1. Work-related ill health – Moving forward
Mark Flynn
Health and Chemicals Unit, HSE
SBTAF Meeting – 3rd December 2015

2. Ill health in today’s workplace
2 million suffering workplace illness
(1.2 million working people,
0.8 former workers)
23.3 million working days
lost to ill health
19.4 million working days
lost due to MSDs
and work related stress
Around 13,000 deaths
Due to cancer &
respiratory disease
Cost to Britain of workplace
illness ~£9.4 bn
Estimated emerging costs
for cancer double figure bn
*2014/15 statistics

3. HSE’s ambition Reduce the incidence of occupational disease through:
Prevention and Control
Sustained HSE activity
Focus on improving effective management and control of health risks by supporting evidence based targeted interventions in high risk areas 3

4. Tackling the issue in the right way
Carry out research
Establish evidence base
Identify key industry sectors
Analyse structure, characteristics, ill health data, evidence of what has worked/failed in each sector
Decide what are most effective interventions
Implement and review
Priority on cancers and respiratory diseases

5. Priorities: Cancer and Respiratory Disease
Carcinogenic agents/ exposure circumstances
Asbestos
Shift work
Welders
Painters
Silica (RCS)
Diesel (DEEEs)
Respiratory disease: Industries/workplace activities that have high incidence and/or large number of workers potentially exposed:
Construction workers
Foundry workers
Welders
Quarry & stone workers
Agricultural workers
Vehicle paint sprayers
Bakers

6. Activity in well understood sectors
© Crown Copyright 2014 6

7. Case study: Successful partnership working
‘Stop dust before it stops you’. 7 7

8. Others getting involved

9. Asbestos Campaign
© Crown Copyright 2014 9

10. © Crown Copyright 2014 9

11. Tackling occupational disease - developing new approaches

12. Proactive inspections
Greater focus on health
Ongoing activity
Control procedures
Annual construction refurbishment initiative – recent press release 12

13. Building and developing the evidence base - examples
Diesel engine exhaust emissions (DEEEs)
Shift work
Painters 13

14. Work streams for 2016 and beyond …..14

15. Thank you 15