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Posted By Chippers
I have recently advised my client, who is stripping out a multi storey office block, to desist from using petrol powered abrasive wheels inside the building and suggested compressed air or electrical tools as an alternative. My concern is the potential hazard from the accumulation of carbon monoxide. I visited again today and since my last visit they are once again using petrol disc cutters and are doing so because in a recent visit from an HSE inspector, he apparantly contradicted my advice and suggested that provided the windows were open, there was no problem using this equipment inside the building. My advice remains extant but in light of the guidance from the HSE I have suggested that if they insist on using these tools indoors, they should consider installing CO alarms as a minimum precaution. They are also refuelling these tools in the building and I have suggested that this should be done outside in a designated re-fuelling area on hard standing. The inspector did not comment on this activity. Am I being overly cautious? I should like to guage the feeling out there!
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Posted By FAH
Go with your initial instincts here Chipper; especially for the refuelling & storage of fuel.
Did anyone question the noise, vibration, and airborne dust yet?
Frank Hallett
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Posted By Crim
Did the HSE inspector leave his card? If so contact him and enquire further.
If not suspect it was not a HSE Inspector!
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Posted By Flic
One one occasion we had a contractor cutting holes in a concrete floor, using a petrol-driven saw. He was supposed to be using an electric saw, and had changed to the petrol driven saw without notifying anyone. He had the windows open.
I was alerted when a CO alarm in another part of the building went off.
Despite the contractor having the windows open, CO, at above the exposure limit, was present in almost all parts of the (large) building. The room in which the cutting was taking place had elevated levels, but there were places where the levels were three times higher. It took quite some time, with all available windows open, to clear the contamination.
Hence, in my own experience, having the windows open may not be enough to ensure either that the workers are in an atmosphere that remains below the exposure limit, or people in the rest of the building.
The contractor stated that he had done a lot of work in supermarkets etc and had never run into difficulties. I recommended he should buy a CO monitor for all future work with this equipment!
Flic
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Posted By Tabs
Odd that an inspector would contradict local rules.
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Posted By John Richards
It's all very well protecting people against carbon monoxide, but what about the dust ?
I had the local EH department of the council around to a tesco store where contractors were using petrol-driven disc cutters on concrete and steel. The noise was so loud that children were crying...I had ear protectors and it was still loud. The dust was incredible. They got told to stop: Apparently people on the other side of the road had also been complaining.
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Posted By Phil Rose
Yes, I have seen something very recently about silica dust I believe, very harmful in small quantities as I recall.
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Posted By clairel
Unfortunately a lack of decent training in the HSE in recent years and changes in how they operate means that not all inspectors necessarily know what they are talking about (but before you shoot me, yes of course there are still some good ones - usually the older ones).
Plus you also have to factor in that unless the inspector put it in writing what he said it means nothing as its you they'll still see in court. The inspector will deny he saw it or state that the circumstances were different blah blah blah. They can wriggle out of most things.
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Posted By Benny
I would be contacting the Inspector and clarifying it with him/her.
From experience, I would be inclined to think that the Inspector said something along the lines of, "you can use the petrol powered equipment providing you control the risks including ensuring adequate ventilation" , which the employer interpreted as "we are right if we open the window".
I would suggest that monitoring the atmosphere would be a minimum if they insist on using petrol power. It maybe worth mentioning to them that they may not feel the effect until it is too late.
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