The Health and Safety Executive have issued a bulletin covering some of the health and safety incidents and court cases which have happened recently. The bulletin has cases from several different industry sectors and links to good practice and relevant legislation.
Click on the link below to see the bulletin
United Environmental Services were invited to conduct Continued Professional Development (CPD) training for a group of architects in Oxfordshire.
The training concentrated on the ecological factors which have a bearing on development and planning permission, and the best approach to take. As the audience were largely architects the main issue that they encountered was bats. The presentation concentrated on bats, the types of bat surveys available, the best deployment of those surveys, and the best approach to legislation, licensing and planning.
The training should help the architects to properly plan for and manage ecological issues which can affect the developments which they work on, which will help to keep project schedules on time and on budget.
Great crested newts were also covered on together with breeding birds, such as barn owls.
The training was very well received by the group
United Environmental Services are now registered on the Achilles database.
Achilles is a global company which pre-qualifies service suppliers ensuring that good business practices and standards are adhered to. This simplifies the procurement process for end users such as utilities companies and large development companies.
More information about Achilles can be found by clicking the link below
http://www.achilles.com/en/global/Misc/header/About-Achilles/
Beavers thinning out woodlands may help to create good quality feeding habitat for aerial hunting bats.
A study carried out by researchers from the University of Gdansk, Poland has shown that bats may be one of the species to benefit from the reintroduction of the European Beaver. The study showed that trees felled by beavers opened up the woodland and the number of aerial hunting bats increased. The bats also benefitted from the damming activities of the beaver which led to the flooding of areas of woodland, and an increase in the numbers of insect prey for the bats.
Bat surveys carried out by the research group indicated that the species which benefitted most were species such as common pipistrelle, soprano pipistrelle and nathusius pipistrelle and also the noctule bat.
Daubentons bats which are closely associated with water did not benefit as much as expected. This is possibly because daubentons bats like to hunt low over water using a reflected echolocation pulse to locate prey. The water in the flooded woodlands was quickly populated by aquatic plant species such as duckweed which scatters the echolocation pulse making hunting more difficult.
The reintroduction of the beaver could benefit many species such as the great crested newt.
The full article can be found by clicking the link below
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9353000/9353551.stm
A property management company was fined £30,100 today after admitting a series of offences which led to workers being exposed to asbestos fibres.
MA Estates Limited of Holmfield, Halifax, the owner and landlord of a factory building in Holdsfield Road, was prosecuted by HSE for failing to properly manage the removal of asbestos-containing materials when employees were replacing a roof at the factory in June 2007.
For the full press release see the link below
United Environmental Services are a CHAS accredited contractor, and have been accredited since 2009. The Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme or CHAS is a government run scheme, which aims to improve health and safety and remove duplication in the procurement process.
To qualify for CHAS accreditation a company is assessed on the following
By becoming CHAS accredited we have removed the need for companies using our services to assess our health and safety policies. This saves time and money when arranging for work to be completed and helps to give all parties involved the peace of mind that work is being carried out with proper regard to safety.
Health and safety is always a concern as the surveys we do are often in inaccessible and dangerous places. Bat surveys can be in run down buildings and involve climbing up large trees for aerial inspections. Great crested newt surveys are carried out in ponds in the dark. We have always tried to ensure that we work as safely as is possible, becoming CHAS accredited has allowed us to be recognised for that.
More details of the scheme can be found by clicking the link below
An article has been published on the Inpractice website which gives guidance to veterinarians on the care of British bats. Bats are often taken in to care by members of the public or volunteer bat workers.
Some of the common injuries found in bats are when domestic cats attack bats. Cats will wait outside the bat roost entrance and then attack bats as they leave the roost. The injuries associated with this are often torn wings and punctures. The wings of an injured bat will sometimes heal naturally other more serious injuries may result in death or unfortunately euthanasia.
Bats are also often injured by members of the public when they discover bats in their houses and try to catch them. The types of injuries found are on the bat are often broken wings and legs form being handled too roughly. A bat with broken legs cannot roost, feed or clean itself and will die without intervention.
If bats are found in the home or injured the best thing to do is call the bat conservation trust who will arrange for a bat worker to come and collect the bat and take it to get appropriate care.
The bat conservation trust helpline number is 0845 1300 228
Click on the link below for a pdf of the full article
Natural England has withdrawn as the lead partner for the Suffolk White tailed sea eagle reintroduction program.
The sea eagle project partnership headed by Natural England and the RSPB has already carried out an extensive feasibility study into the potential effects of the scheme on farming and local biodiversity.
Dr Tom Tew, Chief Scientist for Natural England, said “We have taken the decision to withdraw from the project at this stage because we believe it would be inappropriate to commit public funds to an extensive public consultation over a project that we would, in the foreseeable future, be unable to fund.
In response, Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB’s Head of Conservation, said: “This decision will disappoint all those who look forward to the return of white-tailed eagles to their rightful place in England’s skies.
“Righting the wrongs of the past, which saw these magnificent birds driven from our coasts and wetlands, remains a priority for conservation programmes of the future particularly when illegal persecution of birds of prey remains far too common in the UK.
“The RSPB recognises that in a time of financial restrictions some projects need to be delayed but we are very concerned that wildlife conservation will be hit very hard by the financial stringencies ahead.
For full details click the links below
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/about_us/news/2010/140610.aspx
Its exiting news for bat fans today as a new species of bat has been discovered resident in the UK. The Alcathoe’s bat (Myotis alcathoe) has been discovered at two sites some 350km apart. The first site is in Rydale in Yorkshire and the second in the south downs of Sussex. The distance between the sites suggests that the bats have been resident for some time.
The Species has gone unnoticed as it is very similar to two species of bat which are already resident, the Whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus) and the Brandts’ bat (Myotis brandtii). All three species are very similar in appearance even when in the hand but habits, prey and echolocation are different with the alcathoe’s bat echolocation terminating at a frequency higher than that of its relatives.
For more details and the full story please click on the links below.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/786/bat_species_discovered_for_the_first_time_in_uk
http://www.bats.org.uk/news.php/75/new_bat_species_found_in_the_uk
On the 1st of April 2010 the Conservation Regulations 1994 were replaced by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. The main purpose of the new legislation is to consolidate all of the amendments which have been made to the regulations since 1994.
The new legislation is available online from the OPSI website on the link below;
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2010/uksi_20100490_en_1
The Regulations affect a wide range of species and habitats including all British bat species and the great crested newt.