Most Hazardous Occupations for Dust

Not just a problem of the past

People often think that dust in the workplace is a thing of the past, with industries, are typically known for dust exposure, such as coal mining and textile manufacturing, now being far more regulated and mostly automated industries. But this is not the case. Dust in the workplace is still a massive issue in quarrying, agriculture, food processing, metalwork and many more industries. For example, recycling centres have exposed workers to a new wide range of dust and manufacturing processes are increasing using MDF, which has led to an increase in dust in the workplace.

Occupations most hazardous of Dust

Those working in the flour grain industry have reported the most occupational asthma or breath and lung issues. Airborne materials from spray painting or manufacturing not far behind with welding, soldering or cutting/grinding metals from bodywork, manufacturing and aerospace industries. The agriculture industry with animal feed, grains, and bedding (straw) has also led to work health issues later in life through lousy dust extraction. THORR shows that in ‘manufacturing of food products from 2017 to 2019′, there was an estimated 10.1 cases per 100,000 for occupational asthma.

Hazardous Dust

Health and safety guidelines and media coverage have alerted businesses to the effects the dust created in workplaces can have on our health. Everyone has probably heard that the soot in diesel exhausts causes asthma and we don’t put lead in petrol. Unfortunately, that perhaps sums up the level of knowledge for most people concerning the environmental hazards of dust and fumes. Sadly, HSE has reported that 1.6 million workers suffer from work-related ill-health. Many of these illnesses, such as lung disease, have a long latency period after being exposed to the dust in the workplace. At IntegratedAIR Filtration are doing what we can to assist businesses and ensure working conditions are kept below COSSH guidelines to ensure that employees in the future have good health that has not been affected by their work environment.

Controlling Dust

Ideally, the dust should be eliminated; this may be possible by doing jobs a different way or using other equipment or materials. However, it is not always possible to eliminate dust. If it cannot be eliminated, it should be controlled and extracted straight from the source to reduce its spread as it is hard to control once it has become airborne.

Control measures such as extract units can be implemented to prevent dust exposure and spread. At integratedAIR Filtration, dust extraction units in industrial sectors are our specialty. Our range of BlueClean® filters can be designed to suit our client’s needs.

At integratedAIR Filtration, our Team will be happy to answer your questions or help you choose the best BlueClean® unit for your requirements.