Workers’ health


New and shocking statistics have been released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which is working on an initiative with BOHS (The Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection) called ‘Breathe Freely’, to raise awareness of the deadly risks present to workers in the manufacturing industry. Welders, and other workers in the manufacturing


industry, are suffering from cancer, pneumonia and other lung-related illnesses due to lack of protection from poisonous dust, fumes and gases. In the HSE’s sector plan for manufacturing, controlling


exposure to substances causing occupational lung disease is one of the three top priorities identified. Statistics show that out of the 190,000 workers who


carry out welding activities each year, 150 of them die from cancer caused by welding. Other statistics released are equally concerning such as 2,200 annual deaths from cancer caused by past work in manufacturing industries and 4,000 people suffering from breathing and lung problems caused or made worse by their work in manufacturing.


60 business network October 2018


suffering in manufacturing


Tony Bosworth, Operations Director of Impact Technical Services, shares his concerns and advice on health in the workplace in 2018.


Traditionally, health issues in the workplace have been,


and still are, harder to tackle than safety issues because cause and effect are often not clearly linked. While some cases of ill health are clearly related to work


activity, for others the cause may be less clear. Many serious occupational diseases also have a long period of ‘latency’, some up to 30 years, between exposure and development of ill health and/or disease, making the links even more difficult to establish. Sadly, for many the damage has been done through


many years of working without awareness of or protection from the hazards. However, the Breathe Freely campaign aims to raise the


profile of these risks and encourage employers to ensure they are adequately protecting their staff. The control measures required can be relatively simple.


There are a whole range of local exhaust ventilation systems and products to extract the dust, fume or gas at source alongside total or partial enclosure of the equipment itself. Exposure can also be reduced by controlling procedures. Involving and training workers so


‘In the HSE’s sector plan for manufacturing, controlling exposure to substances causing occupational lung disease is one of the three top priorities identified’


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