Evolving life on Earth, from the time of primordial single-cell organisms to humankind, has been immersed in a sea of radiation. In certain work environments it is a source of incidental pollution, so Dr Chris Ide explains the risks and suggests what can be done to address them.

David Cameron seems committed to releasing the Police from the ‘burden’ of health and safety rules that might impede their duty to the public, while Lord Young believes that all emergency services should be excluded from the HSWA. Peter Atkinson considers whether the same rigorous health and safety workplace standards exercised in non-emergency situations should apply to the blue-light services in a crisis.

Hilary Ross examines the New Look case – a prosecution under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRO) 2005, which caused some disquiet in health and safety circles, not least on account of the size of the penalty imposed.

Consultant Tony Bough describes research he carried out to evaluate the business case for seasonal flu vaccinations.

Challenged by successive governments to act as an exemplar on health and safety, the NHS is making gradual progress towards this goal, says Julian Topping, who describes how the varied training needs of such a large and diverse workforce are met.

With about 22,000 staff plus 12,000 freelancers on location all around the world, the BBC needs robust safety management procedures to deal with the myriad risks and hazards its employees face. A major challenge is managing the performance of live classical music safely, so Ruth Hansford explains the work underway at the corporation to ensure everybody knows the score.

With the sharpest cuts to hit Britain’s public spending since the Second World War and the Office for Budget Responsibility predicting 610,000 public-sector job losses over the next six years, Gemma Dickinson asks how will the new age of austerity affect health and safety professionals?

Individuals are increasingly being singled out for criminal investigations following accidents at work. John Gollaglee looks at the impact such investigations can have on health and safety professionals and organisations.

Although the basic principles of health and safety and what constitutes good training remain unchanged, the options for delivery have multiplied rapidly in recent years. Gary Fallaize provides an overview of the increasing wealth of technological tools available.

Richard Byrne reminds practitioners that to create a safety leadership programme for managers they must first understand the leadership styles of those in charge in their organisation and then demonstrate to them how these can be exploited, in tandem with their own personal approaches, to develop a sound safety culture.