{"id":432,"date":"2009-11-16T05:57:50","date_gmt":"2009-11-16T05:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/?p=432"},"modified":"2009-11-16T13:13:21","modified_gmt":"2009-11-16T13:13:21","slug":"we-told-you-lead-was-dangerous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/2009\/11\/16\/we-told-you-lead-was-dangerous\/","title":{"rendered":"We told you lead was dangerous"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Recycling<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, this blog reported that although more than half of the lead we use worldwide is recycled, something presented by the industry as\u00a0a major green advance, production of the known poison, carcinogen, neuro- and reprotoxin is increasing (Lead \u2013 a case of right answer, wrong question<\/a>).<\/p>\n

And those workers involved in recycling activities \u2013 like processing scrap or dismantling electronic equipment and salvaging the valuable but highly dangerous toxins – could form an increasing part of the at risk but largely\u00a0ignored workforce.<\/p>\n

One factor that has allowed lead, known to be a toxin from antiquity, to persist in our workplaces and general environment, is the extraordinarily complacent workplace exposures standards and guidance around much of the world \u2013 and that includes the world\u2019s top two producers, China and the US.<\/p>\n

However, official agencies can be embarrassed into action. The UK last week withdrew its lead at work\u00a0guidance, as a direct result of criticism from Hazards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the UK government\u2019s official health and safety enforcer, removed advice on the dangers of working with lead from is website and axed the print version of the guide after the Hazards<\/em> magazine investigation revealed the watchdog greatly under-estimated health risks that could be affecting over 100,000 workers. <\/p>\n

The Hazards<\/em> article said the official health and safety warnings about the dangers of lead were so complacent the watchdog was guilty of \u201cextreme recklessness\u201d with workers\u2019 health. The current UK maximum exposure limit for males is set at 60 microgrammes of lead in 100ml (\u00b5g\/100ml) of blood, at which level workers must be suspended until their blood lead level falls.<\/p>\n

But the Hazards<\/em> report, \u2018Dangerous lead\u2019, points to substantial scientific evidence that much lower levels – as little as 10 to 20 (\u00b5g\/100ml), a fraction the current UK standard – can cause chronic, long-term ill health. \u2018Lead and you\u2019, HSE\u2019s main guidance for workers on the issue – and the guide subsequently retired by the watchdog –\u00a0takes a different line.<\/p>\n

It says: \u201cSerious ill-health problems rarely occur unless people have at least 100 microgrammes of lead per decilitre of blood.\u201d After publication on 6 November 2009 of the Hazards<\/em> report, HSE admitted the leaflet is misleading and has since removed it from the HSE website and its publications catalogue.<\/p>\n

In an HSE statement<\/a>, the watchdog said the guide would be replaced, adding the new version \u201cwill take into account the latest scientific developments and the language used to be clear about risks.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, though, the exposure standard remains unchanged. In October 2009, despite a series of recommendations from HSE expert committees that the lead standard should be reviewed in the light of evidence of risks significantly below the currently permitted exposure levels, HSE told Hazards<\/em> it had \u201cno intention\u201d of doing anything about it.<\/p>\n

However, in November 2009, after publication of the Hazards<\/em> report and the evidence it presented about risks at a fraction the UK permissible workplace standard, sources within HSE have indicated HSE will now revisit the standard.<\/p>\n

The annual general meeting of the Construction Safety Campaign decided last week that the UK should go much, much further.\u00a0After discussing the Hazards<\/em> report,\u00a0a\u00a0resolution was passed at the meeting calling for \u201ca ban on all uses of lead at work and for zero exposures for workers\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, this blog reported that although more than half of the lead we use worldwide is recycled, something presented by the industry as\u00a0a major green advance, production of the known poison, carcinogen, neuro- and reprotoxin is increasing (Lead \u2013 a case of right answer, wrong question). And those workers involved in recycling activities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[3,13,81,19,85],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":440,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432\/revisions\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazards.org\/greenjobs\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}