Regulatory Requirements for a Furniture Restorer Business - Essay Example

Report on Regulatory Requirements for a Furniture Restorer Business [Name] [Professor Name] [Course] [Date] Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Hazardous Wastes at Furniture Restoration Business 3 Environmental and Safety Hazards at Furniture Restoration Business 4 Espousing OSH fundamental Principles 5 a) European Union safety and health legislation 6 b) National Laws, labour Codes and Regulations 7 c) ILO fundamental principles 8 Pieces of legislation that apply to the Furniture restorer business 9 a)Fire Safety 9 b)Health and Safety 10 c)Waste Management 11 Possible Sanctions for Failure to Comply 14 Introduction Furniture manufacturers, restorers or refinishers fall under an industry that generates hazardous wastes. This implies that the industry is regulated by the fundamental principles of international, EU and UK environment and safety law, meaning that players in the industry are required to follow particular procedure during the generation, transportation, storage, disposal and treatment of hazardous waste. A small furniture restoration business is hence potentially subjected to regulations (Alli 2001). Furniture restoration enables reusing broken furniture, recycling old and worn-out furnishings as well as restoring antiques. The business is therefore subjected to substantial criminal penalties if it fails to properly identify and manage the wastes generated by the businesses, as well as ensuring that occupational health and safety standards are observed. This report identifies the hazardous wastes potentially generated by a furniture restorer (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2004. In particular, the report is intended for a small furniture restoration business that has one industrial unit, two delivery vans and five employees. The manufacturing processes undertaken at the industrial unit include lacquering, varnishing, spray painting, and upholstery Hazardous Wastes at Furniture Restoration Business For a substance to be considered as a hazardous waste, it must be classified as a solid waste, which comprises refuse, sludge, garbage or any other disposed substance such as liquids, gases, semisolids or solids (Health and Safety Executive 2013). Thus, if the material is a solid waste, the furniture restorer must determine whether it is actually hazardous. Wastes are termed as being hazardous if they can demonstrate one of the characteristics of hazardous wastes, for instance, if they can harm human health – such as solvents like toluene, xylene and acetone generated in the furniture restoration process (Valuation Exchange 2009). In addition if they are spontaneously combustible and have a flash point that does not exceed 60 °C (140 °F) -- such as those used in the furniture finishing operations. Next, if they tend to be corrosive. They can also be described as being hazardous if they are reactive and thus are unstable in normal conditions. Examples include vapors or gases that can cause explosions. Lastly, the materials can be described as hazardous when they are harmful to human health in case they are absorbed or ingested. Environmental and Safety Hazards at Furniture Restoration Business Typically, the furniture restorer employs several activities that generate pollutants such as stripping compounds, wood preservatives, oil and solvents. Few of the solvents emitted from this industry in the UK include methyl ethyl ketone, xylenes, methyl isobutyl ketone, toluene, and methanol, which are also called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (Stormwater, 2010). All these compounds are highly flammable liquids and also evaporate quickly. In addition, they are also hazardous air pollutants and are capable of causing adverse effects on health such as cancer and can lead to undesirable ambient air quality. In a furniture restorer’s facility, VOCs are released from several processes including cleaning of furniture with solvents and through application of finishes and paints to furniture pieces. Next, VOCs also lead to formation of smog hence can contaminate water given their characteristics such as high mobility and solubility (Goodguide, 2011). They can as well be highly difficult to dispose of once they are released into the environment. The Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standard for wood furniture allows the use of Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) cleaning and coating solutions of low volatility (USEPA, 2003). Most of the coatings used for wood furniture are solvent borne and contain at least 50 percent solid content. Water-borne coatings contain some solvents and water, whereas UV-curable liquids may be 100 percent reactive liquids that need UV light for curing. All these are considered as potential pollutants. The furniture restoration facilities emit these solvents directly to the environment that are likely to enter the body through ingestion, inhalation, or direct skin contact (DNREM, 2003). In the furniture restorer’s wood finishing facility, the primary route of exposure to these pollutants is inhalation. Accidental direct ingestion or contact is also possible if employees are not trained properly and if housekeeping practices are not effectively implemented. Based on these facts, the furniture restorer’s business can be described as potentially harmful to the environment and the safety of workers, meaning the business should create, develop as well as maintain injury and illness