Health, environment and security (HES)

There are several work operations and products within the insulation discipline which may negatively effect the health, environment and security (HES) and hence may cause injury to the workers. The types of injuries can be divided into two categories.

Acute injuries

• Cut injuries
• Fall injuries
• Acute allergic injuries
• Eye injuries

Long term injuries and late injuries

• Hearing damage
• Solvent damage
• Lung- and og respiratory damage

Experience by follow up of acute injuries shows that the main reasons are as follows:

• Insufficient protective equipment and lack of protective equipment
• Lack of securing tools on scaffolding
• Lack of securing ladders

• Lack of data sheets for chemicals

• Drilling and cutting of panels (eye damage)

• Fibers from insulation material (irritation to respiratory passage and eyes)

Physical conditions

• Noice
• Scaffolds and ladders
• Heavy loads
• Disadvantageous working positions
• Light and climatic conditions
• Working with sheet materials and sharp items

Chemical aspects

• Dust
• Solvents
• Epoxy , polyurethane and other compounds that may initiate allergies

Chemical health hazard (solvents)
Solvents may enter the body through the skin, by inhaling and by swallowing . Solvents may cause injuries to:

• The brain and nerves
• The eyes
• The respiratory passage
• The skin
• The heart and blood
• The kidneys and liver
• The fertility

Acute health hazard when exposed to solvents are intoxication, dizziness , headache and irritation to eyes and skin. A worst case scenario is unconsciousness. Long term exposure of solvents may give injuries to the brain and in the central nervous system. Even if the acute injuries may be serious, the main attention must be given to the long term- and late injuries.

Solvents can be found in several products which are used within the insulation discipline, especially in sealants, fire retardant coatings and specific insulation materials. These are products which can give allergies and late injuries on the central nervous system.

Toxicological facts

• At high doses the effect is more serious
• At high doses more persons may be affected
• People react differently when exposed to the doses , due to biological variations.

VOC (volatile organical compounds)

• Measured in grams or liters
• VOC is organic compounds evaporating in the atmosphere.
• VOC emissions can damage the environments

The producers or importer of chemical products that contain dangerous chemicals shall write a HES data sheet and a product data sheet. The regulations require that all companies using chemicals and products with chemicals shall establish a chemical inventory. The Norwegian regulations further require that HES data sheet for all products to be used shall be written in Norwegian in addition to the original language.

A HES data sheet shall always be available at the location where the current product is used. The data sheets shall at least include 16 mandatory items:

1. Identification of the product and Identification of the Substance/Preparation and the Company/Undertaking
2. Hazard identification
3. Chemical Composition
4. First Aid Measures
5. Fire Fighting Measures
6. Accidental Release Measures
7. Handling and storage
8. Exposure Controls / Personal Protection
9. Physical and chemical properties
10. Stability and reactivity
11. Toxicological Information
12. Ecological information
13. Disposal Considerations
14. Transport information
15. Regulatory Information
16. Other information

From the 1st. of June 2015, the requirements to classification and labelling of chemicals according to CLP took effect. CLP, which is an abbreviation for Classification, Labelling and Packaging, is an international regulation for labelling of chemicals. CLP is based on UN’s globally harmonized system for classification and labelling of chemicals.

Health hazards labelling:

• Highly toxic
• Toxic
• Corrosive
• Health hazardous
• Irritating
• Explosive
• Oxidising

Flammability (based on flash point) labelling:

• Extremely flammable
• Highly flammable
• Flammable
• Environments
• Environmental hazards

«Administrative norms for pollution in the work environments» is a guide line for acceptable quantities of an individual compound/chemical in the work environment.

Any product used by the insulation discipline shall be identified and labelled .

The label shall include:

• Symbols and danger classes
• Information about hazard and necessary precautions
• Chemical composition
• YLgroup(air volume needed to dilute the vapours to below administrative norm)
• Name and address of producer or importer

Unlabelled products may occur if :

• Labelling is neglected
• Labelling is not mandatory

Products without labelling requirements shall give such information on the packaging. In cases where the product package does not have any information about content, the producer or the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) shall be consulted before use.

Examples of labelling

The curing agent of polyurethane containsIsocyanates, which are carcinogenic (may cause cancer). Insufficient use of personal protection may cause unfavourable exposure.

Hydrocyanic acid may develop by heating the polyurethane, for instance by hot work(welding and grinding) or by fire.

Poisoning by polyurethane exposure may give several symptoms. The most common are respiratory problems, for instance runny nose, coughing, nosebleeds and sometimes headache. Another possible reaction is lung impairment, which complicates breathing during physical efforts.

Lung impairment It is not always easy to discover, but it can be verified by medical examination.

A possible result of exposure to polyurethane is lifelong asthma that will trigger asthmatic attacks by any physical contact with isocyanates. Asthma may also contribute to higher sensitivity to dust and smell.

Isocyanates may also trigger allergies like eczema.

The symptoms may occur while in contact with the isocyanates, but sometimes the outbreaks arise several hours after contact. The symptoms often disappear after some days without exposure to the isocyanates.

In addition to sufficient ventilation, personal protection has to be used while handling epoxy- and polyurethane products.

• Gloves to protect against sharp items, splash and spillage.
• Safety goggles or visor
• Respiratory protection, preferably full face mask with fresh air supply
• Access to facilities for personal hygiene

Dust particles smaller than 5 microns may penetrate the lungs and in worst case result in Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or lung cancer. Special attention must be given to dust particles from quartz and asbestos. Insulation materials containing these components are now longer used, but could be found at older facilities. Awareness should be given to such possibilities in connection with maintenance work.

