Wet work exposure report

Safe Work Australia Chair Tom Phillips AM recently announced the release of a report from the National Hazard Exposure Worker Surveillance Survey: Wet work exposure and the provision of wet work control measures in Australian workplaces.

Occupational skin diseases, such as contact dermatitis of the hands, are one of the most common work-related problems presenting to Australian general practitioners. One of the most important risk factors for occupational skin disease is wet work, which refers to exposure of the hands to liquids, either through frequent handwashing or through immersion of the hands in liquids.

This report describes the employment and demographic characteristics of Australian workers who reported high levels of wet work exposure in the course of their work. The report also examines the provision of wet work controls to exposed workers.

Findings of the study include:

• 9.8% of workers reported they washed their hands more than 20 times per day and 4.5% reported their hands were immersed in liquids more than two hours per day. These are both indicators of high exposure to wet work.
• Workers in the health and community services, and accommodation, cafes and restaurants industries were most likely to report exposure to wet work.
• Exposure to wet work was strongly associated with dermal contact with chemicals. Those who reported skin contact with chemicals were more likely to report exposure to wet work.
• Time restriction, the most effective wet work exposure control, was reported as a control measure by only 32% of exposed workers. However, glove provision was very high with 75% of exposed workers reporting their provision. Workers from high exposure industries or workplace settings were generally more likely to be provided with these controls than lower exposure groups.

Phillips said that this study outlined the importance of time restriction as a control measure for wet work and ultimately occupational skin disease: “The information in this report will enable the development of targeted work health and safety policy and practice interventions that will lead the way in reducing occupational contact dermatitis.”

The full report can be found at www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au.