Workplace Ill Health

Workplace ill health is now receiving more focus. The UK has made great strides in reducing the number of workplace deaths due to safety. It has not been so effective in dealing with health. The HSE are now focusing increasingly on health issues in the workplace. For many years the UK has had an enviable safety record. Workplace deaths due to safety issues have been reducing for many years. Now the focus is turning to health problems. These are harder for employers to comprehend at the same level as the effects are not also so apparent, and they can take longer to manifest. Some headline figures include:

• 144 safety related deaths in 2015/6
• 13,000 deaths linked to previous exposure at work
• 2515 mesothelioma deaths in 2014 (asbestos)
• 1.3 Million workers suffering from work-related ill health

Causes may include issues such as:

• Occupational Cancer
• Noise
• Vibration
• Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD)
• Stress
• Respiratory ill health
• etc

Workplace ill health (fatal diseases)

The biggest causes of work-related diseases are cancer, including mesothelioma and lung cancer due to asbestos exposure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with the main causal agents being dust, gases, vapours and fumes. After asbestos-induced cancer and COPD, the next four biggest diseases are:

• Lung cancer – silica
• Lung cancer – diesel engine exhaust
• Breast cancer – shiftwork
• Lung cancer – mineral oils.

Asbestos

Despite the efforts of many campaigns (including the current IOSH “No Time to Lose”) this still does not get the attention from some organisations (including many in construction) that it merits. Asbestos is the best-known workplace carcinogen. It is also the biggest killer. Worldwide, asbestos claims well over 100,000 lives a year. It has been estimated that a staggering figure of 10 million people across the world will have died as a result of asbestos exposure before it’s been fully controlled. There are many other carcinogenic exposures that cause cancer and claim lives. Over 50 substances are listed as known or probable causes of workplace cancer. Across the EU, 1 in 5 workers faces an occupational cancer risk. Across the world, the number of people dying from work-related cancer massively outstrips those dying because of accidents in the workplace. It has been estimated that at least 666,000 people die worldwide every year.

Just how big of a problem is workplace stress?

• The total number of work-related stress, depression or anxiety cases in 2015/2016 was 488,000, a prevalence rate of 1510 per 100,000 workers
• In 2015/16 stress accounted for 37% of all work-related ill health cases and 45% of all working days lost due to ill health
• The total number of working days lost due to stress in 2015/16 was 11.7 million days, an average of 23.9 days lost per case.

More information to follow!

 Musculoskeletal Disorders

Damage to muscles, bones and joints is one of the most common work-related illnesses. Control measures are to be considered under such legislation as the Manual Handling Operations Regulations and the Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Regulations. The principal duties include:

• avoiding the need for hazardous manual handling operations and tasks involving significant physical effort, repetitive movement, or poor posture.
• assessing manual handling operations that cannot be avoided
• reducing the risk of injury

Damage to muscles, bones and joints by work can cause:

• lower back pain
• injury and pain to other parts of the body (e.g. arms, fingers, shoulders, neck, wrists, elbows, knees)

The signs, symptoms and effects of MSD can include:

• muscular pain, sore joints, tingling, burning and cramp
• reduced mobility
• becoming accident-prone, including
• slips, trips, falls
• sleep disturbance
• stress and pain affecting work, family and social life
• frequent or recurrent sickness absence
• loss of productivity

These can lead to enforcement action, court cases, and compensation claims.

Typical causes of such damage are:

• heavy manual lifting
• pushing or pulling heavy loads
• repetitive tasks, using the same muscles over and over again
• poor posture during lifting, pushing, carrying and other hand–arm activities
• staying in one position for too long (such as DSE work, or prolonged driving)
• lifting and carrying objects incorrectly
• excessive vibration reaching the hands and the body