BOHS stresses importance of competence standards in support of new HSE Strategy

We fully support HSE's newly published Strategy and the underlying principles of good health and safety practice which it encompasses. In particular, we welcome the recognition of the need for action to address the continuing toll of ill-health caused by unsatisfactory conditions in the workplace. The impact of work-related ill health simply cannot be ignored: for example, in the UK over 7,000 deaths from cancer and 13,000 new cases of cancer per year are caused by working conditions ; exposures to fumes, chemicals and dusts at work also account for around 4,000 deaths each year from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) ; as many as 159,000 fatalities each year in the EU can be attributed to work-related diseases, of which 74,000 are attributable to exposure to dangerous substances , and these are just the deaths!.

“Recognition of hazards and risks to health in the workplace, and their evaluation and control, is at the very heart of Occupational Hygiene; our view is that a step change in awareness and attitudes towards good occupational hygiene practice is vital to counteract the current situation, where deaths from occupational illnesses are probably more than forty times the number dying from accidents at work”, states Roger Alesbury, BOHS President. “HSE is right, therefore, to single out the need to encourage an increase in competence.”

In reality, we are already aligned with the aims of the HSE in this area and can help with many of the stated goals in the Strategy. We are connected with a number of HSE initiatives through joint seminars and workshops (eg. the current Asbestos Roadshows), awareness raising (eg. the BOHS badged LEV Awareness course), competency (eg. BOHS qualifications such as P601/P602 to improve the testing and design of local exhaust ventilation [LEV] systems, P901/P02 on the management and control of legionella, and the recently UKAS accredited ABICS scheme to certify the competence of individual asbestos surveyors). We welcome the opportunity to continue and extend this cooperation to identify new ways to reduce the risks to health from chemicals and other hazardous agents at work, to develop better systems to monitor the number of people at risk from the main causes (eg. diesel exhaust particles, crystalline silica, radon and asbestos) and the magnitude of the risks, and to promote higher standards of education, training and qualifications in occupational hygiene, which would help in reducing such risks.

There is still much to do to address work-related ill health. In short, there is a need for greater understanding of occupational hygiene and clear standards if progress is to be made in reducing the burden of ill health from the work environment. The new HSE Strategy seems to point the way to achieve this, and BOHS seeks to help to support and implement it.

Please click on the following link to view the strategy - www.hse.gov.uk/strategy.