ENG-1989 — Page 135

EMPLOYMENT

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examined periodically by qualified engineers in the private sector acting as appointed examiners.

Thermal oil heaters are now included in the definition of a boiler. The division monitors pressure equipment through spot checks to ensure compliance with statutory requirements and carries out investigations into accidents involving pressure equipment.

Under the Gasholders Examination Ordinance, the division approves the design of gasholders and carries out inspections during fabrication and repairs, and subsequently conducts annual inspections.

In collaboration with the Haking Wong Technical Institute, the division organises comprehensive training courses for attendants operating electrically-heated boilers. Special courses are conducted, in conjunction with the Vocational Training Council, for training handicapped persons as operators of small electrically-heated boilers. Short training courses are also organised for persons intending to obtain a provisional certificate of competency.

The division provides technical assistance to the Fire Services Department concerning the safety of storage and handling of Category 2 dangerous goods, and to the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department on the design of gasholders and the implementation of statutory controls on boilers and pressure vessels.

Occupational Health and Hygiene

-The Occupational Health Division of the Labour Department works to maintain and improve the physical and mental well-being of workers and to protect them against any health hazard arising from their employment. It provides an advisory service to the government and the public on matters concerning the health of workers and the hygiene of the workplace and complements the Factory Inspectorate Division in supervising health standards and practices in industry.

The division took part in a number of seminars in 1989 and arranged several exhibitions to promote occupational health. It also published a series of booklets and codes of practice on the prevention of occupational diseases. Occupational health promotion and education activities were carried out by nursing officers to alert employers and employees to occupational hazards in the workplace.

A major responsibility of the division is to investigate notified occupational diseases and potential health hazards reported by the Factory Inspectorate and to determine preventive action. Surveys were conducted in various industries and a number of epidemiological studies on health and hygiene conditions have been completed. These included solvent hazards in printing, silica hazards in the quarrying industry, cutting fluid hazards in the metal manufacturing industry and the health effects of the use of moulding powder associated with the metal-casting process. Programmes to monitor various chemicals, dusts and other occupational health hazards were also carried out.

The division also carries out medical examinations of personnel exposed to ionising radiation, users of compressed-air breathing apparatus, and government employees work- ing in compressed air or engaged in diving or pest control. It also deals with cases of silicosis under the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance. The division's registered nurses handle medical clearance for employees' compensation cases and its occupational health officers are appointed as members of Special Assessment Boards and Prostheses and Surgical Appliance Boards under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance.

The division's laboratory carries out analytical tests on biological samples collected from workers and other environmental samples taken during site visits.

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