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6/9/03
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Page 1
Student Workbook
LV01
Health, Safety and
Housekeeping in a
Vehicle Workshop
LV01/SWB
MODULE LV01
HEALTH, SAFETY AND
HOUSEKEEPING WITHIN A
VEHICLE WORKSHOP
Contents
Page
Introduction
The Law:
Health and Safety Commission and
Executive
Regulation and Codes of Practice
Powers of inspectors
Health and Safety Policy Statement
Working environment
Legislation that affects maintenance
and repair
Page
Accidents:
Causes of accidents
Direct causes
Unsafe acts
Unsafe conditions
Indirect causes
Exercise 2
Accident prevention
Reporting accidents
Exercise 3
Reporting faulty equipment
23
23
23
24
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
13
13
15
First Aid:
Priorities
Exercise 4
31
31
32
Safety Signs:
Progress check
16
18
19
21
Fire:
The Fire Precautions Act (1974)
Causes of fire
Extinguishing fire
Types of extinguishers
Exercise 5
Means of escape
33
33
33
34
34
36
36
22
3
3
4
5
6
7
(Contd)
Page
Fire drill
Fire hazards within a motor
vehicle workshop
Petrol fires
Other fire hazards
Electrical fires
Exercise 6
37
Good Housekeeping:
Practice good engineering hygiene
What has to be cleaned
Cleaning agents and equipment
Environment Protection Act (1990)
Other cleaning duties
40
41
41
41
42
42
43
43
44
44
45
46
46
46
47
48
48
49
Examples of Accidents:
Compressed air
Hydraulic jacks and axle stands
Vehicle lifts
Hoists
Using pits or sunken workshops
Exhaust extraction
Abrasive wheels
Guards
50
50
51
52
52
53
53
53
54
37
37
37
38
39
Page
Welding Equipment:
Electric arc
Arc eye
High current flow
Gas welding
Exercise 9
55
55
55
55
56
57
Asbestos:
Dangers
What does asbestos do?
What kind of work creates asbestos
dust?
58
58
59
59
61
62
Points to Remember
64
Introduction
The motor vehicle industry is by its very nature hazardous. If you are to avoid
injury you need to fully understand the nature of the risks that you are
exposed to and maintain a very high level of personal awareness that is,
awareness of your environment, your actions and the actions of those around
you.
The Law
Health and Safety Commission and Executive
The motor vehicle industry is highly regulated. The health and safety of the
people that work within it is of primary importance, and therefore subject to a
number of regulations.
The Health and Safety Commission has responsibility for:
general policy, research and dissemination of information
development of law through proposals for regulation and codes of practice
and to consult with employer and employee organisations where
appropriate.
The Health and Safety Executive, appointed by the Commission is
responsible for:
implementation of policy
inspection
enforcement
research, information and advice.
Powers of inspectors
HSE inspectors carry out periodic inspection of premises to ensure
compliance with the law. They have a number of powers and they are able to:
enter premises at any reasonable time (accompanied by a police
constable if necessary)
examine and investigate, and to this end can order premises to be left
undisturbed
take samples
issue improvement and prohibition notices and initiate prosecutions
take possession of any dangerous substance or article for examination or
use in legal proceedings.
Upon completion of an inspection, there are a number of options open to the
inspector.
Improvement notice: This is issued by the inspector and used to improve or
remedy a situation. A time limit for completion is specified.
Prohibition notice: A prohibition notice is used when an inspector decides that
there is a risk of serious injury and directs that certain activities cease until the
situation is remedied.
Fines: In the event of a prosecution-taking place, which could be against a
company or any individual from chief executive to vehicle technician, a
magistrate can impose heavy fines (unlimited). The offender can also be sent
to prison for a maximum of two years.
These include:
the death of a person as a result of an accident arising out of or in the
connection of work
a dangerous occurrence, which could have resulted in deaths or injuries.
Records must be kept at the place of work or business for at least three years
from the date they were made.
