Body shop workers must do more to protect themselves against the risks of developing asthma from breathing in harmful paint fumes.

 

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) recently conducted a study into the use of paints containing isocyanates. It concluded that vehicle paint sprayers are still 80 times more likely to develop occupational asthma than the average worker.

 

The main source of isocyanate exposure is paint spraying. ‘2 pack’, ‘twin pack’ or ‘2K’ paint contains an isocyanate hardener. It is widely used on production cars and in body repair workshops, an industry which employs approximately 189,000 people in the UK.

 

The paint produces an invisible mist which spreads quickly and is slow to clear from the air. Re-entering spraying booths without the correct breathing apparatus before the clearance time has elapsed increases the chances of breathing in the mist.

 

As part of the study motor vehicle repair shops nationwide were contacted. Some of the staff in these premises were surprisingly unaware of the dangers that breathing in the invisible mist could pose to their health.

 

On a more positive note, the study found that workers are wearing the correct breathing apparatus when spraying.  However practices such as lifting the visor on the breathing apparatus to check the quality of the paint work or washing out the spray gun when not wearing the appropriate mask increases the risk of developing asthma significantly.

 

There are simple things which can be done to reduce the risk of developing asthma. The HSE identify four key points for a safe working procedure: - never spray outside of the specialist spray booth, ensure that all members of staff know the clearance times for the booths, personnel spraying should always wear air fed breathing apparatus and have regular health checks.

 

Louise Rice from HSE said “Occupational asthma destroys careers and lives. We appreciate that sprayers work to tight deadlines and time pressures, but they should not be gambling with their health. We will use this research to ensure we’re working with industry in the most effective way to help reduce the risk to workers.”

 

For more information on the affects of occupational asthma in the motor vehicle industry, visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/asthma/vehicle.htm

 

Contact details:

 

 

Telephone: 0151 227 1214
E-mail: kj@johnpickering.co.uk   
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk

 

Notes

John Pickering and Partners LLP- Specialist mesothelioma compensation solicitors.

 

We are a specialist personal injury law firm.  We have been handling claims for industrial disease for over 30 years.  Most of our work involves acting for asbestos disease victims. 

 

We only act for the sufferers of asbestos diseases and never act for the organisations that caused the asbestos exposure or their insurers.  We have an ethical approach and pledge to donate 10% of our net profits every year to good causes that help asbestos sufferers. 

 

Click here to find out about our donations to good causes.  We have also been involved in most of the landmark judgments that shape this area of law.  Find out more about us or find out about our reported cases.  We are on the panels of several asbestos support groups and are ranked highly by legal guides.  Click here to find out more about what others have said about us.

 

John Pickering and Partners LLP is a niche legal practice that has represented Claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three Claimants in the Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.

 

The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life."   Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of mesothelioma and other asbestos disease sufferers and a prompt for important legal reform.

 

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the lining of certain bodily organs.  It most commonly affects the lining of the lungs (the pleura) but it can affect other areas including organs in the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum).

 

According to the British Lung Foundation, more than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK and there is one mesothelioma death every five hours. The number of deaths from mesothelioma increased from 153 in 1968 to 1,969 in 2004 and is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015.

 

The British Lung Foundation, supported by John Pickering and Partners LLP, launched the first Action Mesothelioma Day on 27th February 2006, to raise awareness about mesothelioma, to improve the treatment and care of mesothelioma patients, and to lobby for better funding for research into mesothelioma and for the protection and education of people working with asbestos.

 

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.

 

 

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