• Article: "'Ridiculous' health and safety rules tell carpenters to ban the broom"

The Editor
The Daily Telegraph
111 Buckingham Palace Road
London
SW1W 0DT
dtletters@telegraph.co.uk

21 July 2008

Sir

While Richard Alleyne’s feature ‘Sweeping advice: don’t use a broom’ (Daily Telegraph, 19 July) makes for an amusing headline, I am dismayed at the trivialisation of what is a very real workplace health issue.

Wood dust does cause serious diseases – cancers, and asthma, which severely limits people’s ability to work and enjoy life. The Health and Safety Executive has not banned brooms, but has provided guidance and advice to the woodworking industry on managing these risks.

Sandra Caldwell CB
Deputy Chief Executive
The Health and Safety Executive
2 Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HS
Tel: 0207 717 6498