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Indoor air pollution can result either from construction materials used in the building, such as the furnishings, fixtures and fittings in the building, the land buildings are built on or from materials used in the workplace (wood dust, cement dust, glutaraldehyde fumes) or created during the production process (welding gases, oil mists, solvent fumes, ozone). In some cases it can result from the nature of the construction (for example if the ventilation system draws pollutants through a work area, or redistributes them there).

Dust hazards

Dust at work has been one of the all-time largest occupational killers with workers in mines, quarries, foundries, textiles, mills, bakeries, or industries with wood, leather and radioactive materials susceptible to ill health as a result.

Typical associated health problems include allergies, asthma, blood disorders, cancer, emphysema, mesothelioma, nervous system damage, silicosis and skin and eye damage.

The skin, eyes, nose, throat and lungs can be affected, depending on the pollutant. Flu-like symptoms may also be experienced together with a blocked or runny nose; occasionally nausea may accompany these symptoms. In the long term, when people are dosed up with polluted air daily, the above symptoms become more serious and permanent injury can result.

The most effective action is to remove the source of risk; this is done by identifying what is polluting the air (fumes, dusts, tobacco smoke, oil mist, etc.) and removing that source from the environment by elimination, encapsulation or by local exhaust ventilation (LEV). But keeping the workplace clean is an important control measure for dust hazards.

There are two primary, but not mutually exclusive sources of dust hazard:

1. Inhalable dust: This is visible dust which is collected in the saliva and mucus in the mouth, throat and nose and either expelled from the body or ingested. Dust contaminated by toxins can find their way into the digestive tract and on into the blood stream and be distributed around the body and its organs.
2. Respirable dust: Is not visible to the eye nor to some optical microscopes. The dust by-passes the body's filters and enters the lungs and lodges in the gas exchange cells of the lung (alveoli). Toxins may be taken into the bloodstream this way too.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that each year there are over 1000 new cases of asthma caused by exposures to dust at work. These figures are based on returns from a number of health studies being conducted during the 1990's. It is believed by the HSE that the true figure is probably at least three times this. Additionally, the HSE reports that 70,000 people in the UK believe that they have asthma caused, or made worse, by substances breathed in at work.

Health risks from air pollution are not simply limited to bronchial problems. Chemical dusts and fumes find their way into the body via exposed skin surfaces as well as the lungs, causing diseases which vary from permanent painful and irritating skin conditions, to central nervous system damage, brain damage, liver damage, cancer, damage to eyes and straightforward poisoning.

Lifelong ill-health can result from being sensitised to naturally occurring substances such as ozone; this gas accumulates in workshops or offices where there is equipment that uses electrostatic discharges (electric arc welding in workshops and, in offices, photocopier and laser printer use). There is the possibility of developing a condition called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) which causes the body to react badly to a range of chemical exposures at very low doses.

Many dusts including flour, coal, metal, and rubber are combustible. These and other dusts can also be explosive.

No dust should be regarded as "safe", even some dust thought just to be a nuisance has turned out, in the light of further research, to present a significant threat.

Normal vacuum cleaners, at best, only remove inhalable dust. Machines capable of removing respirable dust from the environment must be fitted with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. Some domestic machines, such as the "Henry" or the "Dyson" can be equipped with such filters but filters must be renewed regularly to remain effective.

Asbestos

We cover asbestos more extensively in our work-related diseases section

Asbestos is the UK's biggest workplace killer.

The three main types of asbestos - blue, brown and white asbestos - can still be found in the workplace. There is no safe level of exposure and all types are dangerous.

Around 5,000 people die each year from mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer - 13 people for every day of the year. These figures are rising and it is predicted that by 2010 some 10,000 people in Britain will die every year from exposure to asbestos, more than twice the number of road accident deaths. Before the death rate declines, up to a quarter of a million people in Britain may have died from asbestos exposures.

There are up to six million tonnes of asbestos in schools, hospitals, ships, offices and factories - and the homes we live in. The importation, supply, and use of all asbestos throughout Britain is prohibited.

