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Industrial accidents which leave a worker with a personal injury are not always a sudden event resulting in immediately apparent physical harm. Builders and decorators might be exposed to lead paint during their work which can put an individual's health at great risk, but not necessarily in an obvious manner.
The official UK Government website Directgov explains that lead paint was used up until the mid-1960s, and so any building constructed or decorated up until that time may still have lead trapped under new paint layers, which have since been applied to the walls, or may even have the lead paint as the first coat in some rooms.
Some buildings after this period may still have lead paint since some companies could have been slower to stop using lead-based paint than others, or individuals doing decorating work in their own houses may not have been aware of the dangers.
In some cases it may be safer to leave the lead paint in place. Much like asbestos, lead-based paint is only a danger when it is in poor condition.
When building or decorating work is about to take place in a building which may contain lead paint, the company employed to do the work should check for the presence of lead before work begins. This will reduce the risk of an employee experiencing an accident at work in the form of industrial illness.
Removing lead paint
Lead can enter a body through ingestion, or by being breathed in. It remains poisonous in solid, dust and fume forms.
Lead test kits can be purchased at some shops, but to be absolutely sure of the absence of lead a piece of paint can be tested at a specialist laboratory.
When working in an environment where it is known that lead is, or may be, present, the Control of Lead at Work Regulations must be followed.
This means that employers should make sure that their employees have been given suitable protective clothing, that the air quality in the work area is monitored at appropriate intervals and that health checks are carried out on employees during work with medical records being kept up to date. By keeping to these rules, both a large company and a small business should be able to keep their workers' blood-lead levels safely below suspension level.
According to the HSE, if an individual's blood-lead levels reach 50g/100ml (the action level), the employer must investigate why this level has been reached and act to reduce the level. The suspension level is reached at 60g/100ml, at which point a doctor is likely to decide that the individual should stop working with lead.
Employers should respect the doctor's decision and make sure that the individual does not work with or around lead again until further medical tests show that they are fit to do so.
If there is no suitable environment, devoid of lead, for the individual to work in within that company while their blood-lead levels decrease, then the company may suspend them from work but should pay them for up to 26 weeks while they recover.
The action and suspension levels vary for different people. In pregnant women, those able to have children and young people less than 18 years of age, levels are lower because of their increased vulnerability.
Do you want to claim for an industrial accident?
If you have suffered a lead paint-related industrial accident which has affected your health and was not your fault, then you may be eligible to claim compensation for your pain, suffering and loss of earnings.
Our no win no fee solicitors are experts in their chosen field and have a great track record when it comes to accident at work claims. As well as this, should your claim be successful, you will receive 100% compensation because we don't take a cut.
To find our whether you could make a compensation claim after experiencing an industrial accident, simply fill in our short online claim form, use live help or give one of our team members a call on 0800 10 757 95.
