In some jobs and industries risks of exposure to substances that are harmful to health are higher.
This guidance explains some of the hazards from specific work and what you can do to control risks and help protect against lung disease.
Agriculture
Chest problems may result from breathing in:
- dusts from harvesting or handling grain, mixing animal feedstuffs, feeding animals, handling mouldy hay or bedding and waste products from animals or poultry
- vapours from slurry, silage, welding fume, some veterinary medicines and disinfectants
Being exposed to dusts or chemicals at work for just a short time may cause unpleasant irritation or inflammation in the nose, throat or lungs. Longer exposure may lead to more serious chest problems, including asthma, chronic bronchitis and farmer's lung.
These symptoms can be short lived at the time of a job or they may get worse and last longer until they are almost always present. They can be set off by even very small exposures to any substance to which you have become allergic, or sensitised.
You can avoid breathing in the harmful substances by:
- using alternative, safer substances where possible
- changing to low-dust materials like granules or pellets in place of powder
- enclosing sources of dust or spray
- vacuuming spillages instead of sweeping up
You can reduce what you breathe in by:
- using local exhaust ventilation
- using effective filters in tractor or vehicle cabs
- maintaining filters to the manufacturer's instructions
- improving ventilation in buildings
- wearing appropriate, effective respiratory protective equipment
If you need to wear masks or respirators always adjust the straps so they fit properly. Store them in a clean, dry place and do not hang them in dirty, dusty areas. You can find more information on personal protective equipment (PPE) at work.
All masks and respirators must be CE or UKCA marked. There is more guidance on the main causes of ill health in agriculture.
Construction
There are many jobs in construction that risk exposure to hazardous substances that can damage the lungs, or cause lung disease, if not properly controlled. These include cutting bricks and kerbstones, stonemasonry scabbling, surface grinding, tunnelling, crushing, screening demolition material, removing rubble, chasing out mortar before repointing, and laying epoxy floors and carpentry.
Risks to lung health in construction include asbestos-related diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung cancer.
Asbestos-related diseases
The most common diseases caused by asbestos are:
- mesothelioma
- asbestosis
- asbestos-related lung cancer
There is information from GOV.UK on types of diseases caused by asbestos.
The asbestos essentials task sheets give guidance for building, maintenance and allied trades on how to safely carry out non-licensed work involving asbestos.
You can find more general HSE guidance on asbestos.
Asthma
When exposed to certain substances in the workplace some people experience occupational asthma. These substances can cause a 'hypersensitive state' in the airways of those affected.
Once lungs become hypersensitive, further exposure to the substance, even at quite low levels, may trigger an attack.
Silica
Drilling, scabbling, blasting, cutting, and grinding materials like granite, sandstone, slate, brick, or concrete can produce silica-containing dust. Some of this dust is fine enough to get deep into your lungs. This is known as respirable crystalline silica (RCS).
Exposure to silica dust over a long time can result in RCS inside your lungs. This can cause swelling, scarring and lead to the development of silicosis.
Control the risks
Preventing dusts, fume and irritant gases from getting into the air is usually more effective, and cheaper, than controlling dust once it is in the air. In most cases you can control RCS using exhaust-ventilated tools that remove the dust at source, or tools fitted with a water supply for dust suppression.
There is detailed guidance on how to control exposure to silica in construction and comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH).
Guidance on how to protect workers from COPD covers dust suppression, wet cutting, vacuuming, and lighting.
Electronics (soldering)
Serious health problems can arise from inhaling the fume from rosin (sometimes called colophony) or its derivatives contained in solder fluxes. Without effective control, solder fume rises vertically and, for manual operations, is likely to enter the breathing zone of the solderer.
Rosin-based fluxes may be integral with the solder or applied separately, as in liquid fluxes. For solder wire, commonly used in hand soldering, the flux is often contained in a central core and is released on heating. In other cases, the flux may be within a solder paste applied by syringe, or by stencil and screen printing. Liquid fluxes may be applied from a bottle or by dipping into small jars or pots. On automated lines, the flux may be sprayed as a liquid or foam before wave soldering.
Many people do some soldering, including telecommunications engineers, ventilation and heating specialists, plumbers and those in technical research and further education. Intermittent soldering work may lead to high, short-term exposures, particularly if carried out in an enclosed space or at an awkward angle. People maintaining and cleaning soldering plant, equipment and control systems may also be at risk.
Rosin-based solder flux fume is now regarded as one of the most significant causes of occupational asthma in Britain. When the asthmatic effects are fully developed they are permanent and irreversible. Continued exposure, even to very small amounts of fume, may cause asthma attacks and the person affected may be unable to do any soldering with rosin-based fluxes again.
