In this podcast, we discuss HSE’s Dust Kills construction campaign. Duncan Smith, Acting Head of Unit, Field Operations Division Health Unit at HSE and Abigail Bainbridge, Group Health, Safety & Environment, Director at Persimmon Homes, and Home Builders Federation H&S committee member, talk us through the risks of breathing in construction dust and what those working in construction need to know to ensure their respiratory health is protected at work.

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For more information on the Dust Kills campaign, and to download our free resources for employers and workers, visit: Construction Dust - Work Right to keep Britain safe

Dust Kills construction campaign podcast transcript:

Mick Ord (Host): 

Every year in the construction industry, there are thousands of preventable cases of irreversible lung disease due to past exposure to dust at work. These diseases often have a life-changing impact and can result in an early death. Indeed, it's estimated that more than 500 construction workers die from exposure to silica dust every year.

And as we'll discover in this podcast, the amounts needed to cause this damage are not large. My name's Mick Ord, and welcome to the latest episode in our series of HSE podcasts designed to make us all better informed about health and safety at work, whether you are a business owner or a worker. So, whether you are part of a large, well-established company, a small business, or a new start-up, we hope you might learn some more about the dangers of exposure to construction dust and what you can do to reduce risk and perhaps most important of all to act now.

HSE inspectors will be visiting construction sites all over the country, checking that employers and workers know the risks involved in breathing in dust, and have the right plans in place, and are using the right controls to reduce the health risks of inhaling construction dusts, including silica and wood dust.

The inspections are being backed up by HSE's 'Dust Kills' campaign which offers accessible advice and guidance on the Work Right website, which we'll be mentioning again later, and putting a link in the episode notes accompanying this podcast. 

With me are two people who will be able to tell us some more about the health risks of inhaling dust in places such as building sites and workshops, and crucially, what can be done to significantly reduce those risks. HSE's Duncan Smith is a chartered occupational hygienist with more than 30 years of experience.

Duncan was a consultant in the private sector before joining HSE as a specialist inspector in 2010. He's currently the acting head of operations in the Field Operations Division Health Unit.

Abigail Bainbridge is the Group Health and Safety and Environment Director at one of the country's largest house builders Persimmon Homes. She's also a member of the Home Builders Federation and has a background in health and safety law. Welcome both. 

Duncan, if I can start with you first, how big is the problem of occupational lung disease in the UK?

Duncan Smith: 

Thanks, Mick. Across all industry sectors, there's an estimated 12,000 deaths each year due to previous exposures at work. This is a key priority for HSE to reduce work-related ill health. Of those 12,000 deaths, there's approximately 500 construction deaths each year due to past exposure to silica alone.

Mick Ord (Host): Those are really worrying numbers, aren't they? So, what specifically is HSE doing about this? 

Duncan Smith: As I said, this is a key priority for HSE, and every year we're actively inspecting the construction sector. We will go out and have health initiatives, and we have data for 2022 where there were two major health-focused initiatives including this particular respiratory health initiative.

HSE inspectors did something like 1,268 inspections during the respiratory health initiative, and the topic of control of silica exposure was considered by inspectors 512 times. They found that the best standards were seen at home build sites and the worst practices were at domestic refurbishment and street works inspections.

And then thinking specifically about respiratory sensitisers, this is where wood dust exposure is important. Respiratory sensitisers, where the substance may cause occupational asthma. Inspectors considered this particular topic 347 times, and again, poorer standards were noted compared to during previous initiatives, and domestic refurbishment was where the highest non-compliance was seen.

Mick Ord (Host): What are the key things that construction workers need to know then Duncan?

Duncan Smith: It is important that construction workers understand the hazards that they're working with. HSE has some very good information on their website, and the Dust Kills campaign gives a lot of really good information about this.

Thinking about the hazards in construction, silica dust is very frequently experienced. Even though silica is a naturally occurring substance, it is a hazardous substance when used at work, and we may not always be aware that we are using silica because it might be present in some construction materials such as brick or mortar or cement or paving slabs or tiles.

 The dust can be very fine when power tools are used, and it can get very dusty. If that very fine dust is breathed down deep into the lungs it can cause serious lung diseases such as lung cancer or silicosis or something called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These diseases are often irreversible and can cause permanent disability and early death.

The risk is often from exposure over a long period. You may not always notice symptoms for a long time, but each exposure to that dust adds up within the lungs and the airways can get progressively more and more damaged. Unfortunately, by the time you do notice you have a problem, the damage is done. The disease can also be made worse by smoking.

Silica is only a risk once it forms fine respirable dust. And by that we mean when it's so small, it can get down into the deep lung. The greater the level of dust in air, the higher the risk. High dust levels are caused by some of the following factors. High dust concentrations. Now, these could be caused by the use of power tools because of the motive, force, and power that they have in them generate lots and lots of dust.

For example, cut off saws, or power saws, grinders, wall chasers, and grip blasters. These can produce very high amounts of dust in air in a very short time. Similarly, dry sweeping using a sweeping brush can make lots of dust or raise lots of dust when compared to vacuuming or wet brushing. The location might be an important factor as well.

The more enclosed the space, the more the dust can build up, and it may not be diluted as it might be if it was outside. The longer the time dust is generated over, the more dust there will be, and if you spend a lot of time in that environment, the more dust you could potentially breathe into your deep lung.

And frequency as well. The more regular the exposure occurs, such as day after day, this increases the risk quite a lot. So, what you do need to do to protect yourself is to follow the hierarchy of control that is set out in the COSHH regulations –the control of substances hazardous to health– at a very high level.

That starts off at: can you eliminate the risk from the process? So, can you eliminate dust by effective design and planning of the process? If you can't do that, then you're going to need to minimise the risk by using suitable control measures. you should always ensure control measures identified are used properly, and that's going to require training and supervision of those that are using the control measures.

Mick Ord (Host): Thanks, Duncan. Abigail Bainbridge from Persimmon Homes within your company and through the Home Builders Federation network of businesses, what's being done to protect workers' respiratory health on site? 

Abigail Bainbridge: Thanks, Mick. Well, it's certainly in terms of persimmon and my home builder peers, we are really looking at a simple set of controls.

Firstly, we try where we can to eliminate the risk that can be getting the manufacturer to pre-cut materials, for example, bricks or wood. We also want to make sure we're using the right tool or method for the job. For example, using a block splitter rather than a saw to cut blocks, so it reduces the amount of dust that's created.

We also use, uh, water suppression to dampen down the dust, and even now you can get battery-powered dust suppressors. We also make sure that the right kind of vacuum is being used. We don't want those Henry Hoovers out there; we want a proper M-Class vacuum being used when cleaning up. One of the biggies for all of us is the use of FFP3 masks and ensuring that the user has been face fit tested and is clean shaven.

We all know that using an FFP3 mask whilst the person's wearing a beard or has stubble, is a bit like a scaffolder wearing a harness without clipping on. So that's one of the big areas that we all try and enforce. We also like to use local exhaust ventilation on certain equipment like chop saws, routers, and sanders.

So, Yeah, a multitude of measures, but all, all relatively simple ones that the large home builders like Persimmon can use, but also the smaller SMEs as well. 

Mick Ord (Host): You mentioned, uh, face masks there and I was f