Occupational Safety, Health and Environment in Painting and Decoration Work
This domain tests whether you can name painting hazards, apply the hierarchy of control, pick the right respirator and glove for a product, and dispose of waste lawfully.
Hazards you must be able to name
- Solvent vapour from enamels, thinners and lacquers causes dizziness, headache and fire risk; two-pack PU hardeners contain isocyanates that sensitise the lungs and cause occupational asthma.
- Lead in old paint: dry sanding or burning off releases lead dust and fume; use chemical stripper or wet methods.
- Dust: silica and gypsum from sanding putty; fungal spores from damp walls.
- Fire: thinner drums, spray mist, and linseed-oil rags that self-heat.
- Epoxy and cement cause dermatitis; splashes injure eyes.
Controls in order
Eliminate or substitute first - water-based, lead-free, chrome-free products. Then engineer the exposure away: cross-ventilation, local exhaust, spraying outdoors, screens. Then administrate: short rotations, no eating in the area, hot-work permit. PPE comes last: A1P1/A2P2 cartridge for solvents, P2/P3 for dust, nitrile (not latex) gloves for epoxy, goggles, coveralls, harness above 1.8 m.
Environment and law
Read the SDS before opening the tin. Never pour thinner into a drain or soil. Keep containers closed, store below 30 degrees C away from ignition, segregate sludge and empty tins. Workers registered under the BOCW Act, 1996 receive welfare benefits.
Worked example
Two-pack PU is to be sprayed in a closed room. A cartridge respirator is the wrong answer: isocyanates are not reliably removed by air-purifying filters and give poor odour warning, so specify supplied-air (airline) breathing apparatus, forced ventilation and exclusion of other trades. Reasoning: control the hazard at the source and at the air supply, not at the filter.
Traps that cost marks
- A dust mask offered for solvent vapour, or a cartridge for isocyanate spray.
- Latex gloves for epoxy.
- Oily rags left in a heap in a corner.