'Ridiculous' health and safety rules tell carpenters to ban the broom

Adrian Newell
Member - 2 posts

This type of scenario is not new. At my last place of employment we had two bead blast units and any bead blast that ended up on the floor was picked up using a vacuum cleaner. If a broom was used it just moved it around in a cloud and increased the air content dramatically.
Air purification units would only be needed if the airbourne dust was found to be above limits (see above comment) after measurements and monitoring had been carried out.

Steve Pulling
Member - 1 post

They say you should believe what is said in the press, except the price and date. I agree however that if wood working machines are being used, they should have the correct ventilation, after all, its about protection of health for the employee using them.

Patrick Burns
Member - 11 posts

For those of you who know very little about the health effects of wood dust I would suggest you visit the Microsite on the HSE Website. Link below. Fine wood dust not only affects your respiratory system, some hard wood dusts are carcinogens and can cause nasl cancers.

Like everything else some journalists will go to all extremes to try and ridicule Health and Safety legislation which is in place to ensure that each day you return from work free of injury and with no detriment to your health from workplace practices.

I speak both as a person who has worked in a very busy joiners shop and as a Health and Safety Professional.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/dust.htm

Alan Hoskins
Member - 3 posts

Craig - there most definitely is legislation in place to cover this, called the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations.

HSE can prosecute, or serve notices for contraventions of this legislations.

I am somewhat disappointed by the HSE's comments (alleged) in this article.

Alan

Craig Stuart
Member - 106 posts

Hi Alan. Ooops - you are of course right. Don't quite know why I suggested otherwise; probably too annoyed with the Telegraph at the time!

Cheers

Alan Hoskins
Member - 3 posts

Reporting on stupid health and safety decisions is one thing, but this really got me annoyed. I started work as an apprentice in a joinery shop during the mid 1960s and we were cutting hardwoods and even asbestos cement soffits without any protection and sweeping up or blowing off the dust...

Alan

Patrick Burns
Member - 11 posts

Following up from my previous comment and others, I was reading the Metro on the way into work and there was an article intimating prosecution of Stirling Council for breaches of Health & Safety laws in school woodwork shops in relation to lack of control measures dealing with wood dust.

Will Stirling
Member - 1 post

Lets stop beating about the bush, Firstly The machines should have adequate extraction, NOT Ventilation, The operators needs to be wearing PPE, at all times not just using the machines, The area that creates the dust should be well signed, and controlled to stop unauthorised persons from entering, An upto date Risk Assessment shoul dof been carried out and the result recorded, As low a risk as practible possible needs to be acheived, Remember, If their is a risk, we either remove it, reduce it or control it. As for school children using machines, is their not a law against minors using automated machines.

Geoff Porteous
Member - 28 posts

Hi Will there is legislation in place for the restriction of young persons operating certain types of machinery or engaged in specific work processes, it unfortunately it only applies to places of work of which schools are not (except for teachers and staff of course)