ASTHMA WORKSHOP TO BE OPENED BY NEW MINISTER IN EUROPEAN WEEK FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH

Press Release: E165:03 - 27 August 2003

Two one day complementary workshops focusing on the cause, impact and prevention of occupational asthma are to be held in London on 14 and 15 October as part of the European Week for Safety and Health at Work that runs from 13-18 October. The workshops are designed to promote best practice in the workplace and to alleviate the suffering of those already affected by the disease. An estimated 7,000 cases of asthma are caused or made worse by work each year.

Des Browne MP, the recently appointed Department for Work and Pensions Minister with responsibility for work and health and safety will open the first day's proceedings. Leading experts from academia, medicine, professional bodies and government agencies will address the workshops. The keynote speaker on 14 October is Hans Horst Konkolewsky, Director of the European Safety and Health Agency, based in Bilbao, Spain.

The first day is designed for the non-specialist - manager, businessperson or adviser - seeking a general introduction to the topic, an understanding of the causes of occupational asthma and how to manage the substances involved. The second day's aim is to encourage the exchange of current medical and technical information between those working at the forefront of the subject, typically occupational hygienists, health practitioners and those wishing to develop an existing interest.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) believes that most of the new cases of occupational asthma are caused by:-

1. common materials such as flour dust, grain dust, wood dust;

2. chemicals such as solder fumes, glues and resins, latex, glutaraldehyde (typically present in sterilisation fluids), and isocyanates (common in two-pack paint sprays, formed foam products and gap fillers used in the building industry); and

3. laboratory animals.

The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) and the Professional Organisations in Occupational Safety and Health (POOSH) are concerned that the potential harm to the individual and impact on the employer is not fully appreciated, especially within small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The personal and commercial consequences can frequently be serious and occasionally devastating.

Notes to editors

Full workshop programmes details are attached.

The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS),

which celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year, is a multi-disciplined learned society that has members in over 30 countries. The Society is established for the promotion and protection of occupational and environmental health and hygiene including public and professional awareness, good practice and standards, and research. It advances education in the science of occupational and environmental health and hygiene in particular by operating a professional faculty.

Professional Organisations in Occupational Safety and Health (POOSH)

exists to promote the continuous improvement of the practice of occupational safety and health through education, communication and the encouragement of co-operation between all persons and agencies involved in the provision of a safe and healthy working environment.

The European Week for Safety and Health at Work is a Europe-wide initiative run by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and promoted in the UK by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The focus for 2003 is 'Dangerous substances at work' as nearly every work place in the UK uses dangerous substances in one form or another.

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