Media Releases
OSH Launches Code on Killer Chemicals - Speech Notes
Wednesday 19 November 1997
Thousands of New Zealanders go to work everyday, often they are unaware that they are putting their health and even their lives in danger, sometimes without even knowing. Many of the varied tasks that must be performed involve the use of substances that may harm their health and we are becoming increasingly aware of the risks posed by the use of chemicals.
Working with chemicals and other hazardous substances may cause cancer, respiratory diseases such as asthma, dermatitis and other disorders. Physical hazards in the workplace present an immediate and obvious risk, but the adverse effects of chemical exposure are insidious, and can be "silent killers" with the tragic effects only becoming apparent after years of working with a substance.
Last month, the Occupational Safety and Health Service launched our strategic direction "Together to Zero: Eliminating Workplace Death", concentrating on New Zealand’s high risk industries. The three industries that account for the most occupational fatalities - forestry, farming and construction, all involve the use of chemicals to some degree, but across many other workplaces hazardous substances are in wide use.
We know the industries that have the highest rates of fatal work accidents, but what we are not clear on are the numbers who are dying as a result of exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace. In fact, the actual death toll from all occupational diseases is currently being investigated because, as many of you will already be aware, we simply don’t know how many New Zealanders are dying from these often long latency diseases. What we do know, is that New Zealand workers are dying, and many others are suffering from illnesses that could have been avoided.
OSH’s Notifiable Occupational Diseases System, or NODS, has been operating since 1992. It provides a facility which allows health professionals and other individuals to voluntarily notify health-related conditions which are suspected to arise from work activities. The NODS system has received hundreds of notifications spanning many industries. These cases are reviewed by medical specialists on separate committees such as the Chronic Solvent Neurotoxicity Panel and the Chemical Toxicity Panel. From this review process we are able to ascertain disease trends an assess possible preventive strategies.
Since its inception, the NODS system has received 308 notifications of solvent-induced neurotoxicity, 459 respiratory disease notifications, 14 non-asbestosis cancers, 305 cases of work-related dermatitis, and 484 other cases of chemical related diseases - a total of 1570 notifications of diseases linked to the use of hazardous substances in the workplace. But, as this is a voluntary notification system, it is most likely that many other incidences of ill-health related to work activities have not been recognised or reported.
In we were to stem these painful and debilitating diseases, industry, employers and employees must first understand that they all have responsibilities to ensure the safe use of chemicals in the workplace. Today we are proud to launch the Code of Practice for the Management of Substances Hazardous to Health, or MOSHH. This is an approved code rather than a regulation. As such, its observance is recognisable by the courts as evidence of good practice, without it having the prescriptive limitation of a promulgated regulation. The code sets out a generic approach to assist in the safe management of hazardous substances in the workplace and to achieve compliance with the Health and Safety in Employment Act.
As a result of reviewing the NODS data and overseas trends, OSH has diagnosed a need for a consistent and systematic approach throughout industry for the management of chemicals and health-threatening substances. This approach is in line with that taken in other western countries.
The MOSHH code has been developed after a long period of consultation with interested parties, including several large New Zealand employers, the Ministry for the Environment, the Chemical Industry Council, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union, who you will hear from next. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those organisations and the people involved for your time and valuable input.
At the end of the day, it is the employers and workers of New Zealand who must manage these hazards and not put workers lives at risk. The code will only be effective if it is put into practice.
The MOSHH Code and package is essential for those who:
- Employ people who are required to work with or are exposed to hazardous substances, Or
- Manufacture or supply hazardous substances to be used in the workplace, Or
- Work with or may come into contact with hazardous substances on the job.
The MOSHH code comes in a package with guidelines and information on the code for both employers and employees. It highlights requirements for the provision of information on hazardous substances, conducting a chemical risk assessment, preventing or controlling exposure to hazardous substances, and monitoring the health of workers. It also includes the training and supervision of employees. The steps required may be as simple as reading the label, the Material Safety Data Sheets, and asking "can this harm me?"
As I said earlier, many New Zealanders have died or have had their lives tragically changed due to unmanaged and dangerous exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace. These illnesses have a tragic social and economic effect on the community. They result in lost productivity and a drastic reduction in the quality of life for victims, many of whom will almost certainly meet early deaths as a result of workplace exposure.
Good and systematic management of the risks from hazardous substances can and should have a definite payoff in these circumstances. Good management should result in better health for workers, and improved productivity for employers. The MOSHH code is designed to give practicable assistance to employers, employees and to wider industry to more effectively manage hazardous substances. It’s effective application should make a tangible contribution to improving workplace health in New Zealand, and to help eliminate work-related death in this country. I am sure you would agree that this is a worthwhile, and indeed a critical imperative, for us all.
