Health & Safety Laboratory Annual Report & Accounts 2000/01An Agency of the Health & Safety Executive

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02 Looking ForewordChief Executive’s Report

06 Summary of Achievements

08 International Collaboration

10 Case Study 01HSL Investigations of

Major Rail Accidents

14 Case Study 02Manual Packing in the

Brick Industry

16 Case Study 03Fatigue and Shiftwork in

the Safety Critical Industries

18 Case Study 04Release of Chloramines

from Swimming Pools and

Processing Salad Vegetables

20 Case Study 05Assessment of Flooring

in the Millennium Galleries,

Sheffield

22 Case Study 06Health, Safety and Legal

Issues Related to Body

Piercing, Tattooing and

Scarification

24 ReflectingMilestones in the History

of HSL

25 Accounts

HSL Board

About HSL

01

HSL Vision

HSL must be a world classhealth and safety laboratoryoperating as a successfulcommercial entity with a diverseportfolio of work and customerbase, offering an attractivecareer for all employees.

HSL Mission

To generate, interpret andprovide scientific informationrelevant to the control of risksto people’s health and safetyfrom work activities.

HSL Shared Values

■ We take pride in our workand in HSL

■ We value, respect,support and encourage allHSL colleagues

■ We enhance and promotethe reputation andcapabilities of HSL

■ We value diversity and wesupport equal opportunities

HSL Brand Image

■ HSL is easy to deal with,values its customers andmeets their needs

■ HSL is an independentprovider of information andsolutions to health andsafety problems

■ HSL takes pride in itscorporate knowledge andquality science

■ HSL provides value formoney

■ HSL is a consistent,professional organisationcapable of rapid responseand a multi-disciplinaryapproach

HSL is an agency of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

We are Britain’s leading industrial health and safety laboratory

We are commercially independent and have a reputation for objective

and impartial research and advice

We employ about 350 people, the majority of them scientists and

technicians, on two sites in Sheffield and Buxton

We are a customer-focused organisation committed to training and

developing our staff

02

essentially achieved stabilityin its revenue from HSE whilstgrowing its non-HSE revenuefrom just over £1m pa to about£2.5m pa. All this has beenachieved amidst a verycompetitive regime. The PriorOptions review in 1994 openedup much of HSE’s Science andTechnology budget tocompetition and pitched HSLinto the stark reality of themarket place: henceforth,there would be even morepressure on HSL to meetcustomer demands; to offernew capabilities; to reduce oreliminate that which was nolonger required; and to breakeven financially. HSL’s successis demonstrable proof that ithas been able to shape itscapabilities appropriately andoffer value for money.

The Health and SafetyLaboratory (HSL) became anagency of HSE in April 1995and published its first set ofaudited accounts in 1996/97.It is now my pleasure tointroduce HSL’s fifth AnnualReport and Accounts and torecord yet another successfulyear for HSL with all of itsAnnual Performance Agreementtargets being achieved.

Looking back, it is gratifying toreflect on HSL’s success overthe past five years and the fullpart it has played in many majorinitiatives and investigationson behalf of HSE. The adjacentcharts show that HSL has

Looking ForewordDr David Buchanan FREng, Chief Executive

Income from Scienceand Technology Sales tonon-HSE Customers

00/0

196

/97

£2.3

39m

£1.0

43m

£1.2

97m

£1.9

11m

£2.5

29m

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

97/9

898

/99

99/0

0

Income from Scienceand Technology Sales toHSE Customers

00/0

196

/97

£22.

173m

£20.

381m

£19.

269m

£19.

659m

£19.

893m

25

20

15

10

5

0

97/9

898

/99

99/0

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03

Perhaps most important of all,a change of culture was requiredin order to embrace thechallenges of agency statusand the culture of HSL now isvirtually unrecognisablecompared to five years ago.Staff have adapted well to thenew environment and manyhave flourished in it. A businessattitude has been adoptedthroughout with a widespreadrecognition of the importanceof customer service. Mostimportantly, HSL has continuedto attract a diverse range ofvibrant young staff, eager towork on a large variety ofinteresting problems with firstclass equipment. For many, HSLhas offered a rare opportunity

to combine a top class scientificcareer with a sense of valueand social purpose. The successthat has been achieved isentirely due to the enthusiasmand expertise of all staff -administrative staff who readilyestablished and implementedworkable business systems, andscientific staff who continued toproduce top quality results withadmirable probity and propriety.The staff remain the key asset.

clear that this will mean acontinuing change in emphasis,with some traditional areasattracting less support thanpreviously, but with growthareas likely in the ‘softer’ andbiomedical sciences. HSL hasthe flexibility to accommodatethese demands with theminimum of fuss. The proposednew laboratory - of whichmore below - will play animportant part in this.

