development of Asthma The risk of lung disease is linked to people who regularly breathe
construction dust over a period of time, not on the odd occasion.
To protect the lung, the COSHH Regulations sets a limit on the amount of these dusts that
you can breathe (called a Workplace Exposure Limit or WEL) when averaged over a normal
working day. These limits are not a large amount of dust: when compared to a penny it is
tiny – like a small pinch of salt:
This limit is the legal maximum; the most you can breathe after the right controls have been
used.
How to reduce the amount of dust?
1 Reduce the amount of cutting by using the best sizes of building products.
2 Use a less powerful tool e.g. a block cutter instead of angle grinder.
3 Using a different method of work altogether – e.g. using a nail gun to direct fasten cable
trays instead of drilling holes first.
Please always work with approved safety equipment, such as those dust masks that
specially designed to filter out microscopic particles and use the dust extraction facility at all
time.
For more information please see the HSE website:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction or http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/cis69.pdf
Warning: Some dust particles created by power sanding, sawing, grinding, drill
and other construction jobs contain chemicals known to cause cancer, birth
defects or other reproductive harm.
Some examples of these chemicals are:
• Lead from lead-based paints.
• Crystalline silica from bricks and cement and other masonry products.
• Arsenic and chromium from chemically treated timber.
Your risk from these exposures varies, depending upon how often you do this type of work.
To reduce your exposure to these chemicals:
• Work in a well-ventilated area.
• Work with approved safety equipment, such as those dust masks that are specially
designed to filter microscopic particles.
VIBRATION
The European Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive has been brought in to help reduce
hand arm vibration syndrome injuries to power tool users. The directive requires power
tool manufacturers and suppliers to provide indicative vibration test results to enable users
to make informed decisions as to the period of time a power tool can be used safely on a
daily basis and the choice of tool.
Further Advice can be found at www.hse.gov.uk
Vibration total values (triax vector sum) determined according to EN 60745:
Typical weighted vibration
Vibration emission value a
h,AG
=9,136m/s²
Uncertainty K =1.5m/s²
The declared vibration emission value should be used as a minimum level and should be
