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decimomal		#1 Posted : 21 November 2014 08:48:51(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		Occ health consultant advises that face fit testing is predominantly necessary when dealing with gas/vapour exposure and cannot see why we would want it for exposure to dust in a joinery. Are they right?
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walker		#2 Posted : 21 November 2014 08:55:22(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		IMHO - Yes
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sidestep45		#3 Posted : 21 November 2014 09:08:20(UTC)
Rank: Forum user		My first instinct is to advise you to change your occ healh consultant. My second is to suggest you look at the guidance for woodworks on the HSE site
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Palmer20061		#4 Posted : 21 November 2014 09:10:19(UTC)
Rank: Forum user		No, dusts need to be protected against as well as vapours - from the HSE website: Under current legislation softwood dust, hardwood dust and formaldehyde are considered to be hazardous to health. Both softwood and hardwood dusts are known to be respiratory sensitisers and may cause asthma and other respiratory problems. Hardwood dust can also cause a rare form of nasal cancer. So if you're close to the WELs your control may be to wear dust masks - & if you wear these they must be face fit tested........
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decimomal		#5 Posted : 21 November 2014 09:21:26(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		I was a little hasty in my post and should have paused before sending - I was sure I was correct but a seed of doubt was planted! Thanks for the replies anyway.
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walker		#6 Posted : 21 November 2014 09:44:24(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		Decimomal wrote: I was a little hasty in my post and should have paused before sending - I was sure I was correct but a seed of doubt was planted! Thanks for the replies anyway. I think I was hasty too I think I got you wrong way around - having re-read: I believe FF is important for wood dusts. We call it a test but its about training the operative on how to correctly fit the mask. If they don't fit it correctly they are not getting any benefit from it.
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A Kurdziel		#7 Posted : 21 November 2014 09:57:55(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		Sorry they are wrong… wood dust is a serious hazard and associated with cancer of the nasal passages. So you need to look at some form of respiratory protection but dust masks should not be the first port of call. You should be looking at other forms of control such as removing the dust at source LEV etc before you look at RPE. If you decide to use negative pressure RPE eg a dust mask then it must be fit tested to make sure it works.
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decimomal		#8 Posted : 21 November 2014 09:58:56(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		No more replies required. Thanks for the responses so far.
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stuie		#9 Posted : 21 November 2014 12:23:54(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		If you issue masks you need to FF test. Simples.
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PIKEMAN		#10 Posted : 21 November 2014 13:30:56(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		From HSE "Both hardwood and softwood dusts have a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) of 5mg/m3 which must not be exceeded". So, your OH person was talking garbage. If you use RPE in order to keep exposure under the WEL - yes you need face fit. If you only wear a mask for comfort resaons (eg not to get under a WEL) then you don't need face fit testing. IMHO.
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BJC		#11 Posted : 24 November 2014 12:07:09(UTC)
Rank: Guest		Dusts are larger particles so I suspect the OH meant that it was less likely for contamination to occur. However the HSMRC have started raising fines if the RPE has not been fitted by someone whom has attended a course.

A Kurdziel		#12 Posted : 24 November 2014 15:34:35(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		BJC wrote: Dusts are larger particles so I suspect the OH meant that it was less likely for contamination to occur. However the HSMRC have started raising fines if the RPE has not been fitted by someone whom has attended a course. Wood dust may well be larger particles: inhalable rather than respirable but this means that they can get as far as the upper respiratory tract which is why they tend to be associated with nasal and similar cancers rather than lung cancer. Do you HSE not HMRC?
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walker		#13 Posted : 25 November 2014 07:43:38(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		BJC wrote: Dusts are larger particles so I suspect the OH meant that it was less likely for contamination to occur. However the HSMRC have started raising fines if the RPE has not been fitted by someone whom has attended a course. You seem to be obsessed about fines I'm in the job to keep people safe Cancers from wood dust are the tip of an iceberg - COPD and allergy issues are far more common
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sutty		#14 Posted : 26 November 2014 17:25:50(UTC)
Rank: Forum user		I'm guessing your joiners would (no pun intended) be exposed to MDF and all its associated nasties? http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/faq-mdf.htm
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decimomal		#15 Posted : 27 November 2014 09:00:23(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user		BJC wrote: Dusts are larger particles so I suspect the OH meant that it was less likely for contamination to occur. However the HSMRC have started raising fines if the RPE has not been fitted by someone whom has attended a course. It is a common misconception that HSE fine people. It is the Courts that award fines not the enforcing authorities. They do however issue fee for intervention which is not the same thing. I am sure we all agree than when replying to queries that we need to ensure we get our facts right.
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