Well we did tell you...
Published Date: 8th June 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warned quarrying companies and stonemasons of the risk workers face of contracting the potentially fatal disease silicosis, if adequate measures to monitor and prevent exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) are not in place.
The warning comes after Dunhouse Quarry Co Ltd of Staindrop, Darlington, County Durham was fined £3,750.00 after pleading guilty to breaching the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (CoSHH) Regulations 2002 by failing to ensure that employees' exposure to RCS was adequately controlled. The case was brought by HSE. The company was also ordered to pay costs of £8,177.40.
Following a routine, unannounced inspection HSE discovered that an employee had contracted silicosis and that a number of others had been exposed to levels of RCS in excess of the workplace exposure limit.
HSE Inspector Andrea Robbins said:
"Breathing in the very fine dust of crystalline silica can lead to the development of silicosis, which in its most acute form can result in premature death. It is vital employers monitor dust levels to assess the risk of exposure to RCS, and that they put control measures in place to reduce the levels to which employees are exposed, and consequently reduce their risk of developing silicosis.
"What makes this particular situation worse," continued Ms Robbins, "is that the company had previously commissioned the services of an external company to carry out atmospheric monitoring of dust levels, including RCS but did nothing to act upon the findings despite one employee being exposed to levels up to 45 times the maximum exposure limit as it was then, which was three times higher than the current workplace exposure limit."
"This prosecution serves to publicise the need for employers to be vigilant in identifying substances which can affect their workers' health. In particular, companies who generate stone dust, which contains silica, must take precautions to protect the health of their employees. Trades most at risk include stonemasons and quarry workers."
Failure to implement a sufficient CoSHH assessment and ignoring the apparent risks with the use of hazardous chemicals can be a costly affair and why we urge companies to produce task based risk assessments.