HSE raises pulmonary disease awareness

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is highlighting the risks from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a condition in which the airways become narrowed as a result of chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema.

It is estimated that around 15% of COPD cases may be caused or made worse by work, with around 4,000 COPD deaths every year related to work exposures.

The main cause of COPD is cigarette smoking, but exposure to dusts in the workplace can worsen and even cause COPD, even in people who don't smoke - coal miners, for example.

The HSE's COPD pages, including "top tips" for preventing the release of dusts and fumes at work, are at www.hse.gov.uk/copd/index.htm