Category: Airborne hazardous substances

Proper asbestos protection is essential – conditions caused by asbestos exposure is responsible for approximately 5,000 deaths in the UK every year. While personal protective equipment (PPE) for asbestos includes a number of necessary components, this blog will focus on RPE. What does RPE stand for in PPE? Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) is a specific […]

Is Asbestos Really Still a Risk? Asbestos is still an ever-present danger but for many, they do not believe they will be affected by it and, therefore, do not take the necessary precautions when working in any industrial or residential building built or refurbished before the year 2000 (which is where Asbestos can be found).  […]

New Hazard of the Month! WA Management are pleased to announce that our hazard of the month for October will be Machinery Failure! We will be helping you to make sure you keep up-to-date with your inspections so that your equipment remains in the best condition, especially when this may have been neglected during lockdown! As […]

LEV (Local Exhaust Extraction) is an engineering control system to reduce exposures to airborne contaminants such as dust, mist, fumes, vapour or gas in a workplace by capturing the emission at source and transporting it to a safe emission point or to a filter/scrubber. Common components of an LEV system are as follows; Hood: This […]

Unsuitable PPE/Equipment As you may have already seen on our social media, WA Management’s hazard of the month for February is ‘Unsuitable PPE/Equipment.’ We have chosen this hazard after noticing instances on sites visits where PPE such as respiratory masks were being used despite not being face-fitted or incorrect working at height equipment being employed that was unsuitable for the task at […]

Construction work can sometimes produce dusts that can put workers health at risk and cause a number of lung diseases including: Lung Cancers, Silicosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Asthma. Construction dust is a general term that describes three main types found on a construction site, these are: Silica Dust – Created when working […]

RPE Update! There are masks (e.g https://buff.ly/35OQkhM) available to buy which are being advertised as ‘Press to Check’, offering an ‘effective facial fit.’ However, do not get caught out by this message; they still require an initial face-fit test prior to being used! It is important to remember that each standard will state whether facefit testing […]

Many tasks, such as cutting and handling volatile substances, require respiratory protection in the form of respirators. Respirators are a form of Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) (the other being breathing apparatus) designed to protect operatives from such hazards in environments when sufficient oxygen is present. RPE should only be worn after you have taken all […]

Respiratory Protective Equipment Many tasks involve hazards which require respiratory protection, such as: cutting, handling volatile substances or working in confined spaces where oxygen levels could be low. Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) is designed to protect operatives from such hazards. RPE should only be worn after you have taken all other reasonably practicable measures to […]

In this blog, WA Management continues its mission to shed a light on the risks and hazards present throughout the workplace. With Dust as our feature Hazard of the Month, we bring you our key opinions on the dangers of these flying particulates and the methods in which they can be safely managed. For our […]