Estates Rationalisation ProjectI am sorry to report thatprogress with the PFI project,to provide a new laboratory onthe Buxton site, has notproceeded at the anticipatedrate. The potential PFIproviders, Investors in theCommunity Buxton (ICB),came to the conclusion thatthe building contractor shouldbe replaced. This has nowbeen done and the newbuilding contractor, ShepherdConstruction, is now fullyintegrated into the team, but ata cost of six months delay.Furthermore, ICB anticipatesthat the build programme willrequire 30 months rather than

I should also acknowledgehere a great debt of gratitudeto Dr Alan Jones who retiredas Operations Director inFebruary 2001. Alan spentalmost his entire career in HSLand its predecessors, and hisexperience and wise counselwill be sorely missed.

HSL now looks forward tothe emerging challenges.The Government’s “RevitalisingHealth and Safety” initiative isdriving a new agenda whichwill require major changes inHSE and HSL. The strategicfocus on outcomes will ensurean even greater concentrationon things that will make a realdifference to people’s lives.HSE has identified itspriorities, and these are now thepriorities for HSL as well.HSE’s Science and InnovationStrategy is being drawn up toreflect the Revitalising agenda.

Following this, HSL’s Scienceand Technology Plan will berewritten to realign with thenew agenda, and already it is

the 24 months estimatedpreviously. However, if thatresults in a better building,then the wait will beworthwhile. It is now expectedthat a proposal will beavailable for Ministerialconsideration late in 2001,and if approved, occupation ofthe new building would be bymid 2004.

Health, Safety and theEnvironmentDuring 2000/01 HSL continuedto develop its already wellestablished Health and Safetymanagement system.Particular attention wasdirected to the safe managementof radiation sources. The HSEInspectorate conducted aninspection of HSL’s Sheffield siteagainst the standards of HS(G)65 and their report wasencouragingly positive.04

Looking ForewordDr David Buchanan FREng, Chief Executive

position on overall customersatisfaction compared withothers in the Group, scoring85% compared with 79% forGovernment Departments andAgencies.

HSL’s technical highlights arerecorded elsewhere in thisreport, but railways continuedto dominate with further workrelated to the Ladbroke Groveincident and the Hatfieldincident of last autumn.To meet these demands, andothers, many staff have had towork unsociable hours,often in difficult conditions.I am grateful to them all.

Reflecting-ProjectingHSL can be rightfully proud ofits achievements over the lastfive years. Furthermore, it is inexcellent shape to meet thechallenges of the future and playa full part in assisting HSE andthe Commission to achieve the‘Revitalising Health and Safety’targets over the next decade.

Customer ServiceDelivering what the customerwants to agreed standards ofquality, timeliness and valuefor money is at the heart ofHSL’s philosophy on customerservice. During the past yearHSL has implemented a numberof actions to improve customerservice as highlighted in theresults of the independentcustomer survey undertakenearlier: staff trainingprogrammes have beenupdated; compliments fromcustomers are analysedcentrally to identify andpromote best practice; and aseries of Roadshows were heldfor HSE’s field-based inspectorsto exchange views and clarifyHSL’s service provision.

HSL has continued itsmembership of the PublicSector Customer SatisfactionBenchmarking and Best PracticeGroup. Membership of thisGroup is increasing and HSLhas maintained a favourable

Many of the recommendationsfor improvements havealready been addressed and theremainder are covered inHSL’s Health and Safety Planfor 2001/02. Environmentalawareness training for key staffwas conducted and HSL expectsto have its environmentalmanagement system up andrunning in 2001/02.

Corporate GovernanceHSL has reviewed itsarrangements for CorporateGovernance in line with theTurnbull recommendations.A risk workshop was held andthis enabled HSL to identifythe most important risks to thebusiness and put in placeprogrammes of mitigation.HSL expects to attain fullcompliance with theStatement of Internal Controlduring the coming year. 05

06

Summary ofAchievements

To complete 90% ofprojects to time and cost

Achieved 96%

To complete 95% ofsupport work to time

Achieved 97%

To achieve at least 80%reported customersatisfaction withcompleted projects andincident investigations

Achieved 96%A new system was introducedduring 2000/01 to collectinformation on completedresearch projects in which aperson independent of theproject management chaincarries out post-projectevaluations.

