A website with advice on how to reduce occupational asthma has been launched
by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The site is aimed at employers, safety representatives and health
professionals and is part of the HSE’s campaign to reduce occupational asthma
by 30 per cent by 2010.
Information on the site includes the main causes of occupational asthma,
what it is like to get the disease, what employers have to do to protect their
employees and what the HSE and others are doing to tackle the problem.
There is also access to video clips, case studies, and plans of action on
occupational asthma, agreed by the HSE’s asthma project board and advisory
committee on toxic substances, which can be downloaded, as well as access to
guidance on the main causes of the disease.
Occupational asthma is the most frequently diagnosed respiratory disease in
the UK, with between 1,500 and 3,000 people developing it every year.
Some sufferers never work again, while others have to change jobs to avoid
exposure to the substance that caused the asthma.
