Category: News Item

The Highland Council, one of several local authorities in Scotland which license UV tanning salons, will be conducting an audit on all licensed premises in Highland to verify compliance with EU safety standards regarding the output of ultra violet (UV) radiation.

Environmental Health Officers have become increasingly aware of concerns nationally whereby the UV bulb strength in many cases have been found to exceed the standard for such equipment.

The use of any UV tanning equipment may expose both staff and customers to UV radiation. UV radiation can cause injuries in the short term (e.g. sunburnt skin or conjunctivitis) and ill health in the long term (e.g. premature skin ageing, skin cancer and cataracts). Frequent exposure to UV rays before the age of 35 years significantly increases the risk of several types of skin cancer.

In response to these concerns and to provide public confidence, Highland Council Environmental Health Officers will be carrying out a detailed review of all currently licensed sunbed operators to ensure their equipment and operating procedures remain fully compliant. This will involve a comprehensive audit of all the operating arrangements for the UV tanning equipment in these premises, and the use of a specialist broadband lightmeter to verify that the UV bulb strength does not exceed the relevant standards.

Gregor MacCormick, Senior Environmental Health Officer, said: “Due to the known risks from the use of UV tanning equipment it is important that members of the public can have confidence in the licensing regime and be reassured that all our licensed operators within the Highland Council area are fully compliant with the current safety guidelines. It is equally important that we raise the public’s awareness of such risks in order to ensure they check that any operators have a valid licence. Where we do become aware of any unlicensed activity then our Service will not hesitate to take immediate enforcement action to protect public health.”

Dr Ken Oates, Consultant in Public Health added his support to the project, he said: “I welcome this initiative by Highland Council Environmental Health colleagues and support their efforts to improve the safety of UV tanning equipment.”

Environmental Health Officers hope to complete the project by the end of August.

Anyone requiring further information or who wishes to report any potential unlicensed operator of UV tanning equipment within the Highland Council area, please email: envhealth@highland.gov.uk

Source: http://www.highland.gov.uk/news/article/10299/national_concerns_prompt_highland_checks_on_uv_tanning_equipment

Environmental Health Scotland-The Journal of the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland – Summer 2017

Contents

The Chief Executive’s View

Annual Environmental Health Forum 2017

President’s Welcome

Implementing Health and Safety in the Wholesale/Retail Sector

Presidents of the Institute

IFEH News

Examinations and Professional Standards Committee

Annual Environmental Health Forum -Round-up

Ticks and Lyme Disease in Scotland

HSE LAU News

SEPA News

Whole Genome Sequencing

Peter Midgley Retires

Tackling the Blight of Fly Tipping in Dundee

Food Matters

SCQF Credit Rating of REHIS Community Training Qualifications

Southern Centre Statutory Nuisance Event

Professional Development Southern Centre Food Workshop

Decreasing Rates of Skin Cancer – Restricting sunbeds

Environmental Health Scotland-The Journal of The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland-Spring 2017

The NHS has published a document “Management of Public Health Incidents: Guidance on the Roles and Responsibilities of NHS Led Incident Management Teams”, which provides generic guidance in preparing for and managing public health incidents in collaboration with partners, especially local authorities (LA).

The guidance which was first published in 2003 and then revised in 2011 and now in 2017 has taken into account changes in legislation and also been informed by reviewing evidence from previous events such as Outbreak of Legionnaires disease in Lothian in 2012.

The guidance document aims to provide information that NHS boards and LAs can refer to when preparing for or in response to public health or environmental health events or incidents. It is not intended to be prescriptive and does not replace risk assessment and professional judgement.

The document also outlines the roles and responsibilities of Incident Management Teams (IMTs). It covers both planning and response based on a set of key principles and key functions. The guidance does not replicate that found elsewhere but sets out a hierarchy of existing guidance. It also illustrates how the response to an incident will change depending on the level and scale of that incident. It covers single and multi-board incidents and incidents where a national response is required.

