From Dust to Disease: The Hidden Respiratory Risks in Construction - Angie Brooker #107

This week, we step into one of the most overlooked yet critical areas of air quality and health: the construction site. While we spend so much time talking about indoor air quality during the operational phase of buildings, there's an entire workforce—construction and demolition workers—who spend their careers in environments that are anything but operational. And the risks they face are profound. We sit down with Angie Brooker, Occupational Health Manager at Multiplex, to explore the layered, dynamic, and often invisible hazards of dust exposure in construction—and what one of the UK's most forward-thinking organisations is doing about it. Key Topics Discussed: The Three Categories of Dust: Wood dust, general construction dust, and silica dust—each with different risks, different sources, and different control measures. Why silica, particularly from artificial stone, has become a focal point of concern. The Complexity of Construction Environments: Why construction sites are uniquely challenging—dynamic spaces, changing materials, multiple trades working on top of each other, high turnover, and the constant tension between program deadlines and health protection. The Artificial Stone Crisis: How engineered stone (containing up to 90% silica) has caused an epidemic of accelerated silicosis globally—and why Multiplex has banned it on all upcoming projects. The Australia case study, the thousand cases identified, and the proactive public health response. Hierarchy of Controls in Practice: From elimination and substitution (banning artificial stone) to engineering controls (on-tool extraction, ventilation) to administrative controls (training, awareness, health intervention tours) to PPE (the right mask, worn correctly, every time). The RPE Challenge: Why respiratory protective equipment is the frontline defence—but also why it's so hard to get right. Facial hair, improper fit, leaving masks hanging like "Christmas decorations," the heat and discomfort, and the cultural resistance to wearing them. Health Intervention Tours (HITs): How Multiplex walks sites monthly, focusing purely on health hazards, giving positive feedback and room-for-improvement interventions, and using personal dust monitors to make the invisible visible. The Silica 25 Programme: Three pillars—prevention (banning artificial stone), protection (appropriate RPE, education, awareness), and detection (health surveillance, lung function testing, baseline chest X-rays). This is a conversation about risk, responsibility, and the long game. It's about recognising that construction workers deserve to retire healthy—and that every day we delay action, we're storing up a public health crisis for the future. GUEST: Angie Brooker - Occupational Health Manager, Multiplex https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-brooker-abba85123/ https://www.multiplex.global/ https://www.lungsatwork.org.uk/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Ultra Protect (https://www.ultra-protect.co.uk/air-quality-matters) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Construction Workers and Air Quality Risk 00:01:38 Meet Angela Brooker: Occupational Health in Construction 00:03:59 The Dust Challenge: Categories and Construction Hazards 00:05:44 The Dynamic Construction Environment: A Complex Risk Landscape 00:14:46 The Latent Disease Problem: Why Long-Term Risks Get Ignored 00:20:23 The Liability Gap: Accountability for Chronic Occupational Disease 00:24:50 The Cultural Challenge: From Bravado to Protection 00:36:06 Artificial Stone and Silicosis: The Accelerated Epidemic 00:34:42 The Silica 25 Program: Prevention, Protection, and Detection 00:09:08 Housekeeping and Hidden Exposures: The Resuspension Risk 01:07:57 Respiratory Protection: The Mask Problem 00:31:48 Health Intervention Tours: Making Health Visible on Site 01:19:47 Monitoring and Measurement: Dust Tracking Technology 01:35:14 Health Surveillance: Early Detection and the Medical System 01:31:58 The Smoking Factor: Compounding the Risk 01:27:12 From Nurse to Construction: Angela's Journey 01:39:19 The Path Forward: Getting the Basics Right 01:42:12 Closing: Resources and Support for Construction Workers