The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has hosted an event that brought together a range of people to share their thoughts on how to make a bigger impact in tackling occupational disease.
Around 450,000 new cases of occupational-related ill-health are reported annually, with past exposures to harmful substances responsible for an estimated 12,000 or more premature deaths each year.
HSE Chair, Judith Hackitt, said:
“We often focus on what has been achieved in reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries in Britain’s workplaces year on year, but every year these figures are dwarfed by the number of people who die prematurely from occupational disease as a result of exposure to harmful substances and conditions at work.
“The scale of the challenge and some of the complicating factors can make the challenge of addressing occupational disease seem daunting, but there are some examples of activities that have made a real difference. It takes a variety of interventions from supply chain working to improve equipment, new guidance to raise awareness and change working methods and sharing of good practice among businesses to bring about change. It takes action now to change the legacy of occupational disease for years to come.”