1 Chair. 2 Minutes of previous meeting: April Group Reports.

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1 IOSH EDINBURGH BRANCH Minutes of 239 Edinburgh Branch Meeting Peffermill Playing Fields, University of Edinburgh 12 th September 2013 at 2 pm Ms Helen Pearson Branch Secretary, Edinburgh Branch Director and Health and Safety Consultant Viridis Safety Ltd 21 Blackburn Road Addiewell, West Calder West Lothian, EH55 8NF Helen.Pearson@viridissafety.co.uk Sederunt: M Grimmer A Diment H Pearson R Balfry S Boucher A McLeod J Davis J Fell D Connell R Kent M Taylor V Stewart J O Kane J Cherrie R Ovens W Sepunan K O Donnell P Selwood C McEvoy J Jones L Murray M Sturgeon G Clark S Wilson J Neale A Bell R Archer I Boath P French L McCartney S Waddell J Burt C Green S McCann A Chalmers A Dick R Park K Flockart N Doherty K Boers J McGeough B Gunn B Cherrie B Cox A McNeil Apologies: L Young, G Neville, D Sinclair, A Thomson, M Campbell 1 Chair Mick Grimmer took the Chair and told the audience he was very proud and honoured to be sitting in the Chair s seat and welcomed everyone to the meeting. He outlined the safety arrangements (Fire) and reminded the audience to switch off their mobiles. 2 Minutes of previous meeting: April 2013 Minutes the meeting was approved. It did take a while for the accuracy to be proposed and seconded. Mick reiterated that it was important for the Branch to review the minutes. 2.1 Receipt If you are unable to find or download the minutes please Secretary; Helen.Pearson@viridissafety.co.uk Minutes can be found at Accuracy of Jan Mins Proposed by S Waddell Seconded by J McGeough 3 Group Reports 3.1 Branch Education Development Adviser No report 3.2 Forth & Tay District No report 3.3 Specialist Groups No report

2 4 External Events 4.1 Top tips for maximising safety in a shrinking budget, Working together for a safer, healthier Scotland FREE! Tuesday 22 October 2013: Eight Acres Hotel, Morriston Road, Elgin IV30 6UL Wednesday 23 October 2013: Perth Racecourse, Scone Palace Parklands, Perth PH2 6BB Thursday 24 October 2013: Hampden Park National Stadium, Glasgow G42 9BA This road show marks the start of an exciting partnership between IOSH Scotland and Healthy Working Lives (HWL). These events will run across Scotland during European Safety Week. Each day will provide a mix of presentations and round-table discussions with speakers from IOSH, HWL and local businesses. The road show will provide an opportunity for IOSH members and small businesses to network and explore ways of working together to share sources of support and assistance in developing sustainable safety and health management systems. Please contact the Bookings team on +44 (0) or bookings@iosh.co.uk. Sorry, we can t accept bookings after 15 October th Scottish Hazards Conference: Celebrating 20yrs of Scottish Hazards: Where next? Thursday, 15 November 2012, 10.00am 4.00pm, STUC, 333 Woodlands Road, Glasgow For further information about the Campaign, the Conference and details of Hazards meetings, see Scottish Chamber of Safety 65th Anniversary Conference Thursday 7th November 2013, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh This event is to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Scottish Chamber of Safety. The theme of the event is Safety Through The Years. There will be various speakers throughout the day talking on a range of safety related topics. Coffee and a buffet lunch will be provided. To book a place go to FREE Refurbishment Safety and Health Awareness Day Tuesday 8th October 2013, The Peak, Stirling Sports Village, Forthside Way, Stirling FK8 1QZ This is a event run by the industry for the industry as part of the UK-wide Working Well Together (WWT) campaign. The aim is not only to raise awareness of key health and safety issues facing the construction industry specific to your trade, but also to give practical advice on how to avoid risks. There is no charge for the event so BOOK NOW as places are limited. allan.mulholland@hse.gsi.gov.uk to book a place. 4.5 Dates for your Diary: Lothian and Borders, Fire Protection Association 23 rd Oct L&BFRS HQ 14:00 Watermist: Tony Hart, Technical Manager, Advanced Fire Technology 22nd Dec, L&BFRS HQ 14:00 Fire Safety in Historic Buildings: Sharon Haire, Historic Scotland PLUS Christmas drinks at Doctors bar for those who wish to attend after the meeting. 19 th Feb L&BFRS HQ 14:00 Emergency Lighting, Speaker: Andy Dickinson, Hochiki Europe (UK) Limited 26 th Mar L&BFRS HQ 14:00 TBC: Smoke Masks, Hagan 4th, 5th or 6th June Students Union, Teviot Place, Edinburgh 12 noon AGM followed by lunch. 5 Members Items 5.1 Secretary s Sipper Cancelled due to lack of interest.

