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Have a long and healthy life
Do not use solvents to clean your skin
If we are not careful we will be crushed by the mountain of paperwork created in the name of Health and safety. Certification, risk assessments, acres of legislation, awards, initiatives. So what is all this for? by Peter Kiddell
It’s great business for leaflet printers, provides a ready market for renewable forestry, employs armies of civil servants and hosts of H&S executives and it’s just great for consultants. Keep it coming. Health and safety, like global warming, has created a whole new industry costing hundreds of millions of pounds in the UK alone.
Why? Because people are arrogant, lazy and stupid. It’s human nature and we all, at one time or another, fall into one or all of those categories. To live life is a risk, there is nothing in this world that, in one form or another, will not cause us hurt or injury. You can wash in, drink or drown in water, so do we ban water? It is possible to understand the confusion that will exist in some peoples’ minds.
What if you were asked to fill a container with oil, heat it to near or above its flashpoint with a gas flame and then plunge in wet carbohydrate. The surface water flashes to steam and expels a highly flammable vapour. Occasionally there is an explosion and a fireball incinerates all in its path. The operator breathes in this searing atmosphere. What’s wrong, we were only making chips?
It is possible to legislate industry to a halt in Europe and export the hazards to China and India. There are manufacturers in these countries whose factories you would not enter because of the hazardous chemicals. Power presses unguarded where an amputated finger is almost a badge of honour. Take our working practices back fifty to a hundred years and you may approach what is often common practice in the Far East. So, why am I rabbiting on about fish and chips and foreign parts. Quite simply because we have to get things into perspective.
In simple terms, everybody has the right to work in safe conditions. It is the employer and employees’ responsibility to work safely for everyone. There is no activity without risk. It is the employers’ duty to assess risks and do what they can to remove or minimise the hazard causing the risk. A suitably qualified person should carry out risk assessment annually.
Everyone’s responsibility.
Screen printing has a range of specific hazards including: the storage and use of inks; solvents; stencil production; and removal chemicals. Also, there are by-products of UV curing (ozone generated) and UV curing inks. Rather than try to cover every hazard, this article address these specific issues.
In the printing industry, three main causes of accidents are reported to the Health and Safety Executive are: manual handling; slips and trips; and contact with machinery.
Probably far more common than is reported is the effect of chemicals in contact with skin and the long-term effects of solvents. Industrial dermatitis is experienced by many printers, as well as sensitisation to inks, solvents and chemicals.
Sensitisation is when the body reacts against regular contact with a particular chemical or group of chemicals. For example, hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollens of grasses and trees. In the printing industry it may be chemicals in UV curing inks. Whatever the cause, it can mean the sufferer cannot work with those materials in their vicinity. Whatever the hazard, removing it or reducing its effects is important. The degree of danger that a hazard produces determines its importance.
One simple rule you must always abide by: never use solvents to clean your skin.
The screen printing industry uses a wide range of printing inks, wash-up solvents, pre-press chemicals, adhesives and other chemical preparations. Printers must familiarise themselves with the products they are using. This information is available on the:
- Health & Safety Data Sheets (also known as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)) supplied by the ink/chemical supplier. These detail potential hazards and how to use them safely.
- Technical Data Sheet supplied by the ink/chemical supplier. This describes how to mix and use the inks, solvents or chemicals. It also gives details about additives, suitable range of mesh counts, etc.
These two documents are invaluable. It is the product supplier’s duty to make this information available, as set in government legislation. Also, if they are hazardous chemicals, they are obliged under other legislation to classify them with specific warning labels.
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) should be available to the user at all times. They state precautions during use and how they should be stored. Precautions include personal protective equipment that should be worn and any air extraction systems required. They detail the potential harmful effects of contact with the skin or eyes, swallowing or breathing fumes. They say how you should behave with someone who has been adversely affected.
Whenever you use new inks or chemicals read the Material Safety Data Sheet. These days, potential harmful effects are much reduced as the really nasty constituents have been removed: but they can still be harmful.
MSDSs have 16 sections that deal with the following information:
- Product name/supplier
- Identity of hazardous components/composition
- Identification of hazards
- First aid in the event of accidents or misuse
- Fire fighting measures
- Measures for accidental release/spillage
- Handling and storage
- Exposure controls and personal protection
- Physical and chemical properties
- Stability and reactivity
- Toxicological information
- Ecological information
- Disposal considerations
- Transport regulatory information
- Supply regulatory information
- Additional information
Finding what you need to know
The Material Safety Data Sheet can be a daunting accumulation of information for the average screen printer to deal with but the necessary actions can be summarised as follows:
- Check the identity agrees with the product label (Section 1)
- Check the hazard (Section 3). If there is none, the product can usually be safely stored and used with normal standards of good industrial hygiene for the intended application
- If a hazard is declared, note how to store the product safely (Section 7)
- Note the requirements for personal protection (Section 8) and safe conditions of use (Sections 8 to 10)
- Make sure the working instructions are read and keep the MSDS in an accessible place for emergency information like First Aid (section 4), Fire (Section 5), Spillage (Section 6), Illness (Section 11), Disposal (Sections 12 & 13) and any regulatory considerations (Sections 1, 3, 14 & 15)
Copies of the MSDS should be kept where inks and solvents are being used. They are no good in a filing cabinet in HR. If there is an accident people need to know what to do. If someone is hospitalised they should take a sample of the chemical and, more importantly, the MSDS because that will tell the medics what they are up against.
Checklist for printers
- Make sure the room is well ventilated and any extraction or air supply is switched on and working
- Look for signs of damage, wear or poor operation of any equipment used. If you find problems, tell your supervisor
- Do continue working if you think there is a problem
- Make sure you have the right PPE, in good condition, and use it
- Do not use solvents to clean your skin
- Clear up spills immediately and put used cloths in the labelled containers
- Keep the area clean and tidy
- Always draw curtains or close screens/guards when operating UV lamps
- Wash your hands before and after eating, drinking or using the toilet
- Make sure extraction systems are working correctly at all times
- ALWAYS READ THE MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET
Regulations are put in place to provide a safe working environment. Remember it is also your responsibility to work in a safe manner. It isn’t macho to lift or move things that may damage your back, use solvents to clean your hands or be covered in ink. You only have one life, make sure it is a long and healthy one.
