Benefits of Dust Detection

• Categorise production process according to dust levels:
  • Red – significantly above WEL – action required
  • Amber – within +/- 0.2 mg/m³ of WEL – seek improvements
  • Green – significantly below WEL – no action required
• Better management of occupational health risks.
• Objective data to demonstrate compliance with WEL.
• Provide data to insurance company if requested.
• Target as low as reasonably practical (ALARP) dust emissions.
• Develop Safe Systems of Work (SSOW)
• Ensure staff training and regimes are sufficient for the roles they are expected to undertake.

Health Problems – What you need to know

Wood dust can cause serious health problems. It can cause asthma, which carpenters and joiners  are four times more likely to get compared with other UK workers. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 require that you protect workers from the hazards of wood dust.

Hardwood dust can cause cancer, particularly of the nose.

Settled dust contains the fine particles that are most likely to damage the lungs.

Exposure limits

Both hardwood and softwood dusts have a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) which must not be exceeded.

The WEL for hardwood dust is 3mg/m3 (based on an 8-hour time-weighted average).

The WEL for softwood dust is 5mg/m3 (based on an 8-hour time-weighted average).

For mixtures of hardwood and softwood dusts the WEL for hardwood dust of 3mg/m3 applies to all wood dusts present in that mixture.

Adequate control of wood dust is achieved when:

• The eight principles of good control practice are applied as set out in Schedule 2A of COSHH;
• Exposure is below the relevant WEL; and
• Exposure is reduced to as low a level as is reasonably practicable (ALARP).