The vast majority of public health incidents do not require an escalated response. However, if an incident escalates and it is deemed appropriate, a co-ordinated response through Resilience Partnerships (RP) may ensue. This response should be based on the guidance provided in ‘Preparing Scotland’, which reflects current legislation.

The Public Health (Scotland) Act 2008 provides clarity over the roles and responsibilities of NHS boards and LAs and provides extensive powers to protect public health. Broadly, NHS boards are responsible for people, and LAs are responsible for premises. NHS boards and LAs have a duty to co-operate in exercising their functions under the Act, and to plan together to protect public health in their area.

The guidance document can be accessed here.

On 21 June, NHS Fife convened a meeting with Health Protection Scotland, SEPA and Fife Council to agree an action plan in light of concerns over flaring at Mossmorran.

There have been a considerable number of complaints from the community following prolonged flaring from the complex, which is operated by Shell and Exxon Mobil.

SEPA regulates the environmental aspects of these sites under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations, and both Operators hold licences which control conditions relating to flaring.

Now that the flaring has stopped, SEPA is making arrangements to carry out a full investigation into the causes of the flaring and what action the Operators intend to take to prevent recurrence of any similar events.

NHS Fife noted that there had been reports of people experiencing a range of symptoms which they related to the flaring, such as breathing difficulties, irritated eyes and even disturbed sleep due to the noise accompanying the flaring.

SEPA will liaise with the Mossmorran and Braefoot Bay Air Quality Review Group during their investigation, which is an independently chaired group consisting of representatives from NHS Fife, SEPA, Fife Council, the Institute of Occupational Medicine and other community representatives.

A petition by local residents is to be launched calling for Shell and ExxonMobil to be brought before a Scottish Parliament committee

Monitoring by Environmental Health at Argyll and Bute Council has found raised levels of naturally occurring algal toxins in Loch Melfort and Seil Sound. It means shellfish have toxins levels above the legally permitted levels for harvest and members of the public are asked not to harvest them.

The naturally occurring toxins accumulate in molluscs such as mussels, oysters, cockles and razor clams. When levels breach statutory limits, harvesting of affected species is prohibited.

Elsewhere, raised levels of Escheria coli (E.coli) bacteria have been identified in Oitor Mhor Bay. It follows discovery of raised levels at Kerrera West, Loch Craignish, Kilfinichen Bay and Castle Stalker.

All raised levels were discovered due to monitoring work by Argyll and Bute Council’s Environmental Health team, carried out as part of their work to keep the quality of Argyll shellfish high.

In addition, a potential risk of raised levels of E.coli has been found at Dunstaffange, Kerrera East, Loch na Cillie and Loch Riddon.

Eating shellfish such as cockles, mussels, oysters and razor fish from affected areas can pose a risk to human health. Notices to warn the public and casual gatherers have been posted along the shore. Commercial shellfish harvesters in these areas have been contacted by the Council and steps taken to postpone harvesting until bacterial levels subside.

People are advised to avoid eating shellfish from these areas until further notice as a precaution. When levels subside, the warning notices will be removed.

Source: https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/news/2017/jun/algal-and-shellfish-toxins-warning

A new guide to enhance the design of childcare provision across Scotland is now available for local authorities, private and third sector providers.

"Space to Grow – Design guidance for early learning and childcare and out of school care settings” is a result of a lot of hard work by, and positive collaboration between, the Care Inspectorate, Scottish Futures Trust, local authorities and Scottish Government.

Space to Grow will help local authorities to develop their expansion plans by clarifying expectations and flexibilities on key aspects of the learning and care environment, including indoor and outdoor space, toilets, changing facilities and kitchen and food preparation.

It contains case studies, which illustrate innovative examples from Scotland and from as far afield as Japan and New Zealand of key approaches such as use of existing assets, extensions, mezzanine areas, outdoor space and modular/off-site construction, as well as a number of new builds.

