Menu
Workplace health and safety laws have come a long way over the past century, but sadly, it has taken a number of disasters to alert medical professionals and legislators to potential hazards. The evolution of safety regulations, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, is undoubtedly saving lives. However, many people had suffered fatalities, or life-changing illnesses and accidents, before the authorities realised the dangers of certain working conditions and practices.
© Canva
One of the most devastating lapses in workplace safety occurred during World War I, when thousands of women joined the workforce while the men were away fighting. In the early 1900s, pocket watches were the norm, but they weren’t practical during conflict, so the War Office distributed wristwatches to soldiers. They had luminous dials and hands for visibility in the dark.
Female factory workers applied the fluorescent paint, made of zinc sulphide and radium, which is a radioactive. They used camel-hair brushes, re-pointing the bristles by licking them frequently, ingesting radium and leaving work covered in deadly particles. In the early 1900s, there was little scientific understanding of radium, and it was even used in eye cream, toothpaste, cosmetics and drinking water.
Female dial painters employed in several American watch making factories in 1917 began suffering severe ill-health in 1921 including toothache, lost teeth, a collapsed jaw (jaw necrosis), brittle bones and a collapsed spine. In 1922, the first former factory worker to die was Amelia Magga, aged 25, who had painted dials for four years. Sadly, more than 50 dial painters had died by 1927.
Surviving workers took legal action against their employer, United States Radium, in 1927. Lawyers reached an out-of-court settlement in 1928. Each woman received £7,400 compensation, an extra £450 a year for life and had all their medical bills paid. In today’s terms, this equates to £627,000 each and £38,000 a year. However, it was too late for many of the workers: a total of 112 people died.
In the early 1900s, steam coal was used not only to provide heat, but also to create steam to drive turbines that generated electricity. The Senghenydd Colliery disaster in 1913 was the UK’s worst mining tragedy in history.
Employees of Universal Colliery, on the South Wales coalfield, were extracting steam coal from the mine amid a high quantity of firedamp, an explosive gas comprising hydrogen and methane. The air was filled with airborne coal dust, but they continued to work, with scant regard for safety.
On 14th October 1913, firemen had carried out their daily check for gases at 3am. However, they had only three hours to complete their tests, leaving insufficient time to travel the two-mile shaft. The company reportedly wouldn’t permit any further checks, as this would lead to downtime.
The morning shift began at 6am, with 950 miners descending into the shaft from 5.10am onwards. However, just after 8am, a major explosion occurred underground, followed by multiple further explosions. Tragically, 440 people lost their lives, with 60 of the victims being under 20 years old, including eight 14-year-old boys. Investigations suggested a spark from underground signalling equipment, combined with inadequate ventilation, had ignited firedamp gas. The large amount of combustible airborne coal dust made the blaze much worse.
The Senghenydd Colliery disaster resulted in major changes to the UK’s mining industry, including the installation of methane detectors underground, improved ventilation, and the mandatory use of safety lamps. These improved the working conditions for miners and helped to prevent similar disasters in the future.
Unfettered industrial pollution in the 1950s led to the tragic deaths of around 12,000 people. The Great Smog of London will go down in history as a massive disaster that led to major public health hazards and new laws to improve air quality and environmental awareness. The terrifying event lasted from 5th to 9th December 1952, during a period of intense air pollution that caused a catastrophic spike in respiratory illnesses. A lethal cocktail of fog and smoke suddenly turned into thick clouds of smog, reducing visibility to almost zero, impacting daily life and bringing transport to a halt.
Unusually cold weather, high atmospheric pressure (known as an anticyclone) and a multitude of airborne pollutants such as coal dust and fumes created a “perfect storm” of conditions for disaster. The thick layer of smog caused an avalanche of patients with breathing difficulties rushing to attend hospital A&E departments.
People wore masks outdoors, but respiratory diseases increased exponentially. Over the next five days, an estimated 4,000 people lost their lives. By the time the weather changed on Tuesday 9th December, clearing the smog, hospitals were overflowing with seriously ill patients.
Respiratory diseases continued for many years, with scientists estimating the final death toll was 12,000 people, due to fatal long-term respiratory problems. Public outcry led to the Clean Air Act 1956 – a landmark piece of legislation that banned the burning of high-sulfur coal in designated smoke controlled areas, leading to a shift in government environmental policies.
The world’s most horrific industrial accident, the Bhopal disaster, occurred on 3rd December 1984, when a leak of highly toxic Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas led to 2,259 immediate deaths and 558,125 injuries, with 3,900 people left severely and permanently disabled.
The tragedy occurred due to a chemical accident overnight at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal. More than half a million people living in small towns around the plant were exposed to the deadly gas. Investigations suggested water had entered the MIC tank, causing a chemical reaction that forced open the pressure release valve, causing gas to leak into the atmosphere. Investigations didn’t conclude until 2010, when seven former employees were sentenced to two years in prison for causing death by negligence.
The Bhopal disaster impacted health and safety procedures globally, with the US government passing the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act in 1986. It increased public access to information on toxic and hazardous chemicals in the workplace, requiring companies to report their use, storage and release into the environment.
In the UK, the HSE is kept continually aware of potentially hazardous businesses, and local authorities can prepare emergency plans to protect the community from risks.
In the UK, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the cornerstone of legislation to protect employees in the workplace, with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 requiring employers to control hazardous substances.
AirBench contributes to workplace safety through our products and services: we provide an advanced dust extraction system for any workspace to remove harmful airborne contaminants, improve air quality and ensure businesses meet strict health and safety standards. We have sold more than 10,000 units of fume extraction and dust extraction systems to satisfied clients across the UK, Europe and worldwide.
If you wish to try an AirBench product free of charge from our large range, we’d be happy to help: please book a demo using our convenient online booking form.
AirBench Ltd are the UK’s leading manufacturer of downdraught benches and cross draught extraction systems. We have more than 10,000 extraction systems in service in the UK and overseas. Along with our range of coolant mist filters and air cleaning systems, we are actively helping businesses across many industries solve their workplace dust and fume issues.
If you'd like to try an AirBench product for FREE simply book a demo and we'll bring one to you.
If you’d like to try an AirBench product for FREE simply book a demo and we’ll bring one to you.