07

To recover fulleconomic costs on anaccruals basis, taking oneyear with another

AchievedDuring this period, HSLgenerated sales of £24,512,000against net costs of£21,994,000 to achieve anoperating surplus of£2,518,000. After the loss ondisposal of fixed assets andnotional interest on capital,HSL made a surplus onordinary activities of £1,682,000.

To meet the agreed netrunning cost financialposition

AchievedIn 2000/01, HSL bettered thetarget of zero net running costs.

To achieve income fromnon-HSE customers of£2.25m and reviewfuture targets with HSE

AchievedScience and Technologyincome in 2000/01 fromnon-HSE customers was£2,339,000. Future targetswere discussed and agreedwith HSE.

08

HSL has always recognisedthe importance of maintaininga wide network of scientificcontacts, both in the UK andoverseas, to exchangeinformation and keep abreastof the latest developments inhealth and safety research.At a strategic level, HSL's ChiefExecutive chairs an internationalgroup of directors of healthand safety laboratories.This group, comprising 23members from Europe andbeyond, meets once a yearand shares information on theirnational regulators' prioritiesand topics of common interest.

At the working level, HSL'sscientists represent HSE at over200 national and internationaltechnical standards committeemeetings and participate insome 60 collaborative projects,many of which are part-fundedunder the EuropeanCommission's FrameworkProgramme. For example,HSL is co-ordinating a projectinvolving six laboratories in theUK, France, Finland, Spain andGermany to develop methodsto assess the protectivecapabilities of face shieldsagainst radiant heat. The outputswill inform internationalstandards on eye protection.

Occupational exposure to dustremains one of the mostimportant causes of ill-healthat work and over the past fiveyears the European Commissionhas funded seven researchprojects on topics related tothe assessment and preventionof health risks arising fromworking in dusty environments.HSL has been leading adissemination effort to informthe public of the results of thisresearch. This has involvedexhibiting at a number ofvenues and also the creationof a dedicated website(www.nomoredust.org.uk).

InternationalCollaboration

HSL is assisting theNational Centre forOccupational Health inJohannesburg with asurvey to determine theairborne concentrationof asbestos in Soweto

HSL is co-ordinatinga project on faceshields to protectagainst radiant heat.This involves sixlaboratories in theUK, France, Finland,Spain and Germany

09

biomedical staff from HSLmade two visits to the NationalCentre for Occupational Health(NCOH) in Johannesburg aspart of a joint project fundedby the South African Safety inMines Research AdvisoryCommittee. South Africantechnicians and medical staffwere trained to assess minersexposed to vibration for thesymptoms of Hand-ArmVibration Syndrome.This transfer of skills hasenabled a large research projecton the disease to be undertakenin South African gold mines.

HSL is also assisting NCOHwith a survey to determine theairborne concentration ofasbestos in Soweto, a SouthAfrican township where thehousing is often made of

asbestos cement sheeting.HSL has provided advice andsupport in the design of thesurvey and training for NCOHpersonnel.

Much of HSL's work ispresented at national andinternational conferenceswhere it is exposed to debateand peer review. One of HSL'sscientists has a special reasonto look forward to attendingan international conferenceon ergonomics in Gothenburgin 2001. Clare Lawton, anergonomist, is to be presentedwith the prestigious StephenPheasant Memorial Fund prizeat this conference. This has beenawarded by the ErgonomicsSociety for her research in1999/00 into work-relatedinjuries at the UK division ofan international electronicsmanufacturing company.

As well as practical experimentalwork, HSL also participates ina number of European-fundednetworks. For example, HSL isthe UK national focal point forthe European Network onProcess Safety (SAFETYNET).SAFETYNET has over 90participants and aims toencourage links betweenindustry, legislative bodies,research organisations andinformation outlets. Its objectiveis to ensure that knowledgeon all aspects of health andsafety in the areas of fire,explosion and process hazardsis disseminated as widely aspossible leading to rapidadoption of safety techniquesand stimulation of furtherdevelopments by the creationof new and wider partnerships.

