September 10, 2001—An article in the latest edition of Hazards magazine reports that UK employers are not taking sufficient measures to control the causes of work-related asthma. As a result, some 20 people a day (around 7,000 people each year) needlessly develop this condition. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) is calling for a legally binding Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) in order to help employers know exactly what to do to prevent work-related asthma.
The survey of nearly a thousand union safety reps in workplaces where asthma-causing substances are used regularly, showed measures that some employers are taking, including:
- risk assessments – 41%
- health surveillance (monitoring workers’ health) – 28%
- providing breathing equipment – 26%
- training for workers – 23%
- ventilation – 22%
- substitution of the dangerous substance with one less dangerous – 8%
- enclosing the process that exposes workers to the asthma-causing substance – 6%
Existing legislation requires employers to make substitution the first step employers take, with breathing equipment the last.
According to the TUC survey, the main asthma-causing substances being used were:
- glues and resins (26% of workplaces surveyed)
- wood dust (20%)
- latex (17%)
- isocyanates (11%)
- solder/colophony (10%)
- flour and grain (9%)
Workers likely to be exposed range from those in manufacturing, carpenters, and painters, to bakers and nurses. To view the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) proposals (in .pdf format), including an Approved Code of Practice, visit the HSE.
Based on a report from the TUC
