Diesel fumes:
the risks
Introducing the risks from diesel fumes – a briefing for managers
Presenter notes
- in Britain, more than 650 people a year die of lung or bladder cancer caused by diesel fumes at work
•This brief presentation is designed to get managers where you work up to speed on the implications of exposure to certain types of diesel fumes
•It’s aimed at anyone who has responsibility for managing activitieswhere exposure to diesel engine exhaust emissions may pose a risk to health
•Slides includeFAQs or notes that you can use to respond toquestions, or to supplement your presentation
•Hand out IOSH’s free factsheet on diesel engine exhaust fumes tosupport this presentation
- people regularly exposed to diesel exhaust fumes at work are up to 40%more likely to develop lung cancer
Typical questions you may get asked
•These figures seem high – how can it be proved?
There has been research done in a number of different countrieslinking diesel fume exposure to the work people do and the cancer they get. In the UK, a recent research report, funded by the Health and Safety Executive and the largest of its kind in the world, looked at patients who suffered from different forms of cancer and thenlinked it to the work they did. Dr Rushton and her team of researchers found a strong link between diesel exposure at work and lung and bladder cancers
•What about if people smoke, isn’t that what gives them lung cancer?
Robust research takes lifestyle issues into account.The Rushton research was adjusted to reflect what are known as ‘confounding factors’like smoking. People who don’t smoke can still get lung cancer as a result of diesel fume exposure. People who do smoke and are exposed to diesel fumes are more likely to get lung cancer than if they just smoked
•Diesel is much cleaner now – is this still a problem?
It depends on the standards in the country you’re operating in. For example, in EU countries, there should are higher standards –since 1992/93 there has been a steady reduction in allowable emissions on new vehicles including cars, trucks, trains, tractors and barges. The latest reductions were in 2008/09 with the Euro 5/V standard and in 2013/14 with the Euro 6/VI standard. In other parts of the world, for example Africa and Asia, standards for diesel are lower. Different equipment will have different standards too – for example, a diesel generator would not be covered by some vehicle exhaust emission standards, and seagoing ships are excluded. In addition, remember that more recent vehicle emission standards only apply to new vehicles so older vehicles are likely to be producing higher emissions
Better standards mean that the risks are reduced but not eliminated
•What is it in diesel that causes cancer?
The risk of cancer is linked with the particulate emissions in the fumes – the soot, rather than the gases or vapours. Diesel engine exhaust exposure is now often measured by the elemental carbon concentrations in the air inhaled by workers. Some types of diesel contain more than 10 times the soot particles of petrol. It’s the soot particles that include carcinogenic – cancer-causing – substances. If you’re regularly exposed to these over a long time, you have a 40 per cent higher chance of getting lung cancer
- around 800 new cases of cancer linked to diesel fumes are registered each year in Britain
•Here, you can outline the key risk areas in your business – the picture in your own workplace
•Highlight areas where there may be risk of exposure to diesel fumes, and the people potentially affected
•If it’s relevant to your business, you could also add that ignoring the problem is costing you money – in time off work through illness and sick pay plus the cost of replacement staff. If you’ve got examples of people taking time off work with respiratory problems then refer to them here
•Emphasise that if your competitors are handling this issue better than you then you risk falling behind and potentially seeing your reputation damaged – use examples if you have them
•Convince your senior colleagues to sign up to IOSH’s No Time to Lose pledge to tackle work-based cancer. Doing this shows your staff, customers or clients that you’re taking the issue seriously – and taking action. Checking out if your competitors or suppliers have already pledged their support can help make your case
Typical questions you may get asked
•What’s the legal situation?
Of course, you’ll need to know what the law requires where you work – depending on where you operate, there could be general requirements, or very specific technical standards. In the UK, employers are legally required to consider the risk of cancer. Diesel fumes are covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, as well as by the more generic Health and Safety at Work Act and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. By law, employers should assess the risk of people being affected by diesel fumes, and then work to either stop exposure or reduce it with suitable control measures.
•How can we be found liable if a worker has been exposed before they came to work for us?
You can refer to court cases here. For example, in the UK, the Health and Safety Executive has successfully prosecuted businesses for exposure to harmful substances, without proof of harm. One case, involving a well known high street retailer, resulted in a million pound fine for asbestos exposure. The HSE issues around 200 prohibition or improvement notices a year for exposure to substances including silica dust and asbestos.
If there may be an issue at your workplace, you first need to formally assess the hazard, which could include measuring elemental carbon concentrations.
Do you or someone in your team have the specialist knowledge and skills to make these assessments? If not, you may need to call in a specialist to help you assess hazards and risks.
•in Europe, there are around 4,500 diesel cancer deaths each year
•Many of the things we can do cost nothing – eg turning engines offwhen not being used, swapping jobs around.This sort of action is about getting people to change how they do things, or changing working patterns. Some of these measures can even save money – for example switching engines off as a matter of routine when they’renot in use will save fuel costs and cut your carbon footprint too
•Other actions may need to be planned in as part of a replacement or retrofit programme
•Remind your audience that health checks don’t stop the problem from happening in the first place but can help check whether your prevention tactics are working, as well as monitoring any ill health issues
•Use this slide as a continuation of the previous one if you need to cover more points
•across Europe, more than 3.6 million workers are exposed to diesel fumes above city background levels
•Add your business case to this slide. Put your recommendations, and include costs, resources and timescales. Remember that a balanced business case will also include the benefits, ie the return on investment. Remember to include things like the fact that new engines are more efficient and use less fuel. Some vehicles willattract lower tax
•If you present a problem to your employer with the solution already planned you are giving them an easy choice to make.
Things you could include:
- install diesel retrofit devices with verified technologies – for example, look at
- maintain, repair, rebuild, repower engines
- replace older vehicles and equipment
- improve operational strategies, for example, look at
- use cleaner fuels including natural gas and propane
- deliver toolbox talks and information on using personal protective equipment
- This leaflet may help you think through controls –
•in the UK, around 500,000 workers could be exposed to high levels of diesel fumes