Workplace Asthma Reduces Sufferers' Productivity

Copyright (c) 2012 Alison Withers

As the summer hay fever season approaches attention focuses on the maintenance and cleaning of air conditioning systems.

Air duct systems are part of both heating and for air conditioning systems in modern work places. They are also used to keep the air in buildings clean and circulating and, when used in conjunction with LEV hoods, to take away contaminants, dust and chemical fumes generated by some production processes.

However, ductwork can only do its job if it is kept clean and the whole system is regularly maintained to ensure filters are not clogged and that there are no leaks in the system.

Most employers are aware that the HSE advises the regular duct cleaning and maintenance of all mechanical ventilation systems (including the ductwork) to ensure workers are in a safe and healthy environment but also to ensure they are working as productively as possible.

In a manufacturing environment there are a variety of contaminants that can affect workers' health, leading to conditions like workplace asthma, which can seriously affect a person's ability to do their job effectively.

The range of substances that have been identified as contributing to workplace asthma is very wide.

In one recent example a skilled joiner in his late 50s found work making garden sheds. His work involved sawing 'western red cedar' wood. Within just a few months, he was wheezing and coughing after being at work, though at first his symptoms eased at the weekend. He was diagnosed with asthma, and referred to a chest specialist for diagnostic tests.

These investigations revealed that western red cedar was causing his occupational asthma. The joiner was taken off that work. Fortunately the company found a replacement wood, and the joiner kept his job.

In another example a 51-year-old maintenance fitter worked at a bakery for about 20 years. He neither smoked nor had any history of asthma before he started work. He complained of breathlessness, wheezing and coughing. This had been gradually worsening during the previous 15 years. He noticed that they improved when he was away from work.

He was diagnosed with asthma, which was eventually tracked to his workplace and identified a flour dust allergy. The company improved the dust extraction and issued him with suitable respiratory protective equipment.

These examples illustrate the severity of the effects that an allergy can have on a person's ability to work and, where there are extraction systems and air ducts, the importance of air duct cleaning and regular maintenance of ductwork.

However, allergies do not only happen in a manufacturing setting. They can just as easily occur in an office, school or hospital setting. Duct cleaning is therefore something that should not be ignored whatever the setting.


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Workers’ health and productivity can be seriously reduced by workplace allergies and asthma and this emphasises the importance of regular air duct cleaning and maintenance. By Ali Withers. http://www.pro-ductclean.com/air-duct-cleaning.asp



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