An estimated 2.2 million workers could be at risk of aggressive respiratory diseases, including silicosis, cancer and the risk of tuberculosis, in the construction industry alone.

BOHS says that around 500 UK construction workers die each year just from silicosis, a disease listed by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine as also increasing vulnerability for those infected by Covid-19. Silica is linked to the estimated 4,000 deaths a year from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and it is believed 75,000 cases could be prevented if action was taken.