoor pursuits, poetry and with a lust for life.
I am sure that we will be seeing Thomas and the rest of the delegates from this course at our FREE Seminar to be held at Sahara Force India Friday 10th April where our Head of Environment Richard Ball will be speaking about our follow courses and career development – IEMA – Associate Certificate in Environmental Management and Chartered Environmentalist with potential earnings of around £52K. If you would like more information on this special event please contact Ros Stacey – rs@crsrisk.com

Britain’s beetles: One species lost every decade

Latest research reveals many of our leaf beetles and stoneflies are on a ‘red list’ of species that are under threat of local extinction.
CRS’s Head of Environment commented ‘Environmental Protection can be a hard sell within organisations sometimes and one reason for this is that people struggle to link personal action to environmental harm.  This report shows that on our own doorstep species are being lost’. If you are interested in learning more about the environment, what you and your organisation can do to protect it CRS offer a broad range of courses suited to those entering the discipline right through to Chartered Environmentalists. Visit our website for more information.

Stonefly © David Pryce, Buglife
The two new reports from the Species Status Project have been published by Natural England in collaboration with Buglife. They assess the conservation status of 2 groups of insects - leaf beetles (named after their habit of eating leaves) and stoneflies (aquatic species found in rivers and streams) – and classifies them as either ‘vulnerable’, ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ .
The review of leaf beetles found that out of the 283 species in the UK:

• 3 have become extinct in Britain in the last 100 years
• 7 are classified as critically endangered and possibly already extinct in Britain, as they have not been seen since 1950
• 35 are placed on the new red list and considered either ‘critically endangered’, ‘endangered’ or ‘vulnerable’, and under threat of becoming extinct in Britain in the near future

Stoneflies fare slightly better. Out of 34 species found in Great Britain, one is now extinct, one is vulnerable to extinction, and another now joins the red list as a critically endangered species.
The 2 reports are the latest in a series to be published under the Species Status Project, which will help conservation organisations to target future action. The Species Status project is a new initiative that provides up-to-date assessments of the threat status of various species of insects using the internationally accepted guidelines developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Both groups of insects are highly sensitive to their environment. Leaf beetles are often specific to certain plants in certain habitats. Stonefly larvae are particularly sensitive to organic pollution. They are regarded as excellent indicators of the health of the natural environment and targeted action supported by both Natural England and the voluntary conservation sector is underway to try to prevent further declines in these species. The reports provide vital new evidence that will help focus resources on managing habitats in the best way to improve the conservation status of these overlooked but important insects.
Case studies
Tansy beetle
The rare and visually stunning iridescent green tansy beetle (Chrysolina graminis) was once widespread in the Britain living in wetland areas, but it is currently critically endangered, not just in the UK but across its worldwide range. It is now a conservation priority species in England (section 41) species, which means that public bodies have a duty to protect it, together with its habitat. It was believed to have one last remaining stronghold in the UK on a 30km stretch of the banks of the river Ouse in York, mainly eating tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), a perennial herb which has given the beetle its name. At their York site they complete their entire life cycle on and around the plant, beside riverbanks or in wetlands. The site (Clifton Ings and Rawcliffe Meadows) was confirmed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in May last year, and work is underway to improve its habitat and control the increase of invasive species such as Himalayan balsam which has resulted in a decline in tansy plants over the past few decades. This has of course affected tansy beetle numbers.
Recently another population of tansy beetle was discovered in in the East Anglian fens in July 2014 after a 40 year absence. The discovery at Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve (NNR) was significant as it demonstrates the resilience of the species when given the right conditions. Natural England has been working closely with partners on the Great Fen vision to create new habitat around the NNR, and with the Tansy Beetle Action Group (TBAG) to study how best to improve conditions for the beetle. Work underway also includes a recent re-introduction at Wicken Fen.
Hazel pot beetle
Pot beetles are a fascinating group of petal and leaf-eating beetles that get their name from the protective shell-like ‘pot’ that the larvae live in, created using their own droppings. A hazel pot beetle colony was found in Sherwood Forest in 2008. It was the first time the insect had been recorded in Sherwood Forest for 70 years. Management techniques underway include the nurturing of young birch as a food source.
Ten-spotted pot beetle
The ten-spotted pot beetle occurs on wetland on protected sites. Whilst the beetle’s numbers continue to be monitored, its future will be linked to the action plan for lowland raised bogs, its favoured habitat, and enhancing willow as a food source in its wetland home.
Jon Webb, Senior Entomologist at Natural England said: “These reviews further build on our knowledge of the status of these species, helping us to focus our attention on managing our protected sites appropriately to support those most in need”.
Steve Falk at Buglife said: “The recently published State of Nature Report showed that at least two out of three species of British wildlife are declining, and we know that many species of invertebrate have already become extinct in Britain. These reports will put a strong spotlight on those species that will become extinct over the next few decades unless we take positive action and try to reduce the many threats facing them.”
The reviews can be found on Natural England’s publications catalogue:
NECR161 - A review of the scarce and threatened beetles of Great Britain: The leaf beetles and their allies; and
NECR174 - A review of the stoneflies (Plecoptera) of Great Britain
Background information
Stoneflies, or Plecoptera from the Greek, “pleated wing” are an ancient group of insects, dating from 250 million years ago, with 2,500 known species worldwide. Unsung inhabitants of the freshwater world, their larvae can grow to over 30mm in length, making them among the largest invertebrates found in fresh water. Due to their high oxygen requirements, the larvae are particularly sensitive to organic pollution.
Leaf beetles are important as ecological indicators due to the dependency of many species on complex factors such as vegetation structure. They are found in a much wider range of habitats then some other groups of insects such as butterflies, dragonflies and bumblebees. Monitoring their status and abundance can provide a very useful indication of the ecological ‘health’ of the natural environment.
The Species Recovery Programme
For more information about England’s red list species and action being undertaken to ensure their survival, find out about Natural England’s research and the Species Recovery Programme.
Source: Natural England

