OSH HEADLINES from
ISRAEL, 2001-2004:
 INTERNATIONAL
INFORMATION RESOURCES IN HEBREW
are being consistently added
to the IIOSH web library. It currently includes 128 Hazard
Datasheets on Occupations (some of which are also published in
English and Russian at the CIS/ILO
website), 15 OSH Answers by CCOHS, and 27
International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSC) , a resource
supported by CIS/ILO.
The IIOSH website also features a constantly growing number of
Hebrew-translated technical articles and info sheets. -- 20.12.04
TWO UPCOMING OSH
EVENTS
have been announced recently. The Israel Professional
Safety Association and the Israeli Society for Occupational Medicine
will hold their joint conference on 14 December 2004 at Tel Aviv's
Dan Panorama hotel. The 1st Israeli scientific conference on the OSH
management systems, being organized by IIOSH with an international
participation, is scheduled for 4 May 2005 at Ramat Gan's Kfar
Maccabia convention center. -- 24.10.04
IIOSH
CELEBRATES ITS 50 YEARS
on 25 August 2004. On that day back
in 1954, the then President of Israel Yitzhak Ben-Zvi signed the
Work Inspection Organization Law - a legal basis for the
IIOSH existence and operation. Cheers to our colleagues and friends!
-- 25.08.04
REPORT ON THE STATE OF
THE WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH IN ISRAEL
has been presented
to Ehud Olmert, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry,
Trade, and Labor. The report, prepared by IIOSH, contains data on
the annual rate of work accidents (about 70000, over 60 of them
fatal) and compensation costs (over $570 million). A range of
actions is suggested for improving the situation, among them:
developing a comprehensive data reporting system; linking the OSH
performance with insurance costs; including the safety and health
issues into the national education curriculum; establishing a public
committee for setting national long-term goals and plans in the
field of OSH. --
10.06.04
11th NATIONAL SAFETY
AND HEALTH CONGRESS WAS HELD IN JERUSALEM
on 12-13 May. Over
1300 participants were presented with almost 80 lectures,
communications and panel discussions. During the congress, the
Safety at Height campaign was launched by the Ministry of
Industry, Trade, and Labor. A new website dedicated to OSH in
agriculture was started by IIOSH. The results were announced of the
Yoseftal Prize workplace safety competition, and 12 people,
including Prof. Trevor Kletz from UK, were awarded the honorary
title of Distinguished Fellow in the field of OSH. Pictures from the 11th Congress. -- 23.05.04
ONLINE GUIDE OF OSH
PRODUCTS' AND SERVICES' PROVIDERS
has been added to the
IIOSH website. The guide, searchable by categories and by keywords,
includes currently over 240 Israeli companies, organizations and
freelancers dealing with the whole range of occupational safety and
health issues. It also contains lists of certified laboratories and
inspectors, as well as other information useful for potential
customers of the OSH products and services. The project was
financially supported by the Inheritance Fund at the Ministry of
Welfare. --
04.02.04
OSH ANSWERS IN
HEBREW
are now part of the IIOSH website content. They are a
widely appraised safety & health information resource regularly
published by the Canadian CCOHS on its site. So far, courtesy of
CCOHS, eight items have been translated into Hebrew, on the topics
of the computer mouse using and lighting ergonomics. The Hebrew
versions closely follow the original content and layout, except for
some country-specific details, like references to the national
legislation. More Hebrew OSH Answers are going to appear in 2004.
-- 30.12.03
2nd AGRICULTURAL SAFETY
CONFERENCE
was recently held jointly by the Israeli
Agricultural Center, the Farmers' Accociation and IIOSH. The one-day
event in Kibbutz Shefaim was attended by over 300 representatives
from all segments of the Israeli agricultural sector. Besides
lectures and panel discussions, the participants were shown a
prototype of the future Agrosafety website, being currently
developed at IIOSH. --
17.11.03
SAFETY IMAGE
LIBRARY
has recently been added to the IIOSH website. The
library contains over 200 photos produced specifically for this
project and illustrating various safety situations and solutions in
several industries and occupations - metalworking, construction,
agriculture, laboratories, offices, and more. Every image is
accompanied with a short description. The project was funded by the
Manof Foundation of the National Insurance Institute. -- 27.08.03
NEW MINISTRY NOW
SUPERVISES THE ISRAELI WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
following
the government restructuring undertaken after the latest elections.
