1 2 3 4 5

• attendance in safety training to better understand thepotential risks at work and the precautionarymeasures;

• proper use of safety devices and facilities withoutalteration, removal or interruption; and

• stopping work and reporting to the person-in-chargeimmediately when any danger concerning operationalprocedures and the working environment arises.

To prevent accidents, a safe system of work should be inplace and should include measures like:

• proper stacking of goods;

• provision of appropriate means or fixing devices toprevent goods from falling out of the container uponopening of doors; and

• provision of information,instruction, training andsupervision to ensurethat employees followsafe methods andproper procedures.

Introduction Safety notes for employers on freight containerinspection

Safety notes for employees on freight containerinspection

Common accidents in freight containerinspection

In carrying out the work, the employees shouldco-operate with his employer by adopting the safe system ofwork and taking care of the safety and health of himself andof other persons who may be affected by his negligence orrecklessness at work. These include:

(B) Explosion and fire caused by waste plasticmaterials in a freight container

When a worker opens the doors of a freight containerloaded with waste plastic materials, a flash fire may occurleading to an explosion if the flammable chemical vapourinside the container is ignited, inflicting severe burns on theworker or causing his death.

A device to secure the doors ofa freight container in position

Explosion and fire caused bywaste plastic materials in a freight container

• The employer should provide and maintain a system ofwork, which is safe and without risks to health, for freightcontainer inspection, including:

• conducting a risk assessment and a thorough reviewof the work procedures to identify factors that maycause injuries to workers and evaluate the adequacy ofthe precautionary measures; and

• providing safe methods and the necessary equipment,instruments and tools, e.g. appropriate workingplatforms, ladders, etc.

• The employer should provide the necessary information,instruction, training and supervision for freight containerinspection to all workers employed by him to ensure theirhealth and safety at work. The information includes:

• safe procedures for operating equipment;

• arrangement of work procedures;

• potential operational hazards; and

• any necessary precautions.

A person with adequate safety knowledge and workexperience should be appointed to be in charge of thesupervision to ensure that workers perform the work inaccordance with the safe methods in place.

If the goods inside afreight container are notproperly stacked and thereis no fixing device, thegoods will easily fall out ofthe container, resulting inthe injury or death of theinspection worker.

(A) Goods falling out of a container

In recent years,a number of seriousindustrial accidentsoccurred when workers were inspecting goods stored infreight containers. The purpose of this guide is to remindemployers to take adequate and appropriate safetymeasures before assigning workers to perform such tasks.First of all, employers should conduct a risk assessment forthis kind of inspection work, and take into account thehazards identified and evaluated in the assessment todevelop a safe system of work. Employers are alsoresponsible for providing their workers with the necessarysafety information, instruction and training. They should alsosupervise the workers to ensure that they adopt safetypractices when inspecting freight containers.

Freight container inspection is mainly regulated by thegeneral duty provisions of the Factories and IndustrialUndertakings Ordinance (Cap. 59) and the OccupationalSafety and Health Ordinance (Cap. 509). When developing asafe system of work for inspection of goods (especiallywaste plastic materials) in freight containers, employers mayrefer to safety publications published by the LabourDepartment, including “Five Steps to Risk Assessment”,“A Guide to the Factories and Industrial UndertakingsOrdinance (Section 6A) - General Duties of Proprietors” and“A Guide to the Factories and Industrial Undertakings(Dangerous Substances) Regulations”.

•

•

•

•

•

(MSDS)

Expansible polystyrene (EPS), also known as “plastic foam”, usually contains n-pentane, which is a flammable and volatile chemical used as blowing agent. The n-pentane vapour escaping from waste EPS plastic material could form a flammable mixture with air. At the temperature of a normal working environment, the accumulated flammable mixture inside the container could easily be ignited by an ignition source causing a flash fire or explosion.

In the production process of ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM), a flammable chemical, n-hexane, is used as solvent. If the n-hexane solvent residue is not completely removed from waste EPDM material, n-hexane vapour would be released inside the container forming a flammable mixture. At the temperature of a normal working environment, the flammable mixture accumulated inside container could readily burn when ignited causing a flash fire or explosion.

