Wednesday, 14 October 2026, from 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm (AEST)

Occupational diseases account for at least a third (33.5%) of workers compensation claims in Australia according to Safe Work Australia. The true prevalence of occupational disease is estimated to be much higher due to delayed symptom on-set and lack of reporting. Such diseases are often life altering and may resolve in a fatal condition. Protecting our worker’s health is not an add-on to safety, but an integral component of risk management. Many businesses utilise one or several health protection controls such as enclosed plant cabins, ventilation systems, procedural requirements, respiratory protection, and/or hearing protection. It’s easy to assume effectiveness of these controls without truly knowing if they work.

In this presentation, Ben explores how to verify if common health controls work using qualitative and quantitative sciences. He pulls on real life examples of control effectiveness verification around managing hazardous agents such as respirable crystalline silica and noise. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding how health controls can be verified and gain leads on where to start their journey to better protect worker health.

Ben Govan

Ben is an enthusiastic occupational hygienist with a passion for worker protection and good dad joke. He is guided by his background in health and safety and 7+ years applying occupational hygiene in the mining/ manufacturing sector. Ben is a full member of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (MAIOH) and graduate in a Masters of Occupational Hygiene from the University of Wollongong. Ben currently works at Bell Bay Aluminium.

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