There are fourteen major topics in the Workplace (Health, Safety, and
Welfare) Regulations:
maintenance of workplace and equipment servicing
ventilation, temperature and lighting
cleanliness
workspace allocation
workstation design and arrangement
traffic routes and floors
fall protection
glazing
doors and gates
escalators
sanitary and washing facilities
drinking water supply
accommodation for dressing
facilities for changing, rest and meals.
These regulations are made under the provision of the Health and Safety at
Work Act (1974) and therefore apply to all places of work.
Employers must carry out an assessment of employees exposure to noise
where such exposure is at or likely to exceed the first action level (FAL) or the
peak action level (PAL). The FAL is 85dB(A) the second action level (SAL) is
90 dB(A), PAL is 200 Pascals sound pressure. Noise is measured by a noise
meter which is an instrument designed to respond to sound in the same way
as the human ear.
Noise control
The following are ways of providing protection to reduce risk to hearing:
noise reduction techniques
earplugs
acoustic covers
hazard notices.
The first option for reducing noise exposure must be through the use of noise
reduction techniques rather than through the use of personal protection. In
order to determine the best approach to reduce noise levels, it is important to
identify noise sources and noise pathways and reduce the energy in either or
both of these areas.
With machinery, small changes at the design stage can result in large noise
reductions at very little cost.
Other methods of reducing noise are:
damping - adding a layer of a damping material to the vibrating structure
silencing - mufflers are devices which reduce the transmission of sound.
Speed of action
Chronic - the effects become apparent over a long period.
Acute - the effects are immediate or become apparent over a short period.
Site of action
Local - the site of action of the substance is where it penetrates the body.
Systemic - the site of action is away from the site of contact or absorption.
Harmful
Irritant
Corrosive
Corrosive substances are those that have the ability to break down other
substances chemically. They can be mildly aggressive (battery acid) or
extremely aggressive (concentrated sulphuric acid).
Poison
Substances that interfere with body functions. Organs can be overloaded, i.e.
the liver and kidneys. Lead is a poison, as is mercury. Arsenic prevents the
body from absorbing oxygen; you effectively suffocate.
Oxidising agent
An oxidizing agent is a substance that gives off heat upon contact with other
substances, especially if flammable.
Labelling
Hazardous substances must be labelled clearly and accurately. The label
should be clear as to the nature of the hazard and the manufacturer should be
stated. Do not rely on the manufacturers packaging; make decisions (having
secured relevant advice) on safe storage, use, handling, transportation and
disposal.
Safety Signs
There are four types of signs, and to aid identification they are a different
colour and shape.
Warning
Prohibition
Mandatory
Safe
Fire regulation
Progress check
1) What does the acronym COSHH stand for?
2) A vehicle falls off a two poster ramp, narrowly missing a technician working
nearby. Under which regulation must this incident be reported?
A)
B)
C)
5) List the four requirements placed upon an employer under the Health and
Safety at Work Act (1974)?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Technicians PPE
Your employer is legally obliged to provide you with all necessary PPE to
enable you to carry out your duties safely.
In addition to overalls, the following should be considered as a minimum:
Gloves
Ear defenders
Ear protection should be used for any work that may involve exposure to high
levels of noise. It is often the least obvious of situations that generate
hazardous levels of noise such as a hammer blow on cast iron.
Safety footwear
Safety footwear must be worn at all times. There are endless ways in which
your feet can be injured in a workshop environment.
Head protection
This need only be worn in circumstances that dictate (such as working under
a vehicle on a lift).
There are hard hats available now that are styled like a baseball cap.
Exercise 1
Complete the following table giving examples of situations and injuries arising
from such when failing to wear the appropriate PPE.
