Health, Safety and Environment - International Labour Organization

Manual 4:HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT FACT SHEETSFact Sheet 6: Dusts BackgroundDusts andill healthDust can be a problem in almost any industry. Dust at work has been one ofthe largest occupational killers of all time. It has shortened lives andcaused misery to hundreds of thousands of people. Whenever materials arehandled or broken down, dust is liable to be produced. For example:cereal/vegetable dust and dust from milling flour/animal feeds candamage the health of agricultural workers through occupational asthmawood dust can both kill and damage the health of workersDustsFibrous dustsToxic dustsIrritant dustsAllergenic dustsCarcinogenic dustsEffectpneumoconiosispoisoningcell damage, bronchitisallergies, asthma, alveolitisescancerIn addition, dusts can cause explosions. Many dusts – including flour,animal feed dusts, coal, wood, grain sugar, certain metals and syntheticorganic chemicals, when dispersed in air to form a cloud, can explode if anignition source is present.Dust can also affect productivity and cause product damage. No dustshould be regarded as ‘safe’. Even some alleged ‘nuisance’ dusts haveturned out, in the light of further research, to be a real danger to health.Work activitiescreating dustExamples of work activities that can create dust include: filling bags or emptying them into skips or other containers conveying materials by mechanical means or by hand cleaning and maintenance work feeding livestock from bags or conveyor systems clearing up spillages144 Health, Safety and EnvironmentA Series of Trade Union EducationManuals for Agricultural Workers