OHSP for Korangi tanneries, as a part of the CTP-KT
project, aims to keep tannery workers to maintain good
health through provision of a non-hazardous working
environment and healthier work practices.
The need for an OHSP for tannery workers
Over
the years there has been a consistent and mounting
pressure from environmental, health, and labor
institutions for better health measures in the tanning
industry. However, the conditions governing
international trade in leather and leather products
have undergone notable changes. Today, the parameters
checked by any reputed international company desirous
of sourcing leather or leather products from a
manufacturer in a developing country, are not merely
confined to quality and price, but also to aspects
such as compliance of the potential supplier with
national labour safety standards, occasionally even
with international standards and recommendations,
provision of adequate welfare facilities to workers
and the like (e.g. clean toilets, washing facilities,
etc.). Therefore, the safety and health of workers in
manufacturing units are gaining increasing attention
in the recent past.
United
Nation Industrial development Organization (UNIDO) has
been helping tanners and legislators of the developing
countries to initiate and implement better
environmental and occupational standards.
Hazards related to
tannery workers
The leather industry and in
particular tanning processes are notorious for their
deleterious environmental impacts and occupational
health hazards. Work at tanneries involve a series of
hazardous processes is presented in Table-1.
Table-1 Hazards related to
tannery workers
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Physical Hazards |
Exposure
to high noise levels from mechanical equipment.
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Callosities
on hands caused by continuous work with hand tools
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Eye stain due to
poor illumination in the tannery.
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Chemical Hazards |
Skin rashes and
dermatoses as a result of exposure to cleaners,
solvents, disinfectants, pesticides,
leather-processing chemicals etc.
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Allergies-contact
and systemic-caused by many of the chemicals used
in tanneries.
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Biological hazards |
Raw hides and skins
may be contaminated with a variety of bacteria,
molds, yeasts, etc and various diseases (e.g.,
anthrax, leptospirosis, tetanus, Q-fever,
brucellosis, etc.) may be transmitted to
tanneries; also, the large quantities of dust
produced in buffing operations would normally be
contaminated with disease-bearing microorganisms,
putrefaction product, etc.
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Ergonomic,
psychosocial and organizational factors |
Acute
musculoskeletal injuries caused by physical
overexertion and awkward posture while moving
heavy or bulky loads, in particular bundles of
hides, skins and leather.
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Low back pain due to
prolonged working in a standing or semi-bending
posture
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Heat stress, in
particular when working on warm days in premises
lacking good ventilation or air conditioning.
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Physical hazards |
Exposure to high
noise levels from mechanical equipment
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Callosities on hands
caused by continuous strenuous work with hand
tools
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Eye stain due to
poor illumination in the tannery
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Accident hazards |
floors, while moving
heavy loads such as containers of chemicals,
bundles or hides, skin, leather, etc.
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Electric shocks
caused by contact with defective electric
machinery
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Blows and crushing
injuries caused by rotating or moving parts of
machinery
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Acute poising and/or
chemical burns by inhalation, ingestion or skin
contact with constituents of tanning process
liquors, or poisonous gases released during the
tanning process (e.g., hydrogen sulfide)
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Burns caused by
contact with hot surfaces or splashed of hot
solutions
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Cuts and stabs
caused by manual or mechanized working tools
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Eye injuries caused
by flying particles from rotary buffing machines
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Asphyxiation
or poising in confined spaces, in particular
during the cleaning of vats or tanning baths
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Tannery Process wise OH&S
Consideration
The following process-wise health
and safety considerations are:
Trimming
Trimming is done manually in all tanneries. Manual
handling of raw hides causes physical contact with
biological wastes. This is a common source of
infections.
Soaking
Prolonged contact with water in a very humid
environment can be a cause of certain skin infections.
Skin eczema can develop if the ventilation is poor.
Alkali hydroxides can irritate skin and their vapours
can affect mucous membranes and respiratory track.
Un-hairing and Liming
Sodium sulfide and sodium hydrogen sulfide can
generate highly toxic hydrogen sulfide when it comes
in contact with an acid. Hydrogen sulfide is also
highly inflammable.
Machine is used for unhairing can the possibility of
physical injury.
Deliming and Bating
If the sodium sulfide or the sodium hydrogen
sulfide from the unhairing and soaking process are not
washed properly then the acids in the process can
generate hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide can cause
pulmonary oedema, bronchitis and pneumonia.
The enzymatic reagents used in
the bating process can allergic reactions on the skin
on contact.
Ammonia may also be produced in deliming. The gas is
very caustic, toxic if breathed and inflammable.
Degreasing
The chemicals are used can cause skin rashes.
Pickling
The hydrochloric, sulfuric and formic acids are
used in concentrated form can cause serious burns and
adding them to water is also dangerous. Acid vapour
can also affect mucous membranes and the respiratory
track. Formic acid is inflammable.
Tanning
In “one bath tanning” method, basic chromium
sulfate is applied in an acid medium under which
conditions only trivalent chrome (Cr+3) can be
released. This is much less toxic than hexavalent
chrome (Cr+6), which is toxic to bacteria at a
concentration of 2 mg/l. For humans, hexavalent
chromium or chromate is extremely hazardous including
lung cancer, tumors and kidney inflammation at very
low concentrations.
