What do you need to know?
Wood dust can cause serious health problems. This can lead to asthma, which carpenters and joiners are four times more likely to develop than other British workers. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 require workers to be protected from the hazards of wood dust.
Dry wood can cause cancer, especially in the nose.
Inert dust contains small particles that can damage the lungs.
What should be done?
pressure limits
There are workplace exposure limits (WELs) for both fine dust and soft wood dust that should not be exceeded.
The ELV for hardwood dust is 3 mg/m3 (8-hour average).
The ELV for softwood dust is 5 mg/m3 (8-hour average).
For a mixture of hardwood and softwood, the ELV for hardwood dust is 3 mg/m3 applied to the wood dust in the mixture.
Adequate control of wood dust is achieved by:
- The eight principles of good regulatory practice set out in Appendix 2A of the COSHH apply:
- The impact is lower than the corresponding MPC; AND
- The effect is minimized.
Mining
Provide dust extraction (known locally as exhaust ventilation or LEV) on woodworking machinery to capture and clean dust before it spreads.
Considering the design of the exhaust system:
- The number and type of machinery used together and the location of the workshop or factory. This information must be provided by the user.
- Information from the vehicle manufacturer or professional body on the airflow and exhaust sections or volume flow rate (VFR) required for each vehicle's exhaust connection.
See How to Install an Efficient Exhaust Hood on a Circular Saw Table for details
Control of wood dust in circular saws. This video shows how to effectively use a dust lamp to demonstrate that wood dust exposure is under control. These techniques can also be applied to other woodworking machines.
Educate employees about the hazards associated with wood dust and the necessary control measures. They must know how to use the medicine correctly. Installing airflow indicators will help determine if the airflow is working properly, such as whether the vents are open or closed and when maintenance is required.
Ensuring the exhaust system is maintained and in good working order (required by law to be inspected by a qualified person at least every 14 months). Follow the disc manufacturer's instructions for repair requirements.
Never clean or use compressed air lines because it disturbs the dust and allows it to breathe. Always clean with a suitable industrial vacuum cleaner that meets at least class M.
View the wood dust exposure screen
For dusty work such as sandblasting, additional protection may be required and a suitable face mask and hood should be worn.
If you want to use RPE, you must:
- Choose the right mask and card
- Place it on your face and make sure it fits properly
- Maintain/replace regularly according to manufacturer's instructions.
Health check
As breathing in wood dust can cause asthma, it is important that businesses detect any health problems early. This can be achieved by developing an appropriate health monitoring program.
Businesses should seek advice from an occupational health professional (doctor or nurse) with appropriate skills, qualifications and experience regarding the health risks associated with woodworking. Your health screening program should include all employees who may be exposed to wood dust.
- Ideally, you should assess workers' respiratory health before exposure, if not as soon as possible after exposure (eg within six weeks) to establish a baseline.
- Although more frequent reviews are appropriate for new hires, you should typically conduct periodic reviews annually at appropriate intervals. Your occupational hygienist can advise you on how often you should do this.
- Health monitoring should include appropriate questionnaires and spirometry.
- Occupational health professionals should interpret the results of health monitoring of similarly exposed individuals and work groups in light of previous findings. This will allow you to review your risk assessment, review exposure controls and decide whether to move workers to alternative roles if necessary.
- In the following cases:
- Possible respiratory effects;
- Accidental exposure by known inhalation only; OR
- Adequate infection control with health monitoring (questionnaire and spirometry) in case of health problems Age
An annual breath study and medical records may be sufficient. Your responsible person can administer the questionnaire, for example the sample questionnaire (appendix). You should always consult an occupational health professional when making such decisions.
- You should ensure that your risk management system allows employees to report any symptoms that occur between scheduled health checks. This could be your carer or an occupational health professional.
- You should keep a medical record for each employee under medical supervision and encourage them to keep a copy of the results when they change jobs.
- Your risk management system should ensure that issues raised by employees are investigated and any relevant sick leave information is taken into account. This helps identify OA issues and any problems with work methods.
To know more
Woodworking data sheets
Wood dust. WIS23 risk management