To prevent accidents, a safe system of work should be in place and should include:

6 7 8 9

conducting a risk assessment;

• preparing safe methods and the necessary equipment, instruments and tools, etc.;

handling and inspecting inflammable substances with care (prohibiting smoking or naked flames); and

• providing information (including material safety data sheets), instruction, training and supervision.

• the name, composition, and physical and chemical properties of the chemical;

• the hazards of the chemical, e.g. explosive, flammable, combustion-supporting, toxic, etc.;

• packing and labelling of the chemical;

health hazards and first aid measures;

safety measures; and

occupational hygiene and health standards.

Occupational Safety and Health Branch Labour Department

Every effort should be made to identify and understand the hazards of the goods stored in a freight container. If chemicals are involved, the employer should obtain MSDSs from chemical suppliers and conduct a risk assessment based on the MSDSs information. Some chemical suppliers also upload their MSDSs to the Internet for downloading by users. The main content of a MSDS includes:

If you have any complaints about unsafe workplaces and practices, please call the Labour Department’s occupational safety and health complaint hotline at 2542 2172. All complaints will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Waste plastic materials that commonly cause accidents include the following:

Obtaining and making good use of “MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS” (MSDS)

Section 6BA of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, Cap.59: Mandatory Basic Safety Training

Enquiries

Complaints

A person employed to carry out container handling shall attend a safety training course on container handling recognized by the Commissioner for Labour and hold a valid certificate (commonly known as the “Green Card”). The certificate issued in respect of his attendance in the recognized safety training course will be valid for three years. A person employed at an industrial undertaking must carry the certificate with him while at work at the undertaking and produce the certificate upon demand by the proprietor of the undertaking or an occupational safety officer of the Labour Department.

A Safety Guide for Freight Container Inspection

12/2008-1-L86

For enquiries about this guide or other matters on occupational safety and health, please contact the Occupational Safety and Health Branch through:

Telephone : 2559 2297 (auto-recording after office hours)

Fax : 2915 1410

E-mail : enquiry@labour.gov.hk

Information on the services offered by the Labour Department and on major labour legislation can also be found by visiting our Home Page on the Internet at http://www.labour.gov.hk.

You can also obtain information on the various services provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Council through its telephone hotline at 2739 9000.

Published by the Labour Department Printed by the Government Logistics Department

MATERIALSAFETYDATASHEETS

MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS

the

Expansible polystyrene (EPS), also known as “plasticfoam”, usually contains n-pentane, which is a flammable andvolatile chemical used as blowing agent. The n-pentanevapour escaping from waste EPS plastic material could forma flammable mixture with air. At the temperature of a normalworking environment, the accumulated flammable mixtureinside the container could easily be ignited by an ignitionsource causing a flash fire or explosion.

In the production process of ethylene propylene dienemonomer rubber (EPDM), a flammable chemical, n-hexane,is used as solvent. If the n-hexane solvent residue is notcompletely removed from waste EPDM material, n-hexanevapour would be released inside the container forming aflammable mixture. At the temperature of a normal workingenvironment, the flammable mixture accumulated insidecontainer could readily burn when ignited causing a flashfire or explosion.

To prevent accidents, a safe system of work should be inplace and should include:

6 7 8 9

• conducting a risk assessment;

• preparing safe methods and the necessary equipment,instruments and tools, etc.;

• handling and inspecting inflammable substances withcare (prohibiting smoking or naked flames); and

• providing information (including material safety datasheets), instruction, training and supervision.

• the name, composition, and physical and chemicalproperties of the chemical;

• the hazards of the chemical, e.g. explosive, flammable,combustion-supporting, toxic, etc.;

• packing and labelling of the chemical;

• health hazards and first aid measures;

• safety measures; and

• occupational hygiene and health standards.

Occupational Safety and Health BranchLabour Department

Every effort should be madeto identify and understand thehazards of the goods stored in afreight container. If chemicalsare involved, the employershould obtain MSDSs fromchemical suppliers and conducta risk assessment based on theMSDSs information. Somechemical suppliers also upload their MSDSs to the Internetfor downloading by users. The main content of a MSDSincludes:

If you have any complaints about unsafe workplaces andpractices, please call the Labour Department’s occupationalsafety and health complaint hotline at 2542 2172. Allcomplaints will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Waste plastic materials that commonly causeaccidents include the following:

Obtaining and making good use of “MATERIALSAFETY DATA SHEETS” (MSDS)

Section 6BA of the Factories and IndustrialUndertakings Ordinance, Cap.59:Mandatory Basic Safety Training

Enquiries

Complaints

A person employed to carry out container handling shallattend a safety training course on container handlingrecognized by the Commissioner for Labour and hold a validcertificate (commonly known as the “Green Card”). Thecertificate issued in respect of his attendance in therecognized safety training course will be valid for three years.A person employed at an industrial undertaking must carrythe certificate with him while at work at the undertaking andproduce the certificate upon demand by the proprietor of theundertaking or an occupational safety officer of the LabourDepartment.

