jobs combine VDU-viewing with clerical work. The answer, according to TASS, is a darkened room with local spot lighting for the clerical work.

Stress, bad posture and radiation exposure also worry the union. "We recommend 14 safeguards which should be negotiated with employers before VDUs are installed", says Judith Hunt, AUEW-TASS National Women's Organiser. "Too often employers are being allowed to get away with spending thousands on new equipment and hardly a penny on the health and safety of the staff who have to use it ." TASS's 14 points include regular eye tests, individually adjusted seating, 20 rain break every 2 h, not more than 4 h a day on VDUs, and the need for special warnings to any VDU operator taking drugs such as Valium or aged over 45.

Domestic accidents to children 25 810 domestic accidents to

children were recorded by 20 hospitals in the first year 's operation of the Home Accident Surveillance System. This figure is analysed in considerable detail in a report published by the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection. The 0 to 14 years age-range provides 42.6% of the home accidents to all age groups recorded by the 20 hospitals taking part in the system. Of these, 14 686 were to children under 5 years of age.

Floor mats for laboratories A range of modular plastic floor

mats, designed to reduce worker fatigue at static work stations in laboratories, has been developed by Ekdahls of Sweden, and is available in the UK via Packaging Aids Ltd, 756 High Road, Goodmayes, Ilford, Essex. Each mat is moulded in durable plastic to a thickness of 3A in (19 mm) providing a softer, more flexible flooring alternative to conventional materials. Each mat is equipped with a stud and groove facility for inter- locking to provide a comfortable floor area regardless of the complexi ty of the work station. The upper surface is embossed to reduce slip and the underside is equipped with rubber studs to hold the mats firmly in position on the floor. Each moulding is equipped with holes to allow liquids or other material to pass through without impairing the surface area from the worker 's po in t of view. The plastic used in manufacture is static free, to avoid the at tract ion of dirt, is light in weight and is washable or can be steam cleaned. The mats are mid-green in colour.

Laboratory mats

Notifying accidents at work Draft regulations simplifying and

extending the law on notif ication of accidents and dangerous occurences to cover most people at work have been published by the Health and Safety Commission. All the information received would assist the Commission in measuring safety performance and in judging trends in the field of health and safety, and would also make it easier to formulate policy. The new arrangements wotfld enable the Health and Safety Executive (the Commission's operational arm) to investigate more quickly certain individual accidents and dangerous occurrences. For the first time, serious and fatal accidents to members of the public caused by work activity would have to be notified.

The proposed draft regulations contain the following main provisions:

(i) all fatal accidents and those resulting in serious injury to people at work should be notified as soon as possible to the authori ty responsible for enforcing the Health and Safety at Work Act in the area of work concerned;

(ii) written confirmation of such accidents should be sent to the enforcing authori ty within seven days;

(iii) fatal accidents caused by a work activity to members of the public should also be notified as soon as possible and accidents to the public requiring hospital treatment should be notified as in writing within seven days;

(iv) accidents, which result in employees being absent from work for more than three days, should be notified within seven days;

(v) dangerous occurrences as defined in schedules to the proposed regulations should be notified;

(vi) employers should keep records of all notifiable accidents and dangerous occurrences. Records of cases of occupational ill health notified to them by the Depart- ment of Health and Social Security, where claims have been made for industrial injury benefit for 'prescribed' occupational diseases, should also be kept.

The proposed regulations would simplify the notif ication procedure for most employers by requiring them to complete only one form for one enforcing authority, which would pass the information to any other Depart- ment or Agency concerned.

A schedule to the document lists the types of dangerous occurrence that should be notified, and a definition of 'serious personal injury ' for the draft regulations is also set out.

Clothing and the working man

A one-day meeting on the ergonomics of protective clothing in relation to thermal stress will be held on 13 December 1979 at Loughborough University of Technology. It will include case studies from industry and research, and a discussion on development of standards. For further details contact: Anne Rennie or Rachel Birnbaum at the Ergonomics Unit, University College London, Wates House, 22 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0GB (Tel: 0 1 - 3 8 7 4168).

Safety t raining

The British Safety Council has issued a 6 page leaflet on safety training. It gives details of 18 different

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