MPs and Lords: 'Treat silica dust like asbestos'

摘要

A group of MPs and Lords is calling for new regulations to treat silica dust in the same way as asbestos, and to halve the legal limit for workplace exposure. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Respiratory Health said more should be done to tackle silicosis, which is the most common chronic occupational lung disease. It is caused by respirable crystalline silica, which is created when bricks or stones are fractured, cut or drilled. About 450 lung cancer deaths per year occur among former construction workers exposed to the dust. In light of an inquiry carried out by the group, a number of recommendations have been made in a report, Silica -the next asbestos?These include halving the legal workplace-exposure limit for silica dust from 0.1mg per cubic metre to 0.05mg per cubic metre, in line with a 2003 recommendation from the scientific committee on occupational exposure limits.