Dust – ceramic fibres
Mineral wool and Alkaline earth silicate wool (AES) do not contain dust/ceramic fibres. It is therefore recommended to use these products. Insulation materials releasing dust from ceramic fibres have been used earlier as fire insulation and insulation for high temperature surfaces. Use and hence possible inhalation of above mentioned materials may cause cancer. Awareness must be given to the fact that the duty of labelling sometimes have been omitted, since the materials are delivered as final products. However, the materials represent a hazard in connection with, for instance, tearing and cutting.

Protective measures by handling ceramic fibres

It is important to use respiratory protection when removing, machining or mounting these materials. The following masks and filters shall be used:

• Full mask with fresh air supply or tight fitting full mask with P3filter

It is important to work carefully so that the materials leak dust as little as possible.

Remember that persons without necessary personal protection, working in adjacent areas, may not be aware of the health risk your work is representing.

The work area shall be cleaned, preferably by means of industrial vacuum cleaner with HEPA-filter. The insulation materials should be covered and sufficiently labelled during storage.

Working with products that release hazardous gases, vapour or fibers, require CE labelled respiratory protection. Three different masks are available for the purpose:

• Air respiratory masks
• Full masks
• Half masks

Filter for gas

Filters for dust

Combined filter gas

Noise is defined as any sound that is undesired or interferes with one's hearing. It can be divided into two types:

1. Irritating sound from for instance ventilation or a fan in a computer etc.
2. Hazardous noise from surroundings > 80 dB (A) and peak noise > 130 dB (C)

An ‘A-weighting’ sometimes written as ‘dB(A)’, is used to measure time based noise equivalents, usually over eight hours. The ‘A’ weighting is intended to simulate the response of a human ear.

A ‘C-weighting’ or ‘dB(C)’, is known as a linear measurement, that is, not weighted, and represents the actual sound level. It is used to measure peak, impact or explosive noises such as fireworks, where an 8 hour equivalent noise level would not be appropriate.

The employer shall provide properly secured work environments. This includes exposure to noise, which affects their health, environments, security and wellbeing.

Sound is measured in desibel (dB). A conversation has usually a volume of about 65 dB, while a shout may reach a volume of approximately 80 dB. The scale has a division which duplicate the effect of the sound for each three decibels . This means that a sound effect of 83 dB will be double as high as the sound effect of 80 dB.

It is not the intensity of the sound (the sound volume) alone that affects the health hazard. The duration and frequency of the noise is also contributing. Therefore sound levels are measured as function of time. Noise at work is usually recorded as the exposure of noise throughout a workday.

We can reduce the noise in different ways:

• If possible, by removing the noise source
• By reducing the noise by insulating/embedding the noise source
• By hearing protection
• Follow the orders of hearing protection. In some ares / locations double hearing protection is required.

Light is measured in the unity, Illuminance (Lux).

Proper and sufficiently illuminated workplaces are essential. A higher age person needs more light than a younger person . By correct lighting, people manage to work in a more secure way, without getting quickly tired and unconcentrated, as often is the case by insufficient lighting. Hence it can be concluded that proper lighting is more cost effective than improper lighting (a higher concentration causes less mistakes). The work we carry out is performed in a more secure way, while seeing what is being done, and it is less burdensome to work in sufficient lighting compared to insufficient.

• Scaffolding shall ensure secure work conditions at high heights
• Sufficient strength and stability is required
• Building scaffolds requires certain skill
• Only authorized personal shall build scaffolds

Criteria for a proper scaffold

• Railings
• Fixed floor
• Floors without holes or openings, to avoid objects from falling down.
• Constructed to withstand high loads.
• Solid ladders securely mounted to the scaffold.
• Maximum 30 cm from walls if no railings or kick boards are present.
• Tags showing the approval date and load capacity
• Kick boards to protect personal and equipment from falling

Dangers while working on scaffolding

• Disorder
• Unsecured ladders
• Unsecured attachment points
• Foundation failure
• Lack of railings
• Labelling not approved

Scaffold labelling

The internal control regulations was published in Norway in 1991. Internal control is a company´s systematic work to comply with the requirements specified in laws and regulations. It shall promote the company´s improvement work within the working environments and security, and further secure a prevention of health hazards or environmental disturbance. It shall also prevent the pollution of the outer environments.

The leader of the company has the responsibility, but all the employees shall also contribute. When a supervision is carried out, the following shall be controlled:

• Are all risk factors, health hazards and pollution risks generally known?
• Have work procedures been established?
• Are the procedures followed?
• Has the company established a functional system for deviation registration?
• Has the company employed qualified personal for the specific duties?

The working environment act

• Working environment law
• Working hours
• Job security

The product control law

• Law for control of products and consumer services

The Fire and explosion protection law

• Law for protection in case of fire, explosions and accidents related to hazardous compounds

• Rescue tasks of the fire brigade

The pollution control act

• Law for protection against pollution and hazardous vaste

The chemical act

• The regulations for classification, labelling and packaging of hazardous componds..

The regulation for hazardous vaste

The regulations apply to delivery and handling og hazardous vaste.

• The flash point is the lowest temperature at which vapours above a volatile combustible substance ignite in air when exposed to a flame. At this temperature the vapour may stop burning when the source of the flame is removed. The flash point determines which hazard class the combustable liquids belong to. Explosive atmosphere, the mixture of gas / vapour must have enough oxygen and flammable gas/vapour to be ignited.
• Flash point is the temperature that is needed to be ignited without an ignition source
• Flash point, open fire, hot surfaces, electrical /mechanical sparks