Health and Safety guidelines surrounding hazardous substances and decontamination can often be vague. Guidelines often recommend the provision of 'hygiene facilities' or 'washing facilities' to ensure potentially harmful substances are removed before a worker moves on to another task or finishes work for the day. However, an ordinary shower or sink is not always enough to achieve complete decontamination, especially in the event of an accidental spill or splash.

Legionnaires' disease is contracted when bacteria in water droplets or aerosols are inhaled into the lungs. Certain conditions allow Legionella bacteria to multiply rapidly and increase the risk of an outbreak, these include temperatures between 20-45 C, stagnated water and areas that produce a lot of water spray.

As such, emergency safety showers and eye wash units, which can often remain unused for extended periods, should be managed effectively to reduce the risk of Legionella bacteria growing, surviving and spreading.

Weekly activation of your emergency safety showers and eye/face wash units is paramount to ensure that all emergency equipment is operating properly. This process is stated as a requirement in European and International standards (EN15154 and ANSI/ISEA Z358.1-2014)

In the UK alone more than 100 million tonnes of waste are generated every year requiring an enormous workforce to sort and process this waste each day. The recycling and waste management industry is constantly growing and developing due to the need for innovative technologies and processes required to deal with increasingly dangerous waste.

Hughes are proud to have been awarded Best Health and Safety in Manufacturing at the SHE Awards 2019.This award win recognises the successful implementation of a Good Catch System at Hughes which helped in achieving a positive health and safety culture.

The value of the global beer industry is predicted to reach a staggering £526,000 million by 2025. In Europe alone the brewing industry is estimated to employ over 100,000 people, producing over 40 billion litres of beer every year.

However, getting that beer from grain to glass is not a straightforward process. Even after brewing is complete, harsh chemical cleaners need to be used to ensure the tanks and pipework are sanitised and safe. Due to the potential for a splash or spill of these hazardous cleaners, on-site safety showers are a necessity.

Due to the fast-paced, deadline-driven nature of the printing industry it can often be easy to overlook the need for health and safety equipment. The UK is the world’s fifth largest producer of printed products, with around 120,000 employees – a large workforce that needs to be protected.

The fertiliser industry uses extremely hazardous materials in their production processes. Common industry chemicals like anhydrous ammonia can cause burns and inhalation hazards.Others like ammonium nitrate pose a risk of fire and explosion.

In 2006 a large explosion at a fertiliser plant in Teeside, UK caused a fire involving mixed gases including hydrogen, nitrogen and ammonia prompting the police to declare a major emergency.

Anaerobic digestion is an environmentally-friendly, cost-effective solution to converting waste into renewable energy. There are many important health and safety issues to consider and potential risks to mitigate when operating a biogas plant such as explosion, fire, poisoning and surface water leakages. How can Hughes Safety Showers help with some of the potential hazards?

Major water utilities companies across the UK - including Thames Water, Scottish Water, United Utilities and Welsh Water - specify emergency tank showers from Hughes for their site and it’s not difficult to see why.

Emergency safety showers and eye/face wash units provide the first line of defence in the event of a chemical splash or spillage. Any delay in the removal of these spillages can result in serious injury with possible long-term consequences, permanent disability and even death.

There are fundamental points to consider when making the important decision of selecting emergency safety equipment irrespective of the industry or the location and climate.