With the landmark ban on engineered stone coming into effect, Safe Work Australia has issued a warning about the harmful and significant costs of exposure to respirable crystalline silica generated when engineered stone is processed with power tools. Under the ban, which came into effect on 1 July 2024, the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs is prohibited in every state and territory in Australia.
Leading food delivery companies and e-bike providers were recently warned about the dangers of lithium-ion batteries following a number of incidents in which the batteries caught fire. For several months, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) and SafeWork NSW representatives have met with a range of companies, including Uber Eats and DoorDash, which have agreed to educate their delivery riders about how to safely store and charge their e-bikes.
A concrete pumping company in Balwyn North, Victoria, has been convicted and fined $50,000 after a concrete boom pump snapped and fatally struck a worker. Prisbel Concrete Pumping was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide or maintain safe plant. The company was also ordered to pay $8179 in costs.
SafeWork SA recently issued a safety alert about the use of pallet trucks and tailgate lifters following an incident in which a worker was injured in the second serious incident this year. The incident occurred while contractors were delivering stock in Adelaide’s northern suburbs on 13 June this year.
