Safe Work Australia has launched a national campaign to raise awareness of occupational lung diseases and to educate persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) on what they can do to manage these risks at work.
Safe Work Australia CEO, Michelle Baxter said the Clean Air. Clear Lungs. campaign targets industries where there is a high risk of workers contracting an occupational lung disease such as construction, manufacturing, agriculture and those who work with engineered stone.
“The construction industry covers a broad range of workers, trades and administration staff – it’s important to remember that everyone who works on site could be exposed to hazards in the air,” Baxter said.
“Occupational lung diseases are serious conditions, but they are entirely preventable. As a PCBU, you have a duty to protect the health and safety of your workers and the first step is to identify if hazards exist at your workplace.
“Once PCBUs have identified hazards, they then need to undertake a risk assessment and implement control measures to protect workers from developing an occupational lung disease.
“The best control measure is to eliminate the risk altogether, however if that isn’t possible it is essential to apply the most appropriate control measures to manage the risk.”
Effective control measures can include:
More information at: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/clearlungs