Dear Friend,
It’s Day 219 of Lockdown/ Semi Lockdown, and if you are in a Tier 3 area, you may be feeling like Lockdown is never ending. (Here in Calderdale, there are so many rumours I wouldn’t be surprised if we go in soon as well).
Sometimes the most courageous thing we can do is to keep life as normal as possible. This pandemic will end, eventually, despite how it is being handled, and we will get through this. Don’t give up.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Just a thought – if you find yourself a bit “down” in the dark winter months, it’s going to be even more important than ever to manage your mood, so that you can cope with the various Lockdowns and other conditions imposed on us.
And watch out for these types of feelings if you are suffering from a bereavment, or a separation or divorce, or even redundancy. Even if you don’t normally feel worse in the winter months it might catch you out if you are already grieving.
Of course, the main cure for SAD is sunlight, either natural or artificial. My cousin, who’s suffered from depression on and off most of her adult life, was finally persuaded to buy a light box last year, and the difference it made to her emotional state last winter was incredible. As she said the other day about the end of British Summer Time, “time to get out the happy box”.
Can you help?
The HSE is asking people if they can help with research on the new GB-CLP notification process which will be required under UK-CLP. The invite comes via CHCS, but I thought I’d circulate it in case any of our readers can help as well, see: User research for the new GB CLP (Classificatio….pdf
New guidance on UK-REACH (and CLP and Biocides) published yesterday
If you receive the Government daily update, you may have spotted this link at the bottom of yesterday’s email: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-comply-with-reach-chemical-regulations
There is full guidance available here: https://www.hse.gov.uk/brexit/reach-guidance.htm
Many thanks to Steve Marks of Airedale Chemicals for finding this and sending it through.
Nicola Kaye then sent through information that CLP and Biocides guidance has been updated as well, see:
Many thanks to Nicola, it all helps with getting a clearer picture on what is heading towards us.
Peter Godfrey of CEA Research Associates also points out that there is different guidance for Northern Ireland, a vitally important point for anyone based in, or selling into, Northern Ireland, who are going to be in this kind of “hokey-cokey Brexit”, where they have one foot in the EU and one foot in the UK.
Bronchiolitis in babies and toddlers
The Children’s Ward at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust has sent round a very important warning on the symptoms of Bronchiolitis: www.facebook.com/ChildrensWardCHFT/photos/a.985957578236171/1710256162472972/. This can be caused by several viruses, and the most serious one is RSV, Respiratory syncytial virus.
Sarah, my admin and marketing helper, especially wants to pass this information round as widely as possible, as her baby Harry suffered from this several times last winter (premature babies are more prone to this, as their immune systems are even less well developed than a typical newborn infant).
She says “I cannot tell you how bad it was last year. There were very young babies, 6 weeks old, 8 weeks old, struggling to breathe. The hospital was full, the nurses were running around trying to move people between rooms. And this was before coronavirus”.
Please pass this link to all parents of babies and toddlers, so they can be aware of the symptoms, including when to call an ambulance.
The incident off the Isle of Wight wasn’t the first hijack in UK waters
I had completely forgotten that the hijacking this week was not the first in UK territorial waters, there was the Grand Tema incident in December 2018, see https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-thames-estuary-police-ongoing-13763917 .
There is a saying: the first time is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times a pattern…
Will the EU change from risk-based regulation?
Another though-provoking article from Aaron McLoughlin of Fleishmann Hillard https://www.aaronmcloughlin.com/is-europe-going-to-switch-from-risk-based-regulation/.
As Aaron notes, the EU has already partly moved away from a true risk based regulatory regime, and now acts on the assumption that biocides, pesticides and plastics in contact with food are automatically hazardous and need to be proved not to be (insofar as that is possible), rather than assuming that all chemicals carry some risk which can be mitigated through control measures.
Only a cynic would suggest that the EU has already gone down the “all chemicals bad” route…..
Chemistry’s contribution to the UK Economy
The RSC have published a report: Chemistry’s contribution: Workforce trends and economic impact, see https://www.rsc.org/news-events/articles/2020/oct/workforce-video/
Some excellent points, including the need for agility and flexibility in the workplace, and how important SMEs are. Although the report may be referencing R&D companies specifically, I believe that a healthy chemical SME ecosystem is essential for an overall healthy UK chemical sector.
Good news – Boud Minerals are hiring
Tracey Ferry writes: Boud Minerals are hiring for a Sales Executive position. Details of this role can be found here on our LinkedIn Company Page. If our Sales Executive position sounds like the role for you, or you know of anyone who may be interested, we would love to hear from you.
Please feel free to share this opportunity. If you experience any issues viewing the details, please do not hesitate to contact tracey@boud.com
And so are NextGen 365
Lizi Jenkins writes: I’m hiring for a Quality Administrator at NextGEN360. Details here: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2215513850/?refId=tfblXcJPQeOVcQ2lUSJTqA%3D%3D .
If you don’t use LinkedIn, the careers page on the NextGen 360 website is here: https://nextgen360.com/careers/
HSE director available in the New Year
My friend Dawn Hemmings, who has been running her own business for just over a year, has realised that she misses and needs the social interaction of working in a permanent job, She’s now looking for a Safety Director or CSR Director or an equivalent role. Dawn is based in Scunthorpe, and ideally needs something in a commutable distance.
She’s very experienced (although not a chemicals specialist per se), you can see her biography here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnhemmings/, and her website is here: https://uniquehealthandsafety.net/.
Reasons to be cheerful
One of my favourite Two Ronnies sketches, “Your nuts, milord” .
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the newsletter today, and, as usual, if you have anything you’d like to share, please email me and I’ll do my best to include it in the next newsletter.
I hope that you
Kind regards,
Janet
Janet Greenwood
TT Environmental Ltd