It’s Time to Shout About Protecting Workers’ Lung Health! These serious, often life threatening, lung diseases can be avoided if exposure to silica dust is adequately controlled.
What are the Risks to Your Health?
HSE inspectors are visiting manufacturing businesses to ensure workers’ health is being protected from the risks of respirable crystalline silica (RCS). Employers have a legal duty to protect their workers respiratory health. Inspectors are checking that employers and workers know the risks and have control measures in place to prevent exposure to RCS which can cause irreversible lung disease in breathed in over time.
Workers and employers should talk about the risks, and how to avoid them. Make sure you understand how a job should be done safely without creating risks to your health.
What is Silica?
Silica is a natural substance found in varying amounts in most stone, rocks, sand and clay. These materials may contain large amounts of respirable crystalline silica (RCS), which can be fatal if particles are breathed in over time.
Silica particles are produced during many manufacturing tasks. Brick and tile manufacture and cutting, stone working and foundry work can all produce silica particles in the airborne dust which are too small to be seen. Regularly breathing in this dust over a long time can cause irreversible, life-changing lung diseases. Even breathing in small amounts of silica dust (RCS), puts you at risk of developing lung disease.
What Could Happen to Me?
Exposure to silica dust can cause serious health problems and may lead to an early death. By breathing it in, you could develop the following lung diseases:
- Silicosis: Silicosis makes breathing more difficult and increases the risk of lung infections. Silicosis usually follows exposure over many years, but extremely high exposures can lead rapidly to ill health.
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): COPD is a group of lung diseases, including bronchitis and emphysema, resulting in severe breathlessness, prolonged coughing and chronic disability.
- Lung cancer: Heavy and prolonged exposure to RCS dust can cause lung cancer.
These serious, often life threatening, lung diseases can be avoided if exposure to silica dust is adequately controlled. HSE’s Chief Media Advisor, Professor David Fishwick explains more about silicosis in this short video.
Control exposure to RCS dust to stay safe. There is a legal duty for employers to prevent, or adequately control, worker exposure to RCS dust. Your employer has a legal duty to protect your health. Download the HSE’s employee guide to find out how to control exposure to silica dust in your workplace and stay safe: Control of exposure to silica dust – a guide for employees
