Helping you prevent occupational lung disease in the construction industry
Breathe Freely Canada (BFC) aims to prevent occupational lung disease in Canada, which causes significant, debilitating, and avoidable ill health and deaths every year. Breathe Freely Canada is about raising awareness of the problem and how to do something about it: we can protect workers’ health and prevent most of these diseases and deaths. It is not just “the right thing to do”, it is good for business as well.
Right now, we are focused on the construction industry. And specifically, we’re tackling lung disease in construction. Why? Because we have to start somewhere and the facts about this sector are particularly shocking!
BFC is an initiative of the Canadian Registration Board of Occupational Hygienists (CRBOH), the Canadian certifying body for occupational hygiene professionals committed to protecting worker health. BFC has been adapted from the original highly successful UK Breathe Freely program developed by the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS).
Every year in Canada, people die from lung diseases which were linked to past exposures at work
Construction workers in Canada are more likely to die from an occupational disease than a workplace accident. *
We all can protect workers’ health and actually prevent most of these deaths through good occupational hygiene practices. Or to put it simply, by recognizing the hazards, evaluating the risks, and controlling exposures.
People at work – that means everyone, employers and employees – need to recognize what the greatest hazards in the workplace actually are and properly understand the real risks these pose to workers’ health.
Then they need to control their exposure to them. It’s time to start managing health like we manage safety in our Canadian workplaces.
This is where Breathe Freely Canada comes in.
Treat health like safety
We believe that construction employers - managers and supervisors - have a key role to play in minimizing health risks. YOU can protect your employees by making sure hazards are recognized, risks are evaluated and exposures are effectively controlled. And we can help you do that by providing the information, resources and signposting to the advice and expertise that we know you sometimes need.
Breathe Freely Canada Supports The Health In Industry Management Standard
The Health in Industry Management Standard is about protecting people from workplace health risks. Because getting this bit right is critical in protecting workers and preventing occupational ill-health and disease.
