Where does dust in the workplace come from?
Dust in a workplace can come from many sources including workplace activities such as drilling, sanding, cutting and grinding, from natural particles like soil and pollen in agriculture and combustible dust like grain, coal, metal powders or wood.
What health risks are linked to dust exposure?
Dust in the workplace can be dangerous even at low doses and can cause respiratory diseases like silicosis, asbestosis, Pneumoconiosis and lung cancer.
Other workplace-related lung diseases include black lung disease or miner’s lung and brown lung, which is working around dust cotton or other fibers.
How does dust in the workplace affect your respiratory system?
when dust particles are inhaled they cause inflammation and scarring in the lung tissue, which reduces the lung’s capacity to absorb oxygen.
What are the specific health and safety risks of different types of dust in the workplace?
Silica Dust
How the dust is produced: Crystalline silica dust is created in the mining and quarrying industry. blasting, sieving, drilling, crushing and transporting silica rock materials.
What are the health risks of the dust: can cause silicosis that can lead to breathing difficulties. Even small exposure to silica can cause acute silicosis.
You can read about more about silicosis here
Sawdust
How the dust is produced: Sawdust is created at every stage of wood processing including sawing, sanding and other processing operations.
What are the health risks of the dust: When the sawdust becomes airborne it can cause health effects including irritation to the eyes, nose and throat. Continued exposure can result in reduced lung capacity and conditions like occupational asthma.
Asbestos Dust
How the dust is produced: Asbestos dust is generated from the naturally occurring mineral asbestos. The three main types of asbestos are brown asbestos, known as amosite; blue asbestos known as crocidolite; and white asbestos, known as chrysotile.
What are the health risks of the dust: Exposure to asbestos has potentially fatal results, and when inhaled settle in the lungs and can cause cancer and asbestosis. It is not safe to inhale any amount of asbestos in the workplace.
Coal Dust
How the dust is produced: Coal mining generates dust. Coal dust is in the atmosphere when coal is mined, stockpiled or loaded onto a vehicle for transportation.
What are the health risks of the dust: Exposure to coal dust can lead to a serious disease known as black lung disease or pneumoconiosis.
What are the CoSHH regulations regarding dust exposure?
Under the CoSHH Regulations, any kind of dust level is hazardous to health when present in the air, and there are legal exposure limits at a concentration in air equal to or greater than 10 mg/m³ of inhalable dust or 4 mg/m³ of respirable dust, as measured over the equivalent of an eight-hour day. This is known as the workplace exposure limit (WEL).
What safety measures can be taken to minimise dust exposure?
Exposure limits
Dust of any kind can become a substance hazardous to health under CoSHH when present at concentrations in the air equal or high than 10mg/m3 (as a time weighted average over an eight-hour period) according to the HSE.
Undertaking an assessment
In order to comply with CoSHH regulations, you need to assess the dust levels in your workplace by undertaking a dust survey to identify:
- if your workplace has a dust issue
- individual workers’ likely exposure levels to dust
- which tasks may generate high levels of dust
- where controls may be needed to reduce exposure to an acceptable level
Apply control measures
Isolation
Enclose the work so all dust is contained within the enclosure and all employees are outside. For example, providing means for remote operation or manipulation e.g. a glove box.
Ventilation
Local Exhaust Ventilation or LEV
An LEV is an extract ventilation system that takes the dust out of the workplace air. If you use an LEV you must regularly check to ensure it is working as expected. Use a local exhaust or vacuum tool system that removes airborne dust. It’s important to:
- Ensure the exhaust is properly designed for it to be an effective control measure.
- Ensure it is consistently set up according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
- Ensure it is maintained for optimal air exhaust and serviced.
- Ensure appropriate training for workers on the proper use and maintenance of the equipment.
General Dilution Ventilation
This method dilutes the contaminated air with fresh non-contaminated air. In some cases this is sufficient to reduce the exposure level.
Water
Wet cutting
A wet cutting system can minimise the generation of dust. Mixing water with electricity can be dangerous so make sure:
- It is setup and maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This includes measuring water flow rates.
- Appropriate training for workers on the property use and maintenance of the equipment.
Water showers
This is when a fine mist of water is sprayed in the work area to settle and suppress airborne dust in the workplace. Some find this method very effective.
Use of RPE
If you have to wear RPE make sure that:
- You are wearing the right type for the job
- You are face-fit tested for tight fitting RPE. Workers need to be clean shaved for the tight-fit type to work effectively.
- Workers are trained of how to use, check and clean RPE
- The filters on reusable RPE are changed in accordance with recommendations
Cleaning down and good housekeeping
Good housekeeping and cleaning regimes can be an important tool to reduce employees’ exposure to the dust. The most effective way to clean is at the end of the shift rather than during it. Vacuums and sprays are the best cleaning methods.
You can view the full HSE guidance here
Case study of a dust-related health issue – HSE
Woodworker with occupational asthma can no longer play football
Summary
A joiner who developed occupational asthma had worked with the symptoms of the disease for a year before he was diagnosed. Although his employer had provided dust extraction on the woodworking machines, it had not been maintained. As a result it did not work properly so did not control his exposure to wood dust.
This led to loss of earnings, loss of lifestyle and a permanent debilitating illness.
HSE investigation
To get his employer to take his health problems seriously, the joiner had to involve his trade union safety representative.
HSE’s investigations led to upgrading of the dust extraction equipment, which may have prevented others from being affected.
Effects
While it was wood dust that caused his occupational asthma, his lungs were damaged and other ‘triggers’ now cause an attack – such as exercise and cold air. His lifestyle has completely changed.
He used to enjoy playing football and playing with his children. He now finds that running and lifting his daughter bring on wheezing. Everyday activities are increasingly difficult.
The Your trade section of this site provides top tips and advice on how to protect yourself if you are a woodworker.
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