WORKSAFE NZ (H&S) - Managing Wood Dust Exposure

Wood product manufacturing and construction activity can produce wood dust. Exposure to wood dust can be hazardous and can cause lung disease as well as other health effects. It is important to remove wood dust from a work area and control any exposure to ensure worker health.
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The major health effects of wood dust exposure are: 
  • Breathing wood dust into the lungs: Can cause breathing problems and lead to lung diseases such as occupational asthma, silicosis and lung cancer. This is the most likely route of exposure
  • Swallowing wood dust: Can affect your intestines, bloodstream and vital organs
  • Eye contact with wood dust: Wood dust particles can cause eye damage or irritation 
  • Skin contact with wood dust: Some wood dust can cause ulceration of the skin, irritation and dermatitis

What are employers’ responsibilities?
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  • Employers have a legal duty to take all practicable steps to ensure employees are safe at work. Exposure to wood dust is a workplace hazard that employers must eliminate or minimise.
  • As an employer, you should be able to recognise where work tasks may create wood dust. You should then plan ahead to remove the wood dust or control any worker exposure by doing the following;
    • Install a Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) (close to contaminant as practical, maintained and fit for purpose)
    • Use on tool extraction such as wood dust control systems 
    • No dry sweeping. Don’t use blowers, fans or compressed air to remove wood dust
    • Take care emptying vacuum cleaner bags or collection bags – potentially high wood dust exposure can occur when these are emptied
    • Minimise exposure times (work patterns) where possible
    • Wear respirators and other PPE suitable for the task
    • Remove overalls carefully at the end of work to ensure dust is not generated when changing clothes
    • Wash face and hands immediately when finished task and before eating, drinking or smoking   

Dust Limits

MBIE will be focusing on Dust and Noise Reduction in the Workplace. This has recently been deemed to be an area of potential workplace harm.

The regulatory control of this is covered by Workplace Exposure Standards (WES) where dust levels in the working environment were significantly reduced in December 2012.
"Work-related health is about the impact work can have on people’s health. In the past, we've called it occupational health.

Every week an estimated 15 people die from work-related diseases. In fact, a worker is ten times more likely to die from a work-related disease than from a workplace accident"

KEEP SAFE, KEEP WORKING
WorkSafe New Zealand is committed to helping make construction sites safer places for everyone.

WorkSafe New Zealand offer a great range of guidance documents, support tools and resources so we encourage employers to take the opportunity to review what is available to ensure ​your team are happy and healthy!