We’d like to draw your attention to a campaign that is raising awareness about health risks at work and how this might affect you.
The Health Risks at Work Initiative (HRAW) is an initiative that’s designed to provide simple information for small businesses on 5 key risk areas, which are:
1.Breathing
2.Skin
3.Muscles, Bones and Joints
4.Hearing and Touch
5.Wellbeing
There can be many risks to a person’s breathing and there may be things that you haven’t even considered. Dust, for example, is commonplace but can pose a significant breathing risk to all workers if areas are not regularly cleaned and maintained. Dust can also come from wood, cement, metal, flour or stone in heavily utilised areas.
Hazardous substances such as chemical products, sprays / mists and fumes and gases can also pose a breathing risk and we advise that business owners comply with the COSHH Regulations to protect their employees. If workers are exposed to hazardous substances, this could result in lung-related diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and even lung cancer.
The HRAW initiative has created a very useful Rapid Reference Card for those concerned that there may be hazardous substances in the workplace that will affect breathing. Click here to read it.