Occupational hygiene covers all aspects of identification, evaluation and control of workplace health hazards. Vibration is one of these hazards. I wonder how companies are coping with these types of risk assessment. To be more specific, at what stage does measurement replace risk assessment and the use of manufacturer’s data and HSE points etc. At what point should a risk assessment highlight the necessity for measurement? Does the HSA offer any guidelines on this ? The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work(General Application) Regulations 2007,Chapter 2 of Part 5:Control of Vibration at Work states that “If the information is not available, if it is questionable or the estimated exposure looks like it might be above the exposure limit value, consideration should be given to undertaking exposure measurements”. I often find that this information is not available or difficult to obtain. Wondering if anyone had any thoughts ?

A lot of authority websites and blogs seemed to be questioned more and more these days in a world where the flow of information is rampant. You may ask the question am I qualified to provide information within the area of Enviornmental Management. I would like to think my academic background and experience qualifies me somewhat otherwise my past 20 years would have been better spent entering politics!

My name is Dr. Dan Gallagher and I am the founder and Managing Director for EHA Soft Solutions since 1992.   Prior to the completion of my Ph.D. a the University College Cork and  tenure as Managing Director, I managed to achieve a 1 class honors earning a Diploma in Safety, Health and Welfare, a post-graduate diploma in Environmental Protection and the Certified diploma in Accounting and Finance.  My work-based experiences have seen me serve as a senior manager in various multinational companies working on initiating, creating, and implementing safety (OHSAS 18001), quality (ISO 9001), and environmental (ISO 14001) management systems to international standards and Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) requirements. 

I am hopeful that provides those who may read my blogs with some insights on my background and why I am always looking a Health and Safety from a practitioners point of view.

The health concerns associated with exposure to dioxins has been in the Irish Media a lot recently because of the possible recent contamination of Irish pork products with dioxins. Dioxins are mainly by products of industrial processes but are also present in the environment. Dioxins are of concern because of their persistence in the body particularly in fat tissue and their toxic potential. Dioxins tend to accumulate in the food chain and the higher in the animal food chain one goes, the higher is the concentration of dioxins.
Occupational Health Consultant Dr John Gallagher of EHA says that ‘as with any toxic exposures the cornerstone of risk management is appropriate risk assessment and risk control’. It is for this reason that products such as mai™ HACCP are very important in the workplace since it provides a comprehensive food safety risk management and food product traceability tool to try prevent food safety issues arising at any stage in the supply chain.
About 419 types of dioxin-related compounds have been identified but only about 30 of these are considered to have significant toxicity, with 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo para dioxin (TCDD) being considered most toxic.
Go to the following link to read more about the health effects of dioxins:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs225/en/index.html

EHA Soft Solutions, is an established software company headquartered in Blackrock, Cork. The company has satellite offices in the U.S. in Chicago, Philadelphia. The mission of the EHASoft is to develop and deliver a comprehensive suite of applications designed to help organizations manage risk and compliance associated with environmental, health and safety (EH&S) issues.

In today’s global marketplace, many solutions are custom developed and often do not meet the requirements of practitioners responsible for EH&S management. Our unique suite was designed by and for EH&S practitioners and includes many features that assist them in day-to-day operations and ensures sustained compliance.

Can we help you Master Environmental Health & Safety