Health and Safety Laboratory

Last updated
Building completed in 2005 Health and Safety Laboratory - geograph.org.uk - 88917.jpg
Building completed in 2005

The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSE Laboratory or HSL Buxton) is a large 550-acre research site in rural High Peak, Derbyshire, south of Buxton.

Contents

It researches new methods in industrial safety. It provides training courses in subjects such as Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015 (COMAH) and DSEAR (Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations, 2002).

History

A bunker at the laboratory Bunker, Health and Safety Laboratory - geograph.org.uk - 161298.jpg
A bunker at the laboratory

It started out as the Safety in Mines Research Establishment (SMRE) in 1947. [1] The Safety in Mines Research Board had been formed in 1921, and it bought the site in Harpur Hill in 1924. It researched work into safety of mining. Other research laboratories for mining safety had been opened in 1928 in Sheffield. At the SMRE in 1956, Herbert Eisner discovered how high-expansion foam can put out fires.

The Occupational Medicine Laboratory opened in London in 1959, and this merged with the site in Derbyshire to form the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Research and Laboratory Services Division (RLSD). All of the laboratories became the Health and Safety Laboratory in 1995, and it was managed as an arms length Agency of HSE for 20 years. In 2015 the laboratory’s agency status ceased and it was reintegrated into the UK's Health and Safety Regulator HSE, operating as the HSE's science division.

Structure

Building a new laboratory in 2011 Bolt tightening Ceremony at the New HSE Laboratory near Buxton - geograph.org.uk - 569113.jpg
Building a new laboratory in 2011

It is sited near Harpur Hill, west of the A515.

See also

Related Research Articles

Buxton Town in Derbyshire, England

Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It has the highest elevation – about 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level – of any market town in England. Close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park". A municipal borough until 1974, Buxton was then merged with other localities lying primarily to the north, including Glossop, to form the local government district and borough of High Peak within the county of Derbyshire. It is also near to Greater Manchester. The population of the town was 22,115 at the 2011 Census.

Health and Safety Executive Organisation responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare in Great Britain

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in Great Britain. It is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom with its headquarters in Bootle, England. In Northern Ireland, these duties lie with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland. The HSE was created by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and has since absorbed earlier regulatory bodies such as the Factory Inspectorate and the Railway Inspectorate though the Railway Inspectorate was transferred to the Office of Rail and Road in April 2006. The HSE is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. As part of its work, HSE investigates industrial accidents, small and large, including major incidents such as the explosion and fire at Buncefield in 2005. Though it formerly reported to the Health and Safety Commission, on 1 April 2008, the two bodies merged.

Professional diving Underwater diving where divers are paid for their work

Professional diving is diving where the divers are paid for their work. The procedures are often regulated by legislation and codes of practice as it is an inherently hazardous occupation and the diver works as a member of a team. Due to the dangerous nature of some professional diving operations, specialized equipment such as an on-site hyperbaric chamber and diver-to-surface communication system is often required by law, and the mode of diving for some applications may be regulated.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health US federal government agency for preventing work-related health and safety problems

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its current director is John Howard.

University of Derby

The University of Derby is a public university in the city of Derby, England. It traces its history back to the establishment of the Derby Diocesan Institution for the Training of Schoolmistresses in 1851. It gained university status in 1992.

The Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL), now disestablished, formerly located in the White Oak area of Montgomery County, Maryland, was the site of considerable work that had practical impact upon world technology. The headquarters of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now occupies part of the former NOL.

United States Bureau of Mines

For most of the 20th century, the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary United States government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral resources. The Bureau was abolished in 1996.

Uranium mining Process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground

Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. The worldwide production of uranium in 2019 amounted to 53,656 tonnes. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three producers and together account for 68% of world uranium production. Other important uranium producing countries in excess of 1,000 tonnes per year were Namibia, Niger, Russia, Uzbekistan and China. Uranium from mining is used almost entirely as fuel for nuclear power plants.

