From: Richard Rosera <richardrosera**At_Symbol_Here**GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] New Zealand Charges 13 Parties Over Deaths At White Island Volcano
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2020 12:01:02 -0800
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: E576E003-CC29-4B12-BB45-7DBC5359A369**At_Symbol_Here**gmail.com
In-Reply-To <66CC2E64-21DF-45BC-A5D3-0A5886C1C55B**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu>


In early 2011 my daughter & son-in-law visited White Island in the course of a month-long vacation to New Zealand. I believe that that they went there by helicopter. Their photos were amazing, but I was stunned not only by their visit to the volcanic island (which at one point had sulfur mining taking place on it), but also many of their other New Zealand adventures (like paragliding, white-water sledging, and river canyoning).

In most of their adventures as tourists, I could see from their photos and (later on) stories that there was evidence of the ‰??health and safety culture‰?? referred to by the NZ WorkSafe chief executive - such as safety orientation & PPE. But there was definitely an element of risk associated with them. It seems to me that to many in the public, ‰??safety‰?? is boring, while risky behavior can be thrilling, regardless of whether the outcome is successful or not - witness the popularity of many of the video clips posted on social media.

Richard Rosera, BS & MS ChemE, MBA
Rosearray EHS Services LLC
1958 Northgate Drive
Manteca, CA 95336
Mobil: 908-279-4463

> On Dec 1, 2020, at 5:07 AM, Stuart, Ralph wrote:
>
>>> Not sure if the Chemical Safety Headlines filters would pick this up so I‰??m posting it here:
>>
> I did see that story in the headlines, but didn‰??t see a hazmat connection to it, so didn‰??t include it in yesterday‰??s digest. However, there is a "safety culture‰?? angle to the story.
>
> Specifically, the NZ WorkSafe chief executive stated that:
> ...
> Forty-seven people were on the island at the time of the blast, including honeymooners and families, and Parkes said they had gone there with the expectation that systems were in place to make sure they made it home safely.
>
> ‰??That‰??s an expectation which goes to the heart of our health and safety culture,‰?? he said. ‰??As a nation we need to look at this tragedy and ask if we are truly doing enough to ensure our mothers, fathers, children and friends come home to us healthy and safe at the end of each day.‰??
> ‰?|
>
> So I did include this story in my safety culture twitter feed at **At_Symbol_Here**cshemac along with one or two other stories per day that describe ‰??safety culture‰?? issues in the mainstream media.
>
> One interesting trend that I have noticed since I started this collection of headlines over the last year is that government authorities are more commonly citing ‰??safety culture‰?? as an organizational failing when they review incidents and assess penalties. My sense from the way the term is used in these different situations is that there is as much confusion about what safety culture means in the general public as there is within the safety profession. Which could be a worrisome trend for regulated entities trying to understand regulatory expectations for their safety programs.
>
> Let me know if you have any questions about this.
>
> - Ralph
>
>
>
> Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
> Environmental Safety Manager
> Keene State College
> 603 358-2859
>
> ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu
>
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