Overalls
Plastic gloves
Safety footwear
Eye protection
Ear defenders
Hard hat
Dust mask
Situation / injury
You have a duty of care to yourself and your colleagues. In order to fulfil your
responsibilities you must make yourself aware of the following:
what hazards may exist in your workplace
the nature of risk within your workplace and the precautions you must take
the importance of remaining alert to the presence of hazards in the
workplace
the importance of dealing with or promptly reporting hazards
the precautions to be taken
agreed workplace policies relating to controlling risks to health and safety
responsibilities for health and safety in your job description
the responsible persons to whom you report health and safety matters
the specific workplace policies covering your job role
suppliers and manufacturers instructions for the safe use of equipment,
materials and products
safe working practices for your own job role
the importance of personal presentation in maintaining health and safety in
the workplace
the importance of personal conduct in maintaining the health and safety of
yourself and others
your scope and responsibility for rectifying risks
workplace procedures for handling risks which you are unable to deal with.
Read your company health and safety policy. Anything you are unsure of
bring to the attention of your supervisor. Ensure you have had correct training
for the tools you use and do everything you can to minimise risks or hazards
that arise with your job.
Be aware of your safety and others who work with you.
The way you react to situations can either contribute to danger or reduce it.
Accidents
Accidents do not just happen they are caused. Quite often, accidents are the
result of a number of seemingly small insignificant failures which when
combined cause a failure of great significance.
Example
An employer fails to regularly check and calibrate the workshop equipment. A
technician working for the employer fails to check the calibration date on a
tyre pressure gauge before use. The gauge is inaccurate and the tyre
pressures on a customers car are subsequently over-inflated.
The customer goes on holiday in the car with his extended family, towing a
caravan. The customer fails to adjust the tyre pressures in accordance with
the vehicles load. Its a very hot day and the customer is travelling above the
legal speed limit for a vehicle towing a caravan. The stresses on the tyre
prove too much and the tyre fails. A fatal accident results.
Any one of these failures in isolation would be unlikely to cause the accident.
However, all factors combined made an accident inevitable.
Causes of accidents
As we have seen from the above example, accidents have many causes.
These can generally be categorised into either indirect or direct causes.
Direct causes
Direct causes can be further sub-divided into the following:
unsafe acts
unsafe conditions.
Unsafe acts
This is a dangerous situation arising from something that is either done or
should have been done but was not (an omission).
The following are examples of these:
fooling around (horseplay)
not ensuring equipment is safe to work on
having PPE but not using it
removing guards
leaving spilt liquids on the floor
incorrect manual handling.
Unsafe conditions
This is a dangerous situation arising from the prevailing conditions. These
conditions could be the result of unsafe acts in some instances:
guards missing
poor maintenance
faulty materials
overloading
equipment not fit for purpose
wet floors.
Indirect causes
These are factors arising from the way in which an employee is made to feel
at work, and/or their actions outside work hours.
Social pressure:
fatigue
stress
alcohol
drugs
peer pressure
money
culture
family pressure.
Work pressure:
bureaucracy
deadlines
efficiency
economy
lack of experience
wrong person for job
financial constraints
piecework.
Exercise 2
Study the following scenario. The parts in italics fall into the previously
discussed categories. They will be one of the following:
1) Direct cause/unsafe act
2) Direct cause/unsafe condition
3) Indirect cause/social pressure
4) Indirect cause/work pressure
Write next to each italic part in the brackets provided which of the above
contributing factors (1, 2, 3 or 4) is applicable (the first 2 are done for you as
an example):
John the technician was late for work (4); the previous night he was out with
the lads and didnt get in until the early hours (3). It was Jacks idea to go out;
he wanted to celebrate his recent promotion to workshop supervisor. John
didnt really want to go - his wife had given him nothing but grief since hearing
of Jacks promotion (and the new house in a better area of town that was
bound to follow). ( ?) John decided to really go for it at work on that day - if
he could just improve his productivity by 10% or so ( ?), he may be picked
up for promotion as well.
His first job was a bit of a nightmare, a brake reline all round on an old
scrapper. To add to his frustration, his ramp was being used for a clutch
change (because he was late for work), so he had to do the brakes on the
floor. He hated doing brake relines at the best of times as the dust always
irritating his hands and arms (
?). He had asked the supervisor on a
number of occasions for plastic gloves but they refused due to the cost ( ?).
