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IOSH’s No Time To Lose campaign launched in November 2014, bringing together industry leaders, cancer charities, MP’s and professional bodies to raise awareness and share experiences of preventing occupational cancer. They have created a Mythbusters Quiz detailing the facts on the dangers of exposure to silica dust. The quiz includes the answers to: Where silica dust can be found and the…

World Cancer Day is coordinated annually by the Union for International Cancer Control. The week promotes the research for curing as well as preventing the disease, upgrading the provided services to the patients, the sensitisation of the common opinion and the mobilisation of the global community against cancer. To support Cancer Talk Week on your site, you could do the following: Hold a…

In September 2015, the Scheme’s learning toolkit focused on the increasingly important issue of occupational cancers and examined what the industry was doing to safeguard employees within the industry. It was found that between 220 and 250 workers die each year as a result of an immediate injury, compared to the 15,000 – 18,000 who die from cancer. Despite this,…

Our aim was to reduce the volume of harmful wood dust polluting the atmosphere in the area where our carpenters are working to a level as low as ‘reasonably practical’. Wood dust has a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) of 5mg/m3 and can cause asthma, nasal cancer, emphysema, etc., when inhaled in large quantities for prolonged periods. To reduce the risk,…

Rates of skin cancer are higher than any other cancer in the UK and it is estimated that 37 people a day in the UK are diagnosed with skin cancer. At Knightbuild Ltd, a skin cancer awareness campaign has been implemented and introduced across all our projects to educate our workforce about the associated dangers and also to introduce control…

Dust can be a cause of complaint for the community and poses environmental and occupational health hazards for the workforce. When installing monitoring points on site, fixings had to be drilled into concrete, stone, masonry or similar substrates, which caused large amounts of dust. Some of this dust would be Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) which can damage the gas exchange part of the lungs…

To ensure that the Asbestos removal contract could operate safely, ‘Breathe Easy’ kit training was organised on site, for all nine operatives. As asbestos removal is a high risk activity it was essential that all staff were fully up to speed with the risks and how to safely deal with asbestos related work, before going to work in the enclosures. This…

Construction work can pose a number of health and safety risks. A significant proportion of construction work is performed outside, with operatives exposed to different types of weather conditions. During the summer months, the workforce needs to be aware of both heat and sun exposure, remain protected from direct sunlight and ensure they keep hydrated. Below is an example of how…

Construction workers have an increased risk of developing skin cancer due to their regular exposure to the sun. It is essential to assess the risks posed and implement appropriate control measures to minimise operatives’ exposure to the sun. Below is an example of how a site has offered sun protection to their workforce: A ventilated neck sun protector with sweat headband…

Occupational health risks need to be addressed in order to care for the health and wellbeing of the workforce. It is no secret that construction workers are at a high risk of contracting lung disease from the work that they do. In 2015, approximately 3,500 will die from cancer caused by past exposures to asbestos, 500 more from silica dust,…

The presence of asbestos in the workplace presents a significant risk to employees health. Exposure to asbestos can cause serious and fatal diseases with around 20 tradespeople suffering asbestos related deaths every week. HSE have launched a campaign to raise awareness of the risks associated with asbestos, where it can be found as well as identifying ways to manage and…

The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support’s biggest charity fundraising event. This event focuses on getting together to have a chat and a cup of tea and inviting people to make a donation to Macmillan Cancer Support. To support Macmillan Coffee Morning on your site, you could do the following: Arrange a Macmillan Coffee Morning and encourage all of your operatives…

The creation of dust is a very common cause of complaint for the construction industry. Dust not only poses a health hazard for those working on site, but is also the root cause of many complaints made by the public. It is therefore essential that appropriate methods are adopted to minimise the risk of dust on sites, to safeguard workers’ wellbeing, as…

Skcin are a skin cancer charity whose primary objectives are to raise awareness of skin cancer and promote the importance of sun safety and early detection through national educational initiatives and targeted campaigns. All of the funds they receive into the charity via corporate support and the generous donations made by fundraisers and members of the public, are ploughed back into…