Safety, health issues in rubber sector

N Yogaratnam, Phd (London), Tree crops Agro Consultants

Safety and health in the rubber growing, processing and products manufacturing sector had been a neglected subject, though this sector is still a major foreign exchange contributor to the national economy in Sri Lanka, with significant contribution of Rs 72.3 billion in 2008.

Many mechanical and chemical hazards exist in the plantations, where a large number of unskilled and semi-skilled workers are employed.

Due to management and worker ignorance, negligent use of fertilizers and pest and weed controlling and rubber products manufacturing chemicals and bad work practices in some estate factories, serious hazards have been created and many accidents have occurred.

About 15 percent of the total poisonings and deaths in Sri Lanka are caused due to occupational accidents due to the intake of harmful substances.

The impact of these harmful substances that enter the environment has been quantified ( ILO, 2001).

Yet, like in any other employment sector, workers in the rubber industry run an equal if not higher risk of being injured as a result of the type of work they do.

The main risks posed are from unguarded machinery in the factory, exposures to fertilizers, pesticides and other agro-chemicals, and, accidents caused as a result of the terrain in the fields.

Most of the field workers are required to work on high altitudes and uneven terrain under wet weather conditions.

Many chemical hazards exist in this sector. Although Sri Lanka does not manufacture many chemicals, they are widely used in all economic activities today. About 200 varieties of pesticides are formulated in the country.

Large quantities of pesticides and fertilizers are used in the agriculture sector, where 37 percent of the labour force are employed . Occupational diseases resulting from exposure to chemicals are also under-reported or not reported at all, possibly due to poor diagnosis.

From the large number of cases of acute pesticide poisoning it could be presumed that many thousands of cases of chronic poisoning are not even diagnosed. It appears to be obvious therefore, that there is a need to take action in the field of chemical safety and prevention of major occupational diseases and accidents at a national level.

The high number of cases of pesticide poisoning clearly indicates that safety awareness in the use of chemicals is rather low.

Sri Lanka being a primarily agriculture-based society lacks the necessary safety training and education.

According to the Health Ministry’s statistics on pesticide poisoning, in 1993 the number of reported deaths was 3477.

This figure had declined to 1677 in 1995, and down further to around 75 percent now, of which is a positive sign in the effort to increase safety levels in the agricultural sector.

In the rubber sector large quantities of chemicals are used as fertilizers and pesticides. Many accidents have taken place among the users of these pesticides, who are mainly estate labourers and their families.

Many different varieties of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are used in the plantations every day. The quantities used vary from estate to estate.

These pesticides and fungicides, most often, are not transported and stored in a safe manner.

Unauthorized or poorly trained persons are sometimes involved in preparation of pesticides. In the mixing of concentrate, safety precautions are often neglected by these persons. Measuring utensils and personal protective equipment are improperly used or not used at all, thereby causing serious exposure hazards. There are instances where entire communities have been affected due to fungicide sprays contaminating waterways and wells. There have also been instances of plantation workers being poisoned after consuming food in the fields that were contaminated by chemicals.

Legislation

The Principal Legislation in Sri Lanka relating to safety of workers is embodied in the Factories Ordinance Act No. 45 of 1942 and subsequent amendments.

However, there are other pieces of Legislation that includes sections on welfare of employees, sanitation, safety and accident prevention to a certain extent.

The payment of compensation to injured workers is defined in the Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance Act No 19 of 1934 and its subsequent amendments.

Safety and health legislation was first introduced in Sri Lanka in 1896 with the enactment of the Mines and Machinery Protection Ordinance No.2. After four decades, basic legislation covering safety, health and welfare in factories was introduced in 1942.

The Factories Division of the Labour Department was set up in 1949 and the Factories Ordinance became operational in January 1950. However, the Factories Ordinance does not cover safety of field workers, such as farmers in the Agricultural Sector, in which 38.9 percent of the working population of Sri Lanka are employed at present.

Only industrial hazards are covered by the Ordinance. The Factories Inspectorate comprise a team of engineers, doctors and scientists attached to the Labour Department who are in charge of enforcement of the Factories Ordinance. In addition to the Factories Ordinance there is the Shop and Office Employees Act, the Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance, the Environment Act and the Control of Pesticide Act that cover safety and health of workers in Sri Lanka to a certain extent.

The Environment Act and the Control of Pesticide Act mainly cover safety in the use of chemicals, and, protection of users and the environment from harmful effects of chemicals.

Use of fertilizer in rubber

Among the plantation crops, rubber recorded the lowest use of fertilizer. In 1990, 22,200 metric tons of fertilizer was used in the rubber sector. In 2000, the quantity used came down to 13,800 metric tons, and subsequently it came down further to 10,500 metric tons in 2008.

The fluctuating prices for rubber, the unfavourable weather conditions during the last few years and more importantly the global financial crisis in 2008 may have contributed to the decreasing trend in fertilizer application.

The absence of a fertilizer subsidy scheme may have also contributed to the decreased use of fertilizer.

The graph indicates the amount of fertilizer utilized by the rubber sector during the last decade. The usage of fertilizer has decreased sharply after 2000.

Yet, the use of 10,500 metric tons in 2008, and the 30-35 percent loss of nutrients due to leaching, fixation, erosion, surface run-off, volatilization losses amounting to about 3,150 metric tons, is considered substantial in terms of environmental pollution.

Application of herbicides

Herbicides are commonly used in rubber plantations to destroy weeds and other unwanted plants that threaten the growth of the rubber plant.

Fairly large quantities are used daily in the fields as they are known to destroy a variety of weeds and fungi that affect the rubber plant.

These herbicides are found in powder and liquid form, and needs to be diluted to the necessary levels before they could be used. Many workers are unaware of the risks to health at the point of preparation.

