Did you know

27 July 2000



Phil Jones, chief environmental consultant at National Britannia answers readers questions on health and safety.


My laundry has many different kinds of machinery: washers that tilt forward; overhead conveyors; dryers, which have hot surfaces; and ironers that can inflict severe crushing injuries to fingers and hands. Is there a set of standard warning and hazard signs to cover all these risks?

Your first step is to ensure that any risks are eliminated or controlled by other means, such as the provision of adequate guarding or safe positioning of the machinery.

However, even when such control measures have been put in place, a significant “residual” risk may still remain and you may need to advise employees or customers of this. The type of sign you need to display will depend on the type of hazard.

For example, prohibition signs, which are round in shape with a black pictogram on a white background and with red edging and a diagonal line, are used to instruct people not to take certain actions e.g. do not touch; no access.

Warning signs (for example, danger: electricity) are triangular in shape and consist of a black pictogram on a yellow background, with black edging.

Mandatory signs (such as “safety gloves must be worn!”) are round in shape with a white pictogram on a blue background.

You need to identify which type of warning is appropriate, make sure that it conforms to the relevant type of sign and display it where it can be easily seen and is not ambiguous.

Some of our staff operating the drycleaning machines have complained of headaches, nausea and dizziness. Could this be related to the perchloroethylene solvent we use?

Excessive exposure to solvents can produce adverse health effects such as those you’ve listed, as well as irritation to the skin, eyes and lungs.

As many of your staff are experiencing the same symptoms, I advise you to monitor their exposure and to check that it is line with the occupational exposure standard set down by the Health and Safety Executive. If you do not have the necessary expertise in-house, then you should contact outside consultants who will carry out workplace air monitoring.

The occupational exposure standard for perchloroethylene is 50ppm for long-term exposure (averaged out over an 8-hour period) or 100ppm for short-term exposure (averaged out over a 15-minute period).

Solvent emissions may be increased if the machinery is not operating correctly, so ensure that it is well maintained. They may also be increased if too much solvent is being used.

It is also important to ensure that there is adequate ventilation in the workroom. Check your ventilation system. You may need to consider installing a back-up ventilation system which automatically switches on if background concentrations increase.

Make sure that all the operators are adequately trained. Monitor their exposure and set up a maintenance programme for machinery so that any problems are corrected before they lead to potentially dangerous situations, such as this one.

We are having some electrical work done by contractors in our laundry. I understand that we must make sure they are “competent,” but how can we verify their electrical competence?

There are three acceptable registration bodies for electrical contractors in the UK: • The National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC) Tel: 020 7582 7746 • The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) Tel: 020 7229 1266 • The Electrical Contractors’ Association of Scotland (ECA of Scotland) Tel: 0131-445 5577 It is important to specify the level of competence required of the contractor, using these national organisations’ accreditation schemes where possible. Do not take competence on trust, check the paperwork submitted and take up at least one reference from a recent client to check that the work was carried out safely.

Must all the workrooms in our laundry have natural lighting?

The legislation that deals with lighting in the workplace is the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

This states that every workplace shall have suitable and sufficient lighting and that this must, so far as is reasonably practicable, be by natural light.

Whether natural light will be adequate will depend on the design of the workplace.

Lighting in the workplace should be sufficient for people to carry out their work safely and without causing eyestrain. The lighting should also allow them to move about the place safely. For example, stairs should be well-lit so that people can see the treads clearly. Dazzling lights or glare should be avoided.

Workplaces should be designed to take advantage of natural lighting so far as is possible, but this may not always be feasible. Where a workplace relies on natural light, windows and skylights must be cleaned regularly to ensure their continued efficiency.



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