3 5.2 Job Spot None this month 5.3 From the floor? (this is your opportunity to share problems & ideas with your peers) There were a couple of enquires from the floor: Alan Dick stood up and updated the group of FFI and that HSE are currently focussing on construction sites. Also, there is a proposed change to the Asbestos documents Colin McEvoy asked if anyone had undertaken any behavioural safety programmes and if so could they talk to him about they had used and how they had found them. Rupert Balfry stood up and asked about the cutting teeth on a diamond saw and what PPE should be worn and the chances of parts flying off the saw. 6 Short Talk: Navigating the IOSH Branch Website - Ali McLeod, Branch Webmaster The Edinburgh Branch Microsite is hosted within the IOSH website. Up until a few years ago Edinburgh and other IOSH Branches had their own websites managed by their committees and Max Bancroft did a sterling service to keep our own website up to date. In 2010, IOSH decided to host all of the Branch websites to give a more consistent, corporate image. The individual committees still manage the information on the respective websites but they now all have a similar look and livery. The Committee still manage the content of the microsite but have no real say in the format of the website. You ll find IOSH on the internet under (these numbers refer to the slide in the presentation) Following down the right hand side of the page you can select Branches (3); then Edinburgh Branch (4) to take you to the Edinburgh Branch Home Page (5) where you ll find information on the Edinburgh Branch. Note: All of the blue texts on these pages are hypertext links to other pages on the site or sites of interest. The menus on the left hand side of the page lead to the core content of the microsite: Following down the LHS menus: By selecting Branch Events (6) you ll be taken to a page outlining our events (7): here you can download a printable flyer with our current programme (8) to keep on your desk or in your briefcase. If you d rather just view the information online then follow the links (9) to the Branch Programme (10) for a view of the year ahead. Whilst you are in the events menu, you will also find details of the venue (11) for our routine Branch meetings, giving directions and vital travel links. The External Events page (12) gives information on local events which are likely to be of interest to Branch members: usually these events are in Scotland. If you as a Branch member find out about external events which we haven t as yet advertised then you can always get in touch with the Committee and we will try to put it on the website. From the LHS menu on the Edinburgh Home Page you ll find the menu for the Branch Minutes (13): follow this and you will be able to locate minutes for our Branch meetings going back as far as 1999 (14). If you wish to view the latest minutes then follow the on the left hand side menu link (15), which will take you to the listing of the meetings held in that year (16) with links to the respective minutes (17) and slide show presentations and photos of the event if applicable. From the LHS menu on the Edinburgh Home Page you can find out more about the Committee by following the Branch Committee (18) link where you ll find a list of the current members and their roles (19). Continue on to the Meet the Committee (20)(21) to see their photos and, if required, follow the link under the respective photos to read the committee members profile (22). Using this page as an example, (23) you can see the navigation links at the top and bottom of each page: these links help you step back to the most likely pages without multiple use of the back button.

