OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE

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OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE
Mark Lawton Long Latency Division
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Long Latency Risks

• Respiratory
• Cancers, COPD, asbestos-related, asthma,
• Noise vibration
• Skin

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The challenge

• Evidence-based approach
• 98 annual work-related deaths due to
  occupational disease
• 7000 cancer deaths, 4000 asbestos-related
• 4000 deaths from COPD

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Annual work-related deaths
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Activities

• Targeted partnership working to reduce exposure
• Enabling projects
• LEV, RPE, VET
• Policy development
• COSHH, REACH etc, asbestos
• Emerging issues
• Nanotechnology, shiftwork,

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Targeted partnership working

• Evidence based
• Whats the problem?
• Whos got it?
• Can it be solved?
• Who can influence change?
• How can HSE play its part?

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Hairdressers

• Dermatitis
• 20x average incidence, 50 affected?
• Gloves, barrier creams
• Targeted PR campaign, suppliers
• Local authority inspections, Habia
• Glove Demand

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Flour Dust

• Asthma
• 27,000 bakers, low awareness
• Audience research gt Illustrated pocket card,
  cartoon-style
• Tested with the audience
• Direct mail 40,000 premises
• Positive feedback

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Motor Vehicle Repair

• Isocyanate in spray paints
• 80x chance of asthma
• Awareness raising challenging myths
• Messages becoming embedded
• E.g. increased awareness of spray clearance times

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Target activities

• Construction activities
• 30,000 road construction workers
• Welding
• 80,000 exposed to welding fume, excess lung
  cancers
• Foundry workers
• 10,000 exposed?
• Silica, nickel compounds
• Further investigation
• Painters, DEEE,

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Kerb cutting

• Silica
• 30,000 workers, 700 cancer deaths
• Awareness, stakeholder-led solutions
• Success so far
• HSE support inc inspection 09/10 and ongoing (5-7
  years)

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Asbestos

• At least 4000 deaths/year, 25 tradesmen
• Hidden Killer launches 2 November
• Radio. press, PR, stakeholder info pack
  distribution, case studies, social media pilot
• Vocational project
• Get asbestos etc on the syllabuses
• Suppliers
• Increase availability of PPE, equipment,
  information
• DtM
• Stakeholder engagement to identify barriers to
  compliance and develop solutions

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Asbestos - tradesmen

• Asbestos still a risk 1000 tradesmen /year
• Unaware of risk
• Targeted campaign, awareness and advice, partners
  promoting
• 8/10 tradesmen had seen PR, 71 said will take
  precautions

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Cancers

• Updating of cancer burden estimates
• Initial current burden results for 6 cancers 2007
• 4.9 (8 1.5)
• Other cancers results Dec 2009
• Future burden estimates end 2010
• Semiconductors
• Follow-up study at Greenock
• Precautionary inspection programme across UK
  plants
• Shiftwork
• Study by Oxford Uni report 2011
• HSE web pages early 2010