He jacked up the car at the rear and removed the wheels. Someone had
moved the axle stands (
?) from where they were usually kept so he
carried on without them. He knew he was taking a bit of a chance but he
didnt want to go back into the workshop office to ask about the stands in case
they noticed he wasnt wearing any safety boots (
?) (forgot them in his
hurry to get to work).
He was making good progress with the brakes at the rear when his good
friend Bill came over to give him a hard time about being late for work.
Bill had took the clock off the workshop wall and shouted:
Time flies when youre having fun, eh John?
And with that, threw the clock at him (
?). As John lunged to the left to
catch the clock, he knocked the car, and the jack (which had never been
much good) gave way (
?). The resulting accident cost John his left foot,
amputation had been the only option.
Accident prevention
Research has shown that for every event leading to a major injury there can
be as many as 10 causing minor injury, 30 causing property damage and
hundreds that result in neither injury nor damage. The latter are known as
critical incidents. Recognition and control of these incidents by the supervisor
and all other employees is the true basis of any accident prevention and
control system.
The situation is often likened to a tip of an iceberg, with only the tip of the
problem visible.
Major injury
Minor injuries
10
Root cause of
major injury
30
Property damage
or incidents
Reporting accidents
Exercise 3
Label all the areas of the body that could become damaged, and how, in your
area of work:
First Aid
Note: First aid practices change regularly. You should make efforts to keep
up with latest best practice and should consider anything in this publication as
out of date until proven otherwise.
First aid is help administered to an injured party until the medical authorities
arrive on the scene. There are two main principles:
1. To not become a casualty yourself.
2. To reduce the risk of further injury to the patient.
A typical sequence of events following the discovery of an accident resulting
in casualties would be to:
make the area safe
administer first aid
take appropriate action to reassure the injured party
raise the alarm
get help
report the accident.
Priorities
In the event of multiple injuries or perhaps multiple casualties, the following
priorities of treatment should be observed:
1) breathing
2) bleeding
3) breaks
4) burns.
This ensures that the most life threatening injuries are treated first.
Exercise 4
For the following scenarios, discuss what action should be taken. Consider
your priorities carefully in order to ascertain the correct sequence of events.
1. A member of staff falls whilst carrying a wheel, he falls over an empty milk
bottle, which smashes and causes a deep gash in his leg, which is now
bleeding very heavily.
What would you do?
2. A young trainee has climbed up onto a car bonnet with a pole in his hands
acting recklessly. The pole comes into contact with an overhead power
line and the young man becomes unconscious.
What would you do?
Fire
The Fire Precautions Act (1974)
Six classes of premises are defined which may, by designating order, be
required to apply for a fire certificate.
Causes of fire
Fuel
Oxygen
Heat
For a fire to start there must be three elements present - fuel, oxygen and
heat. If any one constituent is missing or removed then a fire is unlikely.
Oxygen is provided from the air all around us and exists in sufficient quantity
for the combustion of most fuels, though other sources are provided in the
form of oxidising agents or oxygen cylinders. Fuels, the second constituent,
surround us in furniture, fittings and decorations in our homes and
workplaces. The third constituent, heat, is also always present, though
generally there is not enough for a fire to start. When more heat is provided,
then the temperature rises and when fuels reach their ignition point a fire will
begin. This has the ability to spread rapidly because of the generation of
excessive quantities of heat (the flame).
Fire prevention requires us to keep any one of the three elements away from
the other two.
Extinguishing fire
Once a fire does start, we must deprive it of one or more of the three vital
constituents if the fire is to be extinguished successfully:
cooling - removal of heat
smothering - separation of oxygen
starving - separation from fuels.
Types of extinguishers
Extinguishers smother and cool the fire. They are colour coded to aid
recognition of the type of fire they are designed to put out. They are either
entirely the coded colour or predominantly red with a bold coloured block in
the relevant colour stating its type as in the picture shown below.