During a visit to Kilcoy Kindergarten at Muir of Ord, Minister for Childcare and Early Years Mark McDonald said:

“It is an incredibly exciting time for early learning and childcare in Scotland as we prepare to near double funded early learning and childcare provision to 1140 hours by 2020.

This guide will be an extremely useful tool for all early learning and childcare providers to help in planning for this expansion. It is just one of 31 actions we have committed to delivering in the next year to keep quality, flexibility, accessibility and affordability at the heart of delivery.

It features some fantastic examples of good design in early years settings from Scotland and further afield, and definitely shows that applying good design practice can have a really positive impact on children’s learning. During my visit to Kilcoy Kindergarten I was able to see how they have combined an existing resource with a range of different outdoor spaces to create a truly innovative environment, which really capture the imagination of the children and help them to become more independent.

We know that high quality learning and childcare can make a key contribution to closing the attainment gap which is why we are determined to deliver the strong foundations our children need to succeed at school and in life.”

Space to Grow is available here.

On the 1 July, new advertising regulations came into force banning adverts for foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) on all children’s media.

The new regulations, announced last December after a consultation, mean that adverts that directly or indirectly promote HFSS products cannot appear in media including websites, social media and paper media aimed at children under 16, or where children under 16 make up at least 25% of the audience.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) confirmed this would include any social media influencers with an audience that is over 25% children, if they are paid to promote HFSS products.

The ASA said if audience data were not available, it would assess the content and context of the advert and the surrounding media to determine whether it was likely to be targeted at children or to attract a significant child audience.

At the same time, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) is relaxing the rules around non-HFSS food and drink brands to allow them to use promotions, licensed characters and celebrities popular with children under 12. Previously, this was banned for all food and drink products except fresh fruit and veg.

This change could mean an increase in marketing of this kind by brands whose products are not HFSS, but were previously banned from doing it.

The Department of Health nutrient profiling model will determine the question of which products are HFSS.

Adverts for unhealthy food have been banned on children’s TV for the past ten years however this ban extends to social media, print and cinemas.

The CAP, said that the move has come in response to changing media habits among young people, with research showing that youngsters aged five to 15 are spending about 15 hours each week online – overtaking time spent watching television. They also respond to wider concerns in society about the public health challenges surrounding childhood obesity and what part the advertising industry can play in helping to change children’s relationship with less healthy foods.

One in three children in the UK between the ages of two and 15 is overweight or obese, according to the UK government’s childhood obesity strategy, published last summer. The report also said that obesity doubles people’s risk of premature death.

A BBC Watchdog investigation of iced water from the three major coffee chains Costa, Starbucks and Caffe Nero found faecal coliform bacteria in samples.

An undercover investigation revealed that iced water obtained from high street outlets Caffè Nero, Starbucks and Costa Coffee all contained faecal coliform bacteria, with a positive test found for seven out of 10 samples from Costa and three out of 10 samples from the other two chains. Cleanliness of tables, trays and high chairs at the chains was also tested at 30 branches.

The faecal contamination is a clear indicator of poor hygiene and it is most likely the ice was contaminated by unclean hands touching the ice or possibly from the use of unclean equipment.

Although it is a small sample size, it does emphasis how essential good hygiene and cleaning are in places that may be overlooked by the food business such as ice machines.

All three chains have responded to the findings by the BBC’s Watchdog programme, saying that they are taking steps in the matter and environmental health officials for the areas have been notified.

A new App has been launched by East Lothian Council to help residents and visitors find information and report matters requiring environmental health action.

The app which is available to download on mobile phone and other handheld devices can be used to alert the council to issues such as fly-tipping, abandoned vehicles, noise nuisance, food safety, housing conditions or any concerns in relation to public health and the environment.

