A reminder from the UK: Dust Kills

The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is taking action on industrial dust, with its Dust Kills campaign. According to the HSE’s research, exposure to dust at work causes thousands of cases of irreversible lung disease every year. The current campaign looks to address this in two ways – through awareness and through intervention. We highlight the dangers of dust: A reminder from the UK: Dust Kills.

Guidelines from HSE to protect the workers

On the awareness side, the HSE has gathered together guides and fact sheets about silica, wood and construction dust on its campaign website – https://workright.campaign.gov.uk/campaigns. Notably, these guides target both employers and employees. For employers, they provide information about the dangers of various types of dust, as well as outlining their legal obligations and explaining how to control exposure to dust. For employees, they provide helpful advice on how to recognise hazardous situations and what to do if they feel their health may be being compromised.

Inspections to make sure the workers aren´t exposed

But the campaign is about action as well as information. Throughout summer 2023, HSE inspectors are visiting different types of construction site, to check their dust control measures and ensure that workers aren’t being exposed to unnecessary risk.

Woodworking businesses are also being targeted. During 2022–23, 78% of the woodworking sites that the HSE visited were found to be non-compliant in protecting workers from airborne substances, resulting in hundreds of enforcement actions. Inspections of woodworking businesses are now planned through the whole of 2023 into 2024.

The HSE has a legal right to inspect properties and issue enforcement notices. These notices force companies to take specific measures to address worker safety, and may demand that companies stop operating until these measures are met. The HSE can also initiate legal proceedings that could lead to fines and even imprisonment. This reminder from UK that dust kills is applicable for other parts of the world. Dust kills.

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