Schedule XVII

MANIPULATION OF STONE OR ANY OTHER MATERIAL CONTAINING

FREE SILICA

1. Application:-

This Schedule shall apply to all factories or parts of factories in which

manipulation of stone or any other material containing free silica is carried

on. This shall include the manufacturing processes pertaining to Stone

Crushers, Gem and Jewelry, Slate Pencil Making, Agate Industry, Cement

Industry, Pottery and Glass Manufacturing.

2. Definitions:-For the purpose of this Schedule-

(a) “manipulation” means crushing, breaking, chipping, dressing, grinding,

sieving,mixing,grading or handling of stone or any other material

containing free silica or any other operation involving such stone or

material;

(b) “stone or any other material containing free silica” means a stone or any

other solid material containing not less than 5 percent by weight of free

silica.

3. Preventive Control Measures:—

No manipulation shall be carried out in a factory or part of a factory unless

the following preventive control measures are adopted, namely:-

(1) Engineering Control Measures:

(a) Wet Methods:

(i) Air borne Silica Dust should be minimized or suppressed by applying water

to the process or cleanup;

(ii) Water should be provided for drilling or sawing of concrete or masonry,

(b) Ventilation:

(i) An effective Local exhaust system should be provided and maintained to

control/remove silica dust from industrial processes.

(ii) Dilution / ventilation may be used to reduce free silica dust concentration

to below the permissible limits in large areas.

(iii) Dust collectors / High Efficiency Particle Air filter (HEPA) should be set up

so that dust shall be removed from the source and all transfer points to

prevent contaminating work areas.

(iv) Ventilation systems should be kept in good working conditions.

(c) Isolation:

(i) Containment methods should be used while carrying out sand blasting.

(ii) Cabins of vehicles or machinery cutting and drilling that might contain free

silica should be enclosed and sealed.

(d) Dust Control:

(i) Vacuum System with High Efficiency Particle Air(HEPA)filter shall be used

to remove dust from work area sand at all transfer points.

(ii) The belt conveys or transferring crushed material shall be totally enclosed

throughout its length.

Provided that such control measures as above said are not necessary

if the process or operation itself is such that the level of dust created and

prevailing does not exceed the permissible limit of exposure specified in

Rule 49

(2) Medical Control Measures:

(1) The occupier of every factory to which the schedule applies, shall

a. employ a Health Surveillance Officer for medical surveillance of the

workers employed therein.

b. provide to the said Health Surveillance Officer all the necessary facilities for

the purpose referred to in clause (a).

(2) Workers employed in this scheduled process / operation shall be medically

examined by the Health Surveillance Officer-

i. Once before employment, to ascertain the physical fitness of the person to

do the particular job:

ii. Once in a period of six months, to ascertain the health status of all the

workers in respect of occupational health hazards to which they are

exposed; and in cases where in the opinion of the Health Surveillance

officer it is necessary to do so at a shorter interval in respect of any

workers.

(3) The pre employment medical examination shall include pulmonary function

test and chest Xray -Posterior Anterior (PA) view to be compared with

standard International Labour Organisation (I.L.O) Radiographs on

Pneumoconiosis which shall be read by a radiologist specialized / trained in

the said field.

(4) The periodical re-examination shall, wherever the Health Surveillance

Officer considers appropriate, include all the tests of pre-employment

except the chest X-ray which shall be carried out at least once in three

years.

(5) The record of the examinations referred to in sub-paragraph (2) shall be

maintained in Health Register in Form: HR which shall be kept readily

available for inspection by the Inspector-cum-Facilitator.

(6) No person shall be employed for the first time without a Certificate of

Fitness in Form: XVII granted by the Health Surveillance officer. If the

Health Surveillance officer declares a person unfit for being employed in

any process covered under sub-rule(1),such a person shall have the right

to appeal to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator who shall refer the matter to the

Medical Officer whose opinion shall be final in this regard. If the Inspector-

cum-Facilitator is also a Medical Officer, he may dispose of the application

himself.

(7) Any findings of the Health Surveillance officer revealing any abnormality or

unsuitability of any person employed in the process shall immediately be

reported to the Medical Officer who shall in turn, examine the concerned

worker and communicate his findings to the occupier within thirty days. If

the Medical Officer is of the opinion that the workers examined is required

to be taken away from the process for health protection, he will direct the

occupier accordingly, who shall not employ the said worker in the same

process. However, the worker so taken away shall be provided with

alternate placement unless he is in the opinion of the Medical Officer, fully

incapacitated in which case the worker affected shall he suitably

rehabilitated.

(8) A Medical Officer on his own motion or on a reference from an Inspector-

cum-Facilitator may conduct medical examination of a worker to ascertain

the suitability of his employment in the scheduled Process/operation or for

ascertaining his health status. The opinion of the Medical Officer in such a

case shall be final. The fee required for this medical examination shall be

paid by the occupier.

(9) The worker taken away from employment in any process under sub-rule

(2) may be employed again in the same process only after obtaining the

Fitness Certificate from the Medical Officer and after making entries to that

effect in the Health Register.

(4) Administrative Control Measures:

(a) Work place/Environment Monitoring:

The occupier to ensure work place / environment monitoring to be

performed to determine magnitude of exposure / concentration to evaluate

engineering controls, selecting respiratory protection, work practices and

the need for medical surveillance.

(i) Exposure / concentration measurements should be made in the

Workers’ actual breathing zone.

(ii) Total sampling time shall be at least seven hours.

(iii) Work place / Environment Monitoring shall be repeated quarterly.

(iv) The report of dust sampling by occupier shall be made available to the

public.

(b) Training/Awareness: Workers shall be trained in the following:-

(i) Health effects of free silica dust exposure.

(ii) Operations and material that produce free silica dust hazards.

(iii) Engineering control sand work practice controls that reduce dust

concentration.

(iv) The importance of good house keeping and cleanliness.

(v) Proper use of personal protective equipment such as respirators etc.

(vi) Personal hygiene practices to reduce exposure.

(c) Maintenance of floors:

(i) All floors or places where fine dust is likely to settle on and where on any

person has to work or pass shall be of impervious material and

maintained in such condition that they can be thoroughly cleaned by a

moist method or any other method which would prevent dust being air

borne in the process of cleaning once at least during each shift.

(ii) For this purpose, dry sweeping or compressed air shall be used for

cleanup of dust or wet methods or vacuum system with a High Efficiency

Particle Air (HEPA) filter shall be used.

(iii) Dust on over head ledges and equipment should be removed before it

becomes air borne due to vibration traffic and random air current.

(d) Change room and washing facilities:

(i) Washing and bathing facilities shall be conveniently located at a place

easily accessible to the workers.

(ii) Cloak room with individual lockers shall be provided for workers to store

uncontaminated clothing.

(iii) Workers shall take bath and change the work clothes before they leave

the work site.

(iv) Work clothes shall not be cleaned by blowing or shaking.

(v) Eating/lunch areas shall be located away from exposed areas.

(e) Display of Notices:

(i) Warning signs/Posters shall be displayed conspicuously in a prominent

place.

(ii) The Warning signs/Posters hall contain the Hazards and precautions to

be taken.

(iii) The display of notice shall be in the local language and also in the

language understood by the majority of the workers.