Health

Occupational illness or diseases generally take many years to develop and are often the accumulation of repeated low level exposure to hazards. An example of this is silicosis and even with repeated exposure to low levels of silica, it is unusual for silicosis to develop within the first eight to ten years of exposure.

As a result, detailed health risk assessments are important and are updated regularly. These assessments are dependent on input from occupational hygiene measurements, information from material safety data sheets, knowledge of the processes and the employee tasks, as well as any occupational illness caused by previous exposure.

From these assessments, control measures need to be implemented which may include modification to machinery and/or process, substitution of hazardous chemicals, the use of personal protective equipment, and education and training.

Medical surveillance or periodic medical examinations of employees is an important part of managing risk. The frequency and type of examination are determined by the medical practioner at each site. Monitoring also includes ongoing measurement of the local environment in which the employee works by means of occupational hygiene measurements.

Although there are several health risks in the group, the most significant are excessive noise, which can lead to noise induced hearing loss, and silica dust, giving rise to silicosis.

Future Objectives

Targets are to be formally set for medical surveillance of employees.

A major focus will be on the whole aspect of noise re-identification and demarcated noise zones, to ensure that suitable protective devices (HPD’s) are issued and to ensure that employees wear their hearing protection at all times.

A refocus on hazardous chemicals will be performed, to ensure that material safety data sheets (MSDS) are obtained, risks reduced and medical surveillance carried out where necessary.