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June 17, 2014

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SHE 2014: Mike Slater, BOHS: “health has been much neglected”

In 2012 and 2013, there were 39 fatal injuries on construction projects. That’s 39 people too many, said Mike Slater, president of the BOHS. There have been some recent, high profile construction deaths; in Grosvenor Square and on the Crossrail project — both of which were covered by the mainstream press.

But there is a bigger construction-related killer that does not get the press, said Slater. 3,700 people in 2012 and 2013 were suffering from occupational cancers, many (such as mesothelioma) are uncurable. The HSE estimates that 500 workers in the contruction industry will die every year as a result of exposure to silica dust alone. Around 13,000 people a year die of occupational diseases. But these diseases take a long time to manifest, and as a result, they do not get the press.

“When you get an accident like in Grosvenor square, it’s immediate and we know about it straight away. This man,” he said, pointing at a picture of a man working on a construction site, “is being exposed to silica dust, which takes 20-30 years to develop€ᆭthere are 31,000 new cases of occupational illness every year; these are much more invisible than immediate accidents.”

While the general public sees the immediate  health and safety issues, only 1% of work-related deaths are a result of safety breaches. The rest die of occupational ill health.

“Safety is important, I don’t want to take away from that,” said Slater. “But health has been much neglected.”

Deaths are only part of the story, however: it is estimated that just over a million people (1.1m) at work are suffering from a work-related illness.

What causes the deaths?

Asbestos: the main cause of occupational ill health and deaths due to occupational ill health every year — 5,000 people a year die of asbestos related illness.

People can still be exposed to asbestos in older buildings, if damaged, when being used, building maintenance workers are also often exposed.

Silica dust: there are 1,000 deaths a year as a result of exposure to silicon. People don’t realise that it can cause cancer.

Silica is not a problem until dust particles are smaller than 10 microns — fine enough to be respirable. These particles aren’t visible, and are produced when you cut into silica based materials, such as brick, stone or concrete.

“Most people don’t know it’s happening,” said Slater. “Most people in the construction industry aren’t aware of that. We need to improve awareness of this.”

Unlike asbestos, silica is still widely used, and anywhere you’re cutting up stone or concrete, you’re risking exposure.

Fumes: Substances in fumes from foundries or other factory environments can cause COPD, and it can be fatal. Lead in fumes or cadmium can cause serious kidney, blood and liver diseases.

Flour dust: Bakers are about 80 times more likely to develop occupational asthma than the average British worker, derived from flour dust.

Diesel exhaust emissions: these are comprised of various gases, which can also cause occupational cancer. “A lot of people drive for a living and will be exposed while their stuck in a traffic jam on the M6,” said Slater.

Pharmaceutical agents: these can also cause occupational ill health: “Ironically, many drugs used to treat cancer are actually carcinogens themselves when being handled during the manufacturing process,” Slater said.

It’s not just an issue from traditional industries; with new industries come new occupational health issues. “New materials such as nanoparticles are a risk,” said Slater. “These are a thousanth of a micron in size, and we don’t know what they do.”

Fracking: fracking tends to get in the news for its environmental effects, but it also creates a risk of higher exposure to silica dust, exposing both the workers carrying out the work and the people in the local area.

Solutions

“Because these problems are less noticeable, they don’t make the headlines like on-site accidents,” said Slater. “That’s where the BOHS comes in. Our objective as a society and as a profession is to work towards a healthy working environment for everyone.”

Many employers aren’t aware of the issues and awareness needs to be raised, says Slater: “But the government and trade unions need to encourage employers to take action. BOHS are available for help with support and guidance.”

What makes us susceptible to burnout?

In this episode  of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.

We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.

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