Indoor air pollution risks exacerbating prior health issues of up to 440,000 manufacturing and logistics workers in the UK, Global Action Study warns
Dangerous levels of indoor air pollution are threatening the health of hundreds of thousands of manufacturing workers across the UK, while also damaging production line efficiency and businesses' profit margins, fresh research today has warned.
Up to 440,000 manufacturing and logistics workers across the country with health conditions that are exacerbated by air pollution are still being exposed to unhealthy airborne hazards and pollution in the workplace, and regulations are either too weak or are not being properly enforced, according to Global Action Plan.
The study, which was carried out by the charity alongside industrial air cleaning firm Zehnder Clean Air Solutions, therefore calls on the government to urgently tighten regulations on acceptable dust levels in workplaces, warning that high levels of indoor air pollution in the manufacturing sector "continues to be underplayed" and could put workers at greater risk of health complications if they contract Covid-19.
"Regulators must enforce lower limits to protect the hidden heroes who have continued to work throughout the pandemic, especially given ongoing research increasingly links poor air quality to the worsening of Covid-19 symptoms," explained Chris Large, chief executive of Global Action Plan. "Current regulation continues to allow unacceptable levels of airborne hazards and pollution that are dangerous to manufacturing workers' health."
The charity recommends lowering the acceptable limits for air pollutants in industrial workplaces to one microgramme per cubic metre (1mg/m3) for respirable dust, down from the 4mg/m3 limit set out in Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSSH) regulations.
Regulations should also be reviewed and exposure limits tightened for all air pollutants in order to safeguard employee health, with a greater focus on research bringing together air quality monitoring at manufacturing sites and better tracking of workforce health issues, it adds.
And it calls on manufacturerers themselves to review the business case for action on air pollution and to seek to eliminate harmful substances in the workplace, as well as working alongside local councils to combat the problem.
"This report highlights is both the serious health issues that need to be addressed to protect workers but also the opportunities that there are for businesses to take positive steps which in many cases will be more than paid back by increased efficiency," said Ben Simons, head of clean air in West Europe at Zehnder Clean Air Solutions. "We also want to appeal to lawmakers to ensure that these long-term health effects are not ignored in the current health crisis and that we take the time now to set a course for UK manufacturing that supports its successes in the next decade and beyond."
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was considering a request for comment at the time of going to press.