CEDAR DUST ASTHMA The I.W.A. has fought long and hard to see that cedar asthma patients get a fair shake and that the air quali- ty in mills is improved iw ver since workers have laboured in cedar sawmills, some of them have suffered from inhaling cedar dusts. In the past, when workers suffered from asthmatic condi- tions, they had to tough it out or leave the job. For years the union fought for compensation for these workers affected. Not until the early 1970’s was a correlation drawn between the cedar dust it- self and asthma. Prior to that those who developed asthma were not assisted. Aside from dust masks they were offered little help and no compensation. Today, although cedar dust induced asthma is an officially recognized occupational disease, workers are still faced with obstacles when they are afflicted. Some workers are sensitive to cedar dust and others are not. Some workers who are afflicted de- velop asthma over a prolonged period as they be- come “sensitized” to the dust. The medical research points to an allergy to a chemical in the dust known as plictactic acid which binds to pro- teins in the body. Cedar dust asthma can onset at an early age in some but most oftenly occurs in workers who have been exposed to dusty workplaces for a num- ber of years. When it strikes it can be extremely debilitating. The workers can experience small at- tacks and become short of breath or major seizures and lose the ability to breathe altogether. Les Veale, safety director in I.W.A. CANADA Lo- cal 1-3567, says that there are a few cases of cedar dust asthma in each of his local union’s four major cedar mills and several cases in some of the cedar reman and secondary operations as well. “The only ones (cases) that we hear about are those when they go to a WCB (Workers Compen- sation Board) claim,” says Brother Veale. “Fortu- nately the WCB recognizes the disease but it does not treat everybody equally.” In some cases the WCB will pay full compesa- tion and give a worker full wage loss benefits. In 8/LUMBERWORKERWJUNE, 1995 e A Racal helmet and respirator is used for workers with more serious cedar asthma conditions. other cases it will tell the worker to find another job and give support for only eight weeks. “Sometimes the WCB thinks that by removing the worker from the cedar mill that that’s enough,” says Brother Veale. “But it’s not fair to simply re- move workers and not give them proper compen- sation and/or retraining for gainful employment.” i that various measures can be taken to eliminate the dust at the source. Better dust elimination and ventilation systems can be put into place. Dust curtains can be installed and often booths can be built to house workers. Brother Veale says that the union is pushing the 3 WCB to further reduce the allowable cedar dust 4 Ken Kavanaugh, a member of the local union safety council who works at the Inter- national Forest Products McDonald cedar mill in Fort Langley, says that the company has trans- ferred some cedar dust asthma vicitims from its The union is pushing the WCB to further reduce allowable dust levels in cedar mills Currently the occupa-' tional health and safety regulations allow a cedar dust concentration of 1.5 parts per million. Inspection of cedar mills usually in done an- nually on a random basis by WCB inspectors. levels in the eoene@® : cedar to white wood di- visions and it has worked in some cases. But in other cases workers also become sensitized to white wood dust. “Part of the problem is that people go to white wood because it is not cedar but other dust can af- fect them as well,” says Brother Kavanaugh. “When workers are afflicted that seriously, they have to be compensated.” There was one case in the local union where an individual was recognized by the WCB as having cedar dust asthma and was off the job. One day he returned to the mill to get some payroll material and had a severe asthma attack in the parking lot. The WCB said that it wasn’t work related even though he developed the disease at work. “We've got millwrights with 4th class tickets who have had to leave cedar mill and now have 10- 20 years in the industry with nowhere to go to,” says Brother Veale. “Sometimes workers are faced with a tough decision. What do they do? Give up their seniority, benefits and lifestyle or go back into the mill and get sick?” Brother Kavanaugh says that more must be done to minimize cedar dust in the workplace and “We need to prevent the onset of the disease so we don't have to relocate workers,” adds the lo- cal union safety director. Some workers who do develop cedar dust asth- ma do wear protective equipment, which is seen as a last resort when other measures don’t work. For those with debilitating asthma, a Racal hel- met and respirator is used. The worker has a type of space helmet with a battery power pack which circulates clean air to the breathing passages. bug sometimes not even that can do the job and the cedar dust gets through, especially if the headgear does not fit snugly around the neck and facial ar- eas. Wearing the breathing apparatus can be very un- comfortable and get very hot in the summer weather. In cedar mills there tends to be more lift- ing and other heavy work, especially in the sorting and stacking areas. Cedar logs do give fewer uni- form cuts of lumber and require more sorting. Next Issue: Two union members with cedar asthma.