HSL's expanding non-HSEbusiness has also encompassedoverseas markets. In 2000,

HSL has workedwith US manufacturersof pollution-monitoringinstruments to developnew size-selectivesamplers forairborne particles

Clare Lawton, an HSLergonomist, is to bepresented with theprestigious StephenPheasant MemorialFund prizein Gothenburg

just passed a signal at danger.The collision occurred at aclosing speed of some 230km/hrand resulted in thirty one peoplelosing their lives and over 400people injured, some of themseriously. An unusual featureof the crash was the majorfire which ensued causingthe leading coach on theGreat Western train to becompletely burnt out. Fromphotographic, video and eyewitness evidence, the HSLinvestigation team were able toestablish that some six tonnesof diesel had been explosivelyreleased from the fuel tanks ofthe two trains. Furthermore,the release was sufficientlyatomised that it could beignited by discharges fromelectric power lines and otherignition sources at the crashsite. The crashworthiness ofthe fuel tanks was furtherexamined in a series of testscarried out using HSL’s uniqueimpact test facilities at its

Buxton site. The likely failuremode of the tanks wasdemonstrated and related toinformation obtained from thecrash site at the initial impactpoint of the two locomotives.

As to the cause of thecrash, sighting aspects ofthe signalling system out ofPaddington were studied,paying particular attention tothe window of opportunity toview the signal and the visibilityof the signal itself. Informationwas also obtained on the tasksthe Thames train driver wasbeing asked to perform duringthe journey, which might have10

HSLInvestigationsof Major RailAccidents

01CASE STUDY

Continued

Phil HeyesKeith Moodie

At the request of HSE, HSLhas been involved in theinvestigation of three major railaccidents since October 1999.These tragic events havebrought home to the country thehuman cost of rail accidents andhighlighted the importance ofrail safety.

HSL’s wide range of expertisein fire science, engineering,photography and human factorshas been brought to bear on theinvestigations. The accidents,and the findings from theirinvestigation, are having a majorinfluence on attitudes to safetyin the railway industry.

The first accident occurredat Ladbroke Grove nearPaddington on 5th October1999 when a Great WesternExpress was struck almosthead on by a Thamescommuter train which had

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alongside the British TransportPolice in gathering evidence toexplain the cause of the crash.There was evidence that thederailment had been causedby the fragmentation of a largesection of rail. Approximately150 metres of rail weretransported to HSL’s Sheffieldlaboratory for detailedmetallurgical examination.Attention subsequentlyfocused on the inspectionregime for the rails prior tothe accident and HSL was askedto review inspection reportsand the risk assessmentmethodology. The non-destructive test procedureswere assessed and samplesof rail from other parts of thenetwork were examined.

The eleven rail vehicles involvedin the crash were assessed fordamage, both internal andexternal, to understand thecrash dynamics and discoverwhether any aspect of thevehicle design or constructionwas suspect. It was alsoimportant to establish whethervandalism, or the way in whichthe train was being driven, wasa factor in the derailment.

The third accident occurredon the morning of 28th February2001 when an Intercity traintravelling from Newcastle toLondon struck a road vehicleon the line and was

caused a distraction,his familiarity with the routeand the effectiveness of thedriver training provided by thetrain company.

The investigation took ninemonths to complete, the pacebeing dictated by the needsof the Cullen public inquiryto which evidence waspresented by HSL staff onmost aspects of the accident.

The second major accidentoccurred on 17th October2000 when an Intercity trainfrom Kings Cross to Leedsderailed near Hatfield resultingin four deaths and manyinjuries. An HSL team arrivedat the scene within five hoursof the accident to work

CCTV Images courtesy of J Sainbury’s

subsequently in collision witha northbound goods train.Ten people died in the accidentand many people were injured.HSL staff attended the sceneshortly afterwards to recordevents using video and stillphotography, some picturesbeing taken from a helicopter,and to provide engineeringsupport to HSE’s RailwayInspectorate.

Given the circumstances ofthe crash, it was agreed thatthe railway industry shouldcarry out its own investigationwith HSL liaising with theindustry and providingfeedback on progress to HSE’sinspectorate. HSL is reviewingthe industry reports whichinclude consideration of vehicledynamics, crashworthiness 13

and the goods train/passengertrain interaction.

Separately HSL was asked,as a matter of urgency, toassess the probability of suchaccidents occurring. This wasdone by HSL risk assessmentspecialists within a few days,and involved a review of allroad/rail vehicle collisions inrecent years.

