MSDs and Respiratory Hazards Initiative Be prepared for upcoming MOL inspections blitz on MSDs and respiratory hazards

Learn what you can do to prepare for an Ontario Ministry of Labour construction health and safety inspection blitz, checking on musculoskeletal disorders and respiratory hazards, happening from October 1 to December 27, 2019.

For more information on MSD prevention, Occupational Disease prevention or to check MOL Blitz Schedules, visit the resources below.

Additional Resources

MOL What’s New

From September to December, the ministry will focus on musculoskeletal disorders and respiratory hazards. In the first phase, the ministry will work with its partners to educate employers on potential hazards. In the second phase, inspectors will visit workplaces in all sectors to ensure compliance. Learn more by visiting our website or by joining a webinar hosted by our health and safety partners.

Healthy workers in healthy workplaces – musculoskeletal disorders and respiratory hazards

This initiative is taking place in all sectors (i.e., construction, health care, industrial and mining).

Phase 1: Compliance assistance

Dates: September 1 to December 27, 2019

Partners: Infrastructure Health and Safety Association, Public Services Health and Safety Association, Workplace Safety and Prevention Services, Workplace Safety North and Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers

Phase 2: Focused inspections

Dates: October 1 to December 27, 2019

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Rationale

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the top lost time injury at work reported to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) in Ontario. In 2017, MSDs represented approximately one-third of all accepted WSIB lost time claims. There were over:

• 19,000 claims
• 462,000 days lost from work
• $72 million in direct WSIB costs

Initiative focus

Inspectors will check that:

• employers have provided training to workers on safe manual materials handling practices
• items are being manually handled in a safe manner
• items are being stored in a manner that does not endanger a worker when manually handling those items
• work areas and routes to and from work areas are kept free of obstructions so extra demands are not placed on workers when manually handling items
• access to and egress from a work area is appropriate so that physical demands are not increased
• adequate housekeeping is taking place so that a worker can use assistive devices (for example, carts) and there are not increased demands when manually handling items
• handling items while the worker is on a ladder is being performed in a safe manner

Resources and compliance assistance

• The ministry’s ergonomics in the workplace page explains occupational health and safety laws related to ergonomics and includes resources and guidance on ways to address hazards from poor ergonomics.
• The MSD Prevention Guideline for Ontario includes fact sheets, step-by-step guidelines on organizing a workplace program to prevent MSDs, a risk assessment tool, quick summaries of basic MSD hazards and a large resource library.

Respiratory Hazards

Rationale

Between 2008 and 2017, long latency illnesses – illnesses in which there is a long delay between exposure to a disease-causing agent and the appearance of disease symptoms – accounted for the largest proportion of allowed WSIB benefit costs. 70% of allowed long latency illness claims over the past 10 years come from: lung cancer, pleural plaques, mesothelioma, asbestosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which are all associated with respiratory exposures. Cancer Care Ontario and the Occupational Cancer Research Centre estimate that exposure to asbestos, diesel engine exhaust, crystalline silica and welding fumes cause approximately 1,300 cancer cases a year in Ontario.

Initiative focus

Gases, dusts, vapours, and fumes may be present at construction projects. They are referred to as ‘respiratory hazards’ when they can make a worker sick or die from being breathed in.

Examples of respiratory hazards include:

• lead dust and fumes from grinding, welding, cutting or brazing surfaces coated with lead-based paint
• silica dust from cutting and breaking concrete, sandblasting or removing refractory ceramic fibers
• solvent vapours from adhesives, paints, strippers, cleaning solvents, and spray coatings
• isocyanate vapours from spray foam insulation and certain spray paints, sealants and coatings
• carbon monoxide from operating gas-powered equipment in poorly ventilated work environments
• fumes and vapours from heated asphalt used in roofing and road paving
• dust and vapours associated with hardwood floor installation and finishing

Employers must take every reasonable precaution to reduce workers’ exposure to respiratory hazards. This includes putting in place:

• engineering controls (such as local exhaust ventilation)
• work practice controls (such as using wet-cutting techniques)
• administrative controls (such as minimizing the number of workers exposed to the hazard)

When workers cannot be adequately protected from respiratory hazards through engineering controls, work practices and administrative controls, employers must provide respiratory protective equipment suitable for the hazard to the workers and workers must use that equipment.

Inspectors will check that:

• proper controls and work practices are in place
• respirators are well maintained
• workers have been trained on how to use the respirators properly
• respirators are fitted to ensure an effective seal between the respirator and the worker’s face
• worker exposure to airborne concentrations of hazardous biological or chemical agents listed in Ontario Regulation 833 are under the occupational exposure limits set out in that regulation