1. Definitions.- “Blasting” means cleaning, smoothening, roughening, or removing of any part of the surface of any article by the use of an abrasive as a jet of sand, metal shot, or grit or other material, propelled by a blast of compressed air or steam.
(2) “Blasting enclosure” means a chamber, barrel, cabinet or any other enclosure designed for the performance of blasting therein
(3) “Blasting chamber” means a blasting enclosure in which any person may enter at anytime in connection with any work or otherwise.
(4) “Cleaning of casting” where done as an incidental or supplemental process in connection with the makings of metal castings, means the freeing of the casting from adherent sand or other substance and includes the removal of cores and the general smoothening of a casting where freeing is done but does but does not include the freeing of castings from scale formed during annealing or heat treatment.
2. Prohibition of sand blasting.- Sand or any other substance containing frees silica shall not be introduced as an abrasive into any blasting apparatus and shall not be used for blasting:
Provided that this clause shall be brought into operation after two years from the date of commencement of these Regulations.
3. Precautions in connection with blasting operations.- (1) Blasting to be done in blasting enclosure.- Blasting shall not be done except in a blasting enclosure and no work other than blasting and any work immediately incidental thereto and clearing and repairing of the enclosure including the plants and appliances situated therein, shall be performed in a blasting enclosure. Every door, aperture and joint of blasting enclosure shall be kept closed and airtight while blasting is being done therein.
(2) Maintenance of blasting enclosure.- Blasting enclosure shall always be maintained i n good condition and effective measures shall be taken to prevent dust escaping from such enclosures, and from any apparatus connected therewith, into the air of any room.
(3) Provision of separating apparatus.- There shall be provided and maintained for and in connection with every blasting enclosure, efficient apparatus for separating, so far as practicable, abrasive, which has been used for blasting and which is to be used again as an abrasive, from dust or particles of other materials arising from blasting, and no such abrasive shall be introduced into any blasting apparatus and used for blasting until it has been to separated.
Separating apparatus shall be provided with exhaust draught arrangement to extract and remove the dust by special methods and in such manner so that it shall not escape into air of any rooms in which persons are employed:
Provided that this clause shall not apply, except in the case blasting chambers, or blasting enclosure constructed or installed before the coming into force of the schedule, if the Chief Inspector is of the opinion that it is not reasonably practicable to provide such separating apparatus.
(4) Provision of ventilating plant.- There shall be provided and maintained in connection with every blasting enclosure efficient ventilation plant to extract, by exhaust draught effected by mechanical means, dust produced in the enclosure. The dust extracted and removed shall be disposed of by such method and in such manner that it shall not escape into the air of any room, and every other filtering or settling device situated in a room in which persons are employed other that person attending to such bag or other filtering or settling device, shall be completely separated from the general air of that room in an enclosure ventilated to the open air.
(5) Operation of ventilating plant.- The ventilating plant provided for the purpose of paragraph (4) of clause 3 shall be kept in continuous operation whenever the blasting enclosure is in use whether or not blasting is actually taking place therein and in the case of a blasting chamber it shall be in operation even when any person is inside the chamber for the purpose of cleaning.
4. Inspection and examination.- (1) Every blasting enclosure and/or chamber shall be specially inspected for detecting leakages by a competent person at least once in every week in which it is used for blasting. Every blasting enclosure, the apparatus connected therewith and the ventilating plant shall be thoroughly examined and in the case of ventilating plant, tested by a competent person at least once in every three months.
(2) Particulars of the result of every such inspection, examination and test shall forthwith be entered in a register, which shall be kept in a form approved by the Chief Inspector and shall be available for inspection by any workman employed in or in connection with blasting in the factory. Any defect found on any such inspection, examination or test shall be immediately reported by the person carrying out the inspection, examination or test to the occupier, manager or other appropriate person and without prejudice to the foregoing requirements of this schedule, shall be removed without avoidable delay.
(3) Every blasting chamber, separating apparatus, and ventilation plant shall be thoroughly inspected at an interval 6 of months for detecting any defect in their efficient operations, and the defects so noticed shall be rectified forthwith.
5. Provision of protective helmets, gauntlets and overalls.- (1) There shall be provided and maintained for the use of all persons who are employed in a blasting chamber, whether in blasting or in any work connected therewith or in cleaning such a chamber, protective helmets of a type approved by a certificate of the Chief Inspector; and every such person shall wear the helmet provided for his use whilst he is in the chamber and shall not remove it until he is outside the chamber.
(2) Each protective helmet shall carry a distinguishing mark indicating the person by whom it is intended to be used and no person shall be allowed or required to wear a helmet not carrying his mark or a helmet which has been worn by another person unless it has thoroughly disinfected.
(3) Each protective helmet when in use shall be supplied with air at a rate of not less than six cubic feet per minute. The air supplied shall be cool and free from fumes or mist of mineral oil.
(4) Suitable gauntlets, overalls, dust-proof goggles and boots shall be provided for the use of all persons while performing blasting or assisting at blasting, and every such person shall, while so engaged, wear the gauntles and overalls provided.
