Data snapshot - Occupational lung diseases

Occupational lung diseases (OLDx) are conditions of the respiratory system caused by workplace exposure to hazardous chemicals and dusts including:

  • pneumoconiosis, which includes:
    • asbestosis
    • silicosis
    • coal worker’s pneumoconiosis
  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • hypersensitivity pneumonitis
  • mesothelioma
  • work-related asthma
  • occupational lung infections (Lung Foundation Australia n.d.)

Hazards that can cause occupational lung diseases include:

  • air pollution
  • airborne inorganic lead
  • aluminium
  • asbestos
  • bushfire smoke
  • carcinogens
  • coal dust
  • cotton dust
  • dust of hard metals, such as tungsten, tungsten carbide, and cobalt
  • gases or fumes
  • hazardous chemicals
  • microorganisms
  • pollen
  • respirable crystalline silica
  • talc dust
  • wood dust (SWA n.d.)

Workers can be exposed to these hazards during activities such as:

  • construction
  • excavation
  • fabricating, processing, installing, maintaining or removing engineered stone products
  • tunnelling, quarrying and mining
  • use of inorganic pesticides and herbicides
  • use of machinery or equipment that generates dust or fumes
  • working with domesticated and wild animals

Download the infographic versions here:

National data

Deaths

Between 2011 and 2020, 1,451 Australians died from lung diseases caused by exposure to dust. 90% of these deaths were among men. The most common condition leading to such deaths – responsible for over 80% of deaths – was pneumoconiosis from exposure to asbestos and other mineral fibres (ABS 2021a).

Mesothelioma (a cancer mostly caused by asbestos exposure) resulted in 6,799 deaths in Australia between 2011 and 2020.[1] Australia has among the highest rates of Mesothelioma in the world (AIHW 2021).

The Australian Lung Foundation estimates that occupational exposure contributes to approximately 29% of lung cancers in men and 5% in women (Lung Foundation 2017). In 2020 lung cancer was the fourth most common cause of death in Australia (ABS 2021a) and it is the leading cause of cancer death in Australia (Cancer Australia 2022).

Workers’ compensation claims

OLDx are both underreported and ambiguously coded in the national and state and territory workers’ compensation data sets, complicating the use of such data to track the prevalence of OLDx and OLDx trends (Hoy and Brims 2017: 443; Alief et al. 2019: 50-51).

From 2007-08 to 2016-17 there were 7,185 accepted workers compensation claims for respiratory diseases. Where a specific condition was recorded, the most common conditions leading to such claims were asthma (15%) and asbestosis (12%) (Alief et al. 2019: 34).

Improving the data

The current lack of quality data regarding OLDx in Australia has led to the establishment of the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry, which is expected to be operational in late 2022. The establishment of the Registry was a recommendation of the National Dust Disease Taskforce. This taskforce was established in response to a re-emergence of silicosis in the Australian community in recent years – largely due to the increasing popularity of engineered stone products (National Dust Disease Taskforce 2021: 7-9).

ACT data

Deaths

24 people died in the ACT between 2011 and 2020 from lung diseases caused by exposure to dust.

During the same period, 86 people in the ACT died from mesothelioma (ABS 2021b).

Workers’ compensation data

There were 126 accepted workers’ compensation claims in the ACT due to respiratory system diseases between 2017-18 and 2020-21. Asthma was the most common condition resulting in a respiratory disease claim. The most common kind of incident leading to such claims was single contact with a chemical or substance.

These claims were evenly split between men and women. The age group with the largest number of such claims was 25-34. The health care and social assistance industry accounted for approximately 40% of such claims (double the number of any other industry). The occupations with the greatest number of claims were carers and teachers.

WorkSafe ACT’s response 

In 2021 WorkSafe launched a proactive inspection campaign focused on preventing exposure to silica dust. As part of this campaign, WorkSafe’s Dangerous Substances Team has conducted inspections of ACT business engaged in the preparation of engineered stone products. The team has issued over 30 improvement or prohibition notices, most commonly for breaches of the ACT’s WHS legislation concerning the provision and use of PPE (WHS Regulations s44) and the provision of health monitoring for workers using, handling, generating, or storing hazardous chemicals (WHS regulations s368).

In January 2022, WorkSafe ACT launched its Strategy for Preventing Occupational Lung Diseases 2021-2023 (the Plan).  

The Plan is focused on addressing occupational lung diseases in the Territory by:

  • Increasing awareness of exposures that cause occupational lung diseases through general and targeted awareness campaigns.
  • Supporting compliance with managing exposure risks through the development of a risk assessment process for exposures and the development and promotion of prevention-focused materials.
  • Enforcing compliance in managing exposures that lead to occupational lung diseases

Hazards identified for priority for the strategy include:

  • work-related and work exacerbated asthma
  • silica-related diseases
  • chemicals, dusts, gases and fumes, and
  • weather and air quality

Resources for PCBUs and workers

Safe Work Australia, Occupational Lung Diseases

Safe Work Australia, Clean Air. Clean lungs

Lung Foundation Australia, Occupational Lung Disease – Overview

WorkSafe ACT, Strategy for Preventing Occupational Lung Diseases 2021-2023

WorkSafe ACT, Silica Dust

WorkSafe ACT, Asbestos

References

ACT claims data provided by Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations Division, Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate (private sector and ACPTS claims only).

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2021a), Underlying Cause of Death (Australia), accessed 20 September 2022.

ABS (2021b), Underlying Cause of Death (Australian Capital Territory), accessed 20 September 2022.

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare), Mesothelioma in Australia 2020, accessed 21 September 2022.

Alif S, Glass D, Abramson M, Hoy R and Sim M (2019), Occupational lung diseases in Australia 2006–2019, Safe Work Australia, accessed 21 September 2022.

Cancer Australia (2022), Lung Cancer, accessed 20 September 2022.

Hoy R and Brims F (2017) ‘Occupational Lung Diseases in Australia’, Medical Journal of Australia, 207(10): 443-448.

Lung Foundation Australia (n.d.) Occupational Lung Disease, accessed 20 September 2022.

Lung Foundation Australia (2017), Occupational Lung Disease Media Statement, accessed 20 September 2022.

National Dust Disease Taskforce (2021), Final Report of the National Dust Disease Taskforce, accessed 21 September.

SWA (Safe Work Australia) (n.d.) Occupational Lung Diseases, accessed 20 September 2022.

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