Water (red) - used for cooling. Fires that are extinguished by cooling are
CLASS A fires which could involve wood, paper, cloth etc.
Foam (cream) - A variety of different types of foam are available for use in
portable extinguishers. Foams are used for CLASS B fires involving
flammable liquids and work by smothering.
Powder (blue) - The most common powder is general purpose. This
smothers a CLASS B fire and can also be used to cool a CLASS A fire.
BCF Halon - These extinguishers are used in similar circumstances to the
carbon dioxide extinguisher. They work by smothering and can be used on
CLASS B fires.
Exercise 5
Complete the following table:
TYPE OF FIRE
CLASS
EXTINGUISHER
USED
COLOUR
WOOD
PETROL
ELECTRICAL
CLOTH
Fire spreads very rapidly; only if there is little risk and the fire is caught
promptly must it be tackled. Raise the alarm to evacuate and arrange for
someone to call the emergency services.
Means of escape
Fire drill
By law you should have one fire drill per year. When fire does break out, it is
essential that the occupants of the premises are clear and well practised in
what they should do. All staff should assemble at a pre-arranged point and the
roll taken, so that the fire brigade can be advised of any need of rescue. The
roll should be taken by a nominated fire marshal. Accounting for people
can only be done effectively if some means of recording peoples whereabouts
is in place (such as a sign in/out procedure).
Petrol fires
Petrol fires in garages are severe; many cause serious burns and occasionally
death. Petrol vapour is invisible and heavier than air and will disperse over a
considerable area. Matches, cigarettes or heaters with naked flames easily
ignite petrol vapour.
Vapour may be contained within clothing so never attempt to dry clothing
using heaters or naked flames. Never attempt hot work on a petrol tank
send it to a specialist.
When working on a non-starter, do your ignition checks first before checking
for fuelling faults!
Electrical Fires
Vehicle batteries and ignition systems can create sparks. A vehicle battery
also gives off large amounts of hydrogen gas. Never go near a vehicle battery
with a source of ignition. Vehicle batteries should only be charged in a
suitable charging station.
Oxy-acetylene welding equipment must never be repaired using copper parts.
The acetylene reacts with the copper to produce an explosive compound!
Exercise 6
At your place of work:
Good Housekeeping
Exercise 7
Identify the faults with the following tools and describe the risks that these
faults present:
Fault -
Risk -
Fault -
Risk -
Fault -
Risk -
Fault -
Risk
Cleaning equipment
brushes
mops
absorbent paper
surface cleaner
general purpose detergent
vacuum cleaner
steam cleaner.
Care of equipment
With regard to cleaning materials, the following should be observed:
choose the correct material for the correct application (what is the best
material for the job?)
follow diluting recommendations carefully
measure materials
correctly store materials to avoid loss
select suitable storage to avoid spillage
use suitable protective material to avoid soiling of vehicles and work areas.
With health and safety in general, an employer is expected to spend what is
necessary to render the working environment safe. This can be kept within
reasonable bounds.
Risk
Cost
There are many items of electrical equipment in the motor vehicle workshop.
Fatalities arising from electrical accidents are higher than any other category.
If an electrical accident occurs, the chances of fatality are about one in forty.
The consequences of contact with electrical current are electric shock,
electrical burns and electrical fires.
Risks
If you receive an electric shock from an appliance, your muscles will contract.
If your hand is in contact with the faulty appliance it is likely that this muscle
contraction effect will prevent you from letting go. Electrical current flowing
through your body can upset normal heart activity resulting in death.
Where possible, most workshop equipment will be double insulated. This
means that the appliance is earthed and constructed of a non-conducting
material. Inevitably, some workshop equipment will have a metallic outer
construction (conductive). If this is the case, it must be earthed. If it is not
and a fault results in the outer case becoming live, the current will earth
through you!
