Employee Advice - How to prevent Occupational Asthma
You can prevent occupational asthma by avoiding exposure to respiratory sensitizers. To achieve this you should follow these steps:
- Try to get any respiratory sensitizers in your workplace removed or replaced with a safe alternative;
- If this isn’t possible, your employer can reduce the risk by installing extractor fans or isolating you from the process that produces the risk – by putting dangerous chemicals in a fume cupboard, for example. These steps can reduce the respiratory sensitizers you breathe in;
- If the above steps aren’t possible, you should wear breathing equipment to stop you inhaling the respiratory sensitizer.
Often a combination of all these steps will be needed.
The main causes of occupational asthma are set out in Section C of HSE's Asthmagen Compendium which can be found here.
What your employer can do to help
Your employer has a legal duty to deal with respiratory sensitizers in the workplace. This is set out in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (COSHH).
Your employer should carry out a risk assessment and inform you if any respiratory sensitizers are present. You should also be told how to recognise early signs of occupational asthma.
If you are working with respiratory sensitizers, it is often necessary to have regular medical checks so the condition can be spotted early.
Your employer should consult you (either directly or through your union or employee representative) about the need to control respiratory sensitizer’s and triggers and the steps they plan to take to do this.
Most employers will do what they can to help. If you don’t think that they are doing enough you can:
- Raise the issue with the person responsible for health and safety in your workplace;
- Tell your manager about your concerns;
- Contact the local HSENI office (or the local council environmental health department) for advice on what to do next.
Your colleagues also have a legal duty not to do things that endanger your health (such as smoking near you). Remember that having a legal right doesn’t always mean you can enforce it. Be tactful and choose the right moment to raise the issue.
Next: What if I think I have Occupational Asthma?
Return to Asthma Topic Page