Control the risks
As exposure to rosin-based solder flux fumes may be hazardous to health, their use is subject to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). A suitable assessment of the risks to health must be carried out. Where reasonably practicable, you should prevent exposure, failing that, you must adequately control it. You should:
- try and use flux that does not contain rosin
- never overheat a soldering iron
- use fume extraction
- keep your head out of the plume of solder fume
Guidance is available for employers in Controlling health risks from rosin (colophony)-based solder flux fume and for workers in Solder fume and you.
Engineering
For engineering workers the common causes of asthma are metalworking fluids (MWFs). These are neat oils or water-based fluids used during the machining and shaping of metals to provide lubrication and cooling, sometimes referred to as suds, coolants, slurry or soap. MWFs are mostly applied by continuous jet, spray or hand dispenser.
Fluid and mist from water-mix wash fluids and washing machines used to clean machined components may be hazardous in much the same way as fluid and mist from metalworking machines, and the same principles of risk assessment, prevention and control should be applied.
Exposure to MWFs can cause occupational asthma, bronchitis, irritation of the upper respiratory tract, breathing difficulties or, rarely, a more serious lung disease called extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA), which can cause increasingly severe breathing difficulties in recurrent episodes following repeated exposure.
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) require exposure to MWFs by inhalation, ingestion or skin contact to be prevented where reasonably practicable or, failing that, adequately controlled.
You should:
- carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment
- maintain fluid quality and control bacterial contamination of fluids
- minimise skin exposure to fluids
- prevent or control airborne mists
- where there is exposure to fluid or mist, carry out health surveillance
Glass and glazing
Respiratory sensitisers include dust produced in glass cutting and the use of methylated spirits when cutting laminated glass. Dust and fumes can cause long-term health problems such as asthma.
Risks to health are greatly reduced where exposure to dusts and fumes is controlled with the use of local exhaust ventilation.
Molten metals (foundries)
Health risks from working in the foundries industry include exposure to molten metal fume (foundry fume) and spray mists. Some foundry workers work with dusts produced by casting sand, fettlings and kiln linings, which contain silica and, when dry, produce silica dust known as respirable crystalline silica (RCS).
Exposures to ferrous foundry fume can cause lung cancer, fume from pattern assembly can cause occupational asthma, and spray mists can cause lung diseases, including asthma. Inhaling RCS can lead to silicosis.
To control the risks, keep dust and fumes exposure to a minimum and ensure control measures are in good working order, for example:
- mechanical (such as extraction, respirators)
- administrative (such as supervision, health surveillance)
- operator (following instructions)
Show that control is being sustained – keep good records and carry out health monitoring regularly.
There is detailed guidance on complying with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) and guidance on controls for specific tasks in COSHH essentials in foundries.
Motor vehicle repair
Health risks from working in motor vehicle repair (MVR) include exposure to isocyanate paints during spraying, and exposure to lead and harmful dusts in some body preparation operations. Powered discing and sanding can release high concentrations of fine dust, which is a serious health hazard.
Isocyanate is the most common cause of occupational asthma. It can also cause dermatitis, a type of eczema. It affects workers spraying 2-pack isocyanate paints in motor vehicle repair and in motor and semi-trailer manufacture.
Hardening agents in fillers can be skin irritants. Fume from welding, flame cutting and other 'hot work' may cause dryness of the throat, tickling, coughing, tightness of the chest and difficulty in breathing. Long-term changes in the lung are possible. Harmful fumes and gases during welding include those from primer and paint layers, other surface coatings such as underseal, and from lead in car bodies.
To control the risks:
- minimise the number of people exposed to dust and fume by separating the body filling and preparation area from other work
- keep dust to a minimum. For powered discing and sanding, use tools with built-in extraction or local exhaust ventilation
- when welding, use a mobile extraction unit with flexible exhaust hood and trunking, wherever possible, and always in confined spaces
There is detailed guidance on complying with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) and controlling exposure to 2-pack isocyanate paints.
Plastics
The exact composition of any fume produced when the material is heated for processing will therefore vary, but any plastic fume can cause severe irritation to the eyes, nose and lungs. In some cases, the effects can be long term and irreversible and include occupational asthma.
Risks to health are greatly reduced where exposure to dusts and fumes is controlled with the use of local exhaust ventilation.
Printing
Print workers are exposed to a range of hazardous substances, including chemicals, during the course of their work. Working with isocyanate-based adhesives can cause dermatitis, a type of eczema, and occupational asthma.
To control the risks:
- use isocyanate-free products if you can
- use a ventilation system to control exposure, and check the system regularly
- check safety datasheets to avoid products containing toluene diisocyanate (TDI), hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) or isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI)
- if you do need to use an isocyanate-based product, choose one containing methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) which is less volatile, and therefore less likely to be inhaled
There is detailed guidance on complying with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) and controls for specific tasks in COSHH essentials for printers.
Quarries
When crushed or abraded during quarrying activities, materials containing silica create respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust. It is this respirable dust that is associated with the respiratory disease silicosis.