The decision to develop and implement the app by the East Lothian Council Environmental Health Service had a number of drivers behind it:

1. Growing demand for environmental health services from an increase in number of enquiries and public complaints. This is due to an increasing number of East Lothian residents from a number of new neighbourhoods being built in line with the Local Development Plan. Therefore, the Service required a technology solution that would help with demand management and also facilitate channel shift.

2. Ease of use for members of the public and staff. It was critical that whatever solution the Service implemented should be simple to use, both for members of the public and also for Environmental Health Officers. Users also needed to find the system easy and intuitive to use, as well as quick. The Service also wanted people to be able to contact them whilst on the move so the solution they implemented needed to be accessible via a web interface, mobile phone or other handheld device.

3. Encourage users to use self-service options wherever possible. Due to the increasing demand on the Council’s Environmental Health team, the Service saw an opportunity to encourage channel shift by offering customers a self-service process online. The aim was to enable people to help themselves wherever possible, thus freeing up the team to focus on higher public health risk activities, more vulnerable customers, more complex enquiries and those less able to help themselves.

4. Response and Evolution – the mobile channel is the preferred communication tool of many people within the community. It ensures that the Service keeps up with customer technology access habits in order to best capture local issues that can be addressed timeously. The Service is aware that this project requires ongoing development and in order to best capture feedback, a feedback form is available on the app. Suggestions can be implemented very quickly. Depending upon its success, it is envisaged that the app will offer more Council Services over time.

“We receive a significant number of enquiries from the public alerting us to issues which require investigation and action by the council,” explains

Derek Oliver, Service Manager for Environmental Health explained “Many people, of course, are happy to contact us by telephone or email. But in this day and age it’s rightly expected that you should be able to engage with councils and other organisations through digital technology.

“East Lothian is a special and fantastic place to live and work – and we all want to play our part in keeping it that way. The council has many staff out and about throughout the county working hard to deliver our essential services and maintain an attractive and clean county.

“There are occasions when local residents or indeed visitors are first to spot issues requiring our attention. My East Lothian enables you to alert us to something encountered or spotted on your travels – whether it’s an abandoned vehicle or fly-tipping. You can submit photographs – and use the interactive map that pin points the exact location of concern, which means we can see exactly what and where you’re reporting and respond as quickly as possible

“But it’s not just about reporting information to us. You can use the App to access a wealth of information about different services and find out what’s happening in the area. With many attractions and fantastic local events, we hope this will be useful to residents and visitors alike.”

Climate change is a threat to environmental health

On the 1 June, Donald Trump confirmed that he would withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement. The aim of this climate change pact is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2^oC above pre-industrial levels. Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.

In actuality, climate change is affecting Scotland now, with increases in seasonal temperatures, sea level and annual rainfall all being observed. Evidence shows, average temperatures in Scotland have increased in line with global trends, with average annual temperatures around 0.7^oC higher than they were a century ago. Annual rainfall over Scotland has increased since the 1970s, to a level 13% above the average for the early decades of the 20th century. Long-term monitoring of sea level at stations around the UK including Aberdeen shows the mean sea level for 2006-2008 was more than 100mm higher than during the 1920s. In addition, experts predict rising sea levels, more powerful storms and droughts, as well as other extreme weather events becoming more disruptive.

While Scotland must continue to play a role as part of the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, steps need to be taken now to prepare Scotland for the impacts of climate change.

There is a growing recognition of the link between climate change and our health and wellbeing. The Evidence Report for the second UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA2), published in July 2016, highlighted the need for more action to manage flood risks, the potential for shortages in public water supply, heat-related impacts on health and wellbeing, risks to the natural environment, and risks to food production and trade. Therefore, it has become one of the biggest threats to public health and affects the very pillars of environmental health: clean water, sanitation, air quality and food.

Apart from the obvious direct health impacts of flooding there is also additional risk posed with increased rainfall and rising sea levels. Severe flooding has the potential to significantly affect drinking water supplies through contamination of mains supply. Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia are found in higher numbers after heavy rainfall. Floods can also increase the risk of rodent- borne disease such as leptioprisosis.

