Industrial Dust Matters Exposure / Effects / Limits / Control

Mike Slater

BOHS President 2014/15

How many people are exposed to dust at work?

Estimated as 9,200,000 4%

11%

9%

5%

9%

8%

9%

24% 9%

9%

Source: John Cherrie, IOM

How does exposure occur?

Dust exposures typically occur when:

Handling powders

Cutting, grinding, drilling etc.

Handling friable materials

Disturbing dust settled on surfaces

What are the health effects?

Fibrosis

Lung Cancer

0 1000 2000 3000 4000

Other agents

Working as painter

Shift work

Mineral oils

Diesel exhaust emissions

Silica

Asbestos

Occupational cancer deaths by cause in Great Britain, 2005

0 1000 2000 3000 4000

Other agents

Working as painter

Shift work

Mineral oils

Diesel exhaust emissions

Silica

Asbestos

Occupational cancer deaths by cause in Great Britain, 2005

Respiratory disease

Irritation Fibrosis COPD Asthma Lung

cancer

Evaluating the risks?

HSG173 - A Structured Approach

Initial Appraisal

Basic Survey

Detailed Survey

Brick Making – Silica Exposures

19%

40%

41% > WEL

> 50% WEL

< 50% WEL

Stone Cutting– Silica Exposures

29%

44%

27%

> WEL

> 50% WEL

< 50% WEL

Risk of silicosis

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 0.04 0.08 0.12 0.16 0.2 0.24 0.28

Exposure to Air Concentration of RCS for 15 Years

mg.m-3

Per

cen

tag

e R

isk

of

Sil

ico

sis

Aft

er 1

5 Y

ears

Wo

rk

Risk of silicosis

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 0.04 0.08 0.12 0.16 0.2 0.24 0.28

Exposure to Air Concentration of RCS for 15 Years

mg.m-3

Per

cen

tag

e R

isk

of

Sil

ico

sis

Aft

er 1

5 Y

ears

Wo

rk

“Low toxicity” dusts

“Substantial concentration of dust”

• 10 mg/m3 inhalable

• 4 mg/m3 respirable

“until safe limits are put in place, employers should aim to keep exposure to respirable dust below 1 mg/m³ and inhalable dust below 5 mg/m³”

Institute of Occupational Medicine

“try to ensure that employers follow a precautionary standard of 2.5 mg/m³ for inhalable dust … and 1 mg/m³ for respirable dust.”

TUC advice to safety representatives:

Cherrie J, Brosseau LM, Hay A, Donaldson K (2013)

http://annhyg.oxfordjournals.org

Controlling exposure to dust

Prevention

Engineering

Work practices

PPE

Prevention

Engineering

Work practices

PPE

Prevention

Engineering

Work practices

PPE

Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/copd/casestudies/wetcut.htm

www.aessolutions.co.uk

Prevention

Engineering

Work practices

PPE

Prevention

Engineering

Work practices

PPE

Reduce exposure time Increase distance Working methods Standard procedures

Prevention

Engineering

Work practices

PPE

Prevention

Engineering

Work practices

PPE

Prevention

Engineering

Work practices

PPE

Supervision

Maintenance

Procedures

Auditing

Testing

Health surveillance

Monitoring

Information

Training

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president@bohs.org http://www.bohs.org Twitter: @bohsworld http://www.slideshare.net/mikeslater