Environment (E), health (H) and safety (S) is a methodology that studies and implements practical aspects of protection of environment, health and safety at occupation. In simple terms it is what organizations must do to make sure that their activities do not cause harm to anyone. Commonly, quality - quality assurance & quality control - is adjoined to form the company division known as HSQE.

Eldon Hill Hill in United Kingdom

Eldon Hill is a hill in the Peak District National Park in the county of Derbyshire, England, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of the village of Castleton. It is a 470-metre (1,540 ft) limestone hill whose pastureland is used for rough grazing, although a large proportion has been lost to limestone quarrying. It lies within the Castleton Site of Special Scientific Interest. Eldon Hill was formed when a bed of pure limestone was squeezed and upfolded by geological forces to form a dome; it is the highest limestone hill north of the River Wye.

Harpur Hill Human settlement in England

Harpur Hill is a small village on the outskirts of Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is in the Cote Heath ward of the High Peak Borough Council. It has a primary school, a park, a pub, a working men's club and a Methodist church.

Higher Buxton railway station Former railway station in Derbyshire, England

Higher Buxton railway station was opened in 1894 to the south east of Buxton, Derbyshire, on the LNWR line to Ashbourne and the south.

Asbestos Group of highly stable, non-flammable silicate minerals with a fibrous structure

Asbestos is a term used to refer to six naturally occurring silicate minerals. All are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic 'fibrils' that can be released into the atmosphere by abrasion and other processes. Asbestos is an excellent electrical insulator and is highly heat-resistant, so for many years it was used as a building material. However, it is now a well-known health and safety hazard and the use of asbestos as a building material is illegal in many countries. Inhalation of asbestos fibres can lead to various serious lung conditions, including asbestosis and cancer.

Buxton & Leek College is a College of Further and Higher Education operating at their campuses and facilities in Buxton, Derbyshire, Leek, Staffordshire and Derby, Derbyshire. The College is part of the University of Derby.

Occupational safety and health Field concerned with the safety, health and welfare of people at work

Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at occupation. These terms also refer to the goals of this field, so their use in the sense of this article was originally an abbreviation of occupational safety and health program/department etc.

Harpur Hill Quarry Disused limestone quarry on Harpur Hill, Derbyshire, England

Harpur Hill Quarry is a disused limestone quarry on Harpur Hill, Derbyshire, England. Limestone was extracted there from 1835 to 1952 for lime burning at lime kilns to produce quicklime. The quarry was used by the Royal Air Force as a chemical weapons storage depot during the Second World War, the largest such depot in the United Kingdom. Afterwards a number of captured German chemical munitions were disposed of at the site by burning, which was only partially successful. The RAF depot closed in 1960 and the site is now vacant.

RAF Harpur Hill Former Royal Air Force base

RAF Harpur Hill was a Royal Air Force base, situated at Harpur Hill near Buxton, Derbyshire in England. The site was operational from 1938 to 1960 and was mainly used as an underground munitions storage facility. It became the largest ammunitions dump in the country across the 500 acres (200 ha) site.

Burbage Edge Hill in the Derbyshire Peak District

Burbage Edge is a gritstone escarpment overlooking the Burbage district of Buxton in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. The hill's summit is 500 metres (1,600 ft) above sea level. Not to be confused with the Burbage Rocks extension of Stanage Edge near Hathersage.

Staden, Derbyshire Human settlement in England

Staden is a small hamlet on the southern outskirts of Buxton, Derbyshire, lying between Harpur Hill and Cowdale. It was occupied in Neolithic, Roman and medieval times. Staden is close to the limestone hilltop of Staden Low whose summit is 367 m (1,204 ft) above sea level.

Buxton Mountain Rescue Team Charity operating search and rescue missions

The Buxton Mountain Rescue Team is a UK registered charity operating search and rescue missions from its base at Dove Holes near Buxton in Derbyshire. The team covers an area of about 400 square miles across Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire.

References

Coordinates: 53°13′50″N1°55′05″W / 53.23042°N 1.91808°W / 53.23042; -1.91808