Vehicle spray painters - common causes of asthma

Isocyanate (typically in 2-pack paints) is the most common cause of occupational asthma. It also causes dermatitis.

It affects workers spraying 2-pack (2K) isocyanate paints in motor vehicle repair and in motor and semi-trailer manufacture.

See COSHH Essentials for detailed advice on control.

Top tips

• Spraying produces a lot of invisible mist. Never spray outside the booth.
• Your booth takes time to clear of mist so measure the clearance time and make sure everyone knows it.
• Always wear air-fed breathing apparatus (BA) while spray mist is present.
• You need regular health surveillance.
• View ‘Safe working with 2-pack isocyanate paints’ for more information on good practice.

Reduce disease - reduce exposure to isocyanate mist

You breathe isocyanate mist when you raise your BA visor to check the paint film quality, or prime or washz out the gun by spraying without wearing BA.

Check that the air-fed BA and working procedures are effective enough by measuring your exposure using biological monitoring.

Maintain the booth and BA regularly and keep unprotected persons out of the spraying areas.

More information for employers

You can find more guidance and information on the Asthma publications pages. These also contain information on isocyanate use in other sectors.