Extensive resources on asbestos related diseases can be found in the work-related diseases section.

Asthma

We cover asbestos more extensively in our work-related diseases section

Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways which leads to them becoming inflamed, muscles in the airways tightening, and too much mucus being produced. As the airways narrow, the air has more difficulty getting in and out and this is what causes the person with asthma to have problems in breathing.

Asthma symptoms can include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and a tightening around the chest. For some sufferers the symptoms are so severe that they cannot work again.

Occupational asthma is caused when workers breathe in substances at work that leads to them developing a sensitivity to it. The body sets off an immune reaction to the substance, and any further exposure can bring about an attack. In some cases the symptoms develop immediately after exposure, but for some people they will not appear until several hours later, often at night.

There are over 200 substances that are known to be capable of causing occupational asthma. The most common of these are a group of chemicals called isocyanates. These are found in many paints and foams. Other common causes of asthma are flour dust, latex (in particular latex gloves), wood dust, some glues and resins, solder fumes, laboratory animals, some reactive dyes, cobalt, enzymes (in detergents), and even certain insects such as mites.

Once a person has been sensitised to dust or chemical, further exposure to that substance, even at very low levels, can lead to further attacks.

The Health and Safety Executive estimates 1,500 to 3,000 new cases of occupational asthma arise every year, but this rises to 7,000 cases a year if you include asthma made worse by work.

However it is important to emphasise that occupational asthma can be very easily prevented through preventing exposure to those chemicals and dusts that are know to trigger or cause asthma.

Passive smoking

A 2003, TUC co-published report stated that every year 1,200 people in the UK - three a day - die due to passive smoking at work.

Many scientific reports state that passive smoking is a cause of heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases in exposed adults. Exposure of pregnant women to environmental tobacco smoke causes lower birth weight in their babies.

Workers in the leisure and hospitality industries are most at risk. A report from University College London found bar workers take in amounts of environmental tobacco smoke over 10 times higher than the average non-smoker.

However, public smoking bans are becoming increasingly popular, with legal bans being applied in Ireland, some US states and cities, Uganda, Tanzania and Norway. A ban on smoking in licensed premises has been passed by parliament and will come into force throughout Britain in 2007.

Always take legal medical and legal advice if you suffer from dust and atmospheric hazards at work. injurywatch.co.uk's free legal helpdesk is always a good place to start.

Areas where an employer may be negligent include:

• incorrect siting or construction of buildings
• use of unsuitable or unsafe substances
• failure to investigate/use alternative safer substances
• failure to adequately eliminate, encapsulate or ventilate a building
• failure to adequately maintain air cleaning equipment
• provision of poor or too infrequent cleaning for premises
• inadequate maintenance of premises
• failure to provide adequate personal protection equipment
• adoption of unsafe work practices

Any premises may become temporarily unsafe, say from spillages etc. An employer should put measures in place (such as signage or sealing off the area) to ensure that the risks of a site which becomes temporarily unsafe are minimised to prevent harm to workers and the public.

As always, gather the evidence:

• see a doctor - the effect of your injuries might be obvious in most cases, but injuries don't always show up straight away
• keep a dossier. Include a diary recording all the details of the pollution, who you saw and all the expenses or losses you incurred, including receipts
• record all the details of the pollution - take photographs of the site and equipment
• be aware that you are unlikely to be the only one affected - our workplace diseases section has more details of how to best identify a problem and pursue a remedy including details of group actions
• gather information (backed up by witness statements from others) as to how long the hazard has remained unrectified. It may be that equipment is not properly serviced or that clean-up is insufficiently frequent.
• note and detail any measures (and the efficacy of such measures) which have been taken to warn of or otherwise diminish the risk
• note and detail any measures (and the effect of such measures) which exacerbated the risk
• if the injury or disease results from an inherently unsafe workplace, your legal team should be able to commission a detailed atmospheric report.