Occupational Asthma May Become the Most Widespread Workplace Hazard
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has warned employers that occupational asthma is the UK’s fasting growing workplace disease, affecting about 1,500 to 3,000 people every year. Therefore, employers have been told to adopt preventive measures to protect their workers.
The condition is so serious that some are even left disabled and rendered incapable of working. It is believed that 7,000 people contract occupational asthma annually, and the condition is normally work-related or work-exacerbated.
The IOSH data shows that employers lose more than 18 million working days each year because of asthma, which costs the society an estimated of £1bn every decade.
The IOSH has identified certain categories of workers who are particularly at risk, these being vehicle spray painters, bakers, moulders, core makers and laboratory workers - who are all exposed to various chemicals, dust particles, fumes and in some cases, even fur, while at work.
The President of the IOSH, Nattasha Freeman, has asserted that employers are legally obligated to see that their workers are protected from health hazards, and where working with harmful substances is unavoidable, they should equip them with the necessary protective gear. She also disclosed alarming statistics which show that one in five people in the