Personal protective equipment is not used properly, therefore, leading to contamination either by inhalation of chemical dusts or dermal absorption of liquid formulas.

Application of pesticides

The safe use of pesticides is determined by the care and attention given to precautionary measurers before, during and after application. In the plantations the scale of operation, the area of application and the form in which the pesticide is applied is important.

These pesticides are manufactured locally and are available in the local market under different trade names.

In Sri Lanka, the control of Pesticides Act No.33 of 1980, provides for the licensing of pesticides, the regulation of import, packing, labelling, storage, formulation, transport, sale and use thereof.

This is the only law that deals with classification and labelling of chemicals and applies only to pesticides. The labelling regulation specifies the contents, languages and the size of the lettering, the danger symbols and colour codes, precautions to be taken in handling, first aid and antidote etc. However, most of the plantation workers are illiterate, therefore, cannot comprehend some of these precautions. It is vital that these employees are properly trained in the handling of chemicals.

Factory wastes

The natural rubber (NR) collected as latex by tapping the bark of rubber tree is one of the excellent raw materials suitable for many industrial products.

The dry rubber content (DRC) of latex is about 30 percent and non-rubber part is about 70 percent.

This 70 percent of non-rubber part together with water used for processing is discharged as the wastewater from rubber factories

Large amount of this waste water discharged into the surrounding environment by rubber factories creates a significant level of environmental pollution and health hazards due to the presence of non-rubber substances (organic matter ) and traces of various processing chemicals. It is estimated that about 40-45 litres of rubber effluent is generated by 1 kg of crepe rubber production.

It is rather discouraging to note that only few estate management companies provide safety training for plantation workers. It appears that only about 27 percent of the estates provide continuous safety training on a structured basis, and, these were the estates on which very few accidents took place or no work related accidents took place during the period covered by this study.

The training is predominantly in the area of chemical safety, where workers are trained in the safe use of pesticides, fungicides and fertilizer is done by many estates. Some estates conduct few programs on OSH.

Among the training programs conducted, the focus is mostly on the safety in the use of tools and equipment, proper use of personal protective equipment, safe formulation and use of pesticides and weedicides and good house keeping practices.

Storage facilities

Planning and proper maintenance of storage areas is important in the plantations as large quantities of fertilizer and pesticides are stored within the estate. The hazards related to the fertilizers and pesticides can be grouped into storage, transport and application.

Proper housekeeping is essential when working with dangerous substances to avoid any unwanted chemical reactions.

Proper transport, loading and unloading procedures are also vital for safety. It is encouraging to note that some estate managements have taken adequate steps to provide proper storage facilities.

Employees involved

About 5,000 employees are directly engaged in tasks such as preparation of fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides and spraying them in the fields.

In some instances, the employees who were engaged in jobs such as fertilizer mixing and pesticide spraying were rotated on the job from time to time.

This is important as it is not advisable to engage an employee in tasks such as pesticide spraying and fertilizer preparation for long periods as the amount of exposure time to the chemical increases.

Most of the Superintendents have realized this fact, however, in some cases the employees are engaged in these jobs on a full time basis..

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Most agrochemicals used on the rubber plantations and the machinery used in rubber production and working conditions present a risk to the plantation worker. Engineering control measures could control some of these risks.

However, the demographic conditions and the nature of work on the rubber plantations make engineering control measures difficult.

PPE therefore, remains a necessary part of working with agrochemicals. The protection required would depend on the degree of hazard, the harmful effects of the agrochemical and the way in which it is prepared and used. In the rubber plantations proper eye and face protection, respiratory protection, protective gloves and working clothes are important when pesticides and fungicides are formulated or sprayed.

Way forward

The rubber sector unlike in other economic sectors, relatively difficult working conditions, illiterate and sometimes ignorant workers and hazardous work environments make occupational accidents and illnesses very common among the plantation worker.

Workers have limited access to specialized advisory services and often young persons are employed on the estates making them more vulnerable to occupational hazards.

The majority of estates do not have safety committees or a full time safety officer. In many cases personal protective equipment are not worn by workers or not in proper working order.

Fire drills are not conducted in factories and workers are not trained in fire fighting. Many employees are paid allowances for accepting to do tasks, which involve physical risks.

These negative factors, in many instances, have been barriers to implementing sound safety and health schemes.

It is also important to consider the differences among working people in Sri Lanka, and the effects the type of work they do has on their health.

The main concern is that some workers in particular types of industry are more vulnerable than others. In the plantations, children help their parents on the estates to raise income levels of the family.

Women form the major proportion of Sri Lanka’s plantation labour force, and due regard should be paid to their dual role, family needs, and difference in educational levels, physique and mental capacities.

The disabled and the older workers do not have the same mental and physical capacity for work as their younger and healthier counterparts. Their needs and capacities have to be taken into consideration when providing work.

With the change in the demographic pattern in Sri Lanka a larger proportion of aged workers are expected by the next decade, and this will have to be considered in formulating safety and health programs in Sri Lanka.

Therefore, it is necessary to integrate a clear occupational safety and health policy in national development plans.

The national policy should include better structures for tripartite co-operation among Government, Employers and Workers including a national tripartite consultative mechanism.

There is also the need to review existing legislation relating to health and safety of workers. Safety and Health legislation in Sri Lanka was first enacted in 1942, and does not cover all types of workers in all economic activities as specified by the International Convention on Occupational Safety and Health of the ILO. The need for employers’ organizations and trade unions to be more committed and organized to handle OSH issues should be emphasized.

The national policy and program on OSH should include workplace level organization of health and safety activities involving both employers and workers.

Although the employer is legally responsible for the safety and health in the workplace, the joint participation of employers and workers is necessary to deal with practical problems relating to occupational hazards within the workplace in a flexible manner.