Study to improve legal protection
Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, has welcomed a study by the European Commission on trade secrets, as a first step in improving legal protection and enforcing confidential business information - especially crucial to small and medium sized companies.
   The study is an attempt to clarify the legal framework and practices of trade secret protection and protection against parasitic copying (look-alikes) in EU member states. One of the aims is to identify the main features of the different legal frameworks in the EU.
   In the new global economy, trade secrets are critically important to industry, where technical know how and commercial information can be the result of considerable investment, skill and labour. Some features may be patentable or protected to some extent by other 'traditional' intellectual property rights such as copyright or design rights but generally this only provides limited protection in practice.
   Cefic's DG, Hubert Mandery, said: "It is important for our industry to effectively fight against theft of CBI, which is an important, intangible asset of companies. Greater protection will help their competitiveness and empower them to continue to more confidently invest in research and innovation in Europe."
   The UK and Republic of Ireland have effective trade secret protection despite having no specific trade secret legislation. However, within the EU, there is no uniform definition of 'trade secrets' and a lack of consistency between states against which action can be taken.
  | 17:33 15/01/2012

Fine after fatal incident
UK. CEMEX UK Operations Ltd, the multinational cement firm, has been fined £200,000 by the Health and Safety Executive following the death of a worker in an explosion at its Rugby premises. The force of the explosion was so great that it blew the operative out through the side of the building. 
  Leamington Spa Crown Court heard that at the time of his death, the worker was treating waste cement dust in the bypass dust plant at the works. While clearing a blockage in the lower mixer, there was a violent explosion of steam and dust from inside the machine.
   The HSE investigation found that the company had recognised the potential for blockages to cause explosions as steam pressure built up within the mixer, but took no action to prevent them. The court also heard the company had failed to review its risk assessment following a previous incident in May 2006, when another man was injured using the same machine. This explosion bent a metal clad external wall, pushing it out by 50cm.
   Speaking after the hearing, HSE Principal Inspector Neil Craig said: "This was an entirely avoidable tragedy, which has left a young family without a husband and a father. If CEMEX had investigated the previous incident properly, Mr Reynolds would still be alive today."
   He went on to say that CEMEX's protection against the build up of pressure was for the plant to be continuously vented when processing waste cement dust, but it frequently blocked. These blockages then caused steam to build up to a high pressure.
   "The company could have made a number of changes to the mixer to reduce the flow of dust and improve the venting and cooling systems, or devised a new system of work. However, no action was taken and employees were expected to operate this dangerous piece of machinery. Employers must make sure that they take proper precautions to protect their workers, especially when there is the potential for explosion", added Mr Craig.
   CEMEX pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £172,000 costs.
  | 21:40 17/10/2011

Figures cause concern
UK. Statistics released by the Health and Safety Executive show that the number of workers killed in Britain last year increased.
   Data covering April 2010 to March 2011 reveals that 171 workers were killed, an increase on the previous year, when 147 died - the lowest number on record.
   Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission, expressed disappointment at the increase compared to the all time low achieved last year. However, Britain has still managed to maintain one of the lowest rates of fatal injury among the five leading industrial nations in Europe - Germany, France, Spain and Italy - for a six-year period.
   “It is a stark reminder of the need to ensure that health and safety remains focused on the real risks, which exist in workplaces not on trivia and pointless paperwork”, she commented. Reiterating the point, she said that in a world of work which is constantly changing there is a need to continually review what is done and how it is done and strive to become even more effective at managing risks which cost lives.
   The breakdown of figures for the key industrial sectors showed that there were 50 fatal injuries to construction workers, 34 fatal injuries to agricultural workers and nine fatal injuries to waste and recycling workers.
   |   18:05 28/06/2011

Guarding breaks cover
UK. A Lincolnshire quarry owner has been fined after being found guilty of operating unsafe machinery. 
  Andrew Freeman, trading under the name Freemac Aggregates, failed to comply with a legal notice prohibiting use of poorly maintained and inadequately guarded sand and gravel plant.
   Spalding Magistrates Court heard today that the HSE visited Mr Freeman's premises and issued a prohibition notice for the machine. On revisiting the site two months later, the plant was still in use and guarding that had been fitted to comply with the notice had again been removed.
   Andrew Freeman was found guilty of breaching Regulation 11(1)(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 in relation to the offence. In addition to a £7,500 fine, he was ordered to pay costs of £3,437.
   HSE Inspector Jo Anderson said: ”The fact that the guards had again been removed after we had issued the prohibition notice, and given him advice on what he needed to do to bring it up to standard, shows a blatant disregard for health and safety. If someone had fallen into the machine they could easily have been killed or had a limb amputated or severely crushed."
   Figures speak for themselves, in the last ten years over 3000 quarry workers have suffered an injury reportable to HSE, 24 of them proving fatal.
• Free guidance about health and safety in the quarrying industry is available at www.hse.gov.uk/quarries/index.htm
• Regulation 11(1)(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states: "Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken in accordance with paragraph (2) which are effective to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar."
   |   10:35 16/05/2011

