COVER STORY
THE HIDDEN WORKPLACE KILLER
Dust Control Environmental (DCE) Limited explains why hazardous workplace dusts and fumes remain a major but often overlooked health risk, and how effective Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) systems are essential for protecting workers and ensuring compliance.
In UK workplaces, many workforces are exposed to unhealthy and hazardous dusts, fumes and airborne contaminants. Unlike slips, trips or machinery accidents, lung diseases, caused by un-checked air pollutants, can develop silently over many years, with symptoms appearing only after irreversible harm has already been done.
From construction sites and engineering workshops to food production and manufacturing facilities, exposure to harmful airborne substances remains one of the biggest health risks facing industry today.
SHOCKING RESPIRATORY ILLNESS STATISTICS
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that around 22,000 workers each year report breathing or lung problems attributed to the workplace environment. Around 11,000 deaths can also be linked to past workplace exposure to un-controlled dust, fumes and chemicals.
The awareness of occupational respiratory disease continues to grow and legislation is tightening. Unlike many workplace injuries, respiratory disease is often irreversible but is a workplace risk that is ultimately preventable. Therefore, it is essential and a legal requirement that Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) systems are not only suitable for the process particulate but perform at an optimum at all times.
ROUTINE PROCESSES GENERATE HAZARDOUS PARTICULATES
Industrial processes generate hazardous airborne contaminants as part of everyday operations. Activities such as welding, grinding, sanding, shot blasting and thermal cutting can release dangerous fumes and fine particulates into the workplace. CNC machining, powder coating, chemical mixing and pharmaceutical blending frequently generate airborne dust that can spread rapidly if not effectively controlled.
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The construction industry is vulnerable due to the widespread generation of silica dust from concrete cutting and demolition activities. Woodworking and joinery operations create large amounts of wood dust during cutting and sanding processes, while food manufacturing can expose workers to flour dust and other powdered ingredients. Cleaning and maintenance activities create secondary exposure risks. In many workplaces, exposure occurs during tasks workers perform daily that may not be considered in a dust control plan.
KNOW YOUR DUST RISK
All process dust under COSHH regulations must be managed by an employer, with specific hazardous airborne substances demanding the utilisation of dust extraction or LEV systems to control at source.
Some of the most dangerous dusts include, but not restricted to:
• Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) – Prevalent in construction, masonry, brick and block, and sand. Can cause silicosis, COPD and lung cancer. The HSE identifies silica as one of the biggest occupational lung risks.
• Wood Dust – Particularly hardwood dust as this is classified as a carcinogen causing nasal cancer. All wood dust, even in smaller workshops, can be responsible for exasperating or causing occupational asthma.
• Welding Fume – Classified by the HSE as carcinogenic and linked to lung cancer, metal fume fever and asthma.
• Flour Dust – A leading cause of occupational asthma in the baking and food processing industry.
• Metal and Composite Dusts – Generated during grinding, cutting and fettling the lightweight particles can be airborne for longer. Not only can they result in respiratory and lung damage, but abrasive particles can cause eye and skin irritation.
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