Hazardous materials & substances stories
A Christchurch flooring job ended in court after asbestos-tainted vinyl was handled unsafely, triggering fines and fresh warnings.
Industry-backed codes are seen as the quickest fix for WorkSafe NZ’s stretched oversight of chemical safety, amid a widening funding gap.
Poor handling of asbestos remains a deadly threat in ageing buildings, with WorkSafe warning around 220 New Zealanders die each year.
Businesses retrofitting flammable hydrocarbon refrigerants into existing cooling systems face a heightened fire and explosion risk, WorkSafe says.
Workers can be killed within minutes if toxic hydrogen sulphide builds up in confined or poorly ventilated spaces, WorkSafe warns.
A Bay of Plenty lime spreader has been fined after dust blown on to a motorway sparked a fatal multi-vehicle crash and killed Susan Walmsley.
A judge has called the site a fatal gas chamber after a worker died from hydrogen sulphide exposure, and the firm was fined and ordered to pay reparations.
Contractors risk prosecution and hefty fines if high-pressure water blasting disturbs asbestos on roofs or cladding in New Zealand.
A workshop worker was hospitalised after drum-cutting fumes ignited, highlighting the risk of explosion when hot work is done on containers.
UK workers exposed to pesticides face a higher risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a study of nearly 100,000 people.
Workers were exposed to toxic fumigants after poor respirator practices at a pest control firm prompted a GBP £250,000 fine.
A Christchurch manufacturer has been fined NZD $275,000 after toxic vapour from a trial went on to poison a worker and trigger a four-month recovery.
The incident prompted a safety warning on siphoning petrol, with WorkSafe saying swallowing fuel can cause fatal lung or stomach injuries.
Importers and manufacturers face four years to relabel chemicals as New Zealand shifts hazardous substances rules to the UN-backed GHS.
WorkSafe said workers were exposed to dangerous fibres after friable asbestos was stripped from a Queenstown property without a licence or safety plan.
A communication failure left scaffold workers exposed to caustic soda vapour, causing chemical burns and triggering more than GBP £300,000 in fines.
WorkSafe says the penalty follows a preventable eye injury that left a worker needing emergency cardiac surgery after animal-borne infection.
Asbestos risks were ignored during demolition, leaving workers and the public exposed and prompting a NZD $108,000 court penalty.
Employers in Australia and New Zealand are being urged to tighten protections, after studies linked welding fume to a 43% higher lung cancer risk.
Neighbours were endangered and a wheelchair user trapped when a demolition error caused a gas leak and asbestos exposure risks.