Experience with these threemajor rail accidents overthe past year has demonstratedthe breadth and depth of HSL’stechnical expertise in handlingcomplex investigations.

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HSL ergonomists have visiteda range of plants around theUK taking video recordings toenable analysis of the postureswhich the packers adopt whilsthandling bricks. Heart rateswere also measured over aworking shift to show the levelof exertion required. Workerscompleted a standardisedquestionnaire to indicate thenature and extent of anymusculoskeletal problemsthey were experiencing.

The ways in which workershandle bricks and the posturesthey adopt are very largelydetermined by the layout ofthe workstation and thedesigns of packs of bricks.Packers reported moreproblems in the wrists, handsand lower back than are foundin the rest of the workingpopulation. Hand packersare more seriously affected thanmonorail packers and handpacking is the more strenuoustype of work. Posturally, it is

worse than monorail packingas it generally involves bendingand stooping. Packers preferto handle larger numbers ofbricks per lift and performfewer lifts rather than handlingonly a few bricks in each lift.

Since the work was finished,HSE has produced a guidancedocument for the industry(“Manual Packing in the BrickIndustry”, INDG332) on how tocarry out risk assessments andmanage the risks of manualpacking in plants wheremechanisation is not feasible.Among the risk reductionmethods recommended areimprovements to workstationdesign and better workorganisation. Subsequently aseries of planned inspectionshave been carried out by HSEacross the industry to monitorprogress on the implementationof the guidance.

Brick sorting and packing ishard work by any standardsand is a high risk activity formusculoskeletal disorders inthe back and upper limbs.There are two types of manualpacking: mechanised jigs(‘monorails’) and handpacking. Monorail packersplace a set number of bricks ineach jig before it moves to thenext worker. Hand packerspack from fixed kiln packs tofixed despatch packs andwork at their own pace.Methods of handling vary,with some workers handlingfive bricks at a time (heldbetween the hands), and somewith one brick in each hand,lifting two and a half times asoften. As they are packed,bricks are inspected fordefects. Fired bricks typicallyweigh 2.0-2.5 kg and a workermay pack 20-30 tonnes per day.14

ManualPacking in theBrick Industry

02CASE STUDY

Andrew Pinder

15

Three Mile Island and Chernobylhappened in the early hoursof the morning. Short-term,daily fatigue and cumulativefatigue over a shift cycle canbe assessed using HSE’s FatigueIndex (FI). This is a simple toolconsisting of five factors knownto have an impact on fatigue:shift start time, shift duration,rest periods, breaks and thenumber of consecutive shifts.The level of fatigue over theshift cycle can be presentedgraphically to illustrate anypotential problems. Thehigher a peak on the graphthe greater the fatigue risk.

HSL has used this tool toassess changes to working hoursin safety critical environmentsin support of HSE colleagues.In a recent case, HSL used theFI to compare fatigue levelsassociated with an old shiftrota and a new 12 hour rota.While this approach is useful,an interpretation system is

required to clarify the level offatigue associated with anunacceptable risk of humanerror. This will enable HSEinspectors to demonstrate toemployers, during inspections,that fatigue in their workplaceis a potential risk. Duringaccident investigations, the FIwill also allow inspectors toassess the contribution offatigue. HSL is developing thisinterpretation system bycollecting data on shift rotasfrom across industry, includingthe offshore, nuclear, transportand chemical industries, andthe emergency services andcomparing them with accidentdata. This should highlightrotas which reduce the risk offatigue, minimise performancedecrement and ultimatelyimprove safety.

Increasingly, we live in a 24hour society. More people areworking at night, when theirbodies are programmed tosleep, and trying to sleepduring the day, when the restof society is awake. Disruptedsleep patterns and inadequatesleep can result in fatigue andreduced levels of cognitiveperformance thus increasing therisk of an accident. It is importantthat the risk from fatigue ismanaged by controlling workinghours, and that shift rotas aredesigned to minimise sleepdeprivation. Although it isunlikely that an ideal shift rotawill be identified, some shiftpatterns are known to causemore fatigue than others.

HSE is concerned that humanerror arising from fatigue mayhave catastrophic results insafety critical environments.Incidents such as those at16

Fatigue andShiftwork in theSafety CriticalIndustries

03CASE STUDY

Julie Bell

17

It may be less well known thatlettuce and other saladvegetables are washed inwater containing chlorinebefore being packed for theready-to-eat market. When thevegetables are cut duringpreparation, they release sapproteins which, in the presenceof the chlorinated water,form chloramines to whichthe packers may be exposed.

