Safe working practices | management feature
Making sense of safety
Despite the best efforts by employers, nearly one in ten workers in the plastics industry experiences a recordable injury while producing, forming or modifying plastic materials. The inherent hazards associated with the handling of molten polymer at elevated temperatures and pressures creates a working environ- ment fi lled with potential dangers. It is the responsibility of employers and employees to understand the hazards involved in order to safely execute the tasks required. Communication of risk is the most important aspect of any safety programme. The increased productivity achievable with modern high-speed twin-screw compounding extruders means that more raw materials are moving through the feeding system. This generates more dust in the same fl oor space, leading to higher concentrations of airborne dust. In addition, more fumes/vapours are being generated due to higher processing pressures and temperatures. Therefore, a heightened sense of safety awareness is required to eliminate the risk of accidents leading to injury. Safe working practices are designed to minimize the
risk of exposure to the hazards involved in compounding plastic resins with fi llers and additives to produce pellets. Such hazards include burns from hot machin- ery and molten plastic, excessive noise, exposure to dusts, vapours and fumes, as well as trips, slips and falls. Processing hazards should be controlled through ‘engineering controls’ or ‘work practice controls’ that eliminate or reduce worker exposure by changing the way a job is performed. Examples of engineering controls include machine guarding and dust/fume extraction systems. Work practice controls address operator training and instructions for machine use and maintenance through correct procedures. When these controls are not suffi cient, personal protective equip- ment (PPE) should be provided as a supplement. During the normal operation of a twin-screw
www.compoundingworld.com
Adam Dreiblatt of CPM Century Extrusion provides practical advice for the safe operation of twin-screw extrusion lines
compounding line, machine operators do not need to interact directly with the compound until the material is in pellet form in the fi nal packaging stage. However, there are occasions when operating personnel are required to intervene with the material in-process; it is these times when exposure to various hazards increas- es. This article looks at the engineering controls, procedures and PPE requirements to mitigate worker exposure from the point of view of the fi ve senses.
Sight – the combination of high-speed rotating machinery, molten plastic, high temperatures and high pressures dictates use of safety glasses anywhere near operating extruders. There is no excuse for not requiring safety glasses in an area of known risks, and they should be an absolute requirement in any plant. Machine guards are installed to protect operators from accidental release of pressure, for example on a
November 2013 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 47
Eye protection is essential in compounding plants, while hearing
protection
should be used where noise
levels exceed 85 dB
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