We rarely think about breathing except when we have trouble doing so and that’s why every October is Healthy Lung Month.
From the 5 October to coincide with healthy lung month The HSE have been focusing on respiratory risk and the importance of keeping our colleagues safe.
Health and safety inspectors across Great Britain have been targeting construction firms to check that their health standards are up to scratch.
This is the fourth health-focused initiative of its kind. As in previous years, inspections will focus on respiratory risks and occupational lung disease; looking at the measures businesses have in place to protect their workers’ lungs from the likes of asbestos, silica and wood dust. This is part of HSE’s longer term health and work strategy to improve health within the construction industry.
Respiratory care has been a focus for the NHS within a long term plan from January 2019. Lung disease is the UK’s third biggest killer but, unlike other major disease areas, mortality rates haven’t decreased in over a decade.
One in five people in the UK lives with asthma, COPD or other respiratory disease – nearly 13 million people – and respiratory conditions are a major part of the gap in life expectancy between the poorest and the wealthiest.
More than 3,500 builders die each year from cancers related to their work, with thousands more cases of ill-health and working days lost.
HSE’s chief inspector of construction, Sarah Jardine, said: “Around 100 times as many workers die from diseases caused or made worse by their work than are actually killed in construction accidents.
“Our inspection initiatives ensure that inspectors are able to speak to duty holders and visit sites to look at the kind of action businesses in the construction industry are taking right now to protect their workers’ health, particularly when it comes to exposure to dust and damage to lungs.
“There are a few simple things that everyone can do to make sure they are protecting their health and their future. Be aware of the risks associated with activities you do every day, recognise the dangers of hazardous dust and consider how it can affect your health. We want businesses and their workers to think of the job from start to finish and avoid creating dust by working in different ways to keep dust down and wear the right mask and clothing.”
Whilst we are in health lung month take a minute to look at what you are doing in your workplace to protect your staff.
If you need advice about what you can be doing please do not hesitate to ring us to discuss this further with one of our health and safety professionals.