The former Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has been divided
into two and the labor part, including the responsibilities for the
Labor Inspectorate and for the Israel Institute for Occupational
Safety and Hygiene, handed over to the Ministry of Industry and
Commerce - now renamed the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Labor.
-- 29.05.03
THE IIOSH OFFICES WILL
BE CLOSED
during the Passover festival: 16 through 23 April
2003. The Institute staff and their families will use the break to
travel and relax - without gas masks at last! Our site will continue
publishing Hebrew OSH news as usual. A happy and peaceful Passover
to you all! --
15.04.03
IMPACT OF IRAQ WAR ON
WORKPLACE SAFETY
has been addressed at the IIOSH website.
Since the beginning of war in Iraq, the Israeli economy - as the
nation on a whole - continues on a high-preparedness footing. For
instance, workers are required to come to work equipped with their
personal gas masks, all workplaces must keep the shelters and
gas-sealed spaces ready, etc. Several Israeli websites - like those
of the Tel Aviv University, the Home Front Command, and the leading
news portals - have published guidelines and recommendations aimed
at preserving workers' health and safety in this time of looming
danger and anxiety. Our site makes detailed reference to such
publications and encourages exchange of practical hints on our
Professional Forum. --
31.03.03
STATISTICAL DATA ON
2002 FATAL WORK ACCIDENTS
issued by the Chief Labor Inspector
at the Ministry of Labor and Welfare show a slight decrease in the
number of work-related deaths in the past year: 59, compared to 60
in 2001. Similarly to the preceding years, construction was the most
deadly occupational sector, with 29 fatal accidents. The number of
foreign workers killed at their workplaces - 13 - remained
proportionally higher than their share in the Israeli workforce.
-- 20.01.03
REPORT ON TRAUMATIC
INJURIES IN ISRAEL IN 2001
has been prepared and recently
published by the team led by Dr. Kobi Peleg, of the Center for
Research on Trauma and Emergency Medicine (the Gertner Institute).
The report contains results of an ongoing epidemiological study and
presents comparative statistical data on various categories of
traumatic injuries suffered by Israelis in 2001, including those
caused by acts of terror and other hostilities, road and work
accidents, and more. --
24.12.02
THE FALLS EPIDEMIC
CONTINUES
as five construction workers were killed over the
last ten days, two of them in unrelated accidents on the same day.
Both local and foreign workers were among the victims. All the
accidents are being investigated by the police and by the Ministry
of Labor and Social Affairs' labor inspectors. -- 28.11.02
UPGRADED IIOSH
WEBSITE
has been launched. Together with a substantial
graphic face-lifting, the site received an innovative electronic
library with powerful albeit user-friendly search facilities. Many
impovements have been introduced with regard to the site contents,
navigation tools and easier availability. While practically all the
changes relate to the Hebrew pages, the English section will also
see some new features as well. -- 24.11.02
DOWNWARD
TREND IN WORK DISABILITY CLAIMS CONTINUED
also during 2001,
as evident from the annual report published by the National
Insurance Institute (NII). This trend has been more or less steady
since 1997, but the 2001 saw an especially notable drop: about 69
thousand claims were filed (which is 2.9 percent of the total
Israeli workforce), compared to 92 thousand in 1996 (4.3 percent).
While a certain improvement in the workplace safety has definitely
contributed to this decrease, another - less agreeable - factors
were incomplete reporting of work accidents and diseases and a
growing unemployment rate. --
27.10.02
THE IIOSH OFFICES WILL
BE CLOSED
during the Succot festival: from 19 through 29
September 2002. But not our site: we'll continue to publish news -
at least in Hebrew. A Happy New [Jewish] Year to everybody! -- 05.09.02
INDICTMENTS IN THE
BANQUET HALL DISASTER CASE
have been made by the state
investigation commission chaired by Judge V. Zeiler. As published
earlier on this site, in May 2001 the roof of the Jerusalem's
banquet hall "Versailles" collapsed, killing 23 and injuring 377.
