GUIDELINES FOR THE PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES
AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF HAZE AT WORKPLACES
Introduction
The main pollutant of concern to health during a smoke haze
is the fine particulate matter or PM10 (particulate of size 10 micron and
below). The health effect depends on the severity of the smoke haze as
described by the PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) reading. At PSI > 100, the
air quality is deemed unhealthy.
2 Under the Workplace Safety & Health Act (WSH Act),
employers have a duty to protect their employees’ safety and health at work.
When PSI levels exceed 100, employees will be exposed to higher levels of
safety and health risk due to poor visibility and/or ill effects of haze.
Hence, it is incumbent upon employers to carry out a proper risk assessment and
to implement appropriate measures, including specifying when to stop work, so
as to ensure that risks identified are minimised or mitigated. In situations
where haze poses imminent danger to the safety and health of workers and
measures have not been taken to mitigate those risks, the Ministry of Manpower
(MOM) may order the affected work to stop. If any person (individual or
corporate bodies) fails to comply with a stop work order, under the WSH Act he
shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500,000 or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
3 The objective of these guidelines is to help both
employers and employees to be better prepared in minimising or mitigating the
effects of haze. The PSI levels stated in these guidelines refer to the 24-hour
average level issued by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
Preparation
4 Following announcement of an increased risk of haze by
NEA, employers should initiate the following preparations to protect the safety
and health of employees against the effects of haze:
a) Identify susceptible employees1
b) Identify types of outdoor work2 to be reduced when there
is haze
c) Determine criteria for stopping outdoor work
d) Conduct respirator fit testing for employees who need to
work outdoors
Ensure sufficient stock of
disposable N95 respirators
f) Improve efficiency of air
cleaning devices
g) Implement haze communication
system between employer and employees.
Management of susceptible
employees
5 Employees with existing heart
or respiratory illness are more susceptible to the effects of haze. When PSI
levels exceed 100, these susceptible employees must use respiratory protective
devices (or respirators) if working outdoors. If they experience breathing
difficulty from wearing respirators while working outdoors, employers should
deploy them to work indoor where the pollutant concentration is lower. When PSI
levels exceed 200, all susceptible employees should be deployed to work indoor,
preferably in work that is not physically strenuous.
Minimising outdoor work
6 At PSI > 100, outdoor work
involving strenuous activity should be minimised. Any employee who has
difficulty using respirators while working outdoors should be deployed to work
indoor.
7 At PSI > 200, outdoor work
involving strenuous activity should be avoided.
8 At PSI>300, risk
assessments should be conducted to determine whether outdoor lifting operations
involving tower and mobile cranes should cease due to the foreseeable risk of
poor visibility, so as not to compromise safety of persons at work. Such work can
only be carried out when appropriate precautions have been taken to reduce the
risk. Employers are reminded of their duties under the WSH Act to provide and
maintain for their employees a work environment which is safe, without risk to
health, and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for their welfare
at work. In addition to the Workplace Safety and Health Act, failure to
implement effective risk management to eliminate or minimise WSH risks is also
an offence under the WSH (Risk Management) Regulations. The penalty for the
first offence is a maximum fine of $10,000 . For a second or subsequent
offence, the penalty is a fine of up to $20,000 or imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 6 months or to both.
9 At PSI > 400, there will
be an increased risk of ill health for all persons, including employees
conducting non-strenuous outdoor work. Hence, the risk assessment will need to
include the impact of haze on the health of all employees, especially those
working outdoors. If the risk of ill health cannot be mitigated, the work
activity should stop. For those engaged in emergency and essential services,
the risk should be mitigated by wearing suitable respirators.
Provision of suitable respirators
10 It is the duty of employers
to provide suitable respirators to employees when required (please refer to
Table A). The correct type of respirator is one which is capable of filtering
out about 95% of very fine particles. Disposable N95 respirators, commonly
called N95 masks, are preferable as they are more comfortable than cartridge
respirators.
11 Employees who are required
to wear respirators should be fit-tested to ensure good fit of the respirator.
Employers should ensure sufficient stock of respirators for these employees.
Training and supervision should be conducted to ensure correct usage of
respirators. Respirators should be changed when soiled/physically damaged or
when the wearer finds it hard to breathe.
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