Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to help reduce exposure to respirable crystalline silica in the workplace.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a well-established regulatory framework in place to protect workers from the health risks associated with exposure to hazardous substances at work.

Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) employers have a duty to prevent or adequately control worker exposure to hazardous substances such as Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS). COSHH sets out the hierarchy of control that must be implemented and, if managed appropriately, should result in achieving a level below the Work Exposure Limit (WEL) as detailed in HSE Guidance ‘EH40/2005, Workplace exposure limits’.

HSE also delivers communications campaigns to support its regulatory activity. These campaigns inform duty holders and workers of the hazards faced and how these should be controlled and monitored. HSE’s dust campaign which ran in late 2021, included silica exposure, and involved social media and press activity to support awareness of the risks and how to control them.