If you think the new legally binding code of practice on chemical agents is only about "chemicals" or only concerns employers working in the chemical industry, you are wrong. Moreover your error could lead to irreversible damage to the health of employees or members of the public and subsequent litigation.
All employers must consider the new code and many will find that it does apply to their workplaces. For instance, employers and managers in joineries must be aware of the serious health risks of wood dusts. Managers of engineering works need to be aware of the health hazards of degreasing fluids. Welders must know the dangers of welding fumes. Managers of printing works need to be aware of the dangers of certain inks. Proprietors of dry cleaners need to know about restrictions on the use of solvents. Garage owners must appreciate the dangers of certain spray paints. The hardeners of some of them can be very potent respiratory sensitisers, leading to asthma or skin conditions.
And farmers are obliged to inform themselves of the dangers to themselves and others of substances like sulphuric acid and pesticides on the farm.
Hospital managers must take on board the reduced permissible levels of substances like glutarldehyde, which is used as a cold sterilizer. A respiratory sensitizer (it can cause asthma and lead to an employee's loss of livelihood), the occupational exposure limit for glutarldehyde has been cut from 0.2 per million to 0.1 parts per million in the new code.
Workplace hazards can seriously and irretrievably damage people's health. For instance, toxic hazards are poisonous and can damage people's liver or kidneys. Irritant and corrosive hazards burn people's skin or their eyes. Sensitizing hazards can cause skin or respiratory allergies, which can make it impossible for workers to continue in their chosen livelihood. Carcinogenic workplace hazards can cause cancer, mutagenic hazards can cause hereditary damage, while hazards marked Toxic for Reproduction can impair fertility or cause birth defects.
According to Ms Nuala Flavin, director of development at the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), all employers should be aware that exposure to chemical agents is not restricted to the more obvious chemical industries.
How can employers know if airborne contaminants in their workplaces are within or exceed the legal limits set in the new code? In many cases, they will need to "get in an occupational hygienist to measure the concentration of chemical agents in the air", she says.
It can be hard to think of wood dust as a chemical agent, she concedes. But hard wood dust is increasingly being linked to nasal cancer and joineries are expected to have a good extraction system in place to draw dust away.
The new code of practice falls under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989, and has a legal status. Inspectors can take action in workplaces that breach the new code. "Employers need to be aware that breathing in airborne contaminants can cause health problems," she says. They need to know which contaminants their employees are exposed to and employers need to ensure that exposure limits are as low as possible and certainly beneath the exposure limit, she says.
All industries need to consider the new code. For instance, employers must know what kinds of activities, possibly involving airborne contaminants, take place in a maintenance workshop. And, without being excessively stringent, employers must also satisfy themselves that cleaning staff carry out safe work practices, like wearing gloves while handling bleach, she says.
For further information about the new code, contact the HSA. Telephone: 01 614 7000.
Architects, surveyors, engineers, builders and others involved in the unprecedented levels of demolition and refurbishment of old buildings need to be more aware of the dangers of asbestos. The HSA is holding a seminar for professionals engaged in the industry at Dublin City University on June 23rd. For further details, contact Ms Norah Kavanagh at the HSA, 10 Hogan Place, Dublin 2. Telephone: 01 614 7000. Fax: 01 614 7020.
Construction Safety: Taking Stock, a Practical Review of the 1995 Construction Regulations, an IOSH (the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) seminar, will take place on June 2nd at the Ambassador Hotel, Kill, Co Kildare. For further information, please contact: Mr William Ryan, Hibernian Group Plc, Haddington Road, Dublin 4. Telephone: 01 607 8102. Fax: 01 668 6974.