The commission indicted 9 people, including the inventor of the
Pal-Kal roofing technology, the building designers and construction
contractors, and the banquet hall owners. -- 15.08.02
ISRAELI OSH LEGISLATION
NOW ACCESSIBLE VIA C I S CENTRES NETWORK
The Israeli
legislation page has been added to the CIS/ILO-operated site
www.ciscentres.org [click here for viewing]. The page contains links
to English full-text versions of main Israeli OSH laws, as published
by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. More information on
OSH activities in Israel - publications, training, etc. - will be
added to the CIS Centres Network in the near future. -- 31.07.02
NEW LAB SAFETY AND
HEALTH REGULATIONS
are in force since 16 July 2002. Their
full title is Work Safety Regulations (Safety and Occupational
Hygiene in Work with Hazardous Factors in Medical, Chemical and
Biological Laboratories) - 2001. The regulations contain
sections on term definitions; duties of lab owners and managers;
general OSH measures to be taken in labs; specific precautions in
chemical, biological and medical labs; duties of lab workers;
requirements for OSH training and risk notification. -- 22.07.02
CONSUMER PROTECTION
REGULATIONS (INFORMATION ON NON-IONIZING RADIATION EMITTED BY MOBILE
PHONES)
have entered into force on 16 June 2002. The
Regulations, signed by the Minister of Industry and Commerce,
require every mobile phone marketed in Israel to be accompanied with
an information insert in Hebrew, Arabic and Russian. The insert must
contain the actual level of non-ionizing radiation (SAR) as compared
to the norms published by the Ministry of the Environment, as well
as safety and health information on the use of mobile phones by
children, while driving, etc. A short warning must be also printed
on the phone packaging. --
27.06.02
ISRAEL WAS REPRESENTED
AT 16TH WORLD OSH CONGRESS
in Vienna, 25-31 May 2002, by
several delegates, including those from IIOSH and National Insurance
Institute (NII). Click here for a picture of the Israeli group in
the Congress lobby. Besides presenting a paper on a community-based
approach to the development of a national OSH website, IIOSH
delegates have taken part in professional discussions and informal
meetings with many of our foreign colleagues. Israeli participation
in the OSH Film Festival culminated in a Second Prize awarded to the
NII-produced film "Woman in Gray". See a picture from the film , and that of NII's
Rina Bodankin receiving the prize. -- 09.06.02
10th NATIONAL SAFETY
CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION
held on 14 and 15 May in Tel Aviv's
Center of Fairs & Congresses, attracted an unprecedented
attendance of over 1700 participants from all over Israel. Please
view here images from the event. -- 21.05.02
FIRE EVERY 14
MINUTES
breaks out in Israel, according to Acting Fire &
Rescue Commissioner Sh. Katzir. In 2001, no less than 28 people
perished in fires across the country. These figures are notably
higher than those registered in 2000. The rise may be partly
explained by a deteriorated security situation resulted in a much
heavier workload on fire and rescue personnel, which leaves them
with less time and resources for their normal prevention and control
operations. --
28.04.02
ISRAELI OSH LAWS IN
ENGLISH
are now available on the website of the Ministry of
Labour and Social Affairs. Clicking here will open a list of PDF documents
containing various Israeli laws in the field of labour relations.
Two pieces of legislation relating specifically to the workplace
safety and health, are WORK SAFETY ORDINANCE (NEW VERSION) and
LABOUR INSPECTION (ORGANIZATION) LAW (items 32 and 33,
respectively). --
18.04.02
THE IIOSH OFFICES WILL
BE CLOSED
during the Passover festival: from 27 March through
3 April 2002. However, our site will continue as usual. Have a Happy
Passover! --
26.03.02
OVER 5,500 WORK
ACCIDENTS IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
have been recorded in
Israel in 2001, according to Arie Karandish, Head of Safety Dept. at
the Israeli Farmers Association. This number included farmers and
their families, domestic and foreign workers. The leading causes of
accidents were falls from machinery, being struck by machinery,
strenuous movements, inhalation of toxic substances, and accidents
involving animals. The cost of work-related agricultural accidents
was estimated at almost US$ 25 million. -- 24.03.02
VIRTUAL Q&A SESSION
ON SAFETY TRAINING
has been recently hosted by the IIOSH
website. During four hours Mrs. Varda Edwards, Deputy Chief Labor
Inspector, and Mr. Yossi Koskas, the IIOSH Head of Training, were
giving online answers to almost 50 questions posted by plant safety
officers and other OSH specialists. Most of the questions related to
law-mandated safety training of workers and to a fervently debated
issue of obligatory refresher courses for certified safety officers.
