Company fined after workers exposed to excessive amounts of wood dust

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The health of workers at a wood waste recycling centre was put in danger after being excessively exposed to dust, the Health and Safety Executive has found.

Breathing in or inhaling wood dust can cause illnesses such as asthma and nasal cancer, however, with the correct protections in place, this is often preventable.

Dust from softwood is a known asthmagen which can trigger or exacerbate asthma symptoms, whereas hardwood particles are a known carcinogen – which can increase the risk of developing cancer.

Wood dust

The Health and Safety Executive lays out the guidelines to keep workers safe and states that those exposed to dust should be provided with the correct protective equipment and workplace procedures to ensure they are kept from harm. However, this was not the case when the Health and Safety Executive visited Esken Renewables in April 2022.

Esken Renewables Limited, a waste and recycling company that specialises in generating biofuel from renewable waste, ran a wood waste recycling centre in Middlesborough that processed mixed wood waste, hardwood and softwood into biofuel.

However, concerns had been raised about wood dust spreading to the surrounding area. After the HSE visit in April 2022, the inspector wrote in detail to Esken Renewables with evidence demonstrating the extent of the wood dust exposure to staff, so that the right action could be taken by the company to control the risks.

The company provided a detailed response, and it was accepted that exposure to the surrounding area was in large part due to four storms in quick succession.

However, the HSE investigation found that the control of wood dust to protect employees working on and around the site was not adequate and fell short of the expected benchmark.

Wood dust safety failures

The company failed to design and operate processes and activities to minimise emission, release and spread of wood dust.

One solution would be through the use of local exhaust ventilation, the enclosure of machinery or the designing of the processes such as using vacuum systems as opposed to compressed air for cleaning and maintenance.

Esken Renewables Limited, who operated the site at Port Clarence Road, Port Clarence, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty of breaching Regulation 7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 and were fined £160,000 and ordered to pay £5,310.35 in costs at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on 23 May 2024.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Matthew Dundas said:

“The expected standard is to control exposure to as low a level as is reasonably practicable.

“We hope this serves to raise industry awareness for the expectation of control of hazardous substances, namely wood dust, in the wood waste and recycling industry.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Iain Jordan and supported by HSE paralegal officer Rebecca Forman.

How much exposure to wood dust is dangerous?

The Health and Safety Executive sets out the guidelines for how much dust workers should be exposed to. It states the following:

Exposure limits

Both hardwood and softwood dusts have a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) which must not be exceeded.

The WEL for hardwood dust is 3mg/m3 (based on an 8-hour time-weighted average).
The WEL for softwood dust is 5mg/m3 (based on an 8-hour time-weighted average).

For mixtures of hardwood and softwood dusts the WEL for hardwood dust of 3mg/m3 applies to all wood dusts present in that mixture.

Can wood dust cause cancer?

Wood dust is one of the oldest occupational health risks known to exist, however, it is still very prevalent in the world today. Wood dust is considered a Group I carcinogen which means it is known to have caused cancer in humans.

Types of wood dust that can cause cancer?

According to studies, hardwood dust is significantly more likely to cause cancer than softwood. Hardwood comes from deciduous trees that lose their leaves in the autumn, unlike softwood trees which keep their leaves all year.

Common types of hardwood

Ash
Elm
Oak
Beech
Cedar
Birch
Pine
Alder
Sycamore
Cedarwood

Can wood dust cause asthma?

Hardwood, softwood and wood composite dusts are produced when the wood is machined or sanded. These dusts are a common cause of occupational asthma.

How to keep safe working with wood dust

According to the Health and Safety Executive, all employers should adhere to the following to ensure workers are kept safe.

Adequate control of wood dust is achieved when:

The eight principles of good control practice are applied as set out in Schedule 2A of COSHH
Exposure is below the relevant WEL
Exposure is reduced to as low a level as is reasonably practicable.

Employers should provide equipment to protect health, such as dust extraction, and personal protective equipment (eg respirator) and you have a duty to use these properly and co-operate with any monitoring and health.

I have been exposed to wood dust at work, what should I do?

If you believe you have been exposed to wood dust at work and it has led to you suffering from harm, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

To run the majority of personal injury claims, you have to have started the claim within three years of the injury. However, with industrial disease claims it may be that the injury started over a period of time and was only diagnosed within the last three years. We will be able to clarify this for you.

Your employer has a legal obligation to ensure your place of work is safe, and the correct systems and protective equipment are available to protect you from harm.

Employer Liability laws

Here are just some of the regulations employers must follow to keep workers safe.

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Employers have a duty so far as is reasonably practicable to ensure the safety and welfare of their employees.

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

Duty to undertake a reasonable risk assessment (Reg. 3)
Requirement to undertake a health surveillance (Reg. 6)

Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992

Ensure that suitable personal equipment is provided (Reg. 4)
Ensure an assessment of any personal protective equipment is undertaken to determine whether it is suitable.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 2002

Required to assess health risks where work is liable to expose employees to substances hazardous to health (Reg. 6)
Ensure exposure to substances hazardous to health is either prevented or where not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled (Reg. 7)
Ensure any employee exposed to substances hazardous to health are monitored and under suitable health surveillance (Reg. 11)