Is your workplace making your asthma worse?

Asthma can be triggered by many things both at work and away from work, including:
  • smoking or being exposed to someone else's smoke
  • dust
  • fumes
  • allergens (from dust mite, animals etc)
  • physical exertion
  • stress
  • cold air
Symptoms include:
  • cough (either a dry cough or one that produces mucus).  Often people whose asthma is caused by work or whose asthma is made worse by work will notice the cough predominantly at night
  • shortness of breath or chest tightness
  • wheezing

If symptoms tend to arise closely after exposure, the person will often be very aware of the substance or area of the work site which makes their problem worse.  All of these symptoms may improve when the person isn't at work.

Are you at risk of developing asthma at work?

Sometimes people who have never had asthma before can develop asthma through an allergic reaction to a substance in the work place.  This may happen even after years of working safely with the substance.  Sometimes the allergic reaction (and therefore the symptoms) doesn't develop until some hours after the exposure.  It is therefore often difficult to identify the workplace as the cause.

Other people develop asthma for the first time in the workplace after heavy exposure to irritants of the breathing tubes, such as welding fumes or gaseous vapours like sulphur dioxide.

In New Zealand many substances or processes are recognised as causing asthma problems.  The more common exposures include:
  • Working with chemicals such as those used in some paints and glues, foam manufacture etc, or epoxy resins.  Common industries include spray painting and boat building
  • Working with wood dusts.  Problem dusts include western red cedar, rimu and some particle boards (building and joinery industries)
  • Being exposed to metal fumes or dusts (aluminium smelting, welding etc)
  • Being exposed to dust from organic sources such as flour, animals and insects

The prevalence of occupational asthma is higher in smokers.

What can you do if you suspect something at work is causing you to develop asthma or is making your asthma worse?

Talk about the problem with your doctor or the occupational health
nurse if one visits your workplace. The doctor will ask you to:
 
  • note what substances or processes you are exposed to in your work
  • note if your symptoms worsen during each shift or over a roster period
  • note of there is any improvement away from work
  • measure and record a peak flow measurement
 

This period should cover time at work and time away from work.

If a workplace process or substance is causing or making your asthma worse, there are several steps that you can explore with your employer to lessen the problem.  They are:

ELIMINATION

Can the substance or process be changed for something less harmful?

For example, one electronics firm eliminated soldering by riveting components to circuit boards.

ISOLATING

Can the substance or process be isolated to a special place in the work site or time of day when most people will not be exposed?

A manufacturer restricts its production of playground rubber mats to a period at the end of the day when most of the staff are off work.  By the time the staff return the next day the fumes have gone.

MINIMISATION

Can the equipment be improved to reduce the exposure?

A joinery factory improved its ventilation and extraction equipment to reduce dust levels.  This is always a better method than relying on masks for protection.

What can you or your employer do if you are not sure if there is a problem at work?

The occupational safety and health service of the department of labour (OSH) can be contacted under "L" - (labour, department of) in the telephone book for advice.  They have resources to provide information and advice about workplace hazards and the best (and most practicable) means of controlling these problems if they exist.  Your union may also be able to offer help.