Contractor fined for workman’s death on sewerage pipe scheme

A company has been fined after a workman was killed by a piece of flying timber which struck him on the head while laying sewerage pipes in Swindon.
Fredric March, 52, from Croydon, was working at the site in Galton Way, Swindon on 10 June 2011 when a piece of timber used as a cushion on the ends of the pipes being pushed in place by an excavator snapped.
The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted Cappagh Contractors Construction at Swindon Crown Court on 11 February 2015.
The court heard that Cappagh were the main contractors for the work and employed three workmen to lay iron sewerage pipes in a trench.
The sections of pipe were designed to slot together and the workmen used an excavator bucket to push them in place. Two pieces of timber were used to cushion the ends of the pipes – one horizontally and one vertically. This was so the excavator could work around an existing horizontal strut on a trench box. The horizontal piece of timber snapped while being pushed by the excavator and a broken piece hit Mr March on the head. He sustained critically injuries and died six weeks later.
Cappagh had not given the workmen any guidance or alternative ways to carry out their work around the strut which was causing an obstruction. They had been allowed to come-up with their own method which was inherently dangerous.
Cappagh Contractors Construction (London) Ltd of Waterside Way, Wimbledon, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and a breaching the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The company was fined a total of £130,000 and ordered to pay £70,000 in costs. NEBOSH Combined Construction/General Certificate Course
HSE Inspector Sue Adsett, speaking after the hearing, said:
“This tragic loss of life could have been avoided if Cappagh had taken proper measures before the work started and planned the task properly.
“Pipe laying companies must have safe systems of work and ensure their workers don’t have to improvise safety measures.
“Employers have a duty to carry out thorough risk assessments and provide safe ways of working. Including the workforce in designing safe methods also makes it less likely that they will improvise when problems arise.”

