Worksafe Shows Its Expertise In Diversified Studies
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday July 12, 1989
Scientific research into occupational health and safety issues is an important activity in which Worksafe Australia has unique national expertise.
More than 30 occupational health and safety research projects, with far-reaching applications for workers' health, are under way.
A recent milestone was the publication of Australia's first work-related fatalities study which pinpointed more than 500 deaths annually.
Information from the two most dangerous occupations, mining and construction, is now being broken down to establish more details about which groups of workers are most at risk. The data will help form preventive measures to combat workrelated fatalities.
The study was conducted by a team from the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety in Sydney, focal point of internal research and Worksafe Australia's scientific arm.
The institute is an unrivalled national centre for expertise in the field, with a number of internationally recognised experts.
In addition to continuing research on two major long-running projects, blood pressure and the nationwide mesothelioma, the institute recently began work with the Joint Coal Board in a new epidemiological monitoring project.
The project will involve detailed research in the NSW coal mining industry workforce to detect and control work hazards.
Staff from several units are also working on a variety of research including a pilot project investigating the effects of solvents on apprentice spray painters at TAFE colleges in Sydney.
The team will monitor liver and kidney effects, skin responses and respiratory function in 50 spray painters and 50 apprentice electricians. Principal investigator Dr Ann Williamson says the research is intended to fill gaps in existing knowledge about the neuro-behavioural effects of exposure to solvents.
Senior lecturer Dr Robert Baker and a NSW Cancer Council scholar, Mr Hartmut Steinel, have been conducting research with a special breed of hairless mice - and have found evidence to indicate that diets supplemented with a natural substance, beta-carotene, provide protection against cancer.
The researchers reported a reduction by almost half in skin tumours among the mice after 20 weeks of feeding them small doses of beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A.
They say that if their conclusions could be applied to humans, including miners affected by asbestos-related cancers, it might be possible to save lives.
A lower back pain research program is being conducted by the ergonomics unit, using several Sydney and Melbourne private and public companies in a pilot study.
The program will examine the effect of work reorganisation and design to reduce the risk factors associated with back pain.
Worksafe Australia also funds research by external agencies into priority occupational health and safety issues. It attaches great importance to funding research which sheds light on common problems facing employers and employees.
Two NSW groups have recently received the first new Worksafe Australia industry and community grants.
The Printed and Kindred Industries Union was allocated $25,000 to develop a method for improving the identification and evaluation of occupational health problems in printing.
The Building Workers Industrial Union, the Australian Federation of Construction Contractors and the Federation of Engine Drivers and Firemen's Association received $50,000 to make a video on safety hazards for workers.
Special national projects to investigate two of Worksafe Australia's major priorities - back disorders and noiseinduced hearing loss - have been granted more than $458,000.
Funding has been granted to a Newcastle University team which will launch a pilot study of the rehabilitation and return-to-work aspects of Hunter Valley industrial workers suffering acute work-related musculo-skeletal problems.
The university's psychology department has also been studying occupational overuse syndrome in word processing procedures. An interim report published earlier this year recommended that operators should have breaks after 30 minutes, compared with the present recommended 50 minutes.
Researcher Dr Richard Heath predicts that word processing machines in the near future could be programmed with an alarm system to warn operators when to take a break.
An offshoot of the research is the possibility of introducing keyboards with radically new designs, using different angles for the hands and chords representing letters.
Among other grants is a University of NSW scheme to develop better machine noise measuring techniques.
Another Worksafe Australia research project involves the university's Centre for Safety Science which, using an $85,000 grant, is examining slips and falls, a major cause of workplace injuries.
Centrepiece of the experiments is a high-speed video camera which enables the team to closely monitor foot movements on a walking track - and discover how and why falls happen and when workers are most vulnerable.
© 1989 Sydney Morning Herald