Workers of specific industries can face critical health conditions years after the first exposure to dust. Airway diseases such as silicosis and asbestosis are notorious for progressing slowly but lethally. Although such diseases are easy to avoid by taking necessary care, recklessness and negligence can make way for deadly infections.
Prior to being involved with such works, it is advised to the workers to make sure the protective equipment provided by the employers are sufficient and industry-grade. As providing a safe workplace is the employer’s responsibility, the employer might be in legal trouble if this duty is breached. Workers that are suffering from such mortal disease can claim hazardous dust disease compensation to cover their loss.
Hazardous dust prevention
It is the employers’ legal obligations to prevent the exposure to such disease as under the laws, employers owe a duty to their workers to provide a safe working environment. Workers of industries such as import-export, warehouse management, stone cutting, mining, railroad, construction and workers of dockyards are considered as workers that are in the highest risk group to dust exposure. However, exposure to dust can be easily avoidable by being equipped with sufficient, up-to-date, correct and durable working equipment.
The common mistakes while taking preventive measures against dust exposure are mostly being provided with insufficient equipment or the misuse of working equipment. Research shows many infected workers mention the absence of professional gears and being provided with simple paper masks which are obviously insufficient for industrial use as crystalline silica dust and asbestos are below a micron size. Which means daily purpose face masks are likely to fail as protective equipment. However, regularly working in such hazardous environment require intense attention both for the job and self-care, and for the maintenance of the equipment. Such working equipment have limited lifespans. Which means, even the strongest and most durable equipment will wear off and lose efficiency.
Hazardous dust disease
Asbestos and crystalline silica dust are among the most notorious sources of lethal and progressive dust disease. After being infected with the disease, the victim should seek immediate medical aid as the first symptoms of these diseases can be given at later stages of the disease. An infected individual can sustain permanent and fatal respiratory system and lung diseases. It can take up to 10 years to be aware of asbestosis and silicosis as these diseases are known as progressive diseases and once noticed, it can even be too late to take an action. For this reason, workers should make sure the environment they work in is safe and isolated from the hazard factors.
Employer responsibilities
Generally speaking, for workplace hazards prevention, it is the employer’s duty to keep the workplace safe all the time. Not only for dust disease, but the employers also owe this duty to workers in every industry. As an example, construction yard workers can be working in a workplace full of hazardous elements even if the danger is unnoticeable. Cranes can fail, construction debris can fall down, workers can slip, trip and fall and be hit by moving objects and vehicles. These and similar hazards should be prevented by the employers at all costs as failing to do so can be determined as negligence by the court. Employers found negligent by the court can face penalties that can be hard to deal with.
Recovering loss due to dust diseases
Victims of dust exposure can get into contact with a dust disease lawyer and understand how the process works. Under the Workers Compensation Act, workers suffering from dust diseases can be eligible to be awarded monetary damages to recover their loss and ease their difficulties.