You may also develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Control the risks with dust:
- suppression using water, steam, mist or fog sprays
- collection using cyclones, scrubbers and bag fitters
- containment using encapsulation
Guidance on reducing exposure to RCS is available in Quarrying COSHH essentials along with advice on how to ensure all control measures are kept and maintained in good working order.
Refractories
Heat-resistant refractories form the linings for high-temperature furnaces and reactors and other processing units. They are produced from natural and synthetic materials, usually non-metallic, or combinations of compounds and minerals. Casting sand and kiln linings contain silica and, when dry, produce silica dust known as respirable crystalline silica (RCS).
If you are exposed to RCS then you are at risk of developing silicosis. You may also develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which prevents you from breathing properly.
Risks to health are greatly reduced where exposure to dusts and fumes is controlled with the use of local exhaust ventilation.
Stoneworking
Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is in most rocks, sands, clays and also products such as bricks, tiles and concrete. When these materials are cut, sanded, carved, or ground, dust is created. This dust may be fine enough to be breathed deep into the lungs.
If you are exposed to RCS then you are at risk of developing silicosis.
You may also develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which prevents you from breathing properly. COPD is a term that includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Risks to health are greatly reduced if exposure to dusts and fumes is controlled. Effective control is likely to be achieved by a mixture of controls including local exhaust ventilation for dust and fume extraction, respiratory protection equipment (RPE), water suppression and process changes.
Find more detailed guidance on controls for specific tasks in COSHH essentials for stonemasons.
There is also specific guidance on installing stone worktops and protection against harmful natural or artificial stone dust.
Textiles and laundries
Those working in the textile and laundry industries and their ancillary functions can experience health problems due to breathing in various dusts, fibres or fumes. Common potential hazards include:
- chlorine, hypochlorite, ammonia, sulphur dioxide and filter powder
- laundry contaminated with asbestos
- textile process dust from cotton and wool
- reactive dyes, particularly without proper ventilation, for example when mixing or preparing dyes
Textile workers can be at risk of occupational asthma and respiratory irritation from exposure to process dust. Laundry workers can be at risk of respiratory irritation from breathing fumes such as chlorine, hypochlorite, ammonia and sulphur dioxide.
Risks to health can be greatly reduced if exposure to fumes, dusts and airborne chemicals is controlled.
If handling powder materials, take care to ensure people are not exposed to excessive levels of dust and appropriate respiratory protective equipment is provided and worn.
Waste management and recycling
Many waste management activities bring potential exposure to respiratory or breathing hazards. These include:
- handling waste and recyclables during collection and sorting activities (such as at kerbside and material recycling facilities)
- processing activities (such as composting, paper, plastic, metal and waste electronic and electrical equipment recycling)
- disposal (such as landfill)
Airborne dust and fumes from waste material can contain various metal, wood, plastics and chemical pollutants.
Micro-organisms can grow quickly on organic wastes such as vegetation and food waste. It can become airborne (bio-aerosols) when waste is handled, and especially when composted.
Dust and fumes can cause long-term health problems such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
To minimise dust, fumes and bio-aerosols entering the lungs, carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment to eliminate or reduce the risk of exposure. Identification of risks will allow you to adopt suitable control measures. You should review the assessment at appropriate intervals or if there are changes to the process that indicate the risk of exposure will change.
Control measures might include:
- safe systems of work, such as only opening sacks and containers when they are being emptied and, as far as possible, keeping away from the tipping point
- segregation, such as identifying dusty operations and limiting the number of people working for long periods in those areas
- dust and fume suppression, such as using engineering or ventilation and damping down
- providing respiratory protective equipment
There is more guidance on causes, and controlling risks, of ill health in waste and recycling.
Welding
You must protect your workers by controlling the health risks from welding fume. This applies to specialist welders and workers who do some welding, no matter how small the amount.
There is HSE guidance on protecting workers from welding fume.
Woodworking and furniture
If you work with hardwood, softwood or wood composite boards, you are likely to be exposed to wood dust, which can cause serious health problems:
- hardwood dust can cause cancer, particularly of the nose
- settled dust contains fine particles that can damage lungs
All cutting and machining of wood will produce dust. Wood dust is a common cause of occupational asthma. Carpenters, joiners and those working in the furniture industry are 4 times more likely to get asthma compared with other UK workers.
There are some simple things you can do to reduce how much wood dust you breathe in:
- always use dust extraction, for the dustiest jobs (sanding, assembly and cleaning), you also need to wear respiratory protective equipment
- don't sweep up (or use compressed airlines), use wet methods or a suitable industrial vacuum cleaner
- regularly check that all extraction systems work properly
- ensure you have regular health surveillance
There is detailed guidance on complying with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) and guidance on controls for specific tasks in COSHH essentials in woodworking.