Managing Health in Construction – What Good Looks Like A presentation made at the Health and Wellbeing event at the NEC Birmingham on 9 March 2016 #breathefreely #bohsworld

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Managing Health in
Construction – What
Good Looks Like
Mike Slater
Diamond Environmental Ltd.
BOHS Immediate Past President 2015/16

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry

3. www.breathefreely.org.uk www.bohs.org
Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
This worker is exposed to dust containing silica that presents a serious risk to
his health
Workers regularly exposed to silica containing dust can develop serious lung
diseases
• Silicosis
• Lung cancer
• Chronic Obstructive Respiratory Disease (COPD)
Construction workers have a high risk of developing these diseases because
many common construction tasks can create high dust levels.

4. How many construction workers died last
year due to their exposure to silica dust?
a) 25
b) 100
c) 500
d) 5000

5. How many construction workers died last
year due to their exposure to silica dust?
a) 25
b) 100
c) 500
d) 5000

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Over 500 workers
believed to die
from exposure to
silica dust every
year

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
About 5 500 new
occupational
cancer cases in
construction every
year

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
76 000 cases of
work-related ill
health

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Wellbeing
Health
Surveillance
Risk Prevention
& Control

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Wellbeing
Health
Surveillance
Some employers in the construction industry are now
starting to pay attention to occupational health but think
it is about wellbeing and health surveillance

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Wellbeing
Health
Surveillance
Risk Prevention
& Control
But effective risk prevention and control is the key to
protecting the health of construction workers

13. Recognise Evaluate Control
Occupational Hygiene
Occupational hygiene is the science and practice of
achieving just that – a healthy working environment

14. Recognise Evaluate Control
Occupational Hygiene
Recognising that there’s a potential problem and
evaluating the degree of risk are the first steps in this.
They help to establish priorities

15. Recognise Evaluate Control
Occupational Hygiene
But they’re a means to an end – the end being effective
control of the agents and other factors that create the
risk

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Prevention
Engineering
Work practices
PPE
There are many different
measures that can be
implemented. Some are
more effective than
others.
This is the basis of the
“hierarchy of control”

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
The Breathe freely initiative has been launched by
BOHS in conjunction with our partner organisations
to raise awareness of the issues

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Many materials used in the construction industry contain
crystalline silica
Regular exposure to high levels of dust containing respirable
crystalline silica can cause silicosis and lung cancer

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
But the health risks can be prevented or
minimised by the use of some readily available
controls

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Dust suppression using water

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/copd/casestudies/wetcut.htm

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Laboratory tests
showed water
suppression
reduced dust levels
by up to 99%
Measurements of the E€ectiveness of Dust Control on
Cut-o€Saws Used in the Construction Industry
A. THORPE et al. Ann Occup Hyg Vol. 43, No. 7, pp.
443±456, 1999

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
On-tool extraction

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
On-tool extraction

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Respirable
Crystalline Silica
concentrations were
reduced by on-tool
shrouds by … 99%
An Evaluation of On-Tool Shrouds for Controlling
Respirable Crystalline Silica in Restoration Stone Work
Catherine B. Healy et al. Ann Occup Hyg
2014;58:1155-1167

30. A secondary water flow provided a fan-shaped water curtain sprayed normal to the path of the
ejected stone dust.
Jared H. Cooper et al. Ann Occup Hyg 2015;59:122-126
© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational
Hygiene Society.

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Carpenters and joiners are likely
to be exposed to wood dust

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
All types of wood dust can cause
occupational asthma
Exposure to many hard wood dusts
is also associated with nasal cancer

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
tool extraction is a practical solution on
struction sites

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Sweeping – can lead to high dust
exposures

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Use portable
vacuums instead

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
But make sure they are Type H or Type M
units to stop dust escaping through the
filter

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Working with cement can lead to
dermatitis and other skin problems

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Using simple
tools can
minimise skin
contact

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Hand held drills
lead to exposure
to noise and
vibration

42. Here’s one solution

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
The Barbican in London – “Brutalist”
architecture with lots of concrete

44. The rough surface was created manually

45. Using tools such as..

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Bush Hammers

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
that would have created a lot of dust

48. Designers need
to consider
health risks to
workers

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
BOHS is working
on guidance for
designers –
prevent health
risks by design
and working
methods

50. Crossrail have
taken an
integrated
approach to
health risk
management

51. This case study
is featured on
the Breathe
Freely website

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Crossrail Control Solutions
• Material substitution and
process modifications
• Engineering controls
• Administrative controls
• RPE
• Monitoring

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
What can YOU do?

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
What can you do?
Become an official
campaign supporter

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
What can you do?
Help us develop case
studies and good
practice examples

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry
What can you do?
Spread the word

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Controlling Exposures to
Prevent occupational lung disease
in the construction industry

59. Join us and be part of the solution
www.breathefreely.org.uk