Authority initiates charges
Norway. The Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim) has launched charges against Yara International ASA, a global leader in the supply of fertilisers. This concerns a violation of the Norwegian penal code.
   The move follows the investigation by Yara of potential criminal offences before October 2008 in connection with negotiations preceding the company's investment in Libya. Subsequently, during the investigation, a Yara employee presented information on another matter and Yara has approached Økokrim.
   This relates to a project in India during the 2006 - 2007 period to establish a joint venture for producing and selling fertiliser that was never realised. An initial investigation uncovered a payment of $1m to a third party and, based on this information, Økokrim has launched its investigation.
   Jørgen Ole Haslestad, President and CEO of Yara International ASA, said that the charges are serious and that the company would fully cooperate with Økokrim. However, he expressed disappointment that the information had not come to light at an earlier stage if it emerges that Yara committed an offence.
   |   09:45 12/05/2011

Investigation into Libyan interests
Norway. Yara International ASA is initiating an external investigation into its interest in Libyan Norwegian Fertilizer Company (Lifeco).
   Yara has notified The Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime of possible criminal offences that may have occurred before October 2008 in connection with negotiations preceding the company's investment in the country.
   The investigation will be headed by a partner from Norwegian law firm Wiersholm, Mellbye and Beck. In addition to the Libyan joint venture, the investigation will look at potential integrity issues related to other JVs. Yara adds that it is not aware of any so called ‘red-flags’ for potential breach of ethical guidelines related to other JVs.
   Lifeco was established in February 2009 with a 50 per cent Yara ownership, 25 per cent National Oil Company ownership and 25 per cent Libyan Investment Authority ownership. The company owns and operates ammonia and urea plants in Marsa El Brega, Libya, with a combined annual capacity of 900,000t urea and 150,000t ammonia. Production was temporary closed down in the second half of February due to the unrest and will remain closed until the situation has stabilised.
   |   15:44 27/04/2011

Grain company fined
UK. A Stonehaven animal grain company has been fined after one of its workers fell from an excavator bucket onto a concrete floor, sustaining head injuries.
   The mill operative employed by East Coast Viners Grain LLP was preparing animal feed, a task that involved climbing into an excavator bucket to shake the contents of a tote bag to allow an even spread of material into the bucket. Losing his balance, he fell about five feet onto the concrete floor below.
   The HSE investigation found that there was no safe system of work in place for preparing the specialist mix. The method involved employees working unnecessarily at height with no control measures to prevent a fall. The investigation determined that the company had not carried out a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks because the task was required only occasionally.
   The company was fined £4,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc 1974 Act .
   HSE Inspector Colin Leaver said that what happened to the operative was entirely preventable and could have easily resulted in him being killed. "East Coast Viners already had a grain conveyor on site which would have allowed Mr Mortimer to safely decant the maize from the ground, avoiding any need to work at height”, he added.
   |   09:16 18/04/2011

Prosecution after accident
UK. A man was seriously injured when he was drawn into machinery used to flatten bags. As a result, China clay company Imerys Minerals Ltd recently pleaded guilty to a charge brought by the Health and Safety Executive after failing to ensure the safety of staff engaged in manually loading bags onto conveyors at the European Milling Centre site at Par Docks.
   The accident happened when the operative was loading bags of china clay onto a conveyor belt when he was drawn into a gap of approximately 6 inches between the conveyor and another belt mounted above, designed to flatten bags. The man suffered multiple injuries including serious head, shoulder and chest injuries and was off work for over a year and is still suffering from the effects.
   The company was fined £30,000, with costs of £45,124, for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees.
   After the hearing, HSE Inspector Jo Fitzgerald said: "The serious injuries suffered by Gerry Dalhstrom could easily have been avoided by Imerys if they had carried out an assessment and looked at the risks being taken by employees at the site."
• Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that employers must , as far as reasonably practicable, ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all its employees.
   |   17:24 05/04/2011

Guarding at all costs
UK. Coolrec Group BV, an international waste recycling firm, has been fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £22,000 costs after a worker lost part of his arm in an industrial incident. The process operator caught his arm in a conveyer belt which doctors had to amputate later.
   The court heard that the operative was picking plastic off a recycling line where a pulverising machine smashed material into smaller parts prior to removal from the conveyor. The incident occurred when the worker bent down and attempted to clear wire from the ground. As a result his glove got caught in an unguarded conveyor running underneath the one he was working on.
   The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the parent company after it admitted breaching Section 6(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 . HSE Inspector Vicky Fletcher said that the company could and should have ensured that the conveyor belts on the recycling line were properly guarded.
• Section 6(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of any person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies any article for use at work... to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the article is so designed and constructed that it will be safe and without risks to health at all times when it is being set, used, cleaned or maintained by a person at work.
   |   08:52 10/03/2011

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