S.I. No. 246/1973 - Factories (Refractory Materials) Regulations, 1973.

S.I. No. 246 of 1973.

FACTORIES (REFRACTORY MATERIALS) REGULATIONS, 1973.

I, MICHAEL O'LEARY, Minister for Labour, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 8 , 20 , 71 and 99 of the Factories Act, 1955 (No. 10 of 1955), and the Labour (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1966 ( S.I. No. 164 of 1966 ), and after consultation with the Minister for Health, hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Factories (Refractory Materials) Regulations, 1973.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of October, 1973.

(3) The Regulations dated 26th April, 1919 (S.R. and O., No. 514 of 1919), for the crushing, grinding and sieving of refractory materials are hereby revoked.

2. In these Regulations—

"appointed doctor", as respects a factory to which these Regulations apply, means the certifying doctor for the district in which the factory is situated; or a registered medical practitioner specially appointed by written certificate of the Minister for the purpose of these Regulations;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Labour;

"refractory material" means refractory material containing not less than 80 per cent total silica (SiO₂);

"silica brick" means any brick or other article composed of refractory material and containing not less than 80 per cent total silica (SiO₂).

3. (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this regulation, these Regulations shall apply to every factory in which any of the following processes are carried on, namely:

( a ) the handling, moving, breaking, crushing, grinding or sieving of any refractory material for the purposes of the manufacture of—

(i) articles used in the construction of furnaces and flues,

(ii) crucibles,

(iii) compositions or other materials used in the preparation of moulds in which metals are cast, or

( b ) any process used in the manufacture of silica bricks.

(2) These Regulations shall not apply in relation to—

( a ) the handling, moving, mixing or sieving of natural sands, or

( b ) the manipulation of rotten rock in the preparation of moulds used in metal foundries.

4. The Minister may, by certificate in writing, exempt any factory or part thereof from the application in relation thereto of any provision of these Regulations if he is satisfied that the safety and health of the persons employed therein will not be prejudiced as a consequence of granting the exemption. Any exemption granted under this regulation may be granted subject to specified conditions and may be revoked by the Minister at any time.

5. (1) It shall be the duty of the occupier to ensure that the requirements of Regulations 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of these Regulations are complied with.

(2) It shall be the duty of every person employed at a factory to which these Regulations apply to comply with the requirements of Regulations 16 and 17 hereof.

6. Refractory material shall not be broken in pieces by manual labour in a factory to which these Regulations apply unless the process is carried out in the open air.

7. Refractory material, unless it is so wet that it will not produce dust, shall not be crushed or ground in a stone-crushing machine or a grinding machine in a factory to which these Regulations apply unless the machine is provided with—

( a ) an efficient exhaust draught and efficient dust-collecting appliances,

or

( b ) an efficient water or steam spray,

and the arrangements shall not be regarded as complying with the requirements of this regulation unless they are adequate to prevent the escape of dust to or near any other place in the factory and at which a person is employed.

8. All chutes, conveyors, elevators, screens, sieves and mixers used for manipulating refractory material in a factory to which these Regulations apply shall, unless the material is so wet that it will not produce dust, be enclosed and be provided with an efficient exhaust draught arranged so as to prevent the escape of dust to or near any place in the factory and at which a person is employed.

9. (1) At any factory to which these Regulations apply refractory material which is sufficiently dry to produce dust shall not be—

( a ) loaded into any wagon or other receptacle for transport unless first it has been placed in a suitable dust-proof container or has been damped so that it will not produce dust,

( b ) unloaded from any wagon or other receptacle for transport unless first it has been so damped or the work is done under an efficient exhaust draught arranged so as to prevent the escape of dust into the air,

( c ) shovelled or raked or otherwise manipulated by means of hand tools in any manufacturing process unless first it has been so damped or the work is done under an efficient exhaust draught arranged as aforesaid.

(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this regulation which relate to unloading shall not apply in the case of refractory material in the form of rock or pebbles which has not previously been manipulated in a manufacturing process.

