Dispelling the myths around health and safety

In opposition, David Cameron took a populist line on health and safety, railing against overly restrictive regulations. "I think we'd all concede that something has gone seriously wrong with the spirit of health and safety in the past decade when children are made to wear goggles by their headteacher to play conkers," he said last December.

It is one of the many myths surrounding health and safety that Judith Hackitt hears regularly. She has chaired the Health and Safety Executive since October 2007, when it was still the Health and Safety Commission. Hackitt, a scientist by background, tends to take a measured tone – but she is keeping a very close eye on the review of health and safety laws that Cameron recently announced as prime minister.

The review is being headed by Lord Young of Graffham. Hackitt has already written to him, offering help to gather evidence but also to issue a warning that health and safety should not be used as a "convenient excuse" for organisations that do not want to comply for other reasons, such as concerns over cost. Hackitt welcomes the review – as long as Young's recommendations, expected before the end of the summer in time to feed into the autumn spending review, are based "on the reality as it is today, not misconceptions or out-of-date ideas".

Not surprisingly, it bothers Hackitt that myths about the HSE continue to be bandied about as though they really happened. For the record, the HSE doesn't want to ban school trips, or make science lessons dull. "I'm a chemist," she says. "I know that setting hands on fire, for instance, can be perfectly safe if done properly."

The organisation tries hard to dispel these misconceptions, mainly through its website, which features a "myth of the month", but, it seems, with limited success. "We seem to have allowed [ourselves] to get into a position where we get the blame for things for which we are not responsible," says Hackitt.

In fact, the remit of the HSE is to prevent death, injury and ill-health in Britain's workplaces. Nothing to do with cancelling village fetes. But one of the challenges of being head of the organisation is that there's little Hackitt can do when she feels politicians are talking about health and safety issues erroneously. "Because the organisation is in the public sector and is publicly funded, we don't engage in political activity," she says. "But it's about information. If we feel things are incorrect we will say these are the real facts."

She acknowledges that in the past the HSE has perhaps not been as active as it could have been in making the case for "real" health and safety. "I have every sympathy with all people, including politicians, who are confused about health and safety law," she says.

But the organisation can point to an impressive record. Deaths and serious injuries at work have fallen dramatically over the past 30 years. In 1974, when the Health and Safety at Work Act became law, 651 people died at work; by last year, that figure had fallen to 180. Clearly, though, there is still more to do.

Some parts of the public sector, such as the police and fire services, face a challenge in balancing health and safety with operational needs – an area in which the HSE has worked closely with chief officers. But across the workplace as a whole, Hackitt is also concerned about long-term threats to health. "We've made workplaces safer, but we have to manage risk – and that gets more difficult over time," she says.

"You need to look at the number of people who die every year because of harm that's been done to them in the workplace over several years, and that's harder to measure. It is absolutely right and proper that we put time and effort into making sure that today's young tradesmen understand that if they don't learn the lessons of their fathers' generation, they will suffer the same fate in 20 or 30 years' time."

One of the things she is passionate about is tackling threats such as asbestos or noise, which may not pose an immediate but which can have long-term effects on people's lives. She is particularly alarmed about a new generation of workers who may be exposing themselves to harm. Hackitt admits that when she walks down the street and hears jackhammers, she checks to see if the workers are wearing earplugs. "I don't interfere directly, but if I notice really awful things, I will come back to the office and ask whether we've looked at a particular area recently," she says.

In many ways, this encapsulates Hackitt's approach: a huge pride in the work of the executive, combined with a brisk dismissal of those who reduce health and safety down to "trivia".

Hackitt was brought up in a family familiar with dangerous work – her father and grandfather worked as coalminers and an aunt was scalped in a horrific accident in a hat factory. Now in her mid-50s, Hackitt recalls clearly the 1974 disaster at the Flixborough chemical plant, in Lincolnshire, in which 28 people were killed and 36 seriously injured. "One of the lectures I give to audiences all over the world is that if we've learned the lessons of Flixborough, then how come Buncefield [the Hertfordshire oil storage terminal explosion] happened?"

Hackitt displayed her determination from an early age. "I loved science and maths at school, in spite of many of my teachers trying to persuade me I should study classics at university. I remember my chemistry teacher telling me I was sadly mistaken if I thought I'd get into Imperial College to study chemistry. I thought, 'Really? I'll show you.'" And she did – Hackitt loved her undergraduate years there, where she was one of just four female students in the chemistry department.

She intended to become a teacher but wanted to get some experience in industry first – and liked it so much she never went back to the idea of teaching. She says she liked the sense of purpose in the chemical industry and enjoyed managing people. But she was increasingly aware of the serious side to chemistry, partly as a result of the Flixborough disaster, but also through her then employer, Esso, now Exxon.

"What was fascinating was that health and safety was integral to what you did," she says. "It wasn't something you did after you'd done everything else. It was part of what made the business successful. I've carried that with me all through my career. I just can't buy into the notion that either you do things or health and safety stops you. No it doesn't. But having seen people seriously hurt at work … when you've seen that firsthand, it's a lesson you don't want to repeat."

"There are no flies on Judith," says one colleague. It is meant as a compliment.

While a staunch defender of work-life balance – she says weekends are important family times – Hackitt's passion for her job colours her language. When talking about leadership, she says her grown-up daughters are the two most important people she has "trained".

Certainly, the belief and strength of purpose that Hackitt brings to the job is evident. "Having been regulated by the HSE while in business myself helps when businesses say it's all too difficult. I can say with conviction: 'That is not true'," she says. She also admits to having "difficulty" with negativity. "I'm not terribly sympathetic to the all-too-difficult brigade," she says firmly.

Curriculum vitae

Age 55.

Status Married with two daughters.

Lives Oxfordshire.

Education Imperial College; BSc (Hons) in chemical engineering; Cambridge University, Prince of Wales business and the environment programme; Open University, diploma in economics.

Career 2007-present: chair, Health and Safety Executive; 2006-07: implementation director chemistry for Europe, Cefic (European Chemical Industries Council); 2002-06: director general, Chemical Industries Association; 1998‑02: director of business and environment, Chemical Industries Association; 1996-98: group risk manager, Elementis; 1990-96: operations director, Harcros Pigments Europe; 1975-90: Exxon Chemical, joined as graduate engineer and promoted through series of management positions.

Interests Sustainability, reading, rock music, rugby (watching, not playing), skiing, food and wine.