Work-related injuries, diseases and fatalities worldwide claim 2 million lives per year

Monday, 28 April 2014 00:00 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

‘Safety and health in the use of chemicals at work’: World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2014 is today The ILO commemorates the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. It is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on emerging trends in the field of occupational safety and health and on the magnitude of work-related injuries, diseases and fatalities worldwide which claim an estimated 2 million lives per year. "In parallel to the global campaign ILO in Sri Lanka will conduct an awareness workshop on ‘Safety and health in the use of chemicals at work’ to commemorate the World Day for Safety and Health on 28 April in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations, National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH), Employer Federation of Ceylon and Trade Unions. " This year’s theme is on ‘Safety and health in the use of chemicals at work’. The production and use of chemical in workplaces around the world present one of the most significant challenges in workplace protection programs. Chemicals are essential to life and their benefits are widespread and well-recognised and chemicals are also a critical part of many industrial processes to develop products that are important to global standards of living. What create the dilemma are the risks associated with exposure to these chemicals. Over the years, chemical safety has been one of the areas in which more work has been carried out in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH). However, even if significant progress has been made in recent years concerning the regulation and management of chemicals; and governments, employers and workers continue their efforts to minimise the negative effects of the use of hazardous substances both at national and international levels, serious incidents continue to happen and there are still negative impacts on both human health and the environment. Workers who are directly exposed to hazardous substances should have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment, to be properly informed, trained and protected. Implementing the Globally Harmonised System (GHS) in a country will address the first step of the sound management of chemicals. The provisions of the GHS support manufacturers and importers being responsible for hazard identification and classification of the health, physical, and environmental hazards of all substances. It also specifies the development of labels and safety data sheets for hazardous substances and mixtures using the harmonised criteria in the GHS, thus helping to ensure that exposed workers have access to information, as well as downstream employers. The task at hand for governments, employers, and workers is to minimise worker exposures and emissions of chemicals into the environment and develop and implement national preventive and control strategies and systems that comprehensively address the health, safety, and environmental aspects related to the use of chemicals to help ensure a coordinated and sustainable management, and decent work for all. The ILO Convention on Safety in the use of chemicals at work 1990 (No. 170) provides a blueprint for the sound management of chemicals in the workplace. The convention provisions further elaborated in the accompanying recommendation No. 177 as well as in the Code of Practice for Safety in the Use of Chemicals at work and a number of training manuals. The convention and other tools are just as relevant today as they were when initially adopted. In parallel to the global campaign ILO in Sri Lanka will conduct an awareness workshop on ‘Safety and health in the use of chemicals at work’ to commemorate the World Day for Safety and Health on 28 April in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations, National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH), Employer Federation of Ceylon and Trade Unions.

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