This month, we’re going to be looking at hazards relating to the housing of livestock and the special precautions that should be taken to ensure a safe working environment.
Hazards
- High dust levels can be produced from dry feed.
- Dust produced contains bacteria, endotoxin, fungi and insect residues, and can cause lung diseases such as asthma, chronic bronchitis and farmer’s lung. Enzyme additives may cause asthma.
- Grain dust has a workplace exposure limit (WEL) of 10 mg/m (based on an 8-hour time-weighted average). You need to keep exposures as low as is reasonably practicable below this limit.
- Control exposure to stop occupational lung diseases developing – this means short-term as well as long-term exposure.
- Caution: Some dusts (eg from barley) are very irritating to skin, eyes and the respiratory tract. Dust from animal dander can cause contact urticaria. You will need to consider this and select the appropriate exposure controls as part of managing the risks.
Access to work area
Allow access to authorised and appropriately trained people only.
Equipment and procedures
- Automate feeding where possible – use enclosed elevators, conveyors or an auger.
- Use pelletised or slurry feeds, which produce less dust.
- Where manual feeding cannot be avoided, pour feed gently – don’t throw or dump it.
Respiratory protective equipment (RPE)
- Provide RPE for dusty operations.
- Provide RPE with a UK Standard Assigned Protection Factor (APF) of at least 10.
- Fit testing is required for RPE with a tight fitting face seal.
- Workers wearing tight fitting RPE must be clean shaven, trained how to fit it properly and look after it.
- Tell workers to discard disposable RPE at the end of the shift, or sooner if their RPE becomes blocked with dust.
- Examine and test non-disposable RPE thoroughly at least once every month and record this.
- Tell workers to check RPE is working properly before every use and record this.
- If RPE is required for extended periods, eg longer than 1 hour, use powered respirators.
- Keep RPE clean and store it in a clean place.
- Make suitable arrangements for maintenance, storage and replacement of RPE.
Change the filters on respirators in accordance with manufacturers’ recommendations and if:
- the shelf-life expiry date has passed;
- they are damaged or visibly contaminated; or
- they become harder to breathe through.
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Ask your supplier to help you select suitable PPE.
- Make suitable arrangements for maintenance, storage and replacement of PPE.
- Personal decontamination and skincare
- Provide warm water, mild skin cleansers, and soft paper or fabric towels for drying. Avoid abrasive cleansers.
- Provide pre-work skin creams, which will make it easier to wash dirt from the skin.
- Provide after-work creams to replenish skin oils.
- Caution: ‘Barrier creams’ are not ‘liquid gloves’ and do not provide a full barrier.
- Maintenance, examination and testing
- Keep all equipment used for the task in effective working order. Follow instructions in maintenance manuals.
- Look for signs of damage and make repairs.
- Examine and test non-disposable RPE thoroughly at least once every month.
- Keep records of all examinations and tests for at least five years.
- Cleaning and housekeeping
- Clean work equipment and the work area daily. Clean other equipment at least once a week.
- Vacuum dry dust or use wet cleaning methods.
- Use vacuum equipment that meets at least dust Class M (medium hazard) classification to remove dust.
Caution: Never allow the use of brushes or compressed air for removing dust from skin and clothing. Avoid the use of brushes or compressed air for removing dust from surfaces or from inside machinery.
Health Surveillance
- Provide health surveillance for asthma where there is a reasonable likelihood that asthma may occur in your workplace. See G402.
- Provide health surveillance for dermatitis where there is a reasonable likelihood that dermatitis may occur in your workplace. See G40.
- Training and supervision
- Tell workers about the hazards associated with their work and how to recognise the early signs of asthma and dermatitis.
- Provide supervision – ensure that safe work procedures are followed.
Provide workers with training on:
- working safely with hazardous substances;
- when and how to use controls;
- how to check they are working;
- what to do if something goes wrong.
Training records are helpful to demonstrate training has taken place.