-- 27.02.02
SLIGHTLY FEWER FATAL
ACCIDENTS IN 2001
were registered in Israel, according to the
figures just published by the Chief Labor Inspector. However,
although the total number of workplace deaths dropped from 61 in
2000 to 60 in 2001, the construction sector remained the most
dangerous industry, with 31 fatalities compared to 29 a year
earlier. As during the preceding years, fall from height was the
leading cause of death (20 accidents). Another disturbing data is a
higher number (9 against 7 in 2000) of foreign workers killed in
work accidents. --
16.01.02
AGROSAFETY
PROJECT
has been launched by IIOSH a few days ago. The
project, funded by the Manof Foundation of the National
Insurance Institute, aims at improving health and safety situation
in the Israeli agricultural sector, where both domestic and foreign
workers are employed. About a dozen specially recruited OSH
instructors will operate in all types of agro-enterprises -
kibbutzim, communal settlements, and private farms. -- 23.12.01
CONCLUSIONS ON THE
BANQUET HALL DISASTER
have been made public by the
investigation committee appointed by the Housing and Construction
Ministry and presented to the government by Minister Sharansky. The
disaster happened in May 2001, when the roof of the banquet hall
"Versailles" in Jerusalem collapsed in the midst of a wedding party,
taking away 23 lives. The number of injured amounted to 377. The
investigation committee blames an insufficiently tested construction
technology and calls for establishing a national regulatory body
that would test such technologies and permit, or ban, their use. The
Technion - affiliated Institute for Building Research has been
proposed to serve in this capacity. -- 12.11.01
PROBLEMS
WITH E-MAIL
have been experienced by the IIOSH mail server
during the last two weeks. As a result, we were not receiving e-mail
messages sent to any of the addresses xxxx@osh.org.il. Those who
tried to communicate with us by e-mail during that period, are
kindly requested to resend their messages. We apologize for any
inconvenience. --
07.10.01
EMERGENCY EVACUATION
DRILL
will be conducted at Israel's tallest building, the
49-store Azrieli Center in Tel Aviv. that houses numerous offices
and businesses. According to the Ma'ariv daily, the drill was
planned by the center's management (headed by a retired Israeli army
general) well before the Twin Towers disaster. -- 30.09.01
JOINT SCIENTIFIC
CONFERENCE
of the Israeli Society for Occupational Medicine
and the Israeli Association of Industrial Hygienists will be held on
5 September 2001 in Tel Aviv, within the framework of MEDAX 2001 -
the Israeli Medical Week. --
30.08.01
TWO "CALLS FOR
PROPOSALS"
in the field of OSH have just been published by
the Manof Foundation of the National Insurance Institute. The
first call relates to applied research of occupational hazards:
their identification, casuative links to workers' morbidity, and
prevention by technological and organizational means (especially at
SMEs). The second document calls for research proposals on the use
and efficacy of Codes of Practice in various countries, in view of
introducing similar documents into Israeli practice. -- 16.08.01
NEW ISRAELI RESEARCH ON
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
has been published in the July, 2001,
issue of Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. In a
longitudinal study of industrial employees, researchers from the
National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health in
Ra'anana investigated the interactive effect of chronic exposure to
noise and job complexity on changes in blood pressure and job
satisfaction.
Click
to read a journal abstract -- 30.07.01
OVER A
HALF OF PLANTS VIOLATE ATMOSPHERE EMISSION NORMS
- as found
in a series of surprise inspections at 49 industrial plants by the
Ministry of the Environment. Most of the 26 culprits are located in
the Southern part of Israel. Speaking at a news conference, Minister
Tzahi Ha-Negbi promised to continue such raids in the future and to
start criminal proceedings against some of the guilty companies.
-- 18.07.01
NEW OSH PROJECTS WERE
APPROVED
at a recent meeting of the Board of the Manof
Foundation. The Foundation is operated by the National Insurance
Institute (the Israeli governmental disability compensation fund)
with the purpose of supporting research and practical actions aimed
at the prevention of work-related injuries. Amomg the approved
projects: Promotion of safety awareness in the agricultural sector;
Trial implementation of the IS 18001 OSH management standard at
SMEs; Training of Thai workers in the safe use of worktools; Hazard
survey methods for construction sites. -- 28.06.01
ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF
THE SAFETY PROFESSIONALS' ASSOCIATION
will be held, jointly
with the Israeli Society for Industrial Hygiene, on 1 July 2001 at
Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel-Aviv. Discussion topics will include the
Internet's increasing role in the everyday activities of Israeli OSH
officers, the new Safety Management standard, and more. -- 19.06.01
NEW CD-ROM PRODUCT IN
HEBREW
is being distributed by the IIOSH - free of charge.
