A joinery firm in Herne Hill has been fined £20,000 for failing to control its employees’ exposure to wood dust – which can cause significant health risks and even premature deaths.

F&E Joinery Limited was inspected in May 2022 as part of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) campaign targeting woodworking businesses as there were concerns about the significant health risks associated with exposure to wood dust.

During the visit, the inspector noticed “excessive levels of settled dust around the site”.

The inspection found some of the company’s machines had been disconnected from an exhaust ventilation system which extracts wood dust during machining.

This system significantly reduces the amount of wood dust that becomes airborne and inhaled when workers are using the machine.

HSE claimed that there was also no evidence that settled wood dust was being cleaned up.

Carpenters and joiners are four times more likely to develop occupational asthma compared with other UK workers.

Settled dust contains the fine particles that are most likely to damage the lungs.

F&E Joinery Limited had also been served with an enforcement notice relating to their control of wood dust on two previous occasions during the last ten years.

On April 21 2023, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, F & E Joinery Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health.

The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,500.

HSE inspector Marcus Pope said: “This case sends out a clear message to the industry that HSE will prosecute when inspectors find serious health and safety failings, particularly when previous enforcement and advice has been provided.

“Exposure to wood dust causes various occupational lung diseases which can significantly affect the quality of people’s lives, and in some cases result in premature death.

“HSE continues to target the woodworking industry and strongly urges businesses to consult its website for further information to ensure that control of exposure is managed, and their statutory duties are complied with.”