ENG-1969 — Page 64

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EMPLOYMENT

sulphur dioxide, and the investigation of standards of thermal comfort, ventilation, noise, and lighting are a major part of the routine duties of the division. Medical examinations, including X-rays and pathological investigations, of workers exposed to risk of lead, radiation, or fluoride toxicity are also undertaken.

Regulation 5 of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (First Aid in Registrable Workplaces) Regulations became effective on October 1. Factories employing more than 100 employees must have at least one trained first aider. To meet the demand occasioned by this legislation, 51 first aid classes were arranged in conjunction with the St John Ambulance Association during 1969 and 1,394 industrial workers are known to have received first aid training.

The division also undertakes the clinical examination, case work, and 'medical assessment of injured workers under the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance. This important advisory service operates principally from the casualty departments of the Queen Mary Hospital, the Tang Shiu Kin Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Kwong Wah Hospital, although many visits to homes and workplaces are made by the health visitors of the division.

Approval in principle was given to the establishment of an Air Pollution Control Unit in the Labour Department and financial provision for certain equipment approved. Staff for the unit has yet to be recruited and trained. Additional monitoring stations were set up for measuring sulphur dioxide, smoke and solid partic- ulated matters. Seminars were held with the enamel industry in March and the textile industry in September on the proper use of the fuels.

The factory inspectorate of the Industry Division of the Labour Department is responsible, under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, for the safety of workers employed in factories and industrial undertakings. Advice and assistance are given to management on ways and means of guarding dangerous parts of machinery, adopting safe working practices, and general layout of factories to achieve safe working conditions.

During the year, the scope and activities of the Industrial Safety Training Centre continued to expand and, in addition to courses