Introduction

Although chemicals are not manufactured in Sri Lanka, they are widely used in all economic activities today. About 200 varieties of pesticides are formulated in the country. Large quantities of pesticides and fertilisers are used in the agricultural sector, where 37% of the labour force was employed in 1995 (1). Of the total workforce, 16% was employed in the manufacturing sector at the end of 1995 (1), and many manufacturing industries - such as the garments and textile industry, the plastics industry, and paints manufacturing - use a variety of chemicals, some of which are known to be highly toxic. The health sector utilises chemicals for its vector control programmes, and in hospitals chemicals are used as therapeutic agents, disinfectants and laboratory reagents. School laboratories, too, use toxic chemicals in small quantities, and the daily work done in many offices involves various types of chemicals which may have harmful effects on health. Today, chemicals are used in practically every household in Sri Lanka, either as detergents or as pesticides.

On the basis of national reports, data collected on chemical safety, and identification of installations potentially constituting a major hazard in Sri Lanka, it appears that chemically-induced occupational accidents are grossly under reported. Only 45 cases were reported in 1992 (2). Occupational diseases resulting from exposure to chemicals are also under reported or not reported at all, possibly due to poor diagnosis. From the large number of cases of acute pesticide poisoning, it can be presumed that many thousand cases of chronic poisoning are not even diagnosed. A recent study identified installations with major hazard potential in Sri Lanka. Nonetheless, risk assessments and emergency procedures for these installations have not been established so far.

It is therefore obvious that there is a need for further action in the field of chemical safety and prevention of major industrial accidents at the national level. It is hoped that such action will enhance the capacity of employers's and workers's organisations and the relevant Ministries, especially the Ministry of Labour, as well as the relevant non-governmental organisations.

The high number of cases of pesticide poisoning clearly indicates that the level of awareness as to safe use of chemicals is rather low. Sri Lanka, being primarily an agricultural-based society, lacks the necessary education and training in safety. According to the Ministry of Health's statistics on pesticide poisoning, the number of deaths reported in 1993 was 3,477 (3). This figure had declined to 1,677 (4) in 1995, which is a positive sign in the effort to increase the level of safety in the agricultural sector.

Application of legislation related to chemical safety

The Factories Division and the Division of Occupational Hygiene of the Department of Labour bear statutorily responsibility for the implementation of occupational safety and health programmes in Sri Lanka. The main functions of the Factories Division are enforcement of the law relating to the Factories Ordinance, and the provision of advisory and educational services.

The enactment of national legislation on occupational safety and health commenced in 1896 with the promulgation of the Mines and Machinery Protection Ordinance. The Department of Labour is the competent authority for ensuring the safety and health of people at work. Other government organisations that are closely connected with the provision of occupational safety and health in the area of chemical usage include the Ministry of Health, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), the Registrar of Pesticides, the Ministry of Industries, and the Department of Import and Export.

Occupational health monitoring commenced in the Department of Labour in 1945 with the appointment of a medical officer to look after the health, sanitation and welfare of Indian immigrant labour and to maintain a medical clinic at the Government Press. Over the years, with the assistance of the International Labour Office (ILO) and other UN agencies, this office gradually developed into the Division of Occupational Hygiene, the main functions of which are to provide laboratory and advisory services on occupational safety and health, to set standards, to give education and training, to provide information services and to conduct research on occupational hygiene.

A few rules relating to safety in the use of chemicals and hazardous substances are contained in the Factories Ordinance (5), which is inadequate in the present context of increasing industrialisation and environmental pollution. Provisions relating to chemical safety in the various sections of the legislation include: maintenance of adequate ventilation and the rendering harmless of all fumes, dusts and other impurities injurious to health that may be generated in the cours of work; powers to direct medical supervision of a preventive nature in situations where the substances used at work may pose a risk of causing injury to health; fencing off vessels containing dangerous liquids, so that no one can fall in accidentally; precautions to be taken in places, such as confined spaces, where dangerous fumes are liable to be present; safety precautions to be taken with respect to explosives or inflammable dust, gas, vapour or other substances; provision of exhaust ventilation to remove dusts, fumes or other impurities likely to be injurious to health, thereby preventing their accumulation; prevention of consuming meals and having workers' rest rooms in places where the poisonous substances in use may be present in the air or may give rise to dust or fumes; prohibition of the use of white phosphorous in the manufacture of matches; and the notification of industrial diseases and accidents caused by the use of chemicals. The Factories Ordinance also contains provisions on: safety in handling gas containers; the isolation of plants or equipment containing ammonia, chlorine, carbon dioxide or other asphyxiants or irritant gases or vapour; and the supply of safety equipment, including breathing apparatus, for maintenance worker in stacks, culverts, drains or sewers or in other places where dangerougases or fumes are liable to be present, and for such work to be carried out under supervision.

