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Incident alert
Safety at swimming pools
In December, a young girl was pulled from a local swimming pool unresponsive. Thankfully though, she quickly recovered. The girl was at the pool for school-based activities.
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Workplace health and safety alert
Fit testing for tight-fitting respirators
The purpose of this safety alert is to highlight the importance of fit testing for tight-fitting respirators for workers who need to use them, and to reinforce this requirement under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011.
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Incident alert
Overhead powerline incidents
In October 2021, a man suffered electric shock and severe burns while installing gutter guarding on the roof of an industrial shed. For reasons yet to be established, the worker came into contact with a nearby 11kV single wire earth return (SWER) while he was on the roof. In November 2021, a worker suffered serious burns and another minor injuries when a mobile concrete placing boom contacted an 11kV overhead powerline at a residential construction site. Initial enquiries indicate the mobile concrete placing boom was operating at the time of the incident.
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Incident alert
Fall from construction site scaffold
In October 2021, a worker fell approximately 3.5m from a scaffold bay extension platform (hop up) onto a scissor lift at a construction site, sustaining serious injuries.
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Incident alert
Worker seriously injured by wood chipper disk
In September 2021, a contractor suffered multiple fractures and a severe laceration while repairing a chipper disk weighing around two tonnes. For reasons yet to be established, the unrestrained chipper disc (part of a large wood chipping machine) has fallen from an upright position striking the contractor’s leg as it fell.
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Incident alert
Worker dies after being struck by mobile crane
In August 2021, a worker died after being struck by a mobile crane in pick-and-carry mode (lift and shift). Early investigations indicate the man was acting as a dogger and in control of a load when he was holding a tag (tether) line attached to the load that was being relocated at a workplace. It appears the worker was walking between the front of the mobile crane and the load when he was hit by the crane.
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Incident alert
Scaffold related incident
In July 2021, a spectator at a local sports ground in Brisbane was crushed by a tower frame scaffold. Initial enquiries indicate the scaffold appears to have blown over because of possible wind gusts, fatally crushing the man. Investigations are continuing.
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Incident alert
Use of high-pressure water spray equipment on asbestos roofs
In August 2021, as part of cleaning, sealing & painting at a house residence, a home maintenance business used high pressure water spray equipment on an asbestos cement roof. Asbestos contaminated dust and debris (ACD) was spread across the yard, in vegetation, on adjoining structures, as well as the driveway and a car. ACD also spread on to a neighbour’s driveway and car, and onto the street and into council drains. In a separate incident also in August, a painting contractor appears to have used high pressure water spray equipment on a roof believed to have asbestos containing material ACM debris was distributed on parts of the property and two neighbouring houses.
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Incident alert
One worker killed and six injured when powerline arced to harvester
In July 2021, one worker died and six others received electric shocks when a harvester came close enough to an overhead powerline to cause an electric arc. Initial investigations found the powerline had dropped approximately 3.6m from its original height because the stay wire on one of the poles had broken, potentially due to corrosion.
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Workplace health and safety alert
DC isolators – consequences of cancellation of a number of certifications
Direct current (DC) isolators used in photovoltaic solar systems in household installations are classified as high risk (level 3) electrical equipment in the Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS). They are required to be registered on the EESS national database before they are supplied in Queensland. This registration requires using a valid certificate of conformity.
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Incident alert
Worker falls from elevating work platform
In July 2021 a worker sustained multiple fractures and internal injuries after he fell approximately six metres from the platform of a truck mounted elevating work platform while trimming tree branches.
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Incident alert
Worker fatally crushed after being hit by moving vehicle
In August 2021, a worker was fatally injured when he was crushed between his truck and a concrete column. Early investigations indicate he had positioned the truck in the loading dock to wash the back out and clean it. It appears a timber pallet was used as a wheel chock to prevent the truck rolling. The driver was seen to go behind the truck where it is reasonably believed he was repositioning the pallet, when the truck rolled back and trapped him.