TALK: Dust and its effects on health in the construction industry

Event Information

This talk is part of the Build for the Future: East Midlands event, which is FREE to attend: https://www.lincs-chamber.co.uk/events/build-for-the-future/

Work related ill health in the UK is one of the biggest killers in the UK today and lung disease is the single biggest killer.  In 2019/20 12,000 people died from work related lung disease long before their normal life expectancy.

We all know about Asbestos, and we know it kills. 

If asked to go into a room full of Asbestos dust most people would say no because of their knowledge of this product and how it kills. But very few people properly understand the harm caused by construction dust from stone, cement, plaster etc.

In recent years science has been able to better understand the effects of construction dust on workers.  It kills, what’s worse is that it has in many cases proven to be as deadly as asbestos and kill even quicker. 

The problem is, this dust, Silica, is mostly what our planet is made of.  It is in nearly every concrete, clay or sand-based building material from bricks and mortar to plaster. It’s even in steel. As you can see it will be very difficult to ban these products as we have with Asbestos so that only leaves us with having to control exposure through other means. At the top of the list has to be understanding. 

This talk by Russ Pryor, Managing Director of Arion Training & Development Ltd, will take you through construction dust, how it comes about, its size and how it enters and harms the lungs. 

It will go through the controls you should follow and the testing you can do to prove your controls are working.  It will be an opportunity to ask questions about what you do, your risks and how best to manage it.