Company fined £220,000 for river pollution

The Environment Agency took Thames Water to court over the incident on the River Blackwater, a tributary of the River Loddon, on 7 September 2012. Thames Water has been fined £220,000 for polluting a Surrey river, damaging water quality and suffocating a large number of fish.
The company was found guilty of breaching its environmental permit by allowing partially-treated sewage from its treatment works on Doman Road in Camberley to enter the river, which flows through a site of special scientific interest.
Three weeks later, the company also reported an illegal storm discharge at the same facility, which it said was caused by a build-up of toilet paper and sewage debris.
The case was first heard in Redhill Magistrates’ Court, but was moved to Guildford Crown Court for sentencing due to the serious nature of the offences. Thames Water pleaded guilty and was fined £220,000, and ordered to pay costs of £27,500.
CRS’s Head of Environment, Richard Ball commented ‘ It is not just water companies that need to understand the impacts of breaching environmental regulations, many organisations still do not have a clear understanding of their legal duties  in relation to areas such as duty of car for waste, disposal of batteries, energy use and f-gases. Organisations need to recognise Environment as a business risk area and have a clear management approach.’
A spokesperson for Thames Water said: “We very much regret this incident and have reviewed procedures and invested in new equipment at the treatment works to reduce the chance of anything like this happening again.”
Judge Lucas QC said: “It is important that the courts send out a clear message to Thames Water and all companies operating in this sector. Regulations are there to protect the environment and that the courts will act firmly where regulations are breached and where the environment is either damaged or put at risk of damage.”
Corporate Risk Systems offers a broad range of training to support those entering and progressing through the environmental professional visit our website  for more information on the range of courses on offer.

Care home owner fined £100K after resident died from serious burns

The owner of a Leicester care home has been fined £100,000 after a vulnerable 85-year-old resident died from serious burns. Walter Powley was admitted to Western Park View in Hinckley Road for emergency care in May 2012 after an occupational therapist advised his family he could no longer be safely left alone at home due to his risk of falling.
Leicester Crown Court heard recently (23 January 2015) that four days later, Mr Powley fell in his room and became trapped between a wardrobe and a radiator. He suffered serious burns right through the skin of his right leg from the radiator pipe and valves, and superficial burns to both legs probably from hot water leaking from the valve. He died in hospital from his injuries eight days later.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the pipes and valves at the home, owned by Western Park Leicester Ltd, were not covered and to touch had temperatures of around 73 degrees centigrade. It also found Western Park Leicester Ltd was aware that Mr Powley was at risk of falls and injury and that staff should be vigilant, but the company failed to assess the risks in his room and take appropriate action to control and manage them.
Western Park Leicester Ltd, of Queen Street, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay a further £35,000 in costs.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Dr Richenda Dixon said: “This was a foreseeable and preventable fatal incident. While most of the residents at Western Park View are physically disabled with limited mobility, Walter was not. He was more mobile, and known to be so, hence at greater danger from any risks in his room. The scalding or burning risks from the pipes were longstanding and could have caused injury to any resident. Western Park Leicester failed to heed published guidance from HSE about the need to cover hot pipes and valves. Had they been covered or boxed-in Walter’s death could have been prevented.”
In a statement on behalf of Mr Powley’s family, his son, Colin, said: “We are still devastated not only by our Dad’s death but also how it came about. His stay at Western Park View was only to be for two weeks’ respite while we explored all options for future care. We had supported and cared for Dad daily and kept him safe in his own home for six years following a stroke. The fact that he died from injuries sustained as a result of, in our view, inadequate care in a place where he was supposedly safer than at home, is heart-breaking. We all have to live with the thought that Dad trusted our decision to place him in temporary respite care and that decision ultimately cost him his life. We have lost valuable time with our dearly-loved Dad and his young grandchildren have lost the time to build on their relationship and memories of him. Nearly three years on we are still grieving for our loss and for the huge hole left in all our lives. We hope that the lessons learned with regard to exposed pipe work and acceptable temperatures for hot surfaces in care homes will prevent other families having to experience what we have.”
CRS consultants include residential care home health and safety specialists who can provide advice and assistance to incident prevention at your institution. Contact us at advice@crsrisk.com for a confidential discussion.

