IN THE last issue of Your Witness we looked at occupational asthma and its causes. Professor Robert Douglas made the point that: “The first rule of management of asthma is prevention.”
The idea that ‘prevention is better than cure’ may be axiomatic, but in the case of the prevention of occupational asthma there are rules and regulations that may and have led to prosecution.
The TUC guidance to workers on asthma at work states:
“Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002, your employer has a legal duty to do a risk assessment, decide what precautions they need to take, and then prevent or adequately control your exposure.
The regulations expect employers to use a 'hierarchy of controls’, which means that in the first instance your employer should:
• Change the work process to eliminate the chemical.
• Substitute the chemical for a safer one.
• Protect you from exposure to it by enclosing the process.
• Provide adequate ventilation.
• Only then should your employer rely on personal protective equipment to prevent exposure.
“An additional part of the regulations – an Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) on occupational asthma – means that employers must also take specific precautions to protect workers from substances known or suspected to cause the disease.”