NTTL avoid breathing in the dirty

air

Tim BriggsCourse Director

Leeds Beckett University

No Time to Lose – working together to beat

occupational cancer

Spotlight on diesel fumes

Tim Briggs, Chair of the Professional Standards Committee IOSH

Top 10 causes of cancer registrations attributable to

occupational carcinogens (Rushton/HSE)

Rank Agent/activity Number of Registrations/year

1 Asbestos 4216

2 Shiftwork 1957

3 Mineral oils 1730

4 Solar radiation 1541

5 Silica 907

6 Diesel engine exhaust 801

7 Coal tars and pitches 545

8 Painters 359

9 Tertachlorodibenzodioxin 316

10 Tobacco 284

What are diesel engine exhaust emissions?

• Mixture of gases, vapours, liquid aerosols and particles created by burning diesel fuels

• May contain over 10 times the amount of soot particles than in petrol exhaust fumes, and includes several carcinogenic substances

How does it cause cancer?

• Risk of cancer is linked with the particulate emissions in the fumes – the soot, rather than the gases or vapours

Who is affected?

People working with:

• diesel-powered equipment

• enclosed spaces like garages

or workshops

• forklifts

• lorries

• buses

• trains

• tractors

• compressors

• generators

• power plants

What should employers do to control exposure?

• Assess the risks

• Control exposure by:

• Switching to other forms of fuel

• Replacing old engines

• Maintaining engines

• Making sure diesel engine exhausts have filters

• Using ‘local exhaust ventilation’

• Turn off engines when they’re not needed

• Rotating jobs

What should employers do to control exposure?

• Re-assess the risk after new controls are in place

• Monitor levels of diesel exhaust fumes (monitoring should be done by a qualified professional)

• Health surveillance

• Give information to employees

What can employees do to protect themselves?

• Ask if you want more information

• If you need to wear protective kit,

make sure it fits properly and you use

it the right way – and use it every time

you need to

What can employees do to protect themselves?

• Make sure your work mates

do the same

• Report any problems to your

employer, e.g. faulty or missing

equipment

Signs to look out for

• Walls or surfaces covered in soot

• A smoky haze when diesel engines are used

• Blue or black smoke from diesel exhaust fumes

And if you’ve had a cough for more than

three weeks or have blood in your urine,

contact your doctor

No Time to Lose: campaign on

occupational cancer

The No Time to Lose campaign aims to:

• raise awareness of a significant health issue facing

employees

• offer businesses free practical, original materials to help

them deliver effective prevention programmes

• suggest solutions to tackle the problem

The three phases so far…

Free practical materials to help develop

prevention strategies www.notimetolose.org.uk

More than 100 businesses have

pledged to take action

1. Assess the risks

2. Develop and deliver a prevention strategy

3. Brief managers

4. Engage employees

5. Demand the same standards from their supply chain

6. Report progress

Over 200 organisations are supporting the campaign

Good practice case studies from

pledge signatories and supporters

Campaign highlights

www.notimetolose.org.uk