Dust is a health hazard. The bad news is, wherever you go, there will always be dust around. Apart from making places look dirty, they can pose a serious threat to the health and wellness of your employees. Installing dust collector cartridges in your Canada office will reduce that problem in the workplace.
Because of the health problems that may arise from a dusty workplace, the Canadian government has laid out different measures to help protect workers from this tiny enemy. The use of safety glasses and filtration masks are just a few of these things prescribed to be worn in dusty workplaces. However, the problem can still persist as the case of employees complaining of itchy eyes, asthma, and dry coughs. If the problems persist they can lead to serious lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Because of these concerns, you can take more industry and workplace-specific measures to reduce dust in your workplace.
What Are the Activities That Create Dust?
There are different activities that can create dust. These are just a few of them:
- Weighing loose powders
- Cutting stones and other materials
- Filling bags or emptying powders into containers
- Crushing and grading
- Clearing spillages
Who Is at Risk?
Workers exposed to dusty environments are at great risk of developing respiratory illnesses like asthma, pneumonia, and visual disturbances. Some of these people most at risk are working in the stonecutting and quarry work.
Other workers exposed to dust are fire rescuers because they are vulnerable to asbestos inhalation. Long-term exposure to asbestos can lead to serious pulmonary issues.
But what can they do if their livelihood depended on it? The answer is in controlling dust.
How to Control Dust
Dust is a substance that is considered hazardous to health under the law. Flammable dust, according to the National Fire Protection Agency, is a finely divided combustible particulate material that can cause a flash fire or explosion when suspended in air or a process-specific oxidizing media at various concentrations.
Employers have to conduct a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to health from the dust and should take steps to meet industry requirements and lessen the blow of such to the health of their employees.
Prevention and Control
As much as dust can pose health risks to employees, the industries where they are most present are crucial to the country. The next key step to protecting employees is to prevent their exposure to dust. With the help of engineering and process control, you can do things to help your employees keep a healthy body while they’re at their jobs. These are just a few of the methods for controlling dust:
- Segregating or enclosing the dusty processes so there will be fewer people exposed.
- Providing extraction if it is not possible to totally enclose the space.
- Damping down materials if the process permits it.
- Encouraging workers to take caring measures and instructing them to control the dust produced by their tasks
- Minimizing the height the material is allowed to fall from
Another crucial step is to take care of your employees and reduce their risk of exposure to dust particles by giving them the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and respiratory protective equipment (RPE). As a matter of fact, your firm will not pass the safety consultant in Barrie if these types of equipment are not provided. Adhere to all industry safety measures because they are imposed for the safety and welfare of everyone. Like how Capital Hardwood Flooring company takes care of their employees, always think of how you can provide your people will the means to control their exposure to dust for their safety.