prevention program at the workplace by setting forth specific provisions for training workers, reporting incidents and inspecting the workplace, as well as preventing and correcting possible hazards (Health and Safety Executive 2013). Espousing OSH fundamental Principles The economic, social and human losses from occupational accidents, diseases or injuries as well as far-reaching industrial disasters have been a cause for alarm for a long time at the national or international levels of workplace. Measures and policies aimed at preventing, reducing or controlling occupational hazards and risks have been designed and used for a long time to keep pace with the dynamic economic and technological changes. However, in spite of these, occupational incidents and diseases are prevalent and the losses with regard to economic burden and human suffering are still high (Alli 2001). Occupational safety and health, abbreviated as OSH, refers to the anticipation, acknowledgment, assessment and control of hazards that arise at the place of work and that is likely to threaten the health or general wellbeing of the workers, as well as that of the general environment. For the purpose of this report, safety implies the protection of the workers and the environment against accidents or disease at the furniture restorer’s business are discussed. First, for the furniture restorer business to promote occupational safety and health, it has to comply with the international labour standards and the codes of practice as well as the national and EU measures. a) European Union safety and health legislation A range of measures in the area of occupational safety and health have been implemented on the basis of Article 153 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Member States within the European Union must develop implemental organs that ensure that fundamental legal provisions relating to occupational health and safety measures are followed in the furniture manufacturing industry. Certain principles are followed to ensure this, including the fundamental principles that govern environmental and safety related policies called the precautionary principle. This principle is meant to prevent injury, impairment or destruction before they come into existence (Jordan and O'Riordan 2010). This means that the furniture restoration business can implement measures or strategies that ensure such incidents are prevented before they happen. Thus, the member states should create directives that encourage businesses such as the furniture restorer business to implement the precautionary measures, meaning companies have to develop policies that encourage further measures that minimizes as well as prevents risks and likelihood of hazards (Beyer 2003). Another fundamental principle of the European Union is the principle of subsidiary which is critical since the environmental policy is not mandated entirely in the European Union (Sadeleer and Monnet 2003). Primarily, the EU as a lawmaker has to show that the goal of the actions proposed can be fully achieved by the Member States at the regional or local level (Sadeleer and Chair, 2003) By following these two EU fundamental principles, the furniture restorer must protect the safety of its five employees as well as provide a safe workplace as stipulated by the UK government, which is a member of Eu. Further, it should develop preventive training programs that ensure the safe use of hazardous materials, chemicals or laser. b) National Laws, labour Codes and Regulations Apposite legislation and regulations along with sufficient means of enforcement are major policy instruments to protect workers. They necessitate improving of working conditions and the environment. Indeed, the furniture restorer business should have a health surveillance system. Several labour legislations lay down the bare minimum standards that are compulsory and applicable by such enterprises (Alli 2001). The Furniture restorer business has to satisfy these stipulations through adoption of proper techniques. In addition, since the efficiency of the safety measures will in due course rest of the application by the employees, it is important that the business consult the employees’ representative organization at all stages of the preparation of the regulations and policies. Again, since work-related accidents are likely to occur at the furniture restorer business, preventive or management measures within the business should be laid out and initiated collaboratively between the employee and the workers. The policies by the furniture restorer business should be based on a clear and practicable as well as distinct strategy. This kind of policy characterizes the basis from which occupational safety and health objectives are created. The furniture restorer business should therefore have a policy that is precise, practicable, easily understandable as well as approved by the upper level management of the firm. In addition, it should be in a written format and should include the organizational arrangement of the business. The successful health and safety management that was published by the British agency called Health and Safety Executive encourages such firms that deal in furniture restoration to systematically manage the management of health and safety using six steps namely policy planning, organizing, performance metrics and performance evaluation. These aspects of management can enable the furniture restorer business to carefully plan as well as strategically apply resources based