In performing this assignment the student may use some imagination about the work environment and the process, however any assumptions should be stated.

You are a worker in a company that makes plastic (polyurethane) foam cushions to be used in making furniture. Your task is to glue together various pre-cut foam plastic shapes using a spray resin. You do this at the front of a spray cabinet.

The spray cabinet, which is several years old, does not have facility for removal of solvent vapours from the air being exhausted.

The spray cabinet is situated alongside the frame manufacturing area, where welding and machining take place.

You have no personal protective equipment - no respirator, no gloves, no eye protection. When you first started this job two years ago, you could smell the resin, but you can’t smell it now. Your training, which was given by an experienced operator, lasted about half a day and was about where and how to spray and how to prepare and clean the spray equipment. Due to the temperature inside the workplace during summer, you and your co-workers dress lightly, usually in shorts and T-shirts.

You are now having respiratory problems on the job, mainly with asthma-type symptoms and skin rashes. Your doctor has told you that the problem may be work related.

The work you perform will be needed for every product the company makes in the foreseeable future.

The factory has a Health & Safety Representative, and has recently introduced Total Quality Management and is working towards ISO9000 certification. You are a member of a production ‘team’, and have been empowered to solve problems in the workplace. Your team also receives performance pay, linked to measures of customer satisfaction and yearly profits. The factory is situated in a residential area, and on the bank of a river. Storm water from the factory is discharged to the river.

You have access to the Product Design Manager, and any suggested changes to the product design will be communicated through the ‘team leader’ to him.

Your task is identify the hazards in your workplace, perform a risk assessment where there is exposure to the hazard, suggest a control strategy using the ‘hierarchy of controls’, and perform a ‘cost/benefit’ analysis for any controls suggested.

(You may obtain information about the products and equipment used in the process from any source including the internet.)

Prepare a report for senior management, proposing the changes (improvements) to the product design, process and equipment , necessary to make the operation ‘safe’, and justifying expenditure on the controls and changes recommended.

Your report should include recommendations, such as monitoring the workplace, health surveillance, preplacement examinations of workers etc., which you consider necessary for ‘safe’ operation. It should also contain an ‘action plan’ for implementation of process, equipment and product changes.

Name of product: Stik Supreme

Risk: Irritating to skin.

Safety phrases Avoid contact with skin. Do not breathe vapour/spray.

The manufacturer’s MSDS provides the following information:

Ingredients:

The spray resin contains the following solvents: acetone, toluene, n-hexane, as well as hydrocarbon resin, rubber and filler.

Health Hazard Information:

Swallowed Moderately toxic. May cause gastro-intestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Tends to break up into foam if the patient vomits. Upon aspiration into the lungs, chemical pneumonitis may develop.

Eye Contact with eyes will cause irritation and defatting of tissue.

Skin Frequent and prolonged skin contact may cause drying and cracking of the skin an may result in irritation and dermatitis.

Inhaled Toxic by inhalation, irritation to mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract, coughing, headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, uncoordinated movements. Some individuals may experience allergic reactions with asthmatic symptoms.

Precautions for Use

Approved respiratory equipment for organic vapours should be worn where there is inadequate ventilation. Skin protection (PVC gloves and long sleeves) and eye protection are also required.