Dust

Workplace dust causes many serious health problems, including cancers of the lungs, throat and nose and other lung conditions called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

The main regulations that apply to workplace dust are the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH).

In April 2013, the TUC published Time to Change Health and Safety bulletin — Dust. This sets out that dust in the workplace is not just a nuisance, it can also be a killer and is in fact the biggest cause of work related death.

The factsheet looks at what the law says about dust in the workplace, why the dust limit is too high, and why regulations need to be properly enforced. It sets out that the two most serious problems caused by dust are cancers of the lungs, nose and throat and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It also causes asthma, rhinitis and heart disease and if allowed to build up, can result in an explosion hazard.

The TUC says that the current regulations are failing to protect workers and that the standards used for assessing workplace dust exposure are totally inadequate. It argues that there is clear scientific evidence that the current UK limits for inhalable and respirable dust of 10mg/m³ and 4mg/m³ respectively should be much lower. It says there should be a precautionary standard of 2.5mg/m³ instead of 10mg/m³, and 1mg/m³ instead of 4mg/m³.