Breathe Easy: Employer Legal Duties Around Dust Exposure

Dust may present a health and safety risk in almost any industry, particularly construction, mining, manufacturing, and agriculture.

Exposure to dust can create respiratory problems which can, in some cases, develop into life-threatening conditions such as silicosis, asthma or cancers. This creates an unsafe working environment for employees, and leaves employers open to criminal prosecution if they are found to be non-compliant with health and safety legislation. So what are your obligations as an employer?

The Law

As an employer, you have a general legal duty to ensure “so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare” of your employees and anyone affected by your undertakings.

However, there are also specific regulations under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 to assess the risks associated with dust exposure in the workplace and implement appropriate control measures.

Your risk assessment should include information on the hazardous nature of the dust, type of exposure and how it occurs, details of controls to be used, and arrangements for emergency procedures.

Control Measures

Under the hierarchy of controls, employers must:

• If possible, eliminate the use of the harmful product.
• Use a safer form of the product e.g., paste instead of powder.
• Change processes to emit less of the substance.
• Enclose the process so dust does not escape.
• Extract dust emissions by local exhaust ventilation (LEV) e.g., storage bins and hoppers, conveyors, mixing machines. If LEV is used, it must be checked regularly and undergo thorough examination and testing every 14 months.
• Minimise number of workers who are at risk/ reduce time workers are exposed.
• Provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as gloves, coveralls and a respirator.
• High standard of cleanliness and ventilation.
• Health Surveillance. This is critical for high-risk work where employees are exposed to silica, coal dust, or asbestos.

Recent Prosecutions

Failure to control dust exposure carries legal consequences as well as health risks.

In January 2025, Pendle Woodcraft (Blackburn) Limited was fined £6,000.00 for failing to implement adequate dust control measures. Despite multiple HSE inspections between 2015 and 2023, the company continued to expose workers to wood dust.

In another recent prosecution, Nat Pal Limited was fined £40,000.00 after entering a guilty plea for failing to ensure the safety of its employees as it had failed to manage the risks created by operating a wood-working business. Similar to the Pendle Woodcraft (Blackburn) Limited prosecution, the company had been visited previously by HSE, advised of the dust exposure issues, and failed to take positive action.

Farming and Dust Exposure

At the Balmoral Show last week, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) were raising awareness of the dangers of dust exposure, the impact on respiratory and lung health, and the signs and symptoms to watch out. This is a key theme of the NI Agri-Rural Health Forum & Farm Safety Partnership joint campaign to promote lung health for farmers.

Farmers are exposed to all kinds of dust, gases, chemicals and organic material in the course of their work, leaving them at risk developing ‘farmer’s lung’ and occupational asthma.

Recent statistics from Asthma + Lung UK Northern Ireland have revealed respiratory disease is one of the top three killers in Northern Ireland, with 1 in 5 people diagnosed with a lung condition at some point in their lifetime.

Therefore, it is important that as an employer, whether that be in the farming industry, construction industry or beyond, you comply with your obligations and take all reasonably practicable measures to protect employees from the risks associated with dust exposure in the workplace.

If you would like any further information or advice relating to health and safety law, please contact Eilis Maguire or another member of the Health & Safety team at Carson McDowell LLP.

*This document does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice that is tailored to your individual circumstances.