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Northfleet employees enlisted to improve blood lead levels

Employees at BRM's Northfleet lead refinery in the UK are actively participating to drive further improvements in the blood-lead levels of people working on site.

In the past, step improvements in workforce blood-lead levels had been achieved through technological advances, but as Northfleet targets continuous improvements in the level at which employees are removed from the workplace, well in advance of current EU limits, the focus has shifted to behavioural change.

An education programme has been introduced to raise employee awareness of the target levels and to provide tips on how to reduce exposure, such as regularly changing and effectively laundering work clothes, showering after dirty jobs and washing hands more regularly, especially before eating and drinking. The blood lead level target is advertised on the board at the entrance to the refinery, monthly briefings on progress against the target and other related issues are held, and employees with elevated blood-lead levels receive confidential personal coaching.

A sub-committee of the site safety committee was formed in October 2005 to enable the workforce to provide greater direct input into improvement initiatives. BRM General Manager Neil Wardle said that employees were starting to provide feedback and suggest projects that they could self-manage.

"We're starting to get ownership among the workforce which means we can all work together to find a solution. Some of the guys have instigated blood-lead trials to try and determine what causes their levels to go up. Others have put together a list of potential projects," he said.

"A recent suggestion was to examine how we could eliminate dust from forklift trucks. People get into trucks with dirty clothes and boots leaving lead dust behind when they get out. Although drivers don't have to wear a respirator inside the truck because it is air-conditioned, they could be exposed to small levels of dust being deposited by previous drivers.

We are also investigating why blood-lead levels are higher in winter. One reason could be that we wear clothing such as jackets that have been stored away during summer and haven't been laundered as frequently as other clothes. To address this, we've started a compulsory laundry programme."

Process operators, maintenance crews and technical staff exposed to fumes and dust generated during lead processing are required to wear masks or full-face helmets which filter incoming air. In addition to behavioural change initiatives, Northfleet is working with a helmet manufacturer to improve the design of its respiratory protective equipment and has trialled a roadside sweeper that can vacuum dust up to minus 10 microns in size. Programmes to reduce fugitive emissions have also been implemented, including improving practices for handling materials in enclosed skips.

"We've always had a strategy of continually reducing blood-lead levels and in advance of legislative requirements," Neil said. "Over the next five years or so, we expect the EU to introduce standard blood-lead limits of 40 µg/dL, but our target is to achieve the lowest possible blood lead levels amongst our workforce, well below this regulatory level.

Previously we could rely on changing the physical environment using leading practice technology or introducing clean side/plant side changing rooms to continue reductions in blood lead levels.

"Our challenge now is to improve our performance by encouraging employees to change their behaviour while continuing to improve our plant and equipment."