Hazardous processes — First Schedule (29 industries)
Under s.2(cb) of the Factories Act 1948, a "hazardous process" is any process or activity in relation to an industry specified in the First Schedule where, unless special care is taken, the raw materials used or the intermediate or finished products, by-products, wastes or effluents would (i) cause material impairment to the health of persons engaged in or connected with it, or (ii) result in pollution of the general environment. The First Schedule [See section 2(cb)] is the statutory "List of Industries involving hazardous processes" and contains 29 numbered entries; the full verbatim list (with all sub-items) is reproduced below, each annotated with its principal hazards/agents, main health effects, key engineering controls and the PPE typically required. Note: the hazard/health/control/PPE annotations are standard occupational-hygiene practice for each industry and are NOT part of the statutory text itself — only the entry names and their sub-items are from the First Schedule. The Schedule may be amended/expanded by the State Government under s.2(cb) read with s.41A.
The 29 listed industries
- Ferrous Metallurgical Industries (Integrated Iron and Steel; Ferro Alloys; Special Steels)
- Non-ferrous Metallurgical Industries (Primary Metallurgical Industries, namely zinc, lead, copper, manganese and aluminium)
- Foundries (Ferrous and Non-ferrous) — Castings and forgings including cleaning or smoothening/roughening by sand and shot blasting
- Coal (including coke) industries — Coal, lignite, coke etc.; Fuel Gases (including Coal Gas, Producer Gas, Water Gas)
- Power Generating Industries
- Pulp and paper (including paper products) industries
- Fertilizer Industries (Nitrogenous; Phosphatic; Mixed)
- Cement Industries (Portland cement, including slag cement, puzzolona cement and their products)
- Petroleum Industries (Oil Refining; Lubricating Oils and Greases)
- Petro-Chemical Industries
- Drugs and Pharmaceutical Industries (Narcotics, Drugs and Pharmaceuticals)
- Fermentation Industries (Distilleries and Breweries)
- Rubber (Synthetic) Industries
- Paints and Pigment Industries
- Leather Tanning Industries
- Electro-plating Industries
- Chemical Industries — including: Coke-oven by-products and coal-tar distillation products; Industrial gases (nitrogen, oxygen, acetylene, argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide, halogenated hydrocarbon, ozone, etc.); Industrial carbon; Alkalies and acids; Chromates and dichromates; Lead and its compounds; Electrochemicals (metallic sodium, potassium and magnesium, chlorates, perchlorates and peroxides); Electro-thermal products (artificial abrasive, calcium carbide); Nitrogenous compounds (cyanides, cyanamides and other nitrogenous compounds); Phosphorus and its compounds; Halogens and halogenated compounds (chlorine, fluorine, bromine and iodine); Explosives (including industrial explosives, detonators and fuses)
- Insecticides, Fungicides, Herbicides and other Pesticides Industries
- Synthetic Resin and Plastics
- Man-made Fibre (Cellulosic and non-cellulosic) Industry
- Manufacture and repair of electrical accumulators
- Glass and Ceramics
- Grinding or glazing of metals
- Manufacture, handling and processing of asbestos and its products
- Extraction of oils and fats from vegetable and animal sources
- Manufacture, handling and use of benzene and substances containing benzene
- Manufacturing processes and operations involving carbon disulphide
- Dyes and Dyestuff including their intermediates
- Highly flammable liquids and gases
Reference information for occupational-health professionals — not medical advice, and not a substitute for examination by a qualified physician.
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