Safety in Painting and Decorating
The Safety domain checks whether you can spot the hazards of painting work on a real Odisha site - falls, solvent vapour, old lead paint, cement burns, fire and electrical risk - and pick the correct control before touching a brush.
Main hazards and their controls
- Falls cause most painting fatalities. Use a ladder at the 4:1 rule (base out 1 m for every 4 m of height), extending at least 1 m above the landing, tied top and bottom, with three points of contact and no standing on the top two rungs.
- Solvent vapour from enamel, thinner and varnish is both toxic and flammable. Keep ignition sources away, ventilate cross-flow, and never decant near a flame or running motor.
- Lead paint in pre-1990 buildings must never be dry-sanded or burnt off; use wet methods or chemical stripper, P3 particulate respirator plus coverall, and double-bag the debris.
- Alkali burns from cement, lime and plaster are common; nitrile gloves help against solvents but not against lime - wash immediately with clean water.
Matching the respirator to the hazard
Organic-vapour cartridges are for solvent mist and vapour; P-class particulate filters are for dust. A dust mask gives no protection against thinner vapour, and a vapour cartridge clogs quickly in dust.
Worked example
A 1990s door frame carries six coats of old gloss. Reasoning: the age makes lead likely, so the hazard is inhaled dust and fume, not just mess. Correct method - seal the room, strip chemically or wet-sand, wipe with damp paper, wear P3 plus coverall and gloves, bag waste separately, wash hands and face before eating. A hot-air gun set very high or a blowlamp can vaporise lead and is refused.
Traps that cost marks
Water on an electrical fire; solvent cartridge used for dust; ladder base too close to the wall; working alone in a sealed room; storing thinners in drink bottles.