ABSTRACT
The role of the Environmental Health Practitioner (EHP) in health and safety has changed significantly since the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act in 1974. However, the challenges affecting today’s EHP in health and safety are still as great as they always have been. In 2008/09 180 workers were killed whilst at
work, 131,895 injuries to workers were reported under RIDDOR. 4.7million worker days were lost due to injury whilst at work and 24.6 million days lost through workplace ill-health. The number of fatalities recorded for 2008/09 demonstrates a statistically significant decrease compared to the previous five years, demonstrating that whilst improvements are being made, there is still some way to go [1]. The overall number of Improvement Notices
served and prosecutions taken is reducing year on year. In 2008/09, 14,429 Improvement Notices were served (6340 by Local Authorities) compared to 15,234 Notices in 2006/07 (6960 served by Local Authorities) [1]. The regulatory landscape has changes beyond
recognition in the last decade. Many of the changes will be explored later in this Chapter; however, first
we should look back at the formation of the modern health and safety framework. The first piece of legislation aimed at worker
protection was an Act to protect children and young workers in mills and factories in 1833, which appointed inspectors of factories to enforce the provisions of young worker protection and set the framework for the regulation and enforcement of health and safety that we still see today. The hazards and challenges in health and safety have changed drastically. The demise of the industrial and manufacturing base in the United Kingdom has seen a change in focus from the dominance of mechanical and physical stressors to the modern day focus on what are seen as ‘softer’ although no less important, occupational health stressors such as worker stress and technology, particularly the use of computers and nanotechnology. This presents the moderns day practitioner with a different set of challenges from his predecessor and requires a more open and flexible mindset and a risk based approach. New legislation has been introduced to give
greater protection to workers such as the ‘six pack’ which will be discussed later, through to the more recently introduced Corporate Manslaughter legislation, and in the late 2000s the rise of the better regulation agenda. However, none have challenged
the position of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 as the cornerstone of the health and safety regulatory framework. This introduction to the role of the EHP in
health and safety will explore the founding principles of worker protection, new developments in legislation and practice spanning the last decade and the author’s views on the future of the role of the EHP in health and safety. We will also explore developments in the way
that health and safety is managed within commercial organisations and enforced within local government. We will review health and safety management strategies, organisational approaches to safety management, links to risk management and explore in some detail current and emerging risks for the Environmental Health Practitioner.