Rutland furniture company fined £20K over worker's hand injuries

A Rutland company which manufactures children’s bedroom furniture has been fined after a machine operator suffered serious hand injuries in a makeshift vacuum cleaner. Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard Belvoir Associates Ltd had modified a portable dust extraction system using pipes and connections to secure a long flexible hose to the extractor’s inlet, but the system regularly became blocked with wooden off-cuts.
On 4 April 2013, the portable dust extraction system had been used to clean down both wood processing machinery and the floor and eventually it became blocked. Three operatives attempted to unblock it using two tried and tested methods, including the removal of an end cap. When these failed one of them put his left hand into the opening, where the flexible and solid pipes joined, to try clear the blockage, but his hand was drawn directly into the blades of the machine. He suffered multiple finger fractures and dislocations and required a number of operations. He has undergone physiotherapy but has lost 40 per cent of the use of his hand and is not expected to regain full use of his fingers. The 46-year-old employee, from Stamford, was off work for ten months but has returned to Belvoir Associates albeit in a different role as he no longer has the manual dexterity to undertake physical work.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the company had failed to assess what risks the machine posed to those using it. In addition, no training or information had been provided to employees and the injured employee was unaware of the location of any rotating fan blades.
Belvoir Associates Ltd, of Pillings Road, Oakham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was on Friday (23 Jan) fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £4,449 in costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector David Lefever said: “This incident was foreseeable and preventable. As soon as the unit was converted, several significant risks resulted. It was, in effect, a Heath Robinson arrangement of domestic pipe fittings, flexible hoses and duct tape, none of which constituted the provision of fixed guards. The use of domestic pipe fittings created an obvious place for blockages to occur and using the machine to vacuum not only wood dust but also solid wood waste and off-cuts, as well as general debris from the floor, increased the risk of blockage considerably. Belvoir Associates failed to see any of the potential dangers arising from the new use of the unit because it neglected to properly judge the risks. It also failed to act once it became aware of the blockages in the machinery and instead left individual operators to unblock the unit resulting in the development of unsafe methods.”

Football legend Stuart Pearce fears risk of deadly asbestos - get free app here

Former England football star Stuart Pearce is blowing the whistle on asbestos after revealing he could have breathed in the deadly dust while working part time as an electrician during his early football career. The Nottingham Forest manager and former Newcastle and England left back fears his ignorance about the fatal fibre when he worked for four years as an electrician, means there’s a real possibility he could develop a deadly asbestos related disease in the future. He is now backing an asbestos safety campaign by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) urging all tradespeople to be aware of asbestos and take sensible measures against the hidden killer.
While safe work with asbestos has come a long way since Pearce was working as an electrician in the early 1980s, it remains a very real danger today.  HSE estimates 1.3 million tradespeople are still potentially at risk of being exposed to the microscopic fibres that can prove fatal if breathed in.
Pearce said: “I was working as an electrician for four and a half years and it’s chilling to think I could have been exposed to it without knowing, we were simply ignorant about the risks back then. Today there’s no excuse – most people know how dangerous asbestos is but many think it’s a thing of the past, it’s not, it’s still there.  It can be found in walls, ceilings, even floor tiles and guttering – basically in any type of building built before the year 2000. Making sure you’re aware of where it can be found and how to deal with it safely, even on basic jobs like drilling holes or sanding, really could mean the difference between life and death.”
The trained electrician turned football legend is also encouraging workers to use a free web app – provided here by CRS - for phones, tablets and  pcs that helps tradespeople easily identify where they could come into contact with asbestos as they go about their day-to-day work and gives them easy-to-follow  guides on how to deal work safely.
Pearce added “It can be so easy to breathe in this deadly dust and it may be years until you realise you’ve been affected. Every tradesperson that falls victim to asbestos related diseases like mesothelioma and asbestosis is one too many, especially if it’s a result of ignorance. Let’s make asbestos deaths a thing of the past.”
To get the free web app please visit www.beware-asbestos.info/news