Clean Air? Take Care!
THE British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) officially launched the Clean Air? Take Care! campaign last week at a special event held at The Cabinet War Rooms in London.
Developed in conjunction with the HSE and other leading industry stakeholders, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of exposure to hazardous substances such as dusts, fumes and solvent vapours, which could cause occupational respiratory diseases.
It is estimated that up to 12,000 deaths each year currently could be due to past exposures to hazardous substances.
According to a survey commissioned by the HSE, 21% of employers considered that their employees could face a risk of breathing problems or asthma caused by working with chemicals, dusts and fibres, while another HSE survey indicated that 29% of workers regarded themselves as regularly having to breathe in dust or fumes that could cause respiratory conditions, and nearly half thought that the risks could be reduced.
The BSIF says those using respiratory protective equipment (RPE) are often still not adequately protected due to poor selection, use and maintenance of the equipment, and many fatalities in confined spaces/oxygen-deficient atmospheres could have been prevented if the RPE had been correctly selected and used.
Through Clean Air? Take Care! the Federation hopes that people will become more aware of the issues surrounding respiratory hazards and the incorrect selection of RPE.
A range of resources, which includes thought-provoking films, a user-friendly guide to RPE use, a workplace poster and an easy-to-follow selection guide, have been designed to create greater awareness by offering simple advice to users and specifiers of RPE at different levels within an organization, to allow them to correctly select and implement a full respiratory protection programme.
‘Although RPE looks easy, this is not always the case and everyone has lessons to learn,’ said Dr Bob Rajan of the HSE. ‘I am confident that, through the Clean Air? Take Care! campaign, these lessons will be delivered with the support of stakeholders and distributors.
‘The range of tools for both employers and employees will help ensure the important messages get across and are absorbed, bringing about a sustained behavioural change within the workplace.’
Developed in conjunction with the HSE and other leading industry stakeholders, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of exposure to hazardous substances such as dusts, fumes and solvent vapours, which could cause occupational respiratory diseases.
It is estimated that up to 12,000 deaths each year currently could be due to past exposures to hazardous substances.
According to a survey commissioned by the HSE, 21% of employers considered that their employees could face a risk of breathing problems or asthma caused by working with chemicals, dusts and fibres, while another HSE survey indicated that 29% of workers regarded themselves as regularly having to breathe in dust or fumes that could cause respiratory conditions, and nearly half thought that the risks could be reduced.
The BSIF says those using respiratory protective equipment (RPE) are often still not adequately protected due to poor selection, use and maintenance of the equipment, and many fatalities in confined spaces/oxygen-deficient atmospheres could have been prevented if the RPE had been correctly selected and used.
Through Clean Air? Take Care! the Federation hopes that people will become more aware of the issues surrounding respiratory hazards and the incorrect selection of RPE.
A range of resources, which includes thought-provoking films, a user-friendly guide to RPE use, a workplace poster and an easy-to-follow selection guide, have been designed to create greater awareness by offering simple advice to users and specifiers of RPE at different levels within an organization, to allow them to correctly select and implement a full respiratory protection programme.
‘Although RPE looks easy, this is not always the case and everyone has lessons to learn,’ said Dr Bob Rajan of the HSE. ‘I am confident that, through the Clean Air? Take Care! campaign, these lessons will be delivered with the support of stakeholders and distributors.
‘The range of tools for both employers and employees will help ensure the important messages get across and are absorbed, bringing about a sustained behavioural change within the workplace.’