A Safety Guide forFreight ContainerInspection

12/2008-1-L86

For enquiries about this guide or other matters onoccupational safety and health, please contact theOccupational Safety and Health Branch through:

Telephone : 2559 2297(auto-recording after office hours)

Fax : 2915 1410

E-mail : enquiry@labour.gov.hk

Information on the services offered by the LabourDepartment and on major labour legislation can also befound by visiting our Home Page on the Internet athttp://www.labour.gov.hk.

You can also obtain information on the various servicesprovided by the Occupational Safety and Health Councilthrough its telephone hotline at 2739 9000.

Published by the Labour DepartmentPrinted by the Government Logistics Department

MATERIALSAFETYDATASHEETS

(MSDS)

MATERIAL SAFETYDATA SHEETS

the

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

1 2 3 4 5

attendance in safety training to better understand the potential risks at work and the precautionary measures;

• proper use of safety devices and facilities without alteration, removal or interruption; and

stopping work and reporting to the person-in-charge immediately when any danger concerning operational procedures and the working environment arises.

To prevent accidents, a safe system of work should be in place and should include measures like:

• proper stacking of goods;

• provision of appropriate means or fixing devices to prevent goods from falling out of the container upon opening of doors; and

• provision of information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure that employees follow safe methods and proper procedures.

Introduction Safety notes for employers on freight container inspection

Safety notes for employees on freight container inspection

Common accidents in freight container inspection

In carrying out the work, the employees should co-operate with his employer by adopting the safe system of work and taking care of the safety and health of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his negligence or recklessness at work. These include:

(B) Explosion and fire caused by waste plastic materials in a freight container

When a worker opens the doors of a freight container loaded with waste plastic materials, a flash fire may occur leading to an explosion if the flammable chemical vapour inside the container is ignited, inflicting severe burns on the worker or causing his death.

A device to secure the doors of a freight container in position

Explosion and fire caused by waste plastic materials in a freight container

The employer should provide and maintain a system of work, which is safe and without risks to health, for freight container inspection, including:

conducting a risk assessment and a thorough review of the work procedures to identify factors that may cause injuries to workers and evaluate the adequacy of the precautionary measures; and

• providing safe methods and the necessary equipment, instruments and tools, e.g. appropriate working platforms, ladders, etc.

The employer should provide the necessary information, instruction, training and supervision for freight container inspection to all workers employed by him to ensure their health and safety at work. The information includes:

safe procedures for operating equipment;

arrangement of work procedures;

potential operational hazards; and

any necessary precautions.

A person with adequate safety knowledge and work experience should be appointed to be in charge of the supervision to ensure that workers perform the work in accordance with the safe methods in place.

If the goods inside a freight container are not properly stacked and there is no fixing device, the goods will easily fall out of the container, resulting in the injury or death of the inspection worker.

(A) Goods falling out of a container

In recent years, a number of serious industrial accidents occurred when workers were inspecting goods stored in freight containers. The purpose of this guide is to remind employers to take adequate and appropriate safety measures before assigning workers to perform such tasks. First of all, employers should conduct a risk assessment for this kind of inspection work, and take into account the hazards identified and evaluated in the assessment to develop a safe system of work. Employers are also responsible for providing their workers with the necessary safety information, instruction and training. They should also supervise the workers to ensure that they adopt safety practices when inspecting freight containers.

Freight container inspection is mainly regulated by the general duty provisions of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Cap. 59) and the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Cap. 509). When developing a safe system of work for inspection of goods (especially waste plastic materials) in freight containers, employers may refer to safety publications published by the Labour Department, including “Five Steps to Risk Assessment”, “A Guide to the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Section 6A) - General Duties of Proprietors” and “A Guide to the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Dangerous Substances) Regulations”.