The EFC's role in promoting safety in the use of chemicals

In November 1995, the Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC) submitted a request to the International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre (CIS) in Geneva for enlistment as a CIS Collaborating Centre. Subsequently, a CIS Collaborating Centre was established at the EFC. In Sri Lanka, the responsibilities of the CIS National Centre are carried out by the Commissioner of Labour at the Ministry of Labour.

The purpose of setting up of a Collaborating Centre at the EFC as an institution separate from the National Centre is to widen the dissemination of occupational safety and health (OSH) information and to facilitate the provision of safety and health services to members of the EFC. The EFC sees an increasing interest in this subject, as there is a clear link between safe working conditions and higher productivity.

Since the EFC was designated as a Collaborating Centre, it has strived to promote awareness on OSH. Member organisations have already been informed of the different activities of the Collaborating Centre. Requests for information on occupational health and safety have been received from member companies. The topics of these requests have ranged from the effects of chemical substances and the health effects of various workplace exposures and practices to measures for the prevention and control of health and safety hazards at the workplace.

As a Collaborating Centre, the EFC will be obtaining OSH information material from the CIS, for dissemination to interested members. This will include information available on CD-ROMs, publications and other documents. The EFC will also explore the feasibility of translating selected CIS material and abstracts into the national languages, with the collaboration of the CIS National Centre, the aim being to achieve a wider dissemination. Safe use of chemicals and hazardous substances is an important topic that will receive priority in this effort.

As a Collaborating Centre, the EFC receives numerous publications, newsletters and directories annually, and is entitled access to the CIS microfiche service and the CIS information service, which is disseminated to CIS members upon request. An annual free search on the CISDOC is also available, thereby creating the opportunity for direct access to information on any particular OSH subject. Upon request, international Chemical Safety Data Sheets (CSDS) on four floppies (800 cards in English) are also available. As a Collaborating Centre, the EFC has access to all CIS web-siteson the INTERNET, and information about new web-sites on OSH.

The EFC is planning to place a request for special OSH software relating to chemical safety, in order to broaden its databases. Access to information on training programmes, seminars and workshops being conducted on OSH worldwide is also available. These features have completely changed the concept of information sharing, thereby providing the opportunity to serve information recipients with accurate and timely information.

Information available at present

Information exchange through the SL-OSH-IN Network

The EFC has been active in the field of OSH information exchange even before the establishment of the Collaborating Centre. The organisation is a founder member of the Sri Lanka Occupational Safety And Health Information Network (SL-OSH-IN), which was set up in January 1995. This decentralised network consists of Ministries involved in the health sector, specialised agencies on health and safety, employers' and workers' organisations, and other governmental and nongovernmental organisations.

The objective of the network is to strengthen communication and collaboration, and to share information on any matter relating to OSH among different links of the network. The Division of Occupational Hygiene of the Department of Labour acts in a secretarial capacity by compiling the network directory, maintaining a network data base for administrative purposes, publishing and disseminating the network newsletter, and by providing guidance for new members who join the network.

Members of the EFC are able to use the network to search for information. Once a query on OSH is received, and if the relevant information is not available, the query can be referred to the network, and the information is then extracted for the member organisation. A directory of the network members, the services provided and resources available to each network agency is obtainable for reference at the EFC.

ASIA-OSH Information Data Base on Occupational Safety and Health

Under the Asian-Pacific Regional Programme on Occupational Safety and Health, a data base on occupational safety and health was established at the Employers' Federation of Ceylon, and at the Division of Occupational Hygiene of the Department of Labour in 1993. Development and distribution of this data base took place under the guidance of Mr. David Gold, Chief Technical Advisor, and Dr. Kari Kurppa, Information Specialist and Senior Expert of the Asian Pacific Regional Programme on Occupational Safety and Health, ILO, Bangkok. Companies involved in manufacturing processes which require that high levels of safety and health standards be maintained can contact the EFC to obtain general information on chemical safety. The data base is easy to use and contains general information on chemical safety in the following areas:

- occupational safety and health management, such as auditing, hazardous waste operations, inspection of chemical factories, major hazard control, management by objectives, occupational safety and health training packages;

- lists of human carcinogens;

- sector-specific hazards, e.g. agricultural hazards, construction hazards, and hazards in the textile industry;

- occupational hazards due to chemicals, hazardous substances or physical agents with a shop-floor orientation, including such issues as asbestos, benzene, paraquat, parathion, ammonia, chlorine, lead, mercury, noise reduction, prevention of occupational cancer and the IPCS glossary on terms in chemical safety;

- occupational health services, e.g. organising occupational health services based on the ILO Convention and Recommendation, collaboration in occupational health and safety, developing a national health plan for the working population, and occupational health services in Europe; and

- occupational safety and health tools such as questionnaires on pesticides hazards, checklists, policy models, safety audits and standards.

Conclusion

The potential for major accidents, stemming from the increased production, storage and use of dangerous substances, calls for a well-defined and systematic approach if major disasters are to be avoided. In many cases, employers have the tendency to give low priority to investment in the safety and health of workers. There is a wrong perception among some employers that health and safety training for workers and workers' health insurance coverage are costly. Employers fail to recognise the benefit of having these schemes for their own protection in the event of a mishap, when a large number of workers may be affected. Similarly, the lack of worker understanding and wrong attitudes have been major factors contributing to the decline in standards of occupational safety and health. Therefore, there is an increasing need in Sri Lanka to encourage employers and workers alike understand and accept the requirement for safer and better working methods and environments. The approach should be that hazards and risks at the workplace must be eliminated, and that an employer cannot pay workers to accept risks and hazards at work. Sparked by a strong consensus that awareness of the safe use of chemicals was inadequate in Sri Lanka, a recent National Tripartite Workshop on Chemical Safety and Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents presented the following recommendations:

1. establish a tripartite advisory body on occupational safety and health for the formulation, implementation and periodic review of national policy;

2. review and upgrade occupational safety and health legislation with due emphasis on chemical safety and the prevention of major industrial accidents, in line with provisions set by international standards;

3. reinforce interministerial co-ordination in implementing national occupational safety and health policy and programmes, with particular reference to chemical safety;

4. strengthen the capabilities of the safety and health inspectorate and services;

5. strengthen employers and workers, and their representative organisations, in areas of chemical safety and prevention of industrial accidents;

6. provide health and safety training, with special emphasis on chemical safety and the prevention of major industrial accidents at the national level;

7. select the 26 hazardous chemicals for which risk assessments have been done by the Central Environment Authority, under the existing provisions of the Factories (Amended) Law of 1976 (Sec.21), and examine the feasibility of adopting provisions for these chemicals. Such provisions might concern, e.g. classification, labelling and marking, CSDS, and regulating. Additionally, operational control measures as well as determining the responsibilities, rights and duties of the social partners need to be determined, and experiences from application of the Basel Convention, the Montreal protocol and the IRPTC information dissemination activities need to be incorporated;

8. promote national action for the control of safety and health problems associated with the application of technology, having as the overall objective the protection of workers, the public and the environment;

9. promote the collection, recording and notification of fatalities, diseases and accidents caused by harmful chemical substances at work;

10. develop curricula for introducing occupational safety and health in secondary, post-secondary and vocational schools and universities, at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and promote training programmes;

11. involve relevant institutes, such as the National Bureau of Standards, the Ceylon Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (CISIR), and the National Science Council, in the implementation of national programmes on safety and major hazard control;

12. promote national programmes aimed at increasing awareness of chemical safety among the general public by means of the mass media; and

13. involve professional associations in the medical, engineering, scientific, legal, economic and insurance fields in the effort to promote safety in the use of chemicals.

References

1. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Annual report 1995. Sectoral Composition of Employment 1995.

2. Accidents notified to the Department of Labour in 1992 (Poisons, hot corrosive substances).

3. Statistics of pesticide poisoning. Ministry of Health, 1993.

4. Statistics of pesticide poisoning. Ministry of Health, 1995.

5. Factories Ordinance No. 45 of 1942, as amended.

P. Kulendran
The Employers' Federation of Ceylon
385 J 3, Old Kotte Road
Rajagiriya
P.O. Box 858 Colombo
Sri Lanka

Updated by PAP/SUT/TRS. Approved by BKL. Last updated on 19 January 2001

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