HARMFUL CHEMICALS IN THE ENVIRONMENT during handling, dilution, mixing, application

and disposal of pesticides, as well as during

Chemicals are frequently used in workplaces.
cleaning of containers and handling of crops. a
Quite a number of them are by nature
hazardous. Some are hazardous when heated, PREVENTIVE MEASURES
ground, mixed with other chemicals or exposed
Labelling of all dangerous substances used is
to air. If employees do not have adequate
very important. Persons transporting or
knowledge of the hazards and risks involved in
handling them may not be aware of their
the use of chemicals, or in the absence of
nature, hazards, and the necessary precautions
appropriate safety measures, accidents may
to be used. A label is an essential requirement
occur. Under the Occupational Safety and
to identify the contents and to warn of the
Health Ordinance, the employer of a workplace
hazard.
is required to make necessary arrangements to
ensure the safety and health of employees in INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE AND SAFETY
the use, handling, storage and transport of
chemicals. INSTRUCTIONS

CLASSIFICATION OF HARMFUL CHEMICALS IN Due to lack of space the information on the

WORK ENVIRONMENT label on each container is often incomplete. It
is, therefore, necessary to draw up more
ASBESTOS detailed information in the form of instructions
for use or safety instructions. These should
Asbestos describes a group of naturally
contain simple and clear information on:
occurring minerals that includes chrysotile,
crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite • the most important
and actinolite. Although chrysotile is the most characteristics of the product
commonly known form, all types of asbestos are
occupational carcinogens. • risks involved in handling the
product
SILICA
• preventive safety measures
Silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), is a natural
compound of silicon and oxygen found mostly in • suitable safety equipment
sand. • action to be taken in the event
HEAVY METALS of an accident, first aid
instructions, fire or spillage
Heavy metals are metals with a high density precautions.
that in many cases are hazardous, such as INFORMATION
arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and hexavalent
It is important that people working with
chromium. chemicals receive information on the risks to
health, training in how they should protect
SOLVENTS
themselves and how they should wear and care
Solvents are hazardous substances used in large for personal protective equipment.
quantities globally and in a wide range of
PRIORITY ACTIONS IN AREAS
occupations. They are found in many products,
including cleaning materials, paints, adhesives, NATIONAL LEVEL ACTION
inks and toiletries. Common examples are
isopropanol, benzene, toluene, xylene and IMPLEMENT A NATIONAL OSH SYSTEM FOR THE
solvent mixtures, such as white spirits. SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS

PESTICIDES WORKPLACE LEVEL ACTION

Pesticides are chemicals with biologically active • IMPLEMENT A WORKPLACE

ingredients used widely by large numbers of PROGRAMME FOR THE SOUND
agricultural workers and those engaged in MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS
vector control. Occupational exposure occurs
 • IMPLEMENT A WORKPLACE 2. **Shearing:** Machines with power-driven
LEVEL STRATEGY shears can amputate body parts if not used
safely.
• APPLY THE HIERARCHY OF
CONTROLS 3. **Crushing:** Occurs when a body part is
caught between two hard surfaces that move
PRIORITY ACTIONS IN AREAS
together.

- Squeeze-point hazards: Two hard surfaces

crush objects when they come together.

- Run-in point hazards: Objects are caught

between rotating surfaces.

4. **Breaking:** Machines used to deform

materials can cause bone fractures, classified
as simple, compound, complete, or
incomplete, and transverse, oblique, or
comminuted.

5. **Straining and Spraining:** Muscles can

strain, and ligaments can sprain, causing
swelling and pain.

6. **Puncturing:** Machines with sharp

tools can puncture body parts, potentially
damaging internal organs.

Safeguarding Defined:

MECHANICAL HAZARDS AND MACHINE - Machine safeguarding is meant to minimize

SAFEGUARDING the risk of accidents involving machine-operator
contact. This contact can result from various
causes, including inattention, machine
Mechanical hazards are those malfunctions, or external factors like flying
associated with power-driven machines, debris.
whether automated or manually operated. OSHA's Requirements for Safeguarding:
Concerns about mechanical hazards date back
to the Industrial Revolution and the earliest **Types of Guarding:**
days of mechanization. - One or more methods of machine guarding are
necessary to protect individuals from point of
operation hazards, including nip points, rotating
parts, flying chips, and sparks.

- "Point of operation" refers to the specific area

on the machine where work is performed on
the material being processed.

- Examples of point-of-operation machine

guards include barriers, two-hand switches and
tripping devices, and electronic sensors.

