Making the handling of hazardous substances safer, supporting innovation
15th German Hazardous Substance Protection Award
Under the motto "Sicher. Besser. Arbeiten (Safe. Better. Work)", the German Hazardous Substances Protection Award is looking for initiatives and practical solutions that protect employees from carcinogenic substances in the workplace. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) is inviting entries for the prize, which is worth a total of 10,000 euros, for the 15th time. From November 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024, individuals, groups of people, companies and organizations (only from Germany) were able to apply.
With the next Hazardous Substances Protection Award, the BMAS is honoring solutions, innovations or practical assistance to prevent health risks to employees from carcinogenic substances. The award seeks safety-related, organizational or hygienic solutions for minimizing carcinogenic substances in the workplace. Measures and projects involving the introduction or further development of new and safer work equipment or processes are also eligible for awards. Initiatives in the area of training, motivation and employee participation are also eligible for the award.
The German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) accepted applications for the award until April 30, 2024. Details can be found at www.gefahrstoffschutzpreis.de (in German). The award ceremony will take place on September 26, 2024 in Stuttgart. The winning entries will be shown publicly by means of films and posters and presented at the DASA Working World Exhibition in Dortmund.
14th German Hazardous Substance Protection Award - Good ideas for protection against carcinogenic hazardous substances awarded
The German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) presented for the 14th time the German Hazardous Substances Protection Award endowed with 10,000 Euro on September 29, 2022. The motto of this year was "STOP cancer at work - 2022 in focus: dusts and fumes". An independent jury of experts from various interest groups selected a technical solution as the award winner in the technical solution category and commended an entry from the management category.
The BOMAG GmbH from Boppard received the award for the development of the ION DUST SHIELD, an innovative solution for the safe handling of carcinogenic substances released during the milling of asphalt.
Ökopol GmbH from Hamburg received a commendation for the European social partner project "Reducing Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust Effectively".
Jury
The award was decided on June 29, 2022 by an independent jury composed as follows:
- Dr. Philipp BAYER, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
- Thomas VON DER HEYDEN, Institute for Occupational Safety and Health - IFA
- Angela CRONE, Ministry for Environment, Climate, Mobility, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of Saarland
- Dr. Edgar LEIBOLD, BASF SE
- Annika WÖRSDÖRFER, DGB
- Dr. Martin WIESKE, Wirtschaftsvereinigung Metalle e. V. (WV Metalle)
- Dr. Rüdiger PIPKE, Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)
The two jury members Prof. Dr. Anke KAHL, Bergische Universität Wuppertal, and Prof. Dr. Thomas KUHLBUSCH (BAuA) had made their evaluations available to the jury in advance.
Award ceremony
The award ceremony took place on Sept. 29, 2022, as part of the 16th Occupational Safety and Health Forum of the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy (GDA) in Berlin. The award winners will be given the opportunity to present themselves at relevant events.
13th German Hazardous Substance Protection Award - Good ideas for protection against carcinogenic hazardous substances awarded
On November 10, 2020, the winners of the 13th German Hazardous Substance Protection Prize were announced in Dortmund. URSA Chemie GmbH, Montabaur, and Sterigenics Germany GmbH, Wiesbaden, share the 10,000 Euro prize awarded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) for their technical solutions for the safe handling of carcinogenic substances. In addition, the FeuerKrebs gUG, Hamburg, received a commendation in the training category for its activities to improve the health protection of fire fighters.
Videos
For further information please refer to our German Website.
Copyright: from top left to bottom right: BAuA, Group 4.4; Mr. Bässler, BG BAU; Uwe Völkner, FOX-Fotoagentur; Tim Langenbuch, Sonnen-Apotheke Wismar, Adobe Stock.