on risk priorities (Health and Safety Executive 2013). c) ILO fundamental principles The International Labour Organisation published the guidelines on the management of occupational health and system in 2001. These guidelines can ensure that the furniture restorer business continues to improve the health and safety of its workers that is attained through a continuous process of policy development, implementation and evaluation. Indeed the ILO management system was established to help employers to keep pace with the changeful competitive industrial development. The ILO acknowledges that national legislations are vital although sometimes to sufficient enough to address the challenges that the industry faces. To conform to ILO fundamental principles, the furniture restorer must develop internal regulations, recommend policies as well as monitor compliance with environmental and health safety measures (ILO 2003). Pieces of legislation that apply to the Furniture restorer business a) Fire Safety Fire safety has been given high priority by the UK government. The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) regulations was introduced in 1988 given the rising number of fire incidents and death caused by furniture stuffed with polyurethane foam. This piece of legislation stipulates that all fillings or coverings used in all kinds of furniture must pass through the flammability test. This regulation applies to all businesses that deal with old and new furniture. The directive applies to all domestic upholstered furniture, such as bean bags, foot stools, pouffes, music tools, and floor cushions used in domestic dwellings. To conform to this regulation, the furniture restorer business should ensure that all materials used for restoring furniture -- including the foam, filling materials, and other chemicals -- have passed the flammability test. Thus using filling materials that have not passed the relevant flammability tests by the business is prohibited both for upholstering furniture or re-upholstering it. This means that during the process of re-upholstery, the furniture restorer must use only fabric that has passed the match test needs to be used, and it should not use fabric that has not passed the match test. All fabric, cushions, pillows, and other materials used for restoring the furniture need to contain labels with information on name and postal address of the importer/ manufacturer/ business who supplied the product in the UK; the date of manufacture; description of all filling materials used; description of all covering materials used (UK Legislation, 1988). b) Health and Safety The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, also known as HSW Act, comprises a piece of legislation that covers occupational and health and safety in the UK. The woodworking industry is reported to be one of the industries with the highest rates of accident, accounting for some 25 percent of the major accidents last year in UK. To overcome this, the furniture restorer must develop five risk assessment measures that include identification of the hazards, speculation of which workers are likely to be affected by the hazards, evaluation of the risks and developing precautionary measures, recording the findings and implementing them and lastly evaluation of the assessment and updating the measures wherever necessary. In the furniture restoration business, the risks can easily be identified and the control measures applied. The hazards in this scenario include anything that can cause harm to the workers, including electricity, chemicals, lathe machines or carrying heavy loads. The risk in itself comprises the likelihood that a worker could be harmed by the aforementioned hazards, as well as the suggestion of how severe the harms inflicted could be. For instance, workers are designed specific roles such as those who carry heavy loads, those how do upholstery or those who do the wood lathing, which makes it possible to implement precautionary measures to avoid possible incidents (IAEA 2006). In addition, there are a number of hazardous substances in this particular business that can harm workers who are exposed. Some possible substances include wood dust that can cause dermatitis or asthma; solvents (paints, varnishes, thinners, and varnish) that can cause damage to liver and central nervous system; and wood preservatives, which may cause dermatitis. This means that Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) applies in the furniture restore business, to ensure health and safety is practiced in the furniture restorer’s workplace. The regulations require that employers ensure that workers are protected from hazardous materials. Where exposure cannot be completely prevented, the employers need to take measures to control exposure. Prevention of exposure to hazardous substances can be done by using water-based products rather than solvent-based products, by using safer cleaning process such as a vacuum cleaner to clean up dust rather than using a brush. If exposure cannot be prevented, it needs to be controlled by using respiratory protective equipment and local exhaust ventilation that would remove harmful gases and dust as and when produced. c) Waste Management The Furniture restoration business is subject to the waste management regulation as stipulated by the UK legislation, which dictated the ways and means by which waste matter should be managed and controlled by individuals and companies. The UK waste legislation is adapted from the European Union