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Many industrial injury compensation cases focus on a fall from height, but other injuries can be sustained just as easily through building site activities on the ground.
Workers who are cutting up breeze blocks, for example, could sustain high exposure to silica dust.
Silica is a natural component of sand and rocks but when inhaled it can result in an individual suffering from silicosis, an occupational lung disease.
According to a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) information sheet on silica, breeze blocks typically contain 3% silica. However, even when cutting the blocks in an open area an employee could eventually suffer from lung problems depending on the frequency of this particular task.
A circular saw used to cut hazardous material should be fitted with local exhaust ventilation and a water spray to reduce the risk of dust inhalation. Local exhaust ventilation sucks the dust up at the source and water spray should catch dust partials, weighing them down and stopping them from drifting about in the air.
To lessen the hazard to staff, individuals working close to any form of silica dust should also be provided with personal protective equipment (PPE).
Different building materials contain a different percentage of silica, for example, a paving kerb usually contains about 33% silica and blue brick, a strong construction material typically made from red clay from Staffordshire, contains 32%.
Unless a worker or employer knows categorically that there is no harmful substance within an item which could be inhaled as dust, employees should wear PPE at all times when cutting materials or working near someone who is doing so.
As well as the use of PPE, employers could reduce the possibility of a compensation claim occurring after a work-related illness by substituting silica containing materials for others which contain less or none.
Furthermore, as already mentioned, the dust can be controlled by using local exhaust ventilation or water sprays. These techniques are, according to the HSE, much more effective than undertaking cutting work in an open area.
Employers should also give their workers health surveillance tests where the respirable silica dust levels are greater than 0.1 mg/m3 during a period of 8 hours time weighted average (TWA).
Receiving industrial injury compensation
If you are suffering from lung problems due to inhaling hazardous dust particles during your employment in an industrial setting, we could help you make a successful compensation claim.
Contact us on 0800 10 757 95, request a call back, or fill in a short online claim form with a few basic details about your industrial injury compensation case.