10. (1) The floors of all places in a factory to which these Regulations apply where silica bricks are dried, other than the floors of tunnel ovens or chamber driers not normally entered by persons employed, shall, after each lot of silica bricks has been removed, be carefully cleaned of all débris.

(2) The part of a floor being cleaned to comply with this regulation shall be kept damp while the cleaning is being done.

(3) For the purposes of enabling the requirements of this regulation to be complied with, there shall be conveniently provided a constant supply of water laid on under adequate pressure with sufficient connections and a flexible branch pipe and sprinkler to enable water to be supplied direct to every part of the floor concerned.

11. Drying stoves in which silica bricks are baked by fires before being placed in the kilns shall not be used in a factory to which these Regulations apply.

12. (1) The surface of the floor or ground at a place where a process mentioned in Regulation 3 (1) of these Regulations is carried on, being a place where persons are liable to pass, shall be cleaned of débris of refractory material at least once during each daily period of employment or, where shifts are worked, at least once during each shift.

(2) Débris removed in compliance with the requirements of this regulation shall, unless it is immediately required for use in the processes, be effectively damped and placed in covered receptacles or otherwise stored in such a manner as to prevent the escape of dust to or near any other place in the factory and at which a person is employed.

13. Where in any factory to which these Regulations apply plates are used, whether portable or forming part of the floor, on which to dry silica bricks, the plates shall be freed from adherent material only by a wet method or by such other method as will effectively prevent the escape of dust into the air.

14. The dust or powder of refractory material (other than natural sand) shall not be used for sprinkling the moulds in silica brick making in a factory to which these Regulations apply.

15. (1) Where persons are employed at a factory in connection with the carrying on of any process mentioned in Regulation 3 (1) of these Regulations in which any such person may be exposed to dust or other substance of a character and in such quantity as to be likely to cause bodily injury, it shall be the duty of the occupier to ensure that—

( a ) every person is, before being so employed and at the expense of the occupier, medically examined by an appointed doctor for the purpose of ascertaining whether he is fit to be employed in the process and thereafter once in every twelve months or at such other intervals as the doctor may direct,

( b ) every person to be examined in accordance with this paragraph is enabled to present himself at the appointed time for the medical examination,

( c ) a person who has failed to submit himself for a medical examination required by this paragraph is not allowed to work again in any such process before submitting himself for such examination,

( d ) a person neither works nor is allowed to work in any such process until such time as a certificate is given for the purposes of this regulation certifying that he is fit for employment in the process.

(2) In addition to the requirements of paragraph (1) of this regulation, the Minister or the doctor by whom a certificate for the purposes of this regulation was given in relation to a person may at any time require the person, so long as the person is employed in any process mentioned in the said paragraph (1), to undergo a medical examination which may consist of any or all of the following, namely—

( a ) a general clinical examination,

( b ) a blood pressure determination,

( c ) an X-ray examination of the lungs,

( d ) respiratory function tests,

( e ) any other examination considered necessary.

(3) The requirements of paragraph (1) of this regulation, other than subparagraph (a), shall, in relation to a person to be medically examined pursuant to paragraph (2) of this regulation, apply, subject to the necessary modifications, in the same manner as they apply in relation to a person to be medically examined for the purposes of the said paragraph (1).

(4) A certificate given for the purposes of this regulation by an appointed doctor shall be entered in a health register the form of which shall be approved by the Minister.

(5) In this regulation "bodily injury" includes fibrosis of the lungs due to silica or other dust (including the condition known as dust reticulation).

16. It shall be the duty of every person employed in any process mentioned in Regulation 3 (1) of these Regulations to wear or use the clothing, equipment, or devices provided pursuant to these Regulations at all times while employed in the process.

17. A person employed at a factory to which these Regulations apply shall not misuse or interfere, without the consent of the occupier or manager, in any way with any appliance provided pursuant to these Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 17th day of August, 1973.

MICHAEL O'LEARY,

Minister for Labour.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations prescribe measures to be taken to suppress or control dust for the purpose of protecting the health of persons employed in the manufacture of silica bricks or processes involving the use of refractory materials. The regulations provide for the regular medical examination of workers and for the keeping of records of such examination.