Increased temperatures could see a rise in food poisoning cases and waterborne infections. It has been reported that climate change could cause about 10,000 extra cases of food poisoning each year in the UK (Cooking up a Storm, Tara Garnett, Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, 2008. Prof. G. Bentham, Centre for Environmental Risk, University of East Anglia). There is also a strong correlation between notified food poisoning, Salmonella infections and temperatures in the UK.

In addition, pipes and reservoirs are more vulnerable to micro-organisms during frequent droughts. Algal blooms are likely to increase also. Water-associated diseases like Legionnaires’ disease could increase with increased use of air conditioning and humidifiers.

Climate change could lead to new and emerging pest and disease risks. As temperature and rainfall increase this will allow some pests and diseases to extend their range. Though not necessarily caused by climate change, several vector-borne diseases have emerged and expanded in Europe in recent years. These include vivax malaria, West Nile fever, dengue fever, Chikungunya fever, leishmaniasis, Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.

With Scotland’s climate already changing and further change inevitable, adapting and being resilient to climate change is very important part planning for the future. Environmental health officers can be key enablers and facilitators to the adaption and mitigation of climate change.

Total European Union greenhouse gas emissions increased by 0.5 % in 2015, according to new European Environment Agency (EEA) data. Transport was a key reason for that increase: better fuel efficiency in that sector was not enough to counter the effects of an increasing demand for transport.

The EEA’s new reports, 'Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990-2015 and inventory report 2017’ and ‘Analysis of key trends and drivers in greenhouse gas emissions in the EU between 1990 and 2015’provide an overview of the EU’s greenhouse gas emission trends.

The EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2015 for the first time since 2010. Higher emissions were caused mainly by increasing road transport, both passenger and freight, and slightly colder winter conditions in Europe, compared to 2014, leading to higher demand for heating.

Gains in the fuel efficiency of new vehicles and aircrafts were not enough to offset the additional emissions caused by a higher demand in both passenger and goods transport. Road transport emissions — about 20 % of total EU greenhouse gas emissions — increased for the second year in a row in 2015, by 1.6 %. Emissions from aviation, representing about 4 % of the EU total emissions, increased by 3.3 % in 2015.

In 2015, the EU greenhouse gas emissions increased only slightly, despite the strongest annual economic growth (+ 2.2 %) in the EU since 2007 and following a 4 % decrease in emissions in 2014. From 1990 to 2015, the EU reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 22.1 %, already surpassing its 2020 target of reducing emissions by 20%. During the same period, the EU economy grew about 50 %, which shows that long-term economic growth is possible while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The main reasons behind the emission reductions since 1990 include the effects of EU and national policies (leading to the growing use of renewable energy, use of less carbon intensive fuels and improvements in energy efficiency), structural change towards a more service-oriented economy, the effects of economic recession, and milder winters, leading to reduced energy demand for heating.

Other findings for the year 2015

• The reduction in total EU greenhouse gas emissions compared with 1990 was 23.7 % if emissions from international aviation are excluded.

• Greenhouse gas emissions under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) decreased by 0.7 %, excluding aviation, whereas emissions from the non-trading sectors increased by 1.4 %.

• Spain, Italy and the Netherlands accounted for the largest increases in greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.

• The United Kingdom showed the largest decrease of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.

• Total energy consumption and energy-related emissions increased, due to increased use of natural gas and crude oil.

However, the reduced use of solid fuels, for the third consecutive year, and the sustained increase in renewables – particularly biomass, wind and solar – offset otherwise higher emissions. Electricity production from hydro and nuclear declined.

• In spite of the increase in emissions, the carbon intensity of the EU energy system declined due to higher shares of renewables and gas relative to coal in the overall fuel mix.

• EU greenhouse gas emissions from refrigeration and air conditioning decreased, ending an almost exponential increase of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions since 1990.

Source:EU greenhouse gas emissions from transport increased