Wood Dust What you should know BWF Health & Safety Hero Campaign Key 1 Presenter’s Script plus background points to be used if required   2 Directions i.e. Presenter to refer to individual Slide Points Slide 1 This presentation, prepared by the BWF, is designed to be used by its member companies to enable our employees to obtain a better understanding of the problems associated with wood dust, our legal requirements and possible solutions to problems we encounter. The Presentation does not attempt to provide an absolute solution to our problems but does offer a means to make us think about what we do and how we can do it more safely Presenter to encourage audience participation. Employees should be told that they are recognised as one of the most valuable sources of information on hazards and health and safety issues associated with their work activities. BWF Health & Safety Hero Campaign

Wood Dust - What are the Campaign Objectives Campaign objectives will seek to highlight critical areas that require attention Will provide guidance as to effectively deal with these Highlight practical measures to be taken to control wood dust Slide 2 Introduce the Presentation Headings which aim to cover the main aspects of this important topic.   Refer to Slide Points Committed to supporting the continuous improvement of a Health and Safety culture, this campaign sets down this commitment that works towards zero reportable accidents and incidents relating to occupational health. In the case of wood dust, this may not be immediately apparent. This Powerpoint presentation and accompanying Safety Essentials Checklist focuses on both the legal duties and the practical measures to be taken in controlling wood dust.  There may be other issues that arise during the Presentation. Offer to cover these either as they arise or at a ‘round-up’ session at the end.

The goal of the BWF Health & Safety hero Campaign is To reduce fatal injuries each year to To reduce any RIDDOR incidents as a result of an identifiable unsafe practice to To reduce occupational ill health incidents to This will save lives, save livelihoods and lessen the associate human and financial costs of such incidents zero zero zero Slide 3 These are targets that we will seek to reach They are targets that are achievable but only with the support of everyone

Types of wood dust In addition to the tiny particles of wood (including those from manufactured boards & wood based products) created during processing, wood dust can also contain bacteria and fungal and moss spores The quantity and type of wood dust will depend on the wood being cut and the machine you are using, for example: whether the timber is green or seasoned; whether it is a hardwood, softwood or composite board; how aggressive the machine cutter or blade profile is. The biggest risk is from fine dust, as you can breathe this deep into your lungs where it will do the most damage. Fine dust will also spread further from the cutting process so it is important to clean ledges and other workroom surfaces regularly to prevent dust accumulating. Slide 4 Wood dust can be seen or sometimes unseen depending on the density of the particles Therefore it is essential that it is eliminated wherever possible or minimised

What are the legal duties? Wood dust is covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) A “substance hazardous to health” is defined as a substance which is: toxic, harmful, corrosive or irritant; has a maximum exposure limit or an occupational exposure standard; a biological agent; a substantial concentration of dust or any substance which creates a risk to health Under COSHH, employers (including contractors) have a duty to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment to control dust levels and exposure to employees Slide 5 Refer to Slide Points then ask whether everyone is aware of their obligations under COSHH Further guidance can be found on the HSE website - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg136.htm

What are the legal duties - continued? Essentially this means: What wood and wood based materials are being used That wood dust is being controlled effectively; That operators and supervisors have received adequate training in the correct use of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) in main and portable systems That the LEV is suitable for the job and is being used and maintained correctly – SEE Separate Presentation on LEV and to identify existing / additional measures that are required to control the risk to a low as reasonably practicable, including the activities / processes with a high potential for exposure e.g. sanding, routering Slide 6. What are the legal duties and why does it cause a problem?   We first need to understand what needs to be done to control dust. Refer to Slide Points then add Surely, the logical solution to the problem is to ensure that proper extraction is installed and that it is used correctly

Risk Assessment – what should it cover? Any risk assessment should (although list not exhaustive) include: who may be harmed and how the types of soft and hardwoods other materials used the hazardous properties of the dusts generated; see toxic woods at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis30.pdf an assessment of compliance with the workplace exposure limits, currently 5mg/m3 for hardwood and softwood dust Slide 7 We need to look at risk assessments that are in place and whether these need to be reviewed

What other legal duties may be involved? This increasingly involves the need for health surveillance including the use of employee questionnaires A higher level of health surveillance, including lung function testing and skin checks, are needed for exposures to woods such as certain hardwoods, western red cedar which are a known asthmagen and other high risk wood based products Other effects can also include: skin disorders; obstruction in the nose, and rhinitis in some cases, can lead to cancer. Slide 8   Because wood dust causes asthma any health effects must be picked up early. This can be done using health surveillance. For most woods, low level health surveillance will do. When someone first starts in a job where they are exposed to wood dust they should fill in a questionnaire. Sample questionnairs can be found on both the BWf and HSE websites. After six weeks a follow up questionnaire should then and this should then be repeated every year. These questionnaires tell us what to do if we think someone has been affected. A higher level of health surveillance, including lung function testing, is needed for exposures to woods such as western red cedar which are a known asthmagen.

What other legal duties may be involved? Furthermore: records should be kept for at least 40 years a programme of air monitoring should be completed to establish how efficiently the company’s dust control systems are removing the identified harmful wood dust from the atmosphere, and to ensure any dust present is below the legal workplace limit employees should be given adequate Instruction and Training regarding the risk from wood dust and findings of the wood dust assessment employees should be given suitable and sufficient training in the correct use of LEV. This can include shutting and opening blast gates when using a machine to ensure the system is working effectively at the point required results of health surveillance and air monitoring are provided to employees. Slide 9 This Slide illustrates in basic terms what further things we are required to do.

Are there any practices that should not be carried out? Yes dry sweeping – use an industrial vacuum cleaner (minimum Class M type) or other means blowing down using compressed air Slide 10  We have covered what we must do so now we will now move on to cover what we should not be doing..  

What about PPE & RPE Personal Protection Equipment and Respiratory Protection Equipment: don’t forget PPE is a last resort and must only be used if exposure to a substance cannot be reduced by other control measures.  If PPE is used it must protect the operative from the substance to which they are exposed. The requirement for wearing of P3 masks for sanding and other high risk operations such as bag changing Remember, PPE must be appropriate for the tasks and appropriate for the user Slide 11 We all know that PPE is provided for a purpose – to protect! We also understand that sometimes such equipment can be uncomfortable but with careful adaptation for individual needs, we must ensure that where provided it is used and looked after . It is provided to protect against harm and therefore there should be no excuse for not wearing it

PPE & RPE continued If disposable or half masks are specified to be worn employees must be clean shaven PPE/RPE should be individually 'face fitted' to each employee to ensure a sufficient seal can be obtained between mask and wearers face. See also HSE Guidance on RPE Fit Testing – the basics and BWF FAQ Guide (RPE) - Fit testing basics. – both accessible from the internet Slide 12 Recent publicity from HSE has concentrated on the fact that to be effective masks should be face fitted. Obviously there may be problems with certain individuals such as those with beards or designer stubble! But the principle reason for wearing such masks to prevent dust getting into you lungs.

Finally Slide 13 Finally before asking for questions point out that there are very useful resources including short videos, and essentials checklist available on the BWF and the HSE woodworking websites.