Health & Safety
Threat of respiratory disease must always be taken seriously
BETWEEN 2006 and 2012, there were 17 cases of suspected work-related respiratory disease which were reported by chest physicians, and involved workers in the waste sector.
These cases comprised asthma (6 cases), non-malignant pleural disease (6 cases), allergic alveolitis (2 cases), mesothelioma (2 cases), and pneumoconiosis (1 case).
Suspected agents reported for the non- asbestos respiratory diseases included moulds, rat infestation, contaminated metal working fl uids, and biological agents. In addition, there were two reports from GPs of occupational respiratory disease to workers in the waste sector, both to waste disposal operatives and attributed to dust.
A range of respiratory diseases can be caused by exposures in the workplace. The main categories of these diseases are as follows:
Respiratory cancers include lung cancer, which may be caused by a range of exposures – such as asbestos, silica, diesel engine exhaust emissions, and mineral oils – and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs which is caused by asbestos.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a serious long-term lung disease in which the fl ow of air into the lungs is gradually reduced by infl ammation of the air passages and damage to the lung tissue.
Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are common types of COPD. A wide range of vapours, dusts, gases and fumes potentially contribute to causing the disease, or making it worse.
Occupational asthma can be defi ned as adult asthma that is specifi cally caused by agents that are present in the workplace
However, a wider defi nition of work- related asthma includes all cases where there is an association between symptoms
and work, including cases that are exacerbated by work.
Pneumoconiosis is a long-term and irreversible disease characterised by scarring and infl ammation of the lung tissue. The main types of pneumoconiosis are defi ned in terms of their causative agents: coal worker’s pneumoconiosis due to coal dust exposure, asbestosis due to exposure to asbestos fi bres, and silicosis due to silica dust exposure.
Other non-cancerous respiratory diseases include diff use pleural thickening and pleural plaques (nonmalignant diseases of the lung lining caused by asbestos), allergic alveolitis (infl ammation of the air sacs within the lungs due to an allergic reaction to organic material), allergic rhinitis (infl ammation within the nose, mouth or throat that can be caused by an allergic reaction to a range of agents), and byssinosis (an asthma like disease in which the air passages become constricted in reaction to exposure to cotton dust).
According to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations, the employer should carry out a risk assessment for hazardous substances, and decide on appropriate control measures to reduce the level of risk. These control measures could include:
(a) Elimination of the use of a harmful product or substance, and the use of a safer one.
b) Using a safer form of the product.
(c) Changing the process to emit less of the substance.
(d) Enclosing the process so dust does not escape.
(e) Extraction of dust emissions near the source.
(f) Minimising the number of workers that are at risk.
COMPASS’s Deborah Williams
(g) Application of suitable administrative controls, such as reducing the length of time that workers are exposed to dust.
(h) Provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, coveralls and a respirator. PPE must fi t the wearer. (The provision of PPE, if required, should be in addition).
One of the main ways employers can protect their workers from dust and other hazardous agents is by the provision of respiratory protective equipment (RPE).
RPE should be fi tted to the wearer to ensure it is eff ective against the hazardous dust of substance. Face fi t testing involves checking that the wearer of the RPE is suitably protected, and the RPE provided is suitable for the individual wearer.
For more information on face fi t testing you can email:
dwilliams@compasshealthandsafety.co.uk Deborah Williams CMIOSH RMaPS is Principal Safety Consultant at Compass Ltd.
Deborah specialises in assisting private sector organisations within the construction, waste management and extractive industries.
You can contact her on - 01257 482256 or via email:
dwilliams@compass-ms.co.uk 52 SHM September, 2017
www.skiphiremagazine.co.uk
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