Dust Exposure – Are you Safe?

Dust inhalation at work causes an estimated 12,000 deaths in the UK every year. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently launched its #Dustbuster campaign to raise awareness of the devastating effects of this underestimated killer.

If you work in an industry where this is part of the job – as a bricklayer, carpenter, baker or cleaner, to name just some of the roles that might be affected – it’s vitally important to understand the dangers. Your employer needs to take every step possible to prevent dust exposure causing you health problems.

Who’s at Risk of Dust Exposure?

Lots of industries produce some form of dust as a by-product of their work.

Workers who cut metal, stone or wood are at risk of breathing in the resulting dust, causing respiratory problems down the line. When this is repeated daily for many years, the cumulative effects can be devastating and cause lifelong health issues, and even some forms of cancer. Silica, a mineral found in construction materials as well as some types of clay and stone, can get into the lungs via the cutting, sanding or polishing of these materials. It can cause lung issues like COPD and silicosis. In terms of the damage it can lead to, it’s second only to the risks of asbestos. People who work with high-risk materials like these should be aware of the dangers.

Most kinds of dusts can be hazardous if they’re breathed in, swallowed or allowed direct contact with the skin. Flour dust, for example, can cause asthma, so bakers and other kitchen workers should take account of this and the relevant control measures.

Protecting Staff from Dust Exposure

Likely sources of dust exposure should be foreseen wherever possible and minimised. A risk assessment is a good place to start.

The best control measures remove the hazard entirely, perhaps by substituting the material in question for a replacement that doesn’t produce the harmful dust. If that’s not possible, contact between the workers and the dust should be minimised by changes to processes and equipment. For example, if dust is thrown into the air when people clean up at the end of the day, consider using a vacuum to reduce this risk.

All working areas should be well-ventilated. If personal protective equipment could help by stopping people breathing in harmful dust, this must be provided by the employer.

All employees should be well-trained in hazardous substances and any work tasks they’re expected to perform, taking the hazard of dust exposure into account.

Is Agriculture the Most Dangerous Industry?

In March 2019, 57-year-old farmer John Hamilton was killed in a machinery accident at his farm. Sadly, this wasn’t an isolated incident. With 7.73 deaths per 100,000 workers in agriculture (as compared to 1.94 per 100,000 for the construction industry), farming remains one of the most high-risk industries for deaths and injuries at work. It accounts for 15-20% of all worker fatalities, despite only employing 1.5% of the UK workforce.

Different Risk Factors

The number of potential hazards in a farming environment is huge – for people living on the farm (especially children) as well as agriculture workers themselves. According to the HSE, roughly one person a week has been killed as a result of agricultural work over the last decade.

The average year on a farm might involve working at height, working with livestock, operating dangerous machinery, long hours, extended periods of lone working, high stress levels, exposure to extreme weather and respiratory hazards (e.g. poultry dust). Working with the same machinery repeatedly – for example, using a tractor every day for months – can sometimes breed familiarity and therefore complacency, leaving people open to unexpected accidents. With such a mixture of hazards, it’s hardly surprising that farming has traditionally been an industry with high accident rates.

Growing Awareness

In response to the high death and accident rate in farming, there have been many initiatives aimed at improving safety in recent years.

The Tilly Pass was set up to provide a standard for farms maintaining their trailers safely. It was founded following the death of a 19-year-old agriculture worker. This is an example of a direct response to a tragedy, specifically targeted at equipment safety.

More broadly, in 2014 NFU Mutual established the Farm Safety Foundation. It aims to raise awareness of safety issues among farm workers and to reduce the accident and injury rates associated with the industry.

For farmers and all of those who live or work on farms, it’s important to keep health and safety at the forefront of their minds at all times. This is especially important when working at height, working with machinery, working with animals or working in challenging conditions, such as difficult weather or at night. Farms need to ensure they’re maintaining the highest standards of safety possible for all of their workers.

Health and Safety eLearning from DeltaNet International

We offer courses in Manual Handling, Working at Height and Hazardous Substances, all of which are highly relevant to agriculture.

Our full suites of Health and Safety courses can be found here.

Garden Centre Fined for Failing to Control Hazardous Substances

A garden centre was recently fined £100,000 by Colchester Borough Council for failing to adequately protect employees from hazardous substances.

The prosecution followed an incident in which an employee had trouble breathing after cleaning up a spill of gardening chemicals in April 2017. The worker complained about the issue to environmental health officers in September 2017.

During the hearing it was discovered that the company, Perrywood Garden Centre, did have a health and safety policy, but they had not implemented recommendations made by their own review of health and safety procedures. One recommendation was to review their control of hazardous substances and conduct COSHH assessments for the chemical products on sale.

The garden centre pleaded guilty to all charges and was ordered to pay £104,000 in fines, costs of £3700 and a £170 victim surcharge. In sentencing, magistrates took into consideration the firm’s turnover, lack of previous convictions and their efforts to make amends following their health and safety failure. Their fines were reduced by a third because the company readily accepted their guilt.

Alan Bourne, the garden centre’s MD, said: “We take the health and safety of our team and customers extremely seriously and have a number of policies and procedures in order to safeguard everyone at the garden centre. Unfortunately, an incident did occur in 2017 concerning a current member of staff. Since then we have put additional policies and training in place to ensure that an incident like this does not occur again.”

COSHH assessments

Control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH) requires an assessment of every workplace to ensure it is free of risks and that dangerous substances are properly stored and treated, and that employees understand the risks and how to minimise them.

A COSHH assessment typically involves:

  • Visual assessment. What potential is there for exposure to hazardous substances? This might include dust, vapours, fumes, gases or liquids. Some substances have workplace exposure limits (WELs), but some will not.
  • Task analysis. How does the work affect exposure to hazardous substances? Which substances are employees using regularly? How is the work controlled and made safe?
  • Information gathering. Collect data sheets and browse the Health and Safety Executive pages for your industry to learn more about specific risks.
  • Review past accidents. Check your accident book and speak to colleagues.

COSHH training from VinciWorks

Employers have a legal obligation to give employees training on hazards in the workplace, including hazardous substances and how to manage them safely. Our Hazardous Substances eLearning course makes it easy to deliver this essential training to all employees, including contractors and temporary workers.