Occupational lung diseases

Four key industries most at risk of occupational lung diseases include:

Artificial and natural stone workers can be exposed to silica dust (also known as respirable crystalline silica, or RCS) in all parts of their work process – from preparing and working on a benchtop panel or slab, to cleaning up the workplace and disposing of waste.
Manufacturing workers can be exposed to hazards in the air that are invisible to the naked eye, such as fumes and dust.
Construction workers can be exposed to hazards like dust from concrete and fumes from welding.
Agricultural workers can be exposed to a range of hazards in the air, such as pesticides, chemicals, and fuels.

If you think you are at risk of an occupational lung disease

You can complete a checklist designed by Lung Foundation Australia to check how healthy your lungs are.

Lung Foundation Australia has a fact sheet with information for those living with silicosis.

For further information and support visit Lung Foundation Australia's website

To protect workers from breathing in hazardous substances, you must identify if there are any hazardous substances at your workplace.

You can do this by:

looking at your workplace
talking and consulting with your workers
reading any labels and safety data sheets
talking with your WHS regulator
engaging a professional such as an occupational hygienist.

Once you have identified the hazard, you need to undertake a risk assessment to consider what could happen if your workers are exposed to the hazardous substance and the likelihood of it happening. You should consider:

how, where and for how long workers could be exposed to the hazardous substance
the control measures you have in place to control the hazardous substance
the ways you can measure how well your control measures work.

It is important to consider everyone in a workplace who may be impacted by hazards. This could include tradespeople, suppliers, and on-site office staff.

As well as following the above steps, there are specific work health and safety duties that apply when working with any material that contains 1% or more crystalline silica. This includes natural and artificial stone, bricks, tiles and cement. Please refer to the Working with crystalline silica substances: Guidance for PCBUs for more information on these duties.

For more information see the resources for your industry.

You must implement control measures to manage the risk of breathing in hazardous substances.

Eliminating the risk of breathing in hazardous substances must always be considered first.

Examples of elimination can include:

using products or materials that don’t contain the hazardous substance
eliminating the need to undertake the task that releases the hazardous substance into the air.

In some cases, elimination might not be possible. Where this occurs, you should work through the hierarchy of risk control measures.

Substitution

Substitution controls involve replacing the hazard with something safer, for example:

using products or materials with lower levels of the hazardous substance or containing alternative substances that are less hazardous.

Isolation

Isolation controls involve isolating the hazard from people, for example:

completing the task that releases the hazardous substance in an enclosed, well ventilated space that is separated from people.

Engineering

Engineering controls involve using a physical control measure, such as a mechanical device or process, for example:

using wet cutting, local exhaust ventilation and on-tool ventilation.

If you are working with a material that contains 1% or more crystalline silica such as artificial or natural stone, bricks, tiles or cement, you must implement one or more engineering or isolation control measures to manage the risks of exposure to silica dust.

Administrative

If you’ve worked through the hierarchy of control measures and risk remains, you must minimise the risk by implementing administrative controls, for example:

planning tasks to minimise the quantity of the hazardous substance being released into the air
establishing policies about working with the hazardous substance and clean up requirements
installing signage alerting people of the risks involved and how to minimise them.

Personal protective equipment

Personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks, is the least effective control measure because it does not control the risk at the source. PPE should only be considered after implementing substitution, isolation, engineering, and administrative controls. You should use PPE to supplement higher-level control measures.

In some situations, higher-level control measures might not control the risk fully. In these cases, PPE must also be used.

Implementing measures for controlling hazardous substances aren’t simply ‘set and forget’. Regularly monitor and review them to make sure they are still effective and are working as intended.

If you’ve implemented measures to control dusts, gases, fumes, or vapours, you must review them:

when the control measure is not effective in controlling the risk
before a change at your workplace that is likely to give rise to a new or different health and safety risk that the control measure may not effectively control
if a new hazard or risk is identified
if the results of consultation indicate that a review is necessary
if a health and safety representative requests a review.

Health monitoring

Under the WHS laws, there is a requirement to provide health monitoring to your workers if they work with certain hazardous substances. For more information, read our Model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of hazardous chemicals in the workplace and workplace exposure standards for airborne contaminants.

Information by industry

Industries where workers may breathe in hazardous substances such as dusts, gases, fumes, vapours, mists or microorganisms have a higher risk of developing an occupational lung disease.

It is important to consider everyone in a workplace who may be impacted by hazards. This could include tradespeople, suppliers, and on-site office staff.

Artificial and natural stone workers can be exposed to silica dust that can be breathed into the lungs and cause lung diseases such as silicosis. Tasks where workers can be exposed to silica dust include:

cutting, grinding, sanding, drilling or polishing artificial and natural stone
cleaning up the workplace after silica dust has been generated
disposing of silica dust.

Construction workers can 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:

creating dust when cutting, grinding, polishing and crushing concrete, pavers, tiles and bricks
creating dust when cutting plasterboard
being exposed to asbestos containing materials
using paints, glue and varnishes containing isocyanates that release vapours and fumes
welding which can release hazardous fumes
creating dust when cutting and sanding some types of wood.
breathing in exhaust fumes from power equipment such as petrol powered quick-cut saws, chain saws, or working near plant/vehicle exhausts.

For more information see our resources for the construction industry.

Manufacturing is a broad industry and workers can use many hazardous substances. Tasks where manufacturing workers can be exposed to hazardous substances that can cause lung diseases include:

welding can release hazardous fumes
spray painting that releases hazardous fumes and vapours
working with materials that release vapours and fumes containing isocyanates, such as making rubber, foams and plastics
using paints, glue and varnishes containing isocyanates that release vapours and fumes
food production that involves flour and other dusts
resource technology and minerals processing that releases dust and metal fumes
medical products and pharmaceuticals that release dusts and fumes
recycling processes that could release harmful contaminants.

For more information see our resources for the manufacturing industry.

Be Silica Smart

Silica dust (also known as respirable crystalline silica, or RCS) is a work health and safety hazard.

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If you think you are at risk of an occupational lung disease

Lung Foundation Australia has a fact sheet with information for those living with silicosis.