6. Precautions in connection with cleaning and other work.- (1) Where any person is engaged upon cleaning of any blasting apparatus or blasting enclosure or separating apparatus or of any apparatus or ventilation plant connected therewith of the surrounding thereof or upon any other work in connection with any blasting apparatus or with any blasting enclosure or with any apparatus or ventiling plant connected therewith so that he is exposed to the risk in inhaling dust which has arisen from blasting, all practicable measures shall be taken to prevent such inhalation. All the workers exposed to dust shall be provided with protective helmets with fresh air supply and overalls to prevent inhalation of dust.
(2) In connection with any cleaning operation referred to in regulation 5, and with removal of dust from filtering or settling devices all practicable measures shall be taken to dispose of the dust in such a manner that it does not enter the air of any room. Vacuum cleaners shall be provided and used for such cleaning operations.
7. Storage accommodation for protective wear.- Adequate and suitable storage accommodation for the helmets, gauntlets and overalls required to be provided under regulation shall be provided outside and conveniently near to every blasting enclosure and such accommodation shall be kept clean. Helmets, gauntlets and overalls, when not in actual use, shall be kept in this accommodation.
8. Maintenance and cleaning or protective wear.- All helmets, gauntlets, overalls and other protective devices or clothings provided and worn for the purpose of this Schedule shall be kept in good condition and shall be cleaned on every week-day in which they are used. Where dust arising from the cleaning of such protective clothing or devices is likely to be inhaled all measures shall be taken to prevent such inhalation. Vacuum cleaners shall be used for removing dust from such clothing and compressed air shall not be used for removing dust from any clothing.
9. Maintenance of vacuum cleaning plant.- Vacuum cleaning plant used for the purpose of this Schedule shall be properly maintained.
10. Prohibition relating to employment of women and young persons.- (1) No woman or young person under 18 years of age shall be employed in blasting or assisting at blasting or in any blasting chamber or in the cleaning of any blasting apparatus or any blasting enclosure or any apparatus or ventilating plant connected therewith or be employed on maintenance or repair work at such apparatus, enclosure or plant.
(2) No woman or young person under 18 years of age shall be employed to work regularly within 20 feet of any blasting enclosure unless the enclosure is in a room and he or she is outside the room where he or she is effectively separated from any dust coming from the enclosure.
11. Medical examination.- (1) Every person employed in blasting or assisting at blasting or in any blasting chamber or in the cleaning of any blasting apparatus or any blasting enclosure or any apparatus or ventilating plant connected therewith or be employed on maintenance or repair work at such apparatus, enclosure or plant shall be medically examined by the Medical Inspector of Factories/Certifying Surgeon within thirty days of his first employment, the record of which shall be entered in Form No. 7, and if found fit for employment in the said process; he shall be granted by the Medical Inspector of Factories/Certifying Surgeon, a certificate of fitness in Form No. 23.
(2) After the first examination, the person so examined shall be examined by the Certifying Surgeon at intervals of twelve months and a record of such examinations shall be entered by the Certifying Surgeon in Form No. 7.
(3) If at any time the Medical Inspector of Factories/Certifying Surgeon is of the opinion that the person employed in the said process shall be examined radiologically by a qualified radiologist, he may direct the occupier to arrange for such examination at his cost and then to submit the standard size chest X-Ray plate of the worker to the Medical Inspector of Factories/Certifying Surgeon.
(4) If at any time the Certifying Surgeon/Medical Inspector of Factories is of the opinion that any person is no longer fit for employment on the grounds that continuance therein would involve special danger to health, he shall cancel the special certificate of fitness in Form No. 23 of that person and record in Form No. 7.
(5) No person whose special certificate of fitness in Form No. 23 has been cancelled, shall be employed or permitted to work unless the Certifying Surgeon after re-examination, again certifies him to be fit for employment in the operations.
(6) The register of the special certificates in Form No. 23 granted by the Certifying Surgeon and the record made in Form No. 7 by him shall be in the custody of the manager of the factory and shall be kept readily available for inspection by an Inspector.
12. Power to exempt or relax.- (1) If the Chief Inspector is satisfied that in any factory or any class of factories the use of sand or other substance containing free silica as an abrasive in blasting is necessary for a particular manufacture or process (other than the process incidental or supplemental to making of metal castings) and that the manufacture or process cannot be carried on without the use of such abrasive or that owing to the special conditions or special method of work or otherwise any requirement of this Schedule can be suspended either temporarily or permanently, or can be relaxed without endangering the health of the persons employed or that application of any of such requirements is for any reason impracticable or inappropriate, he may, with the previous sanction of the State Government by an order in writing, exempt the said factory or class of factories from such provisions of this Schedule, to such extent and subject to such conditions and for such period as may be specified in the said order.
(2) Where an exemption has been granted under paragraph (1), a copy of the order shall be displayed on a notice-board at a prominent place at the main entrance or entrances to the factory and also at the place where the blasting is carried on.