Risks in the workplace
Doing some jobs can increase your risk of lung disease and cause ‘occupational lung disease’. This is because of the materials that you might come into contact with at work.
If you are diagnosed with an occupational lung disease you might be entitled to benefits and compensation.
What is occupational lung disease?
An ‘occupational lung disease’ is a lung disease connected with someone's occupation - their job. It is a disease caused by something you come into contact with at work.
The term ‘occupational lung disease’ covers a group of different lung conditions. Each condition is different, and affects your lungs in a different way.
Some occupational lung diseases affect the tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs (our 'airways'). Occupational asthma is an example of this sort of problem.
Other occupational lung diseases may affect the tiny air sacs through which oxygen is transferred into the blood from the air we breathe. 'Farmer's lung' is an example of this.
Other conditions may affect the thin lining between our lungs and our ribcage. Asbestos can cause a number of different occupational diseases here.
The factor which links them all is that they have been caused by something in the working environment.
The type of treatment you receive will depend on the type of lung disease you have.
Occupational asthma
Asthma is a lung condition that affects the tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs (the 'airways').
Some jobs that are at risk include:
- bakers (people develop an allergy to something in the flour, or additives, and the allergy causes the asthma)
- electricians (soldering flux)
- people involved in paint spraying and plastics (chemicals called isocyanates)
- jobs which bring people into contact with natural latex rubber (medical gloves)
People with asthma have sensitive airways which become irritated in some situations. The airways become narrow and sometimes produce more mucus than usual. This makes it difficult to breathe.
Hundreds of different substances in the workplace have now been identified as being capable of causing asthma. If you have asthma that is caused by something at work, then you have 'occupational asthma'.
However, anybody with asthma may find that dusty or fume-filled air makes their symptoms worse. If your workplace is like this then your asthma may be worse at work. But this is asthma that is made worse by work, it is not caused by it. In this case it is not really occupational asthma.
There are very many more causes - and some have not yet been identified. Occupational asthma usually develops after months or even years of contact with the substance.
During this time, it may have had no effect at all. People then begin to notice problems that get worse during a shift and over the working week.
They notice that their symptoms get better when they're away from work. Rhinitis - a blocked or runny nose - often happens alongside occupational asthma.
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
COPD is a term used for a number of conditions including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. COPD leads to damaged airways in the lungs, causing them to become narrower and making it harder for air to get in and out of the lungs. The word 'chronic' means that the problem is long-term.
Coal miners and people who have welded in confined spaces for long periods (for instance, shipyard welders) may develop COPD.
People who have worked with cadmium might do as well. People who have been exposed to dust and fumes for a long time in other industries may develop COPD, but there is not enough medical evidence yet to know for sure.
Occupational alveolitis
The alveoli are the tiny air sacs in our lungs where oxygen passes into our blood. You can have an allergic reaction that affects the alveoli if you breathe in tiny particles called proteins, which can be floating in the air.
If you are suddenly exposed to a large amount of these proteins, it can make you very ill. This illness comes on very fast, and can cause fever, breathlessness and widespread problems in your system.
Smaller amounts of proteins over long periods of time can lead gradually to permanent scarring of the lungs.
Farmer's lung (caused by a fungus in mouldy hay) is the best known example. There are many others, though, especially among people who work in growing or processing food.
The same illness occurs in pigeon breeders, and sometimes in people who just keep a pet bird, such as a budgie or a parrot.
Diseases caused by asbestos
Breathing in asbestos fibres can damage your lungs. People who have been exposed to asbestos at work are at the highest risk. This includes:
- Carpenters
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Laggers
- Painters
- Builders
If you are exposed to large quantities of asbestos, it can cause lung cancer.
Lung cancer - which starts in the airways - is not the same asmesothelioma.
This is another cancer which is also caused by asbestos, but it starts in the lining of the lungs. It can take much less asbestos to cause mesothelioma than lung cancer.
Radioactivity also increases the risk of lung cancer. So does work with nickel and some sorts of chromium.
As well as mesothelioma, asbestos can cause non-cancerous conditions in the lining of the lungs.
'Pleural plaques' are areas of scar tissue that do not cause or become cancer and, in general, do not cause symptoms either.
‘Diffuse pleural thickening’ is when the lining of the lung becomes thicker. This can stop the lung from expanding, and so it can cause breathlessness.
Asbestosis is a condition where lung damage and scarring is caused by breathing asbestos fibres.
What do I do if I think I may have an occupational lung disease?
You must talk to your GP. Give details of your symptoms, your job and the materials that you work with.
You will almost always need to see a lung specialist at a hospital for a full diagnosis. They will do some tests. These may include a chest X-ray, blood tests, and detailed lung function tests.
If the doctor thinks you might have occupational asthma, you will usually be asked to use something called a peak flow meter, several times a day. This is a small piece of equipment that checks your breathing.
You will need to do this test both at home and at work to see if your breathing changes depending on where you are. Other occupational lung diseases (especially those associated with asbestos) may need a type of scan called a CT scan.
What happens if I do have an occupational lung disease?
It's very important to find out if you do have an occupational lung disease. This is because if you carry on working with the cause of your illness, then you may have permanent problems.
Employers must make your work safe, and try to find you a working environment and working practices which will not cause further problems. Sometimes, you might need to change job.
If you are diagnosed with with an occupational lung disease you might be entitled to benefits and compensation. Find out more aboutyour rights.
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