How Can COPD Be Prevented In The Workplace?

How Can Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Be Prevented In The Workplace?

 There are essentially two main ways that the development of COPD can be reduced or ideally prevented within workplaces: preventing dust, fumes and irritants from becoming airborne, and protecting workers from particles that do become airborne. It is usually cheaper, easier and more effective to stop the particles escaping than controlling them once they are in the air.

Some useful tips for employers include using water to dampen materials that can give off dust when they are cut, drilled or moved. Spraying water on dusty surfaces such as floors and ledges can keep the dust in place and prevent it from getting in to the air.

Looking in to the nature of the materials that are used within processes can make a big difference when trying to reduce dust. By buying materials in pellet form, solutions or pastes, or in sealed, pre-measured containers, the risk of dust escaping into the atmosphere can be reduced.

Segregating machinery and activities that produce dust or fumes into separate areas can keep public and communal spaces safer, and where possible using automation in these areas can further reduce the risk to workers.

Using a vacuum cleaner rather than a broom can make a massive reduction in dust that is to be collected, as well as the dust generated by the sweeping itself.

By handling materials gently; avoiding drops and spills and being gentle with machinery, you can help to reduce the amount of dust that gets into the air, and it is important to keep machinery clean and well maintained.

If an area is prone to dust or fumes, then local exhaust ventilation should be installed and properly maintained, and appropriate personal protective equipment should be provided to anyone who is at risk of inhalation. Employees must be properly trained in how to use and how to safely maintain any PPE provided to them.

Carrying out risk assessments to identify potentially dangerous areas or processes can help in reducing the danger, and training and involving employees about the dangers of dust and fumes and how to avoid them is paramount.

It is not just the dust that you can see that is dangerous, the smaller particles are far too small to be seen by the naked eye, and so small they can easily get through the body’s defences and into the lungs. In some specific environments specialist lighting can help the particles to be seen and dealt with appropriately.

Health Surveillance involves monitoring the health of employees over a period of time so that any changes in their health can be identifies and dealt with accordingly. By regularly checking the health of your workforce the risk of industrial or other diseases can reduced by implementing proper medical intervention at an early stage, ideally before any damage is irreversible.

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