I'd like to know who gave the Health & Safety advice to the Time Team
members on the episode in question. What we saw gives H&S a bad name and
was pure showbiz.
The respirators being worn by the team, difficult to see, but looked
like DIY jobs and not really suitable for As/Pb protection.
Two of the eminent wearers had beards which render respirators almost
useless. So come on Mick Aston, time to have a shave!
I can't see the point of wearing respirators to wald around in an
open field unless your primary objective is to bullshit the viewers.
Pity because I enjoyed the rest.
In answer to some of the other correspondents points - it is pretty easy to
determine the amount of contaminant in the soil for an intended excavation
but extremely difficult to go from there to a meaningful exposure
assessment. If a significant area is exposed, the airborne contamination
can only be really assessed once work has started and even the fastest
analysis is probably going to take half to one working day unless you have
on site facilities. Unlike contaminants in a mine, the chemical forms
from smelting are much less predictable and workplace exposure limits
published by the HSE do not cater for different species.
I can understand the concerns and the reasons for not going ahead on a
grand scale. However small scale work or element profiling might give
useful information given the resources available to the team. I'm sure
they could have done more than they did.
Regards
Richard
Richard Smith
3M UK Bracknell,
Environment, Safety and Security [log in to unmask]
Tel: 01344-858154 (Trim. 8-230-2154)
Fax: 01344-858367 (Trim. 8-230-2367)
graham owens
<[log in to unmask]
.COM> To
Sent by: [log in to unmask]
mining-history cc
<mining-history@J
ISCMAIL.AC.UK> Subject
Re: Heavy Metal Contaminants
06/07/2005 15:20
Please respond to
"The
mining-history
list."
<mining-history@J
ISCMAIL.AC.UK>
Trevor
Not exactly sure of the context of the message, but as employees the H&SAW
act
would expect a COSHH (Control of Substance Hazardous to Health Regulations)
assessment to be carried out prior (and for that matter to be reviewed
during
excavation)
This will determine appropriate mitigation, personnel protective equipment,
thresholds and exposures.
See http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/
The HSE publish legally binding exposure limits for certain chemicals (and
probably covers the majority of mineral waste encountered on UK mineral
sites)
See http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/table1.pdf
Anything not covered above requires specialist advice
This is standard procedure for workers involved in decontamination works.
Regards
Graham
Quoting Trevor Dunkerley <[log in to unmask]>:
> Dear List,
>
> I was interested to note the closure of the Time Team excavation at
> Charterhouse, Mendip due to the above.
>
> This action raises several important questions in relation to those
> archaeologists engaged in field work in past industrial settings.
>
> What, for example, with regard to Health & Safety at Work, are the types
of
> contaminants considered to be unsafe, and what are acceptable and
> unacceptable levels to work with? What methods are available to determine
the
> types of contaminants, and the levels of contamination quickly?
>
> Kindest regards,
>
> Trevor
>
--
|