The scale of the dust problem in indoor environments

Indoor industrial environments are working conditions that can be more harsh than regular working environments, such as offices. These environments can vary from different types of manufacturing and textile processes to stone works and woodworking. 

Indoor industrial environments pose a variety of health and safety threats to workers. Due to the nature of the heavy-duty processes and materials used, exposure to hazardous dust is one of the most common threats to workers health. This can be any type of dust, from silica dust processed from stone, or wood dust, cotton dust and even combustible dust. 

All these types of dust pose a threat to workers, not only because they can seriously damage workers health in various ways, but also because they are difficult to manage in an occupational environment, with each dust possessing different qualities dangerous to worker health. 

Manufacturing and indoor craftsmanship, involving products such as stone, wood, textile – and even food – can produce high levels of excess dust due to the machinery, products and materials used. Each industry is at risk of different types of dust. 

Stone has a high silica content, and when drilled or cut into, can generate fine respirable crystalline silica (RCS) content – or silica dust. which, if exposed to, can cause lung diseases such as silicosis and lung cancer. Similarly, processes such as cutting and sawing in woodworking can generate both hardwood and softwood dust, which can lead to various lung diseases such as asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD). 

In textile processes such as mixing fibres (blending), separating fibres (carding) and reducing loose materials (drawing) creates excess cotton and wool dust. These dusts have been known to cause byssinosis, an occupational asthma and respiratory irritation. Cotton and wool dust is also known to poses a threat when it becomes explosive or combustible. Similarly, in food manufacturing, substances such as flour, sugar and dried milk are all explosible dusts. During processes such as milling, sugar grinding or spray drying of milk, these materials become much finer, making them combustible and at risk of explosion if the concentration of dust in the air is within the explosion limits or a source of ignition is present.  

Any indoor industrial environments, which depend on heavy-duty processes are at risk of exposure to hazardous dust. Unlike outdoor industrial environments, when dust is generated indoors, it is limited to an enclosed and somewhat confident space, with limited fresh air flow. The use of Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) is essential to ensure excess dust is well controlled in the workplace. 

However, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), many employers buy LEV to protect workers’ health but find that it doesn’t work, because it may be the wrong type or because it may not be properly installed or maintained. There are multiple things to check when both installing and using LEV, like checking it’s working correctly for each individual job, to make sure it’s still working correctly if it’s been moved and that the indicators on the LEV are working as expected. This increases the risk of exposure to hazardous dust for workers in indoor industrial environments. 

Workers in indoor industrial environments are at risk of hazardous dust exposure. Whether working with high silica content materials, hardwood / softwood, or textiles, the processes undertaken are almost guaranteed to produce excess dust which has the potential to be hazardous and harmful to workers health. 

Gordon Sommerville worked as a stonemason for large parts of his career and was regularly exposed to large clouds of dust, including silica dust, on a daily basis, with limited personal protective equipment (PPE) or suitable ventilation to protect him. “At the moment in fabrication and workshop type premises, LEV is the recommended gold standard, but it’s far from fool proof.” Gordon said, when asked about how silica dust is regularly managed in enclosed spaces. 

Gordon continued “Many workers, myself included, who previously worked in enclosed sheds are now either sick or dead. I would suggest that any enclosed area where dust is created should be monitored and recorded by law.” 

Without suitable ventilation, PPE or methods to control hazardous dust suitably in indoor industrial environments, which are enclosed and confined in space, workers will be exposed to hazardous dust and subsequently lung diseases in their workplace.