Hazardous process
Rubber (Synthetic) Industries
A hazardous process listed in the First Schedule to the Factories Act 1948 (s.2(cb)).
Typical industries: Synthetic rubber manufacture and rubber-goods/tyre compounding and curing.
Principal hazards
- 1,3-butadiene and styrene monomers
- Curing fumes (nitrosamines), carbon black dust
- Vulcanisation accelerators (thiurams, carbamates - sensitisers)
- Heat and solvents
Health effects
Leukaemia/lymphohaematopoietic cancer (butadiene), bladder cancer (historic aromatic amines), allergic contact dermatitis and asthma, narcosis.
Key engineering controls
Closed monomer handling with leak detection; LEV over mixing, milling and curing; substitution of hazardous accelerators/antioxidants; carbon-black dust capture; exposure monitoring.
PPE
- Organic-vapour respirators / air-fed for monomers
- Nitrile gloves
- Coveralls
- Goggles
- Hearing protection
- Safety footwear
Statutory vs annotation: only the industry name is First-Schedule statutory text. The hazards, health effects, controls and PPE are standard occupational-hygiene practice, not statutory text.
This page is a statutory / occupational-health reference for factory Occupational Health Centres. It is not medical or legal advice. Verify against the current bare Act, Rules and your State amendments before acting.
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