ITF Unions in Maersk
Action ordered on shipyard fumes
13 August 2008
Health & Safety Executive orders Maersk shipyard to take action
Workers at the the Maersk-owned Odense Steel Shipyard are being exposed to potentially carcinogenic smoke from welding, the Danish Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has ruled, while issuing an injunction ordering that the problem be solved.
The Executive first warned the shipyard about the fumes – which can also cause sterility and genetic damage – 15 years ago, and external experts are being hired to solve the problems, according to the newspaper Fyens Stiftstidende. Since then laws have been made more stringent to tackle the problem, HSE spokesperson Lene Teilberg told the paper. “Smoke from welding is a complex and serious problem,” she said. “This is why laws have been tightened on this issue.”
She added that over the years the company had worked to minimalise the risks created by the smoke. Managing director Finn Buus Nielsen conceded that the shipyard still needs to solve “ the last two per cent of the problem,” and is “going to solve them as well”. The HSE has given Odense Steel Shipyard untill the end of 2009 to comply with the notice.
The shipyard, which built the world’s largest vessel, the Emma Maersk, has suffered from financial difficulties for years and dismissed 133 workers this summer.
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