Last updated August 2000 . The main risk involves street cleaning, refuse collection, amenity horticulture, and general cleaning and care-taking workers who may come across carelessly or maliciously discarded hypodermic needles.
Many needlestick injuries are avoidable.
The Tidy Britain Group recently surveyed 239 local authorities roughly half the total. This implies that there are around 80 reported needlestick injuries to local government workers every year. We know that discarded needles are most commonly found in parks and playing fields, but other problem areas are beaches, public toilets, communal stairways, alleyways and cash point lobbies. THE LAW The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to, as far as is reasonably practical, ensure the health and safety of both their employees and the public. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to carry out risk assessments to identify risk and take the necessary measures needed to remove, or reduce and control that risk.