4 From the LHS menu on the Edinburgh Home Page Back you ll find help on Branch Member Development (24) with links to sources of assistance with your IPD or CPD. We also have a Social Section (25), which currently hosts two items: the Roger Midson Challenge and the Secretary s Sipper Competition (26). Normally these events are held annually... We also host the Forth and Tay District microsite (27) within the Edinburgh site. Here you ll be able to find out all about the District by following the menus on the left hand side of the Edinburgh Branch Home page. On the right hand side of the Edinburgh Branch Home Page (28) you ll find our upcoming events. This section shows Branch and District events for the next couple of months. These events are in the Connect Diary and in the Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP). Following the link here, or from Connect, will lead to the event details (29); i.e. venue, times, speaker information etc. Also on the right hand side menus of the Edinburgh Branch Home Page is the Breaking News link (30). On this page (31) we expect to have news on upcoming events, information on changes to web pages etc. and by following the links you ll be taken to the relevant page (32). We suggest you take a look on the News pages regularly as they may change frequently. If you log In to IOSH (33)(34), as you would do when updating your CPD etc., then come back to the Edinburgh Branch Home Page (35) you ll see that you ve unlocked the members only pages. These pages (36) are only visible to Edinburgh Branch Members and authorised IOSH personnel. We have not made much use of these pages so far as we are willing to share the information we have; however if we have a need to share information only with the members then we will use these pages. If you as a Branch member have information or hints & tips which you would like to share with your colleagues then you can always get in touch with the Committee and we will try to put it on the website, possibly in the members only section. Remember though we cannot advertise jobs or products and all content on the website must meet standards set by IOSH. This then is the Edinburgh Branch Microsite (37). The remaining information on the page, the hot tips the advertisements etc., is generated by IOSH and the Branch Committee has no control over it. 7 Main Talk: COPD and Low Toxicity Dust John Cherrie, Director IOM. [you could follow the link to listen to Professor John Cherrie s talk: Copd and dust] 7.1 Summary There has been a gradual realisation that exposure to most dusts can harm the lung. The unifying factor may be the surface area and surface properties of the dust: even relatively low exposure to low-toxicity dust may be harmful and current exposure limits are probably not protective. Exposures are lower than in the past and so current exposure limits are not helpful: many people are probably still exposed 7.2 COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is characterised by progressive airflow obstruction and destruction of lung. It is caused by chronic exposure of genetically susceptible individuals to environmental factors. It is associated with an enhanced chronic inflammatory response: smoking is an important cause, but about a quarter of COPD patients are non-smokers. 7.3 Lung function assessments Symptoms of COPD include: Dyspnea (breathlessness) Chronic cough Chronic sputum production Episodes of acute worsening of these symptoms (exacerbations) often occur Spirometry is used to make a clinical diagnosis - the presence of a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC < Mild if FEV1 80% predicted Moderate if 50% FEV1 < 80% predicted