In the UK there is nooccupational exposure limitfor chloramines and very little isknown about the extent ofworkplace exposure. To fillthis knowledge gap, a surveywas carried out to measureexposure of swimming poolattendants and personnelengaged in lettuce preparation.The properties of the threechloramines are quite differentso a two-stage samplingdevice was required: mono-and dichloramine were trappedon the front section of thesampler and analysedelectrochemically; nitrogentrichloride was collected onthe rear section and measuredby ion chromatography.

The American Conference ofGovernmental IndustrialHygienists (ACGIH) hasproposed both short-term andtime-weighted average exposurelimits for exposure to nitrogentrichloride based on irritancyeffects. A few of the results fromthe swimming pools indicatedexposures that were at or justabove the ACGIH time weightedaverage limit but most resultswere significantly lower.All the exposures recordedduring lettuce processing werewell within the ACGIH limits.These data can now help toinform a risk assessment foroccupational exposure tochloramines. More widely,the assessment of irritancyeffects is a difficult area;occupational psychologists inHSL are developing an approachbased on a questionnairewhich should help to overcomesome of the problems.

What is the connectionbetween swimming pools andlettuce processing? Answer:a group of chemicals knownas chloramines.

It is generally known thatchlorine is used to disinfectthe water in swimming pools.On its own this is not usually aproblem but when bathersenter the water they introduceorganic matter, such as urine,which reacts with chlorine toform chloramines. The threechloramines (mono- anddichloramine and nitrogentrichloride) are known tocause eye and respiratoryirritation. Nitrogen trichlorideis of particular concern.It is hydrophobic and readilyoutgasses from the swimmingpool water into the atmosphere,potentially exposing attendantswho might spend much of theirworking day at the poolside.18

Release ofChloramines fromSwimming Poolsand ProcessingSalad Vegetables

04CASE STUDY

Bob GuiverHelen Chambers

19

of assessment. The first involvesthe use of a pendulum with arubber pad which swings acrossthe floor surface and measuresthe coefficient of dynamicfriction. The second instrumentmeasures the micro-roughnessof the floor which for a smoothsurface, such as the terrazzo-type tiles laid in the Galleries,is typically less than 10 millionthsof a metre.

Drawing on HSL’s wideexperience of interpreting slipresistance test results, it wasconcluded that the likelihoodof someone slipping when thefloors were clean and dry wasvery low. However, if thefloors became wet then therewas a significant risk of slipping.Clearly certain areas of theGalleries flooring might becomewet: for example the entrancefoyer and lavatories, or, in thecase of the cafe and bar, havedrinks spilt on the floor.To overcome these potentialproblems, two approacheswere adopted. A substantialarea of matting was installed

in the foyer to absorb waterbrought in by the public onwet days, and the flooring inareas of gallery where fluidcontamination was likelywas treated with an acidetching process to improveslip resistance in the wet byroughening the surface.The etching process had beentested by HSL in the laboratoryprior to its application and furtheron-site testing showed asignificant reduction in theslipperiness of the floor surfacein the areas treated.

The Galleries opened to thepublic in April 2001 withdisplays tracing the history ofthe cutlery industry in Sheffieldand a major exhibition of itemsloaned from the Victoria & AlbertMuseum in London.

A number of factors come intoplay when specifying flooringmaterials for public buildingssuch as the new MillenniumGalleries in Sheffield. Aestheticsare clearly important, as aredurability and ease of cleaning,but from a safety point of viewit is slip resistance which carriesthe most weight. The statisticsare clear; over 30% of all non-fatal major injuries in LocalAuthority and HSE-enforcedpremises are caused by a slip,trip or fall at the same floor level.

At the request of SheffieldCity Council, HSL scientistsundertook an assessment ofthe slip resistance characteristicsof the flooring of the MillenniumGalleries prior to the openingof the building. Tests werecarried out in a number of areasof the Galleries including theentrance foyer, restaurant,kitchens and lavatories.Two test methods arerecommended for this type20

05CASE STUDY

Assessment ofFlooring in theMillenniumGalleries, Sheffield

Steve ThorpePaul Lemon

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inspection problems associatedwith visiting and assessingpiercing studios, legal andinfection control issues requiredclarification within the newcircular. HSL performed a wideconsultation exercise whichincluded discussions with LAenforcement officers, bodypiercers, medical staff, the HomeOffice and the Department ofHealth. Through this processdefinitive guidance has beendeveloped on issues such asequipment sterilization,anaesthesia, assault andconsent; all topics that havecaused difficulty for LA officersand body piercers alike.

