HSE Cracking Down on Dust
The Health and Safety Executive are conducting another month of targeted inspections this October – focusing on how well construction firms adhere to dust regulations.
This is the fourth initiative of its kind and, as in previous years, inspections will focus on respiratory risks and occupational lung disease; looking at the measures businesses have in place to protect their workers’ lungs from the likes of asbestos, silica and wood dust.
While the primary focus will be on health during this programme of inspections, if an HSE inspector identifies any other areas of concern, they will take the necessary enforcement action to deal with them. This will include making sure that businesses are doing all they can to protect their workers from the risk of coronavirus and make workplaces COVID-secure. Inspectors will also be looking for evidence of employers and workers knowing the risks, planning their work and using the right controls. If necessary, they will use enforcement to make sure people are protected.
More than 3,500 builders die each year from cancers related to their work, with thousands more cases of ill-health and working days lost.
HSE’s chief inspector of construction, Sarah Jardine, said: “Around 100 times as many workers die from diseases caused or made worse by their work than are actually killed in construction accidents.
“Our inspection initiatives ensure that inspectors are able to speak to dutyholders and visit sites to look at the kind of action businesses in the construction industry are taking right now to protect their workers’ health, particularly when it comes to exposure to dust and damage to lungs.
“There are a few simple things that everyone can do to make sure they are protecting their health and their future. Be aware of the risks associated with activities you do every day, recognise the dangers of hazardous dust and consider how it can affect your health. We want businesses and their workers to think of the job from start to finish and avoid creating dust by working in different ways to keep dust down and wear the right mask and clothing.”
If dust cannot be avoided or eliminated, personal protective equipment (PPE) or respiratory protective equipment (RPE) may be required.
Due to COVID-19 RPE – such as P3 filtering facepieces – can be difficult to get hold of. For occasions where respiratory protection is required, a Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) may be a suitable alternative.