Briefing: Dust – past exposures lead to future diseases

15 Aug 2023

According to the HSE, an estimated 12,000 lung disease deaths each year are thought to be linked to past exposures at work. Included in those diseases are mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Occupational lung diseases typically have a long latency (meaning they take a long time to develop following exposure to the agent that caused them). Therefore, current deaths reflect the effect of past working conditions. In this briefing, we consider whether enough is being done to prevent exposure now and reduce workers’ susceptibility to disease in the future.

What are the risks?
Breathing in certain dusts, gases, fumes and vapours in the workplace can cause serious, long-term lung damage. Diseases like asbestosis, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, emphysema and even lung cancer all cause severe, often incurable, health problems that can ruin lives.

Difficulties in breathing and coughing, often painful, are just two of the symptoms that sufferers with lung diseases may have to deal with every day. Look at your trade or industry to get an understanding of the types of workplace health hazards.

As an employer, you're obliged by law to control the risks to your workers from exposure to hazardous substances.

By protecting your workers effectively now, you can prevent them from suffering from severe, often incurable, lung-related health problems in the future.

Protecting your workers health
Each workplace has unique risks, which can depend on a number of factors, including:

The type of substances workers are exposed to.
The tasks being performed.
The work environment.

Even if you work with the same substances used by others, the risks in your workplace can be different to theirs.

Competent advice
You must use someone competent to ensure the control measures you put in place are effective for your workplace. Because of the specialist skills, knowledge and experience needed to deal with the risks from exposure to dust, gases fumes and vapours, it's likely you'll need advice from someone outside your business.

Identifying risks to your workers
If your workers could be exposed to hazardous substances, you must assess and manage the risk to them. Some common hazardous substances are:

Silica dust – found in stone, rock, sand and clays.
Welding fumes.
Flour dust.
Wood dust.
Asbestos (for work involving asbestos, specific regulations and guidance apply).

If you're unsure if a substance is harmful, get specialist advice.

Asbestos
Asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. Because it is now illegal to use asbestos, people mistakenly think it is no longer a danger.

However, many thousands of tonnes of it were used in the past in such things as:

Lagging on plant and pipework.
Insulation products such as fireproof panels.
Asbestos cement roofing material.
Sprayed coatings on structural steel work to insulate against fire and noise.

Much of this material is still in place. However, buildings constructed after 2000 are unlikely to contain asbestos materials.

As long as asbestos is in good condition and is not disturbed or damaged there is negligible risk. However, if it is disturbed or damaged, it can become a danger to health, because asbestos fibres are released into the air and people may breathe them in.

Managing asbestos in buildings
If you are responsible for the maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises, the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 require you to:

Take reasonable steps to find out if there are asbestos-containing materials present and, if so, how much material, where it is, what type it is (for example, tile, boards, lagging) and what condition it is in.
Make, and keep up-to-date, a record of the location and condition of the asbestos-containing materials (or materials which are presumed to contain asbestos).
Clearly identify any areas that have not been accessed/surveyed.
Prepare a plan that sets out how the risks from these materials will be managed.
Take the necessary steps to put the plan into action.
Provide information on the location and condition of any asbestos-containing materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb them.

Working with materials containing asbestos
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 apply to all types of work involving asbestos and materials containing asbestos. They place specific duties on employers and the self-employed.

You must find out if materials containing asbestos are present. If possible, before you start, plan any work to avoid disturbing these materials.

If you have to carry out work that may disturb materials containing asbestos, you must prevent exposure to asbestos fibres. Where this is not reasonably practicable, reduce any exposure to as low as reasonably practicable by using appropriate control measures and having management systems in place.

Anyone who is going to work on material containing asbestos must be suitably trained and supervised.

Higher-risk work, such as most asbestos removal, must only be undertaken by a licensed contractor, but any decision on whether particular work is licensable is based on an assessment of the risk.

Conviction
An asbestos removal company was convicted and its director given a prison sentence after failing to ensure the safe removal of asbestos.

Asbestos Boss Limited, also known as Asbestos Team, and its director, Daniel Luke Cockcroft, advertised as a licensed asbestos removal company and removed licensable material from domestic properties throughout the UK.

An investigation carried out by the HSE found that Asbestos Boss Limited had never held a licence and their poor working practices resulted in the large scale spread of asbestos and exposure to homeowners and their families. Little to no precautions were taken by Asbestos Boss Limited and so their own workers, as well as anybody at the premises they were working on, were at serious risk of exposure to asbestos. The company and their director also breached a prohibition notice on several occasions.

Company director Daniel Luke Cockcroft pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in relation to the company’s failing of regulation 8(1) and 11(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 as well as the charge for breach of a prohibition notice. He was immediately imprisoned for six months and ordered to pay victim compensation.

HSE Inspector Matt Greenly said:

"Asbestos is a killer. Companies and their directors need to recognise the dangers of removing asbestos by themselves both to their employees and others. Asbestos removal should only be carried out by trained personnel who understand the risks and how to control them."

Dust
The HSE has launched a series of campaigns entitled Dust Kills. These include a targeted inspection initiative focusing on manufacturing businesses where materials that contain silica are used. This will include brick and tile manufacturers and foundries.

Exposure to airborne particles of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) can lead to life-changing respiratory conditions such as silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.

Silica is a natural substance found in most stones, rocks, sand and clay. Silica particles are produced during many manufacturing tasks involving these materials. Over time, exposure to silica particles can harm a worker’s ability to breathe and cause irreversible, often fatal, lung diseases.

The inspections are checking that employers and workers know the risks involved when dealing with RCS and that businesses have control measures in place to protect workers’ respiratory health.

The Dust Kills campaigns also focus on wood dust and construction dust. The initiative provides straightforward advice and guidance on the Work Right website for employers and workers, to help everyone understand the risks and how to protect respiratory health when processing materials.

Employers have a legal duty to create suitable arrangements to manage health and safety and ensure they comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). Inspectors will be looking for evidence that businesses have put in place effective control measures, such as Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV), and where appropriate, use of water suppression and personal protective equipment such as Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE), to reduce workers’ exposure to the RCS. If any health and safety breaches are discovered, HSE will take enforcement action to make sure workers’ health is protected.

HSE’s head of manufacturing, David Butter said:

"It’s important that manufacturing businesses act now to ensure they comply with the law and protect their workers from serious lung diseases. Businesses should take note that good ventilation in the workplace and personal protective equipment are just some of the measures they need in place to protect the respiratory health of workers. During the 2022 silica initiative, inspection findings indicated poor management of control measures including engineering controls, cleaning and housekeeping and RPE management. Employers should ensure control measures are used and maintained appropriately. We want employers and workers to make sure they are aware of the risks associated with the activities they do."

International Workplace's Asbestos Awareness training is a half-day course, delivered via virtual classroom or face-to-face classroom by one of our qualified trainers.

During our asbestos awareness course, you will cover the following modules: