World Cancer Day | guidance on managing health and safety for volunteers | Latest news

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World Cancer Day a reminder of the risks to lungs from work activities

worker at risk from dust

Each year, it is estimated that 12,000 people die from work-related lung diseases linked to exposure during their working lives including lung cancer.

Saturday 4 February is World Cancer Day, the international awareness day to help educate people and encourage them to work together to reduce preventable cancer deaths.

If you work with certain dusts, gases, fumes and vapours in the workplace, its important that you understand the risks and protect workers health by using effective control measures.Employers have a legal responsibility to protect their workers from ill health.

Our website has guidance for a range of workplaces to prevent work-related lung diseases.

Sectors featured include:


Care home provider fined after child crushed by falling tree

A company has been fined 400,000 after an 8-year-old girl suffered serious crush injuries when a tree fell on her.

The girl was out for an evening jog with her father. As she was running on a pavement outside the entrance to the care home, a lime tree fell on her, causing injuries that resulted in her having her leg amputated.

It was subsequently discovered that the tree was diseased with a common fungus and had likely been rotting for several years before the accident. HSE's investigation found that Bupa Care Homes had failed to have a strategy in place to manage trees.

Read this press releasefor more details on the incident.

Our website has guidance on managing the risk from falling trees.

Other recent prosecution cases include:


Volunteering: guidance on how to manage the risks

volunteer helping with food delivery

HSE has guidance on how to manage the risks to volunteers.

The guidance explains how health and safety law applies to volunteering.

There is also information on:

The pages provide some specific advice for volunteers who manage non-domestic premises such as village and community halls, as well as guidance on charity retail and fundraising.

For further information visit our Volunteering website.


HSE market surveillance authority for workplace products

HSE is one of the UK's market surveillance authorities, which monitors and enforces legal requirements on the safety (including risks to health) of most products used in the workplace.

HSE has a duty to notify the Secretary of State about unsafe or non-compliant products and of the measures taken and communicated by an economic operator.

Products that present a serious or high risk to the health and safety of the user, and products that have been recalled, are published on GOV.UK.

A recent example of a product HSE investigated is the RGA5 fall arrest block, designed to stop a person after they have fallen.Find out more about this product recall.


Safe Net Zero 2023 - Hydrogen conference tickets available

conference delegates chatting and networking

21 - 22 March 2023,
QEII Exhibition Centre, London

The UK is rapidly progressing some of the worlds most innovative hydrogen projects as part of the energy mix it requires to meet 2050s net zero target.

HSE is bringing together those working to safely develop and deploy hydrogen technologies for 2 days of insight, discussion and networking.

Building upon the success of our previous events, Safe Net Zero 2023 - Hydrogen promises an exciting agenda, packed with the very latest information and thinking from government, industry and academia.

Find out more and/or book your place(s) for Safe Net Zero 2023

You can get all the latest news and updates from HSE across a range of industries and topics.

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