The Importance of Indoor Air Quality
Introduction UN Environment Program[1] and the WHO[2] identified air pollution as one of the biggest environmental threats to health. Worldwide air pollution causes 1 in 9 deaths and in England[3], contributes with up to 38,000 deaths a year linked to long-term exposure. Different agencies and researcher institutions have identified that people spend 90% or more […]
HSE and Partners Target a Dust Kills Campaign at the Construction Sector
In June 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and a network of partners launched a “Dust Kills” campaign to raise awareness of the risk associated with workers’ exposure to dust at construction sites. The HSE has reported that each year thousands of workers have been reported with lung diseases due to long-term exposure to […]
New Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region now published by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe.
These new WHO guidelines reflect increasing concerns about noise as a public health issue, which has adverse effects on human health and well-being. Their primary aim is to provide recommendations on the protection of health from human exposure to environmental noise associated with transportation, wind turbines and leisure activities. The guidelines are based on comprehensive […]
The importance of occupational risk assessments, surveys and health surveillance
A pipe manufacturing company has been fined £200,000 for using vibrating tools without proper training to staff. The fine is the latest large penalty following changes to safety sentencing guidelines earlier this year. Newport Crown Court heard that employees of Asset International Limited reported seven cases of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) or Carpal Tunnel […]
Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution
The Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have produced the report “Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution” detailing air quality as a significant public health burden. The health effects of air pollution are well recognised in terms of cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and lung […]
Horsham secures funding for electric car pool
Horsham District Council are to provide three electric pool vehicles in a bid to improve air quality and lower carbon emissions. The initiative has been made possible through funding awarded by the Government’s Office for Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV). Electric charge points have been provided for each of three vehicles – which have been leased […]
Exposure to Traffic Noise and Markers of Obesity
The results of a research study published in the British Medical Journal suggest that traffic noise exposure can increase the risk of abdominal obesity and that combined exposure to different noise sources may convey a particularly high risk. The results are potentially important for understanding noise-induced cardiovascular effects and suggest that other types of adverse […]
Environmental Noise: Valuing Impacts
Defra has published a report informed by the Interdepartmental Group on Costs and Benefits Noise Subject Group (IGCB(N)) entitled ‘Environmental Noise: Valuing impacts on: sleep disturbance, annoyance, hypertension, productivity and quiet’. This contemporary Government position details current understanding of the links between environmental noise and various effects including sleep disturbance, annoyance, hypertension and related diseases. […]
BS 4142: 2014 – Methods for rating and assessing industrial and commercial sound
The long awaited revision of BS 4142:2014 was published late October. The revised standard BS 4142 describes methods for rating and assessing sound of an industrial or commercial nature. It enables the effects on people nearby to be assessed and the associated risks to be minimized. It is designed to give consistent results across situations […]
IEMA Guidelines for Environmental Noise Impact Assessment
The Guidelines are applicable to noise impact assessment for any scale of development proposal, including core principles to achieve effectively integration with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. From scoping the assessment, through establishing an effective noise baseline, to identification of noise impacts and describing their consequential effects the guide provides a comprehensive view of […]
