Print chemicals could cause asthma attacks, charity warns

17 March 2009

Business

Asthma UK has warned print companies that paper dust and some printing chemicals could cause fatal asthma attacks.

The charity has set up Business Against Asthma to help raise awareness of the risks in the workplace. A fundraising week, Putting Asthma in the Limelight, has also been organised in May.

Anne Breary, Business Development Officer, told PrintWeek: "Some substances that you come across in the printing industry can cause asthma as well as trigger asthma attacks for those who already suffer with the condition. In cases where it causes asthma, the condition can take weeks, months or even years to develop, depending on the person and the substance."

Problematic substances within the print sector include isocyanates, epoxy systems and rosin.

"Substances that can cause asthma are called respiratory sensitisers and when inhaled, can induce changes in the body’s immune system. This may mean that the next time a person is exposed to the same substance, their body reacts very dramatically, even if they have only been exposed to a very small amount of the substance."

More than 5m people have asthma in the UK including, on average, one in 11 of customers, clients or employees. Over 12m working days are lost to asthma every year.

Neil Churchill, Asthma UK’s chief executive, said: "Between 1,500 and 3,000 people in the UK develop occupational asthma each year. We hope this scheme will go some way towards helping businesses put vital measures in place to reduce triggers in the workplace, support staff and customers with asthma and to ultimately get these numbers down."