HSE Inspect woodworking businesses

The HSE have confirmed that they have started targeted visits within the woodworking industry to assess whether employers have considered the control measures required to reduce worker’s exposure to wood dust, that workers understand the risks of exposure to wood dust and that effective measures have been put in place to protect the workers from harm.

In 2022/23 78% of the wood working businesses the HSE inspected were not compliant with protecting workers from exposure to wood dust.

They found four main areas of concern:

1. Insufficient housekeeping methods including with dry sweeping of dust.

2. Deficiencies in Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) maintenance.

3. Failure to thoroughly examination of and face fit protection for Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE)

4. A lack of Health Surveillance for exposure to wood dust.

The risks of exposure to wood dust include:

1. Sino-nasal cancer

2. Occupational Asthma

3. Dermatitis

The HSE have confirmed that carpenters and joiners are four times more likely to get asthma then other UK workers.

If you believe you have contacted asthma or dermatitis as a result of exposure to dust at work then please feel free to contact our Personal Injury team who have extensive experience of helping people recover compensation on 01270 762325 or PI@poolealcock.co.uk. We are happy to help.