Safe Work Australia has followed up on the announcement of its Clean Air. Clear Lungs campaign with a focus on more industries at risk of occupational lung diseases.
In a statement, Safe Work Australia said its last release looked at identifying common hazards in the engineered stone and agriculture industries.
“We now focus on common hazards in the manufacturing and construction industries,” it said.
“Tasks where manufacturing workers can be exposed to hazardous substances that can cause lung diseases include welding, spray painting and working with materials that release vapours and fumes containing isocyanates, such as making rubber, foams and plastics.”
The Agency said there were also hazards in using paints, glue and varnishes that released vapours and fumes; food production that involved flour and other dusts; resource technology and minerals processing that released dust and metal fumes; and medical products and pharmaceuticals that released dusts and fumes.
“Recycling processes could also release harmful contaminants,” it said.
Safe Work Australia said construction workers could be exposed to a range of hazardous substances, such as dust from concrete and fumes from welding.
“Tasks where construction workers can be exposed to hazardous substances that can cause lung diseases can include cutting, grinding, polishing and crushing concrete, pavers, tiles and bricks; cutting plasterboard; using paints, glue and varnishes; welding; and cutting and sanding some types of wood,” it said.
“Reviewing model codes of practice, safety data sheets and labels of products can help with understanding the risk to workers and the implementation of effective control measures,” the Agency said.