Many skin piercing businessesuse non-vacuum steamsterilizers, and information onthe safe use of such equipmentis presented in the LAC.Appropriate sterilization ofjewellery and instrumentscan help to prevent localisedbacterial infections caused byStaphylococcus aureus andPseudomonas aeruginosa.Sterilization also reduces the riskof blood-borne virus infectionssuch as hepatitis and HIV.Limitations on the use of localanaesthetics are also clarified inthe LAC. Specifically, injected

products can only beadministered by a medicaldoctor or dentist.Non-prescription drugs becomeprescription-only if they areinjected, and skin piercers mustbe informed of this for their ownlegal protection, and to preventthe inappropriate use of drugs.

In most of England, Wales andScotland, there is currently nolower age limit for cosmeticbody piercing althoughpermanent tattooing isrestricted to over 18s. Goodpractice, using legislation thatis already in place, is presentedin the LAC in the hope thatyoung people will beprotected. In making thisinformation clear for LAenforcement officers, the LACwill ensure that young people,along with their parents orguardians, can make aninformed decision abouttreatment.

Professional interest in thecircular remains high, and HSLis responding to requests forpresentations to interestedparties across the country.

Body piercing can no longerbe regarded as a fringe activityand has recently becomepopular across the age groupsand at all social levels. In part,this has been driven by thelarge number of celebritieswho have chosen to have theirbodies pierced, and manypiercings are now performedas fashion statements. In viewof this increased interest, theLocal Authority Unit in HSEapproached HSL for technicalassistance in updating itsexisting guidance on thistopic, in the form of a newLocal Authority Circular (LAC).

In much of the UK there is stillno legal requirement toregister a business with the LocalAuthority (LA) when performingcosmetic body piercing on areasother than the ears. However,any business performing earpiercing, tattooing oracupuncture requires LAregistration. To reduce the22

Health, Safetyand Legal IssuesRelated to BodyPiercing, Tattooingand Scarification

06CASE STUDY

Alan Beswick

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1911Government agrees to fund anexperimental station atEskmeals in Cumberland forthe investigation of explosionsin coal mines.

1921The establishment of theSafety in Mines Research Board.

1924Acquisition of the Harpur Hill,Buxton site for mining safetywork on a large scale.

1928Opening of central laboratoriesin Portobello Street, Sheffield.

1947Formation of the Safety in MinesResearch Establishment (SMRE)as part of the Ministry of Fueland Power, bringing together thework at Sheffield and Buxton.

1957Opening of a new laboratoryin Red Hill, Sheffield, tohouse engineering andmetallurgical work.

1959Formation of OccupationalMedicine Laboratory (OML),located in central London.

1965Opening of second laboratoryin Red Hill, Sheffield, withprovision for breathingapparatus studies,general laboratories, libraryand conference facilities.

1966Formation of OccupationalHygiene Laboratory (OHL) bythe factory inspectorate,located in central London.

1973Relocation of the OccupationalMedicine Laboratory andOccupational HygieneLaboratory to Cricklewood,North London.

1975Formation of the Health andSafety Executive (HSE). SMRE,OHL and OML merge to formHSE’s Research and LaboratoryServices Division (RLSD) tocover work from across a widerange of industrial health andsafety topics. RLSD adopts athree laboratory structure:

■ The Occupational Medicineand Hygiene Laboratory(OMHL) (at Cricklewood,North London)

■ The Safety EngineeringLaboratory (SEL)(at Sheffield and Buxton)

■ The Explosion and FlameLaboratory (EFL) (at Buxton)

1992Transfer of OMHL fromCricklewood to the purpose-builtRobens Building in Sheffield.

1995The restructuring of thethree laboratories into asingle integrated laboratory,the Health and SafetyLaboratory (HSL), whichbecomes an agency of HSE.

Milestones in the History of HSL

Health & Safety LaboratoryBroad LaneSheffield S3 7HQUnited Kingdom

Telephone 0114 289 2000Facsimile 0114 289 2500Email info@hsl.gov.ukWebsite www.hsl.gov.uk

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