governance and integrated it into the UK law through statutory mechanisms (HG.org Worldwide 2013). There are a number of legislations, including the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO), which specifies a set of procedure espoused by the UK to manage waste and a number of other environmental issues. It underlines the protection and conservation of the environment. To conform to these regulations, the furniture restorer should establish procedures that ensure the least damage to the environment at an acceptable cost in both the short- and the long-term (Jordan 2009). For instance, the furniture restorer should use abatement technology that helps reduce VOC emissions to less than 150 mg/m3. The business can however still achieve this without using abatement once it installs expensive monitoring equipment (Borwankar et al, 2012). This will help in environmental impact assessment that the furniture business had on the environment. Consequently, it will ensure that the business consider the possible environmental impact that the facility has on the environment and thus uses only materials that are environmentally-friendly. This process can be fittingly described as the act of identification, forecast evaluation and mitigation of the relevant effects that a project has to the environment. The furniture restore can also use compliant coatings that have less than the stipulated levels of solvent of about 475 g/l. Next, the furniture restore business can apply the mass balance approach, which may enable it to attain compliance by establishing a target emission that is closely related to the content of solids in coatings to allow flexibility at different levels of solvent use up to 1.6 times as much as solids up to 1.6 times as much as solids. These targets are calculated as follows: users of solvents between 5 to 15 tonnes can use solvents up to 1.6 times the amount of solids used (1.6:1), whereas users of 15 tonnes and over can apply the solvents and solids in same amounts (1:1) (Bromhead 2005). Failure to take this directive into considerations can cause legal liabilities on the furniture restorer. Thus it is the duty of the company to ensure that all wastes generated are and treated and handled acceptably on site. In the case, to the furniture restoring business, the procedures in the business comprise using materials useful for varnishing, spray painting and lacquering which have chemicals. However, even as the wastes may be contracted to some other company to transpose and dispose waste, it would be more effectual if the wastes are disposed at their sources to meet the strict waste management regulations. The furniture restore business should also create a solvent inventory to be submitted each year to the local authorities. The inventory should include a comprehensive calculation of the overall solvent usage by the unit during the year from which discountable solvent must be subtracted (solvent sent for recovery and reuse). In addition, the furniture restore should also consider using effective management system for solvents. To achieve this compliance, it should reduce unnecessary or excessive solvent usage. The management must understand the nature of the solvents used in each process and the variations across different processes of furniture restoration. (Roughton 2002). Ensuring that lids are placed on solvents when they are not in use can help escape of VOCs. In addition, efficient education and training of staff would not only lower solvent usage, but also ensure health and safety of the individual. Carefully collecting and storing special solvent wastes can be beneficial as it can be reused and claimed as a discountable solvent. Spray technology with a minimum efficiency of 65% needs to be used to avoid excessive escape of VOCs (Lock Haven University, 2012). Other regulations that are related to waste management and that are applicable in the furniture restoration business include the Hazardous Waste (England & Wales) Regulations 2005 that monitor hazardous wastes such as VOCs from a furniture restoring unit. The next regulation is the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Part II: Duty of Care, which levies a duty on all who are involved in production, handling, storage, transportation of waste, to ensure that they safety recycle or dispose it. Lastly, the Landfill Tax Regulations 1996, which states that tax must be imposed on each tonne of waste that is sent to a landfill, may also be essential for large furniture restorers in waste management (UK Legislation, 2012). Possible Sanctions for Failure to Comply UK regulatory authorities have often applied non-combative approaches to ensure compliance. However when the furniture restorer fails to comply with the environmental legislation, the local authorities may be issued with an enforcement notice that directed the business to comply within a specified period. Failure to comply with the notice within the specified time may lead to prosecution with a fine up to £20,000 in a magistrate’s court. The chances of the case being referred to the Crown court increase with size of the offending company and size of the offence. In the Crown Court, fines can be unlimited. In addition, it may lead to a 2-year imprisonment (Bromhead, 2005). In conclusion, the report addresses key issues of environmental, fire and safety measures and directives that can guide the furniture restorer in ensuring the business works within the legislation. 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