According to the University of Sydney’s Men’s Health Week booklet, Australian men are more likely to get sick from serious health problems than women, often due to a lack of early intervention and their mortality rate is also much higher.

The working environment plays a critical role in keeping men healthy and safe by providing regular preventative screening of health issues, particularly in the construction and mining industries, which are male dominated.

With today being World Asthma Day, it seemed apt to talk about occupational asthma and how it can be caused within the workplace.

What is asthma?

According to Asthma Foundations Australia (AFA) people with asthma have sensitive airways in their lungs and when exposed to certain triggers their airways narrow, making it hard for them to breathe.

Importantly, AFA also states that occupational asthma is the most prevalent occupational lung disease in developed countries, and can be severe and disabling.

The NIOSH Science Blog posted an interesting article on the investigation of high blood lead in a small child. Lead, a known neurotoxin and has a history of neurological effects in exposed children in Australia and internationally. No lead contamination could be found in the house or surrounding garden except the laundry floor. Upon further testing of the family, her father Ted, was found to have elevated blood lead as well. It was determined that Ted typically came home from work at the e-scrap recycling facility with dust in his hair and on his clothes.

Tuesday the 28th of April 2015 is the World Day for Safety and Health at Work and Worker’s Memorial Day.

Australia has a large variation in climates from the hot and steamy tropical conditions in the far North to the temperate South. Working in these conditions can sometimes be challenging due to the effects humidity and radiant heat can have on the body.

The Australian population is among the most overweight and obese of the developed nations. Whilst you may think this is a personal issue for your workforce, you couldn't be further from the truth. Overweight employees can have a significant impact on workplace health and safety and be a drain on the workers’ compensation system.

Influenza spreads much faster than you might think. Contamination of a single doorknob can lead to the spread of virus throughout an entire office building or hotel in as little as two hours, according to a new study from the University of Arizona.

A recent internet discussion on the recommendation in the British HSE document ‘HSG 53 'Respiratory Protective Equipment at Work - a practical guide’ for a maximum of 1 hour continuous wear time for any un-powered RPE raised some interesting points. Several people in the occupational hygiene or allied fields commented to the effect that no-one should offer an opinion unless they had “walked a mile in the shoes” of workers required to do this.

In recent years there have been numerous fatalities involving the collapse of masonry structures. Masonry structure failures have occurred at a range of workplaces including residential and commercial construction and demolition sites. In each instance a change had occurred such as recent construction, recent demolition or the addition of extra load.

It is hard to associate a name like Mr Fluffy with something as sinister as asbestos. Mr Fluffy was the trading name of the company responsible for insulating over 1000 ACT homes with a highly friable form of crocidolite (blue) asbestos – the most toxic form of asbestos.