Chromium (III) oxide is also
very caustic and a toxic hazard if inhaled.
Wet Finishing (Re-tanning, Dyeing and Fat
liquoring process)
Acid and alkalis used in the
process are caustic and can burn or irritate skin.
Vapours can affect the respiratory system and other
mucous membranes
Extended exposure to humid atmosphere can cause joint
pains and eczema. The chemicals in the water may cause
dermatitis.
Drying of Leather
Problem related to heat are common in drying
operations as workers are continuously exposed to
heat.
Finishing
The environmental impact of finishing operations
is mainly related to the finishing chemicals (e.g.
dyes and pigments dispersed in binder) which can reach
effluent water or are emitted to the air, like solvent
vapours or formaldehyde, which also causes
occupational health problems.
Small tanneries are using hand
spray for application of finishing material. Exhaust
system used in finishing room do not work properly.
The whole working becomes affected with the vapours of
finishing material. Workers mask their nose and mouth
with ordinary cloths. After finishing, the leather is
subject to air-drying. Medium and large tanneries are
using the automatic spay plant was installed without
the water circulation system. The water circulation
system captures unused finishing material and hence
provides better environmental conditions. Large
tanneries use water based finishing material. Whereas,
small and medium tanneries use both solvent and water
based finishing material.
In some large tanneries,
buffing dust is ejected outside the tannery into the
drain directly from the buffing section. In some
tanneries, the buffing dust is collected by automatic
dust collection system in the bags. This dust is sold
with the chrome shaving material to the leather board
manufacturer. This dust is sold with the chrome
shaving material to the leather board manufacturer. In
some tanneries, automatic dust collection system is
not installed. Buffing is not carried out in all
tanneries.
Existing OHS condition of Korangi Tanneries:
Based on the surveys conducted
in January to October 2003, on the prevailing
occupational safety and health standards at work in
Korangi tannery cluster, the key challenges faced by
the industries were found to be:
·
Lack of awareness of existing health hazards & safety
risks and their impact;
·
Limited know-how on how to deal with these in an
appropriate way.
Old conventions stand in the way of giving workers
proper medical care. They prefer to use conventional
remedies instead of modern scientific approaches. The
workers are not really aware of the environmental
problems that they are facing. Having lived in these
conditions, they have adapted to the situation and
have very little motivation for change.
The problem areas pertaining to occupational safety
and health of workers have been identified with
specific reference to potential sources of hazards.
The specific problem areas identified include:
Safety in use of Chemicals at work
Access to safety information on hazardous chemicals is
limited by prevailing selling and distribution
practices by local and international suppliers, the
latter only catering directly to large-scale
customers. Even in the latter case, material safety
data sheets are not automatically provided with the
chemicals, as is the common practice. At the same
time, when provided, information from material safety
data sheets is not translated into preventive or
protective measures nor adequately explained to the
storage and handling personnel.
Furthermore, the level of knowledge about proper
storage and handling of particularly hazardous
chemicals is very low. Measuring and mixing of
chemicals is done manually in the medium scale
tanneries. Use of gloves, apron, goggles, and masks
during the handling of chemicals are not common.
However, some tanneries provide these items to their
workers. But workers do not pay much attention for
using these accessories during the work, which may be
the ignorance of these workers about the hazards of
these chemicals. Chemicals are not properly labeled.
Also the labeling and precautions and separate
sections for different chemical according to these
health hazards are not found in most of the tanneries.
Process control is generally absent.
Machine safety:
Machines locally manufactured generally lack basic
safety installations such as active and passive safety
devices. But most small and medium scale tanners use
these machines because they are inexpensive. Standards
of machine safety therefore are particularly low in
these segments. Manufacturers supply these machines of
old unsafe designs, as their customers demand these.
Improper design and poor maintenance practices result
in exposure to high levels of noise. Equally, poor
quality and unsatisfactory maintenance of electrical
installations, inadequate for the corrosive and humid
work conditions in tanneries, leave workers at risk of
electric shocks and fatal accidents.
At the same time, little attention is paid to measures
which might contribute to improved quality or
productivity, for example proper lighting, workplace
layout, alternative means of handling material,
improved house keeping, etc.
Personal protection and emergency preparedness
The limited knowledge and awareness about the existing
health hazards and safety risks at work result in a
corresponding inadequate protection of tannery workers
as well as unsatisfactory preparedness for fire or
medical emergencies.
Preventive measures of tannery workers:
· Wear safety shoes with non-slip soles
· Effect fences and post warning signs round
open pits in the tannery
· Examine and repair faulty or suspect electric
equipments.
· Wear protective goggles and respiratory
protection during buffing work
· Do not ever enter a confined space when you
are alone. To enter such a space, put on respiratory
protection equipment and have a co-worker stand-by to
call a rescue team in case of weakness, asphyxiation
or poisoning
· Keep a high level of personal hygiene; change
cloths at the beginning and end of shift; do not take
work-soiled cloths home.
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Occupational Health
and Safety Program (OHSP) 