Rubber Industry Health and Safety

Rubber Industry Health and Safety

Duncan Lewis Industrial Claims Solicitors – No win no fee Rubber Industry Health and Safety Claims

The rubber industry was formerly associated with higher risks of bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer risks have diminished owing to the removal of ßeta naphthylamine from production techniques – but the Rubber Industry Advisory Committee (RUBIAC) has found from clinical studies that exposure to rubber dust may increase the risk of workers developing stomach cancer, while exposure to vulcanising fume may increase lung cancer risks.

Since 1986, there have been legal limits on exposure to rubber dust and vulcanising fume – and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sets workplace exposure limits (WELs) for workers in the rubber industry:

• Rubber dust process - 6 mg/m3
• Rubber fume – 0.6 mg/m3

Rubber manufacturers are expected to monitor air quality at factories on an annual basis and follow guidelines under the Control of Substances Harmful to Health (COSHH) 2002.

However, workers in the rubber industry may still develop life-threatening disease as a result of chronic exposure to rubber dust or fume in the workplace, including

• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder)
• Leukaemia
• Lung cancer
• Lymphosarcoma
• Respiratory diseases
• Stomach cancer.

 

Chemicals used in the rubber industry – such as benzene – can cause a range of symptoms, including:

 

• Anaemia
• Benzene cancers (leukaemia)
• Bone marrow disease
• White blood cell disorders.

Natural rubber Latex (NRL) can also cause allergic reactions in some workers, such as:

• Latex Type1 Allergy is the most severe and involves an immediate reaction to latex, possibly involving skin rash, respiratory problems and even anaphylactic shock requiring immediate hospital care.
• Latex Type IV Allergy is a less severe allergic reaction to latex, which occurs some hours after a worker is exposed to NRL.

Employers have a legal duty to ensure workers are protected from exposure to rubber dust and fume – including assessing working practices, advising ensuring good ventilation and air quality at rubber manufacturing plants and arranging any health checks workers need.

Duncan Lewis industrial claims solicitors can advise workers in the rubber industry who have been diagnosed with industrial diseases as a result of lapses in health and safety at work on how to make a no win no fee rubber industry compensation claim.

Making a Claim for Industrial Disease in Rubber Industry

Workers who have been diagnosed with disease relating to exposure to rubber dust or fume have three years from the date of diagnosis in which to make a no win no fee compensation claim, if an employer has failed to protect a worker from developing industrial cancer – or has failed to advise a worker of the risks under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002.

Because diseases like cancer can take years to develop, Duncan Lewis industrial claims solicitors can help with tracing the insurers of a former employer using the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) and records held at Companies House. Even if an employer is no longer in business or a company was taken over a former employer’s business, it is still possible to trace the Employers' Liability (EL) insurer to make a claim for a disease relating to exposure to rubber dust or fume in the workplace.

Duncan Lewis can also advise bereaved families whose loved one has lost their life from disease caused by exposure to rubber dust or fume – or was diagnosed at post-mortem with an industrial disease after working in the rubber industry – on how to make a no win no fee compensation claim.

Duncan Lewis Industrial Claims Solicitors – No win no fee Rubber Health and Safety Compensation Claims

Duncan Lewis industrial claims solicitors are leading firm of no win no fee lawyers and can advise victims of industrial diseases and their families on how to make rubber health and safety compensation claims – including historic cases where a disease or degenerative condition caused by exposure to hazardous rubber dust or fume at work has been diagnosed.

Duncan Lewis industrial claims solicitors employ medical experts in industrial diseases if it is necessary to prove a link between a claimant’s employment and later being diagnosed with a disease caused by exposure to rubber dust, vulcanising rubber fume or latex in the workplace.

Because of the limitation period for making claims for diseases caused by rubber industry health and safety breaches, Duncan Lewis industrial claims solicitors advise claimants to get in touch as soon as possible after diagnosis of industrial disease caused by working in the rubber industry to discuss making a compensation claim.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Rubber Health and Safety Compensation Claims call Duncan Lewis Industrial Claims Solicitors on 020 7923 4020.