Where possible, always choose air powered tools over electrical.
Exercise 8
A worker suffers an electric shock whilst using a drill outside. What factors
might have contributed to this accident?
The use of a fuel retriever is the safest and most strongly recommended
method for draining petrol. A proprietary fuel retriever incorporates a number
of essential features:
one or more containers for temporary storage of different fuels
a hand operated pump for transfer of fuel to and from the retriever
flexible hoses for access through the fuel filler neck
earthing straps.
Correct use eliminates spillage, minimises petrol vapour and provides a
suitable and stable container. Earthing straps eliminate dangerous static
discharge.
Complete removal of fuel from the tank may require a combination of
methods. The main volume of fuel removed by using the retriever and the
remaining fuel may require removal via a fuel feed line for a carburettor
system or via the fuel feed line for a fuel injected system.
Hot work (including drilling) must never be carried out on a fuel tank that may
still contain fuel of fuel vapour. This type of work is best left to a specialist
who will have access to specialist equipment for measuring residual fuel
vapour levels.
Examples of Accidents
An employee suffered severe burns (62%) when petrol leaked from the tank
while he was changing the sender unit. The tank was not pumped out before
work began and a hand lamp ignited the petrol. Fire also caused extensive
damage to the premises.
The deceased was changing a sender unit, working on a vehicle over a small
inspection pit. He drained some petrol from the tank into a plastic bucket.
The petrol vapour in the pit ignited. The source of ignition was thought to be a
light fitting.
Four people were in a small railway arch garage with the door closed. Petrol
ignited while being drained from a car tank. Two died and two received
severe burns.
During the removal of a faulty sender unit from a fuel tank, a vehicle was
raised on a hoist and two men were soaked in petrol when the unit was
removed. The tank was nearly full and petrol ignited by a gas fire about five
metres away. Both died in the resulting fire.
Compressed air
There are three types of health problems, which can occur when working with
compressed air:
Barotrauma - where a change in surrounding pressure causes damage to aircontaining cavities in the body directly connected to the surrounding
atmosphere, principally ears and sinuses.
Decompression illness - which involves pains around the joints or more
rarely as a life threatening condition which may affect the heart and lungs.
These items are regularly used in motor vehicle workshops. The following
actions must be observed:
check that the jack is not leaking or has any damage
ensure that the jack you propose to use is safe for the job (safe working
load - SWL)
ensure the handbrake is applied and the grounded wheels are chocked
do not use any unsafe packing i.e. bricks or soft wood
for maximum safety ensure axle stands are correctly placed and if you are
working under the vehicle inform others that you will be working there
ensure all operating levers are not in such a way that they may be
accidentally released
never lift the vehicle onto more than two axle stands at one time.
Vehicle lifts
Hoists
Hoists are commonly used to aid the removal of heavy assemblies such as
engines and gearboxes. A few factors must be taken into account during their
use:
Exhaust extraction
Abrasive wheels
Severe friction burns; crushed fingers and loss of eyesight are common
injuries arising from accidents that occur when using abrasive wheels. The
main hazards arise from the ejection of pieces of the wheel or work piece,
contact with the wheel, and trapping of fingers between the wheel and work
rest.
In one case an apprentice mechanic lost the sight in one of his eyes when it
was struck by debris from a disintegrating wheel. The wheel was poorly fitted
and was operated at a greater speed than its design speed. A burst wheel
can kill!
Never replace wheels on such equipment unless you are trained and
authorised to do so. Never use the side of the wheel unless the equipment is
specifically designed for that purpose. Always ensure that the tool rest is as
close to the wheel as possible without fouling the wheel. To ensure that the
tool rest does not foul the wheel, always spin the wheel by hand before
switching on.
Be aware that grinding wheels take a considerable time to stop once switched
off.
Guards
Guards are fitted to machinery that poses a risk to the operator through its
action. Guards when fitted must always be used. Do not treat guards as a
substitute for eye protection (or vice versa).
