A new Construction Dust Industry Survey released by both IOSH and CDP aimed to provide an insight into issues associated with on-site dust risks, how they are controlled and show that airborne dusts are a major cause of ill health in the construction industry.

In Great Britain alone, there are over 500 deaths each year from Silica related lung cancer. Airborne dusts are the primary cause of non-asbestos related cancers in the construction industry.  Some dusts (including wood dust) are respiratory sensitisers.

Other health effects of dust include bronchitis, asthma and COPD. Some of these lung diseases, such as silicosis, can develop quite quickly, but most occur gradually over several years.

Construction dust can impact every person in the workplace

Construction dust can impact every person in the workplace and on site, including workers and other contractors that are unable to control the risk.

The nature of construction processes is such that processes such as dry sweeping, grit blasting and hand sanding of plaster are high energy and create a significant amount of dust.

The temporary duration of construction projects means it is not reasonably practicable to integrate engineering controls into the process.  Even though controls aren’t put into place, work practices including water suppression are generally practised, which will work to reduce the amount of dust entering the atmosphere.

Read the full article on the Enviro Care Website