QUARRY bosses risk being closed down as a new safety blitz gets underway.

New regulations governing the control of noise at work will be enforced in a bid to lower the risks posed by exposure to excessive sound levels from machinery, safety bosses warned today.

HALF of those killed in the workplace so far this year were on farms, the Health and Safety Authority has disclosed.

Eight people have died in farm accidents so far this year, with five of those killed in Cork, it emerged today.

A TOTAL of 73 people were killed in work-related accidents in 2005 — an increase of 25% on the previous year and the highest level of fatalities in over a decade.

One in eight employees killed in the workplace this year were foreign workers, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) said today.

THE number of people killed in work-related accidents in Cork last month was the worst in over a decade.

Safety chiefs vowed today to crack down on dangers in the workplace after the worst month for labour-related deaths in a decade.

Two company bosses were today fined a total of €80,000 over the death of a Polish woman at a waste recycling depot in north Dublin.

A leading newspaper printer was hit with the largest fine yet for health and safety breaches today, after one worker lost a leg and another had skin ripped off a hand in separate accidents.

THE Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has warned farmers to be extra cautious during the summer season. It follows a spate of farm-related accidents and fatalities.

THE smoking ban will have “no material effect” on drink sales, the owners of Guinness said yesterday.

IRISH industry has a very poor record of workplace safety and the situation is not improving, a conference heard yesterday.

ANGRY publicans are to stage a mass meeting next week, in a show of strength against the ban on smoking in the workplace.

FARM safety is to be shelved from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy despite the sector’s disturbing reputation for accidents.

AS the heat of a balmy summer’s day began to fade last night, the family of a young girl brutally shot dead last year stood in silent protest in a bid to force a State agency to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding her murder.

GROUPS tasked with implementing the smoking ban in pubs were “zealots” and “liars”, pub owners said yesterday.

THE reduced number of work-related fatalities this year has led to fears that safety standards may fall next year as a result.