**General Requirements for Machine

Cutting and Tearing
Guards:**
**Types of Hazards:**
- Guards should ideally be affixed to the
1. **Cutting and Tearing:** Result from body machine itself.
parts coming into contact with sharp edges.
- When attachment to the machine is not - Falling objects must be prevented from
feasible, guards should be secured in the most entering moving parts.
practical location and method away from the
- Safeguards should not impede work but
machine.
should allow safe lubrication.
- Guards must be securely affixed in a manner
Point-of-Operation Guards:
that does not create additional hazards.
- Fixed Guards:
**Guarding the Point of Operation:**
 Advantages:
- Any point of operation that could expose a
person to injury must be guarded.  Suitable for many specific
applications.
- Guarding devices must adhere to all applicable
safety standards.  Can be constructed in-plant.
- In the absence of specific standards, guards  Require little maintenance.
must be designed, constructed, and installed to
prevent the machine operator from having any  Suitable for high-production
part of their body, clothing, hair, etc., in the and repetitive operations.
danger zone during the machine's operating  Limitations:
cycle.
 Sometimes limit visibility.
**Machines Requiring Point of Operation
Guards:**  Often limited to specific
operations.
- Several types of machines necessitate point of
operation guards, including guillotine cutters,  Sometimes inhibit normal
shears, alligator shears, power presses, milling cleaning and maintenance.
machines, power saws, jointers, portable power Interlocked Guards:
tools, forming rolls, and calendars.
 Advantages:
**Exposure of Blades:**
 Allow safe access to the
- Fans must be guarded whenever the periphery machine for tasks like removing
of the fan blades is less than seven feet above jams or routine maintenance
the floor or working level. without removing the guard.
- Fan guards should not have openings that  Limitations:
exceed one-half inch in size.
 Require careful adjustment and
**Anchoring Fixed Machinery:** maintenance.
- Machines designed to be stationary in one  In some cases, can be easily
location must be securely anchored to prevent disengaged.
movement.
Adjustable Guards:
By adhering to these guidelines and
requirements, employers can ensure that  Advantages:
machines are adequately guarded, reducing the
 Provide a barrier against various
risk of accidents and injuries in industrial
hazards associated with
settings.
different production operations.
Minimum General Requirements for
 Offer flexibility.
Safeguarding:
 Limitations:
- Safeguards must prevent contact with moving
parts.  Do not provide as dependable a
barrier as other guards.
- Safeguards must be secure, durable, and firmly
attached to the machine.
  Require frequent maintenance - Require close supervision to ensure proper
and careful adjustment. use.

 Some guards in this category 5. **Restraint Devices:**

are self-adjusting.
- Function: Hold the operator back from the
Point-of-Operation Devices: danger zone.

1. **Photoelectric Devices:** - Advantages: Low risk of mechanical failure.

- Type: Optical devices that shut down the - Limitations:

machine when the light field is broken.
- Limit operator's movement.
- Advantages: Allow operators relatively free
- Require individual adjustment.
movement.
- Need close supervision for proper use.
- Limitations:
6. **Safety Trip Devices:**
- Do not protect against mechanical failure.
- Types: Trip wires, trip rods, and body bars.
- Require frequent calibration.
- Function: Stop the machine when tripped.
- Suitable for machines that can be stopped.
- Advantages: Simplicity.
- Do not protect against flying parts from the
point of operation. - Limitations:
2. **Radio-Frequency Devices:** - Require manual activation of controls.
- Type: Capacitance devices that brake the - Protect only the operator.
machine if the capacitance field is interrupted
by a worker's body or another object. - May require special fixtures for holding
work.
- Limitations: Similar limitations as
photoelectric devices. 7. **Two-Hand Controls:**

3. **Electromechanical Devices:** - Function: Require the operator to use both

hands concurrently to activate the machine.
- Type: Contact bars that limit movement
between the worker and the hazard. - Advantages: Ensure that hands cannot stray
into the danger zone.
- Function: If the worker moves the contact
bar beyond the specified point, the machine will - Limitations:
not cycle. - Do not protect onlookers or passers-by.
- Limitation: Require frequent maintenance - Some controls can be tampered with and
and careful adjustment. operated with one hand.
4. **Pullback Devices:** 8. **Gates:**
- Function: Pull the operator's hands out of - Function: Provide a barrier between the
the danger zone when the machine starts to danger zone and workers.
cycle.
- Advantages: Effective at protecting operators
- Advantages: Eliminate the need for auxiliary from machine hazards.
barriers.
- Limitations: Obscure the work, making it
- Limitations: difficult for the operator to see.
- Limit operator movement. These point-of-operation devices are essential
- Must be adjusted for each individual for enhancing workplace safety by preventing
operator. access to hazardous machine parts and reducing
the risk of accidents and injuries in industrial
settings. The choice of device depends on the
specific application and safety requirements of - Function: Eject the work using mechanisms
the machinery in use. activated by the operator.

Feeding and Ejection Systems: - Advantages:

Feeding and ejection systems are essential - Operators don't need to reach into the
safeguards when properly designed and used. danger zone.
They help ensure worker safety by reducing the
- Limitations:
need for manual access to dangerous machine
zones. Here are the various types of feeding and - Require auxiliary barriers.
ejection systems commonly used:
- Suitable for a limited variety of stock.
1. **Automatic Feed Systems:**

- Function: These systems feed stock to the

machine from rolls automatically. These feeding and ejection systems are crucial
for enhancing workplace safety, as they
- Advantages: minimize the need for operators to interact with
hazardous machine components directly.
- Eliminate the need for operators to enter
However, it's essential to consider the specific
the danger zone.
application and the type of stock being
- Limitations: processed when selecting and using these
systems. Proper maintenance and safety
- Limited in the types and variations of stock
precautions are also necessary to ensure their
they can feed.
effectiveness.
- Typically require an auxiliary barrier guard.
Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout
- Frequent maintenance is necessary. Systems):

2. **Semiautomatic Feed Systems:** - Involves procedures to prevent the

unexpected startup of machinery during
- Function: Use various approaches for feeding maintenance.
stock to the machine.
- Components include an energy control
- Prominent approaches include chutes, program, energy control procedures, energy-
moveable dies, dial feeds, plungers, and sliding isolating devices, lockout/tagout devices,
bolsters. employee training, periodic inspections, and
- Advantages and limitations are similar to more.
automatic feed systems. Taking Corrective Actions:
3. **Automatic Ejection Systems:** - Corrective actions may include fixing and
- Function: Eject the work pneumatically or arranging safeguards, addressing energy control
mechanically. procedures, and ensuring compliance with
safety standards.
- Advantages:

- Operators don't need to reach into the

danger zone to retrieve workpieces.

- Limitations:

- Restricted to relatively small stock.

- Potential hazards include blown chips or

debris.

- Noise can be an issue, especially with

pneumatic ejectors, which can be quite
loud.

4. **Semiautomatic Ejection Systems:**