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Market Report: Health & Safety pt2 Hand arm vibration, noise & dust Every breath you take Statistics show that 30% of respiratory disease cases are caused or aggravated by exposure to dust at work. Alan Guthrie provides an overview of the problem and possible solutions hirers can supply. Risks associated with dust are covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). These set out measures that employers must observe if their workers are involved in activities that could put their health at risk from chemicals or other hazardous substances. They have to assess the risks, decide what precautions are needed and prevent or adequately control exposure, with appropriate health surveillance. Dust is a potential hazard if its average concentration in the air exceeds the levels specified in COSHH. One of the difficulties is that there are so many different types of dust, created by working with materials such as wood, concrete, bricks and other construction materials, as well as those used in other industries like milling and mining. Dr Chris Pugh, an occupational physician who specialises in dust issues, believes that the first goal should always be to eliminate the production of dust. If that is not possible, only then should other measures be considered, following an hierarchical approach to risk assessment. Dr Pugh is a Director of Duradiamond, the diamond drilling equipment specialist, and is Managing Director of Duradiamond Healthcare (www.duradiamondhealthcare.com), a separate business founded in 2002 to provide health and safety advice to the construction industry. “Firstly we have to establish whether another process or different equipment can be used that produces no dust. If that is not possible, we might ask whether tools can be fitted with effective dust collection or suggest solutions such as wet cutting techniques that can suppress dust. Other solutions could include the use of mobile dust collection equipment. Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) should only be selected after such considerations have been addressed, as it cannot be regarded as a solution in itself.” Respirable dust In general, dust particles below 7 microns in size cause most dust-associated risks. It is called respirable dust because it can stay in the lungs after being breathed in. Larger particles are usually trapped by the throat and nasal passages (although some dust of this size from certain materials can be carcinogenic). Dust particles of 0.1-3.0 microns can remain suspended in the air for up to eight hours, and a particle of silica dust of 1 micron in diameter will take 3.5 hours to fall only 1m. This, therefore, represents a risk not only to a tool operator, but also to anyone else visiting the site. Dust can cause problems such as occupational asthma, chronic bronchitis, pneumoconiosis, silicosis and malignant tumours. The HSE’s Guidance Note EH 40 gives workplace exposure limits (WEL) for specific known dust hazards. It also states a WEL of 10mg/m3 (8-hour time-weighted average) for total inhalable dust, and a WEL of 4mg/m3 (8-hour time-weighted average) for respirable dust. But as Dr Chris Pugh points out, limits can change as knowledge of hazards increases, and measurement in an environment like a construction site can be hard. “It can obviously be difficult to control exposure when you cannot quantify the risk exactly. That is why the logical aim is to prevent dust in the first place. In the vast majority of cases, employers and employees are receptive to any changes once they appreciate the potential risks. “However, an added consideration is that many tradesmen frequently do not know exactly what materials they will encounter. A plumber drilling a hole in an outside wall, or a contractor breaking concrete may encounter something unexpected. This again emphasises the importance of taking all reasonable steps to minimise dust in the first place,” states Dr Chris Pugh. One hirer that is targeting this area of Health & Safety is Brandon (www.brandontoolhire.co.uk). “We started looking at this several years ago,” states Marketing Manager, Nigel Strickland. “We are encountering more demand for equipment that addresses these problems, ranging from dust extraction accessories that attach to power tools, to specialist industrial vacuums that provide exhaust ventilation to capture dust. We offer the complete range of Dustcontrol extraction equipment. We visited the company’s headquarters in Sweden and toured construction sites to see how the problem was tackled.” Brandon says it can supply Dustcontrol vacuums with more than 300 different casings to suit individual tools, such as circular saws, drills and angle grinders. Nigel Strickland contends that dust will continue to grow in importance. “Under the government’s National Air Quality Strategy, local authorities have a responsibility to carry out air quality management. More than 150 now have these in place, enforceable by environmental health officers. In London, a working group called APPLE (Air Pollution and the Environment) has been established, with input from 22 London Boroughs and the Building Research Establishment. It has established a code covering all aspects of dust and emissions from construction and demolition sites. These have been identified as major contributors to atmospheric dust, causing problems to those living and working nearby. “Planning authorities will require developers and contractors to identify potential sources of dust and to take appropriate control measures. This will include dust created at site entrances and exits, mobile crushing equipment, cement batching plant, excavation, vehicle emissions, as well as cutting, grinding, sawing and other activities. Many other major cities are considering their own air quality action plans, and this will lead to greater demand for solutions that hirers can provide.” • Executive Hire News › Archives › April 2006 › Market Report › Every breath you take
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