Dr Karen McDonnell

During my tenure as IOSH president, the initiative of which I am perhaps most proud is the No Time To Lose campaign, which aims to get the causes of occupational cancer better understood in order that they can be combated.

As part of No Time To Lose, a series of events was launched in May in conjunction between IOSH, the British Occupational Hygiene Society, and the HSE, to promote awareness of occupational cancer caused by exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS).

New joint presentations, titled Working Together To Beat Occupational Cancer – Spotlight On Silica, are being delivered to IOSH members and are available to its membership network.

Despite the impact of the dust having been recognised as early as the mid-16^th century, when problems were recognised in the lungs of mine workers, the problem still exists – the HSE’s research suggests there are around 600 deaths per year in the UK related to exposure to RCS, with 450 of these occurring from exposures in the construction sector.

Around the world it’s estimated that millions of employees are exposed to silica dust in the workplace.

Silica is naturally occurring in most rocks, sand and clay products, such as brick and concrete, hence the high exposure rate in trades such as construction. When workers chip, cut, drill or grind objects that contain crystalline silica it become respirable, meaning the particles become small enough to reach deep into the lungs.

This can lead not only to cancer but also silicosis, which occurs when silica dust enters the lungs and causes the formation of scar tissue, reducing the lungs’ ability to take in oxygen. Acute silicosis can occur within a few months of exposure, with symptoms including severe disabling shortness of breath, weakness and weight loss and, in the most extreme cases, death.

It is my firm belief, as I have written several times in the past, that issues such as occupational cancer caused by silica dust can be tackled most effectively through partnership working, which is why I am so pleased with No Time To Lose and the work in producing the silica presentations.

The work on silica, and the wider issue of occupational cancer, is a prime example of how the country’s health and safety sector is meeting the HSE’s Helping Great Britain Work Well strategy through one of its main tenets, Acting Together, which is extremely important to driving down occupational ill health and injury.

Of the six themes of the strategy – which also include Tackling Ill Health, Managing Risk Well, Supporting Small Employers, Keeping Pace With Change, and Sharing Our Success – RoSPA particularly welcomes Acting Together, as the premise of stakeholders working in partnership to deliver change is one that we support.

Nowhere else is that exemplified more than with No Time To Lose. Its tagline; 'Working together to beat occupational cancer' forms the basis for the whole campaign, in which IOSH calls on employers, employees, industry bodies, policy makers, health and safety professionals and occupational hygienists to play their parts in eradicating workplace cancers. An example of how this is being implemented on the ground is the campaign’s work to tackle RCS.

It’s my vision that, going forward, pressing issues such as RCS will be tackled in similar ways, as it’s through true collaboration that we will make our workplaces safer.

Dr Karen McDonnell, occupational safety and health policy adviser, RoSPA