1. Wood Dust What you should know BWF Health & Safety Hero Campaign
Key Presenter’s Script plus background points to be used
if required
2 Directions i.e. Presenter to refer to individual Slide Points
Slide 1
This presentation, prepared by the BWF, is designed to be used by its member
companies to enable our employees to obtain a better understanding of the
problems associated with wood dust, our legal requirements and
possible solutions to problems we encounter. The Presentation does not
attempt to provide an absolute solution to our problems but does offer a
means to make us think about what we do and how we can do
it more safely
Presenter to encourage audience participation.
Employees should be told that they are recognised as one of the
most valuable sources of information on hazards and health and
safety issues associated with their work activities.
BWF Health & Safety Hero Campaign

2. Wood Dust - What are the Campaign Objectives
Campaign objectives will seek to highlight critical areas that require attention
Will provide guidance as to effectively deal with these
Highlight practical measures to be taken to control wood dust
Slide 2
Introduce the Presentation Headings which aim to cover the main
aspects of this important topic.
Refer to Slide Points
Committed to supporting the continuous improvement of a Health
and Safety culture, this campaign sets down this commitment that works
towards zero reportable accidents and incidents relating to occupational
health.
In the case of wood dust, this may not be immediately apparent.
This Powerpoint presentation and accompanying Safety Essentials
Checklist focuses on both the legal duties and the practical measures
to be taken in controlling wood dust. 
There may be other issues that arise during the Presentation.
Offer to cover these either as they arise or at a ‘round-up’ session
at the end.

3. The goal of the BWF Health & Safety hero Campaign is
To reduce fatal injuries each year to
To reduce any RIDDOR incidents as a result
of an identifiable unsafe practice to
To reduce occupational ill health incidents to
This will save lives, save livelihoods and lessen the associate human and financial costs of such incidents
zero
zero
zero
Slide 3
These are targets that we will seek to reach
They are targets that are achievable but only with the support of
everyone

4. Types of wood dust
In addition to the tiny particles of wood (including those from manufactured boards & wood based products) created during processing, wood dust can also contain bacteria and fungal and moss spores
The quantity and type of wood dust will depend on the wood being cut and the machine you are using, for example:
whether the timber is green or seasoned;
whether it is a hardwood, softwood or composite board;
how aggressive the machine cutter or blade profile is.
The biggest risk is from fine dust, as you can breathe this deep into your lungs where it will do the most damage. Fine dust will also spread further from the cutting process so it is important to clean ledges and other workroom surfaces regularly to prevent dust accumulating.
Slide 4
Wood dust can be seen or sometimes unseen depending on the
density of the particles
Therefore it is essential that it is eliminated wherever possible or
minimised

5. What are the legal duties?
Wood dust is covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH)
A “substance hazardous to health” is defined as a substance which is:
toxic, harmful, corrosive or irritant;
has a maximum exposure limit or an occupational exposure standard;
a biological agent;
a substantial concentration of dust or
any substance which creates a risk to health
Under COSHH, employers (including contractors) have a duty to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment to control dust levels and exposure to employees
Slide 5
Refer to Slide Points then ask whether everyone is aware of their
obligations under COSHH
Further guidance can be found on the HSE website -

6. What are the legal duties - continued?
Essentially this means:
What wood and wood based materials are being used
That wood dust is being controlled effectively;
That operators and supervisors have received adequate training in the correct use of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) in main and portable systems
That the LEV is suitable for the job and is being used and maintained correctly – SEE Separate Presentation on LEV
and to identify existing / additional measures that are required to control the risk to a low as reasonably practicable, including the activities / processes with a high potential for exposure e.g. sanding, routering
Slide 6.
What are the legal duties and why does it cause a problem?
We first need to understand what needs to be done to control dust.
Refer to Slide Points then add
Surely, the logical solution to the problem is to ensure that proper
extraction is installed and that it is used correctly

7. Risk Assessment – what should it cover?
Any risk assessment should (although list not exhaustive) include:
who may be harmed and how
the types of soft and hardwoods other materials used
the hazardous properties of the dusts generated; see toxic woods at
an assessment of compliance with the workplace exposure limits, currently 5mg/m3 for hardwood and softwood dust
Slide 7
We need to look at risk assessments that are in place and whether
these need to be reviewed

8. What other legal duties may be involved?
This increasingly involves the need for health surveillance including the use of employee questionnaires
A higher level of health surveillance, including lung function testing and skin checks, are needed for exposures to woods such as certain hardwoods, western red cedar which are a known asthmagen and other high risk wood based products
Other effects can also include:
skin disorders;
obstruction in the nose, and rhinitis
in some cases, can lead to cancer.
Slide 8
Because wood dust causes asthma any health effects must be
picked up early. This can be done using health surveillance.
For most woods, low level health surveillance will do. When someone
first starts in a job where they are exposed to wood dust they should
fill in a questionnaire.
Sample questionnairs can be found on both the BWf and HSE websites.
After six weeks a follow up questionnaire should then and this should
then be repeated every year.
These questionnaires tell us what to do if we think someone has been
affected.
A higher level of health surveillance, including lung function testing, is
needed for exposures to woods such as western red cedar which are a
known asthmagen.

9. What other legal duties may be involved?
Furthermore:
records should be kept for at least 40 years
a programme of air monitoring should be completed to establish how efficiently the company’s dust control systems are removing the identified harmful wood dust from the atmosphere, and to ensure any dust present is below the legal workplace limit
employees should be given adequate Instruction and Training regarding the risk from wood dust and findings of the wood dust assessment
employees should be given suitable and sufficient training in the correct use of LEV. This can include shutting and opening blast gates when using a machine to ensure the system is working effectively at the point required
results of health surveillance and air monitoring are provided to employees.
Slide 9
This Slide illustrates in basic terms what further things we are
required to do.

10. Are there any practices that should not be carried out?
Yes
dry sweeping – use an industrial vacuum cleaner (minimum Class M type) or other means
blowing down using compressed air
Slide 10
 We have covered what we must do so now we will now move on to
cover what we should not be doing..

11. What about PPE & RPE
Personal Protection Equipment and Respiratory Protection Equipment:
don’t forget PPE is a last resort and must only be used if exposure to a substance cannot be reduced by other control measures.
 If PPE is used it must protect the operative from the substance to which they are exposed.
The requirement for wearing of P3 masks for sanding and other high risk operations such as bag changing
Remember, PPE must be appropriate for the tasks and appropriate for the user
Slide 11
We all know that PPE is provided for a purpose – to protect!
We also understand that sometimes such equipment can be
uncomfortable but with careful adaptation for individual needs,
we must ensure that where provided it is used and looked after .
It is provided to protect against harm and therefore there should be no
excuse for not wearing it

12. PPE & RPE continued
If disposable or half masks are specified to be worn employees must be clean shaven
PPE/RPE should be individually 'face fitted' to each employee to ensure a sufficient seal can be obtained between mask and wearers face.
See also HSE Guidance on RPE Fit Testing – the basics and BWF FAQ Guide (RPE) - Fit testing basics. – both accessible from the internet
Slide 12
Recent publicity from HSE has concentrated on the fact that to be
effective masks should be face fitted.
Obviously there may be problems with certain individuals such as those
with beards or designer stubble! But the principle reason for wearing
such masks to prevent dust getting into you lungs.

13. Finally
Slide 13
Finally before asking for questions point out that there are very useful
resources including short videos, and essentials checklist available
on the BWF and the HSE woodworking websites.