The CD-ROM contains 11 IIOSH technical publications on various OSH
topics in a full text format - altogether over 2000 pages. A
state-of-the-art search engine with a user-friendly interface
assures easy information retrieval. The project was financially
supported by the Manof foundation of the National Insurance
Institute. --
03.06.01
CHIEF LABOR INSPECTOR
MEETS OSH PEOPLE IN CYBERSPACE
in an online Q&A session
hosted by out site on 22 May. During the session that lasted 3 1/2
hours, Mr. Peter Magnus, the Chief Labor Inspector at the Ministry
of Labor and Welfare, answered, in real time, over 20 questions
posted by safety professionals from all over the country. The main
topics were various current and upcoming safety and health
regulations, the Ministry's enforcement policy, and professional
status of safety officers. --
23.05.01
POSTER-FORMAT SAFETY
BULLETIN IN RUSSIAN
is now accessible from our site. This
quarterly publication is aimed at tens of thousands of industrial
workers whose first language is Russian. The Hebrew and Arabic
editions of this bulletin will follow to the Web soon. To see the
Russian bulletin, click here [Requires
Adobe Acrobat Reader]. -- 08.05.01
INTEL
ISRAEL IMPLEMENTS COMPREHENSIVE ERGONOMIC PROGRAM
at its
large microchip plant in Qiryat-Gat, as reported in the latest issue
of the Hebrew bimonthly "Safety at Work". Almost 4,000 employees are
given ergonomic training, and their workstations - whether in
manufacturing shops, labs, or offices - are undergoing ergonomic
assessment and improvement, supported by a strong managerial
commitment. --
29.04.01
TWO SOCIAL LAWS'
AMENDMENTS
have been passed by the Knesset and signed by
President Katsav. The "Women Work Law" now provides a better
protection for workers who undergo various kinds of fertility
treatment. The amended "Sick Leave Payment Law (Absence from Work
due to a Child's Illness)" assures longer sick-child leaves to
working parents. --
17.04.01
THE IIOSH OFFICES WILL
BE CLOSED
during the Passover festival: from 8 through 14
April 2001. However, our site will continue to operate, so please
come back. Have a Happy Passover / Merry Easter - whatever applies!
-- 04.04.01
NEW EUROPEAN PROJECT ON
OSH MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR SMEs
has been initiated by IIOSH.
The project's working group, comprising representatives from 8
countries, will meet at the Czech OSH Institute in Prague on 10 - 11
May. For more details, welcome to the project's homepage available
from this page. --
26.03.01
THE ISRAELI SAFETY
MANAGEMENT STANDARD IS NOW IS 18001
instead of its previous
designation, IS 4481. The purpose of this change is to emphasize the
standard's close relation to the OHSAS 18001 Specification, as well
as to hint at its being a "continuation" of the already established
line of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000. -- 12.03.01
NEW
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES REGULATIONS
have been issued at the
end of February. Developed by the Israeli Ministry of Transport,
they replace an ordinance dated to 1978. The new regulations
determine the rules for the transport of dangerous goods by road,
and are part of the ongoing process of harmonizing the Israeli
practices with the international agreements and regulations. -- 06.03.01
TWO NEW MOBILE SAFETY
TRAINING UNITS
have been added recently to the IIOSH fleet,
now totalling four such units. One of them is intended for on-site
training of workers at industrial plants, another is dedicated to
construction sites, and two other units are multi-purpose and
capable of serving both sectors. Based on an advanced interactive
video technology, the units deliver multimedia OSH contents in a
number of languages, including Hebrew, English and Arabic. They
received an international acclaim (most recently at the Sao Paulo
congress) and were highly appraised by the ILO. -- 26.02.01
HIGH STANDARDS OF IIOSH
TRAINING COURSES
have been acknowledged by the Ministry of
Education. These courses will be now automatically recognized by the
"Continuing Education Foundation", making them an even more
attractive educational opportunity. IIOSH is currently the only
Israeli training provider - other than universities - given such a
recognition. --
08.02.01
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