Salmon asthma fear for fish farm workers

Dangerous aerosols 'ignored'

- BY DAN VEVERS Chief Reporter

THOUSANDS of fish farm workers could be at risk of exposure to chemicals which cause “salmon asthma”, it has been claimed.

The Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) urgently highlighted the issue amid fears it has “gone under the radar” in Scotland for decades.

The union has written to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Scottish and UK governments about its concerns, including the inhalation of dangerous aerosols made up of fish proteins.

The risk of asthma-linked bioaerosols - airborne particles of biological origin - to fish farm workers has long been accepted in Norway, the globe's top salmon producer, it has been claimed.