If guards are making work difficult due to damage such as scratches, report it
so the guards can be replaced. Do not wait until someone is tempted to use
such machinery without the guards in place.
Welding Equipment
Electric arc
All welding equipment represents a fire risk. In addition to this, electric arc
welding equipment presents the following hazards:
Arc eye
The light rays given off are a combination of infrared, ultraviolet, and visible
radiation. If you look at the arc you will damage your eyes. This damage is
not normally permanent but feels like someone has rubbed sand and chilli into
your eyes! It should be noted that reflected light radiation from an arc welder
is just as likely to cause arc eye. Never look at the arc either directly or
indirectly without the protection of approved welding lenses. Always shield
other workers from the arc through judicious use of screens and put warning
signs up.
Gas welders
Treat the bottles with respect. They are often very heavy and somewhat
unstable. Only move the bottles through the use of a recognised trolley and
always ensure that the bottles are chained securely to the trolley.
Never repair acetylene welding equipment with copper components - it reacts
with the gas to create an explosive compound.
Exercise 9
Guarding
1. Identify machinery likely to be found in a motor vehicle workshop, which, in
your view, has dangerous parts which should be guarded:
Asbestos
The Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987 requires asbestos to be substituted
where practical, and the substituting material safer than asbestos. From the
1st October 1999 it has not been permissible to:
fit asbestos brake linings to any new motor vehicle
to fit replacement brake linings containing asbestos to any motor vehicle
first used after the end of 1972
to supply motor vehicle brake friction materials containing asbestos or to
hold such materials for supply for fitment to any motor vehicle first used
after the end of 1972.
It is understood that there are asbestos-free substitutes available now as
replacements for all vehicles originally designed to use asbestos brake parts.
Only if garages or vehicle operators are unable to obtain asbestos-free parts
from any source for a particular application, is it permissible to fit asbestos
products.
If anyone is found to have supplied or fitted asbestos brakes simply because
they are cheaper this would be seen as a breach of the control of Asbestos at
Work Regulations and legal proceedings would be considered by the HSE.
There are three types of asbestos:
1. chrysotile, which is white and found in brakes
2. amosite, which is brown
3. crocidolite, which is blue.
Dangers
This is an asbestos fibre in the lung. Many people die of lung cancer - most
deaths are due to smoking. An unknown proportion of those may have been
occupational deaths, for example caused by asbestos.
Working with asbestos can release small fibres into the air. Breathing in these
fibres can cause fatal diseases. Although the body will rid itself of most of the
larger fibres that can enter the nose and mouth, tiny fibres can pass into the
lower parts of the lung. They can stay there for years and in some cases work
their way through the lung lining.
The body naturally gets rid of any asbestos fibres that you might take in with
food and water and asbestos fibres cannot be absorbed through the skin.
If you have to work with this dangerous material, ensure you protect yourself
by:
wearing a mask/respirator and wear protective clothing which you must not
take home contaminated with asbestos
keep the asbestos damp wherever possible and ensure all waste material
is put in a polythene bag and labelled with the asbestos warning sign
dont eat drink or smoke in the working area.
Dont take any chances with this deadly material.
Exercise 10
Complete the following risk assessment checklist for your current job role.
4. Risk to property?
Inspection checklist
ITEM
OBSERVATION
REASON
RISK
FACTOR
H/M/L
CONSEQUENCE
Fire exits
Doors locked
Means of
escape
High
Persons could
become trapped if
there was a fire
Points to Remember
Although health and safety may sometimes seem to take the fun out of what
you do, you should now understand the importance of your own actions and
those of your colleagues.
Hundreds of people have been killed or injured in the motor vehicle industry;
many of the accidents could have been avoided. It may not feel cool to wear
a pair of safety goggles, but how much value do you place on your sight?
Gloves may hinder you, but not as much as painful blistered hands.
Never forget that no matter how expensive the car is that you are working on,
it is not as valuable as you.
Please remember what you have learnt and NEVER take any chances!