5 7.4 HSE says Work related COPD is a priority because of the human costs in terms of suffering, its effects on the quality of life and the financial costs due to working days lost and medical treatment. Around 15% of COPD may be caused or made worse by dusts, fumes and irritating gases. 4,000 COPD deaths every year may be related to work exposures. 40% of COPD patients are below retirement age and a quarter of those with COPD below retirement age are unable to work at all. 7.5 Inert or nuisance particulates Published by Department of Employment as Technical Data Note 2/69, the Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) 1969 were: TLV = 15 mg/m 3 or 50 mppcf of total dust <1% crystalline silica. a number of dusts or particulates that occur in the working environment ordinarily produce no specific effects upon prolonged inhalation. 7.6 Nuisance particulate By 1974 the limit was reduced: TLV 10 mg/m 3 or 30 mppcf, <1% crystalline silica. when inhaled in excessive amounts, so called nuisance dusts have a long history of little adverse effect on the lungs and do not produce significant organic disease or toxic effect when exposure is kept under reasonable control. By 1980 TLV was reduced to: 30 mppcf or 10 mg/m 3 of total dust <1% quartz or 5 mg/m 3 of respirable dust. 7.7 Dust, not otherwise specified In 1984, the HSE publish Guidance Note EH40, Occupational Exposure Limits and recommended a limit of 10 mg/m 3 of total dust or 5 mg/m 3 of respirable dust. 7.8 COSHH Regulations From 1988 the definition of a substance hazardous to health included dust of any kind present at a concentration in air greater than 10 mg/m 3, as a time-weighted average over an 8-hours, of total inhalable dust, 5 mg/m 3, as a time-weighted average over an 8-hours, of respirable dust. From 1997 revised sampling criteria for respirable dust and the limit was reduced from 5 mg/m 3 to 4 mg/m Low toxicity dusts Low toxicity dusts do NOT include: quartz, asbestos or toxic metals. Low toxicity dusts could include: amorphous silica, silicon, silicon carbide, pulverised fuel ash, limestone, gypsum, graphite, aluminium oxide, titanium dioxide, coal dust, other mineral dusts with low crystalline silica content, etc How many people are exposed to dusts? Estimated as 9,200,000 Manufacturing - 29% Construction - 19% Hospitality - 11% Professional etc. - 9% Wholesale/retail - 8% Agriculture - 6% Utility - 5% 7.11 Past exposure to dust In British coal mines in the 1940s dust levels could be very high Exposures decreased over time: Respirable vs Inhalable Which size fraction causes the adverse health effects? How are these size fractions related? Implicitly one might expect inhalable dust to be about twice respirable dust levels (based on the limits). In typical situations inhalable dust is probably between about 2 and 5 times respirable dust concentrations

6 7.13 Respirable vs Inhalable: PVC dust A Study of 818 workers in a PVC manufacturing plant - highest respirable dust levels about 2.5 mg/m 3 FEV1 was statistically significantly lower among men with higher PVC dust exposure. This is equivalent to a loss of 52 ml of FEV1 for the mean cumulative respirable dust exposure, equivalent to 0.7 mg/m 3 for 20 years Some people become seriously disabled The average reduction in lung function is relatively modest when compared with the effects of aging or cigarette smoking. However, 12% of those exposed at the limit for 40 years would be twice as likely as controls to report breathlessness. 7% would report walking slower than other people on the same level because of my chest 7.15 Surface area is an important factor Inflammatory response (neutrophils) in bronchoalveolar lavage: TiO2, CB and latex 7.16 unifies biological response to dusts: A No Observed Adverse Effect Level We used a mathematical model based on animal toxicity data to estimate the NOAEL for low toxicity dust TiO 2 based on avoiding overload, i.e. the impairment of clearance and recruitment of inflammatory cells into the lung. Inflammation judged as beginning when neutrophils (PMN) constituted 2% of the total cells in the lung. Analysis estimated human NOAEL as 1.3 mg/m Our recommendation The current British limit values for respirable and inhalable dusts (4 and 10 mg/m3, respectively) are unsafe and it would be prudent to reduce exposures as far below these limits as is reasonably practicable. We suggest that, until safe limits are put in place, employers should aim to keep exposure to respirable dust below 1 mg/m For more information Cherrie J, Brosseau LM, Hay A, Donaldson K (2013) A Commentary for the Annals of Occupational Hygiene: Low-Toxicity Dusts: Current Exposure Guidelines Are Not Sufficiently Protective. Annals of Occupational Hygiene. 8 Dates of next meetings: Edinburgh Branch: 10 th Oct: Communicating emotional impacts, Louise Taggart, FACK, & CPD Update; Glenys Neville, IOSH Networks Officer Scotland Tay District: 7th Nov: Managing safety on the Forth Road Bridge; Mick Grimmer, Health and Safety Manager, Forth Road Bridge. Helen Pearson LFOH, FIIRSM RSP, CMIOSH Branch Secretary Alli McLeod CMIOSH Web Keeper

Occupational exposure limits for dusts

WORKING FOR A HEALTHY FUTURE Occupational exposure limits for dusts John Cherrie Martie van Tongeren Lang Tran INSTITUTE OF OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE. Edinburgh. UK www.iom-world.org Summary There has been