The concept of being safe in one's environment entails being "free from danger or risk". But how can anyone achieve this ideal when pollution, disease and infection, and poor or unsafe living and working conditions lurk around the corner for everyone, regardless of status? Protecting the safety of the community as a whole falls across a number of professions (including health professionals, the emergency services and environmental health and trading standards officers) but protecting one's own personal safety must ultimately fall to the individual. And therein lies the problem. To keep "safe" you have to know what hazards and risk you are facing, and for this, you have to be well informed. On this theme, we take a close look at the dangers of E. coli and the work of the Heather Preen Trust, which is trying to raise public and professional awareness of the deadly E. coli O157 strain. Based on the commendable work of the Trust, we report some essential facts that every environmental health officer in every local authority should know.

Heading north, Nick Warburton investigates air quality management areas in Manchester. The link between traffic emissions and ill health is indisputable, but what are local authorities actually doing to meet government targets on air quality standards? And just how successful is community consultation in this area? Another government target is to tackle the complicated problem of waste disposal, and we take a look at composting as a viable solution for dealing with biodegradable waste. Here at the Chartered Institute, Andrew Griffiths highlights some of the responses from the recent DETR seminars on the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, in particular covering concerns over hazards and enforcement, while Les Milne talks to EHJ about his challenging year as chairman.

Do you care about air quality targets? Do you have ideas on waste disposal? Go to the Forum now and let us have your views.

Tracey Khanna, Editor