Asthma is one of the most common respiratory conditions in the world, affecting eight million people in the UK alone. Most cases are mild, but a serious asthma attack can be life-threatening. Asthma kills around 1,200 Brits a year, and deaths in England and Wales increased 33% between 2008 and 2018.
While asthma usually begins in childhood, it can also be contracted later in life, sometimes as a result of exposure to certain substances in the workplace. This is known as occupational asthma, and it is something that all employers should be aware of.
If your business works with substances that can trigger an asthma attack, you have a responsibility to reduce the risk as much as possible. Here’s our guide to the main dangers, and what you can do to keep your employees safe.
What is occupational asthma?
Occupational asthma is an allergic reaction triggered by airborne irritants. It can affect people with no history of asthma, or it can provoke a relapse of childhood symptoms.
While a standard asthma attack comes on very quickly, occupational asthma may take longer to develop. Symptoms can appear hours or even days after exposure, and may worsen as time goes on. These mainly affect the lungs, but can also affect the eyes, nose and throat. The most common symptoms are:
- Wheezing
- Coughing
- Tightness in the chest
- Conjunctivitis (itchy eyes)
- Rhinitis (runny nose)
What are the causes of occupational asthma?
Occupational asthma is caused by breathing in airborne irritants known as asthmagens. These cause a person’s airways to become hypersensitive, making them more susceptible to asthma. Asthmagens are a broad category, appearing everywhere from hospitals to hairdressers’ salons. A full list can be found here, but common examples include:
- Flour, dust and additives used in food preparation
- Animal substances such as fur, skin and saliva
- Cotton, flax and hemp fibres used in the textile industry
- Vapours and particles used in surgery
- Latex used in hospitals and other healthcare settings
- Chemicals used in the manufacture of mattresses and upholstery
- Metals used in the soldering process
- Wood dust produced by sanding
- Bleach used by hairdressers
How can I reduce the risk?
There are two main laws covering occupational asthma. In a general sense, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires you to reduce workplace risks as much as practicable. At the same time, COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) makes it your duty to protect employees from exposure to asthmagens and other dangerous substances.
In order to comply with these laws, you’ll need to take a few sensible precautions.
You should start by completing a risk assessment of any tasks that could generate asthmagens. Try to think of ways to limit exposure including through local exhaust ventilation (LEV), ideally by eliminating the irritant altogether.
If this isn’t possible, you should provide PPE to keep exposure to a minimum. You could also adjust rotas to make sure that no single employee is spending too long around an asthmogenic substance.
Remember to take into account the individual medical histories of your employees. Anyone who already suffers from asthma should be kept away from irritants as much as possible, as should employees with a history of childhood asthma. Smokers are also more vulnerable to the effects of asthmagens.
Health surveillance is a good tactic too: collecting basic information in the background which may lead to early detection.
Keep an eye out for symptoms
Most cases of occupational asthma are reversible, but the condition can become permanent if left untreated. This means that it’s vital to recognise the early warning signs, and to train your employees to do the same. Things to look out for include:
- Asthma symptoms in people with no childhood history of the disease
- The return of childhood symptoms that had disappeared
- Symptoms that improve over the weekend or on days off
- Symptoms that make it difficult to sleep after a shift
If any of these apply, employees should speak to their GP immediately. Try to accommodate this, even if it means giving them time off at short notice.
If you have any questions about occupational asthma, or need help with another aspect of H&S, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
