PPE


The relaunch of the British Safety Industry Federation’s Clean Air? Take Care! campaign comes at an important time for occupational health, explains John Hooker, chief executive officer...


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espite significant advances in workplace safety, occupational respiratory disease remains one of the UK’s greatest causes of work-related ill health. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that around 11,000 people die each year from occupational lung disease linked to past workplace exposures, while around 22,000 workers develop breathing or lung problems caused or made worse by work annually. While asbestos continues to account for many of these deaths, today’s workforce faces a new generation of respiratory hazards. Respirable crystalline silica (RCS), generated during activities such as cutting concrete, drilling masonry, quarrying, tunnelling and working with engineered stone, is now recognised by HSE as one of the most significant respiratory risks facing the construction industry. Exposure to silica dust can lead to silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer, yet the dust itself is often invisible, making it easy to underestimate the danger. The challenge is that many occupational respiratory diseases have latency periods measured in decades. The statistics we see today often reflect exposures that occurred


PREVENTING TOMORROW’S OCCUPATIONAL LUNG DISEASE STARTS TODAY


20 SUMMER/AUTUMN 2026 | INDUSTRIAL COMPLIANCE


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