Solvent exposure, dermatitis and fire risk in a manual screen-printing unit
A screen-printing unit in Faridabad prints about 800 T-shirts a day on a six-colour manual carousel with plastisol inks. Screens are washed with a kerosene–thinner mix in an open bay next to the printing table; the room has one exhaust fan and no local exhaust. Two workers complain of headaches and dizziness by mid-afternoon, and one has itchy, cracked skin on both hands. About 200 litres of solvent sit in unlabelled plastic drums beside the boiler, and there is no MSDS on file. Workers wear thin cotton gloves, and there is no eye-wash station. Wash water carrying ink residue goes into the municipal drain. The fire extinguisher shows a last-refill date of four years ago. The owner says the unit has run this way for 15 years without a serious accident.
1. Classify the hazards in this unit and rank them by risk, giving the reasoning for your ranking.
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Fire and explosion - 200 litres of flammable hydrocarbon solvent stored in unlabelled plastic drums next to a boiler, with decanting in an open bay: an ignition source plus fuel plus no bonding, giving high severity and real likelihood. Chemical, inhalation - kerosene and thinner vapour in a room with one exhaust fan causes the headaches and dizziness; the effect is cumulative and the severity rises with exposure time. Chemical, skin - dermatitis on both hands from solvent degreasing the skin, made worse by cotton gloves that soak and hold the solvent against the skin. Ergonomic - squeegee pressure and standing at a manual carousel. Environmental - ink-laden wash water to the municipal drain. Ranking by risk (severity × likelihood): fire first, because a single ignition could kill; inhalation and skin second, because harm is already appearing; ergonomics and effluent after that. The owner's '15 years without an accident' is evidence of luck, not of safety.
2. Recommend a hierarchy of controls with specific, low-cost actions the owner can implement in two weeks.
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Work down the hierarchy. Elimination/substitution: move screen washing to a water-based or low-VOC screen cleaner, or use a closed wash unit with a lid. Engineering: fit local exhaust ventilation at the wash bay and above the print table, move the solvent store to a separate fire-rated cupboard away from the boiler, and keep solvents in closed, labelled containers. Administrative: obtain and file MSDS for every chemical, write a one-page SOP for decanting and washing, train all workers, rotate the washing task, and ban eating in the bay. PPE: replace cotton gloves with nitrile gloves (cotton soaks up solvent and holds it on the skin), add goggles and, if ventilation is still inadequate, respirators with organic-vapour cartridges; install an eye-wash station. Fire: replace and tag the extinguisher, ban smoking near the store, and bond and earth containers when decanting. Most of this costs less than a week's ink bill.
3. What should be done about the worker with dermatitis, and what regulatory obligations is the unit likely to be breaching?
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The worker first: remove him from all solvent contact immediately - moving him to a dry job is not a favour, it is the control measure. Refer him to a doctor, record the case in the health register, keep the medical notes confidential, and give him nitrile gloves and a barrier cream when he returns to a non-solvent task. Do not let him 'just be careful'. Compliance: dermatitis caused by chemicals is a scheduled occupational disease, and under the Factories Act 1948 the occupier has duties on dangerous fumes and fire precautions and must notify the Chief Inspector of Factories of a contracted occupational disease - verify the exact schedule and form with the local inspectorate. Discharging ink-laden wash water into a municipal drain without treatment is very likely a breach of the Water Act 1974 and needs Consent to Operate from the Haryana State Pollution Control Board; used solvent drums are also covered by hazardous-waste rules. Fix the dermatitis case, document it, and treat the inspection as inevitable.