A hazardous process, under section 2(1)(za) of the OSH Code 2020, is a process in one of the 35 industries listed in the Code's First Schedule where, unless special care is taken, the materials, products or wastes would materially impair the health of the people working with them or pollute the environment. Foundries, electroplating, plastics, glass, pharmaceuticals and textile dyeing are all on the list. The label brings a set of extra duties with it.
The two-part test
The industry must be on the list, and the process must carry the risk. Section 2(1)(za) defines a hazardous process as "any process or activity in relation to an industry or plantation specified in the First Schedule" where, "unless special care is taken", the raw materials, intermediate or finished products, by-products, hazardous substances, wastes or effluents, or chemicals used, would cause "material impairment to the health of the persons engaged in or connected therewith" or pollute the general environment.
The First Schedule runs to 35 entries. Several cover common Tamil Nadu manufacturing:
| First Schedule entry | Industry |
|---|---|
| 3 | Foundries, ferrous and non-ferrous, including castings, forgings and sand or shot blasting |
| 5 | Power generating industries |
| 11 | Drugs and pharmaceuticals |
| 14 | Paints and pigments |
| 15 | Leather tanning |
| 16 | Electro-plating |
| 17 | Chemical industries, including industrial gases, acids and alkalies, and explosives |
| 19 | Synthetic resin and plastics |
| 22 | Glass and ceramics |
| 23 | Grinding or glazing of metals |
| 29 | Highly flammable liquids and gases |
| 30 | Printing and dyeing on fabrics in textiles, and plywood and laminate manufacturing |
Hazardous process or dangerous operation?
They are two different lists, and a plant can be on either, both or neither. Section 82 lets the appropriate Government declare particular operations "dangerous" where they expose workers to a serious risk of bodily injury, poisoning or disease, and make rules for them: restrictions on employing pregnant women, periodic medical examinations at the occupier's cost, and protective equipment. Tamil Nadu's draft OSH rules of 11 April 2022 declare more than thirty operations dangerous in rule 81 [VERIFY: whether Tamil Nadu has since notified final rules].
Some names appear on both lists, such as electroplating, glass and grinding of metals. Others are on Tamil Nadu's list only: painting and powder coating; welding, soldering and brazing; the processing of textiles; and work with high noise and vibration are all declared dangerous operations. Each has its own schedule of precautions.
What the label triggers
A hazardous process brings duties at registration, on the floor and in the health centre:
| Duty | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Inform the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator at least thirty days before starting a hazardous process | OSH Code s.84(5) |
| Site appraisal for a new hazardous-process factory or its expansion | s.83 |
| A written health and safety policy at registration, whatever the factory's size | s.84(2); TN draft r.87(2) |
| Disclose the dangers to workers, the inspector, the local authority and the public nearby, with a cautionary notice at the gate | s.84(1); TN draft r.83, r.86, r.89 |
| An approved on-site emergency plan and disaster control measures | s.84(4) |
| Health records workers can see; competent supervisors for hazardous substances; medical examinations | s.85; TN draft r.90, r.91 |
| A factory medical practitioner, an occupational health centre from 101 workers, and an ambulance | TN draft r.92, r.93 |
| Safety officers from 250 workers, instead of 500 | s.22(2)(b) |
| A safety committee from 50 workers, instead of 250 | TN draft r.18(1)(ii) |
Where the contract crew fits
Inside it, because the duties attach to the process and the people working in it. Tamil Nadu's draft rule 83 requires the hazard information to go to "all workers", and rule 91(2) bars employing "any person" in the process for the first time without a certificate of fitness from the factory medical practitioner. Work that sits outside the main process, such as cleaning, maintenance and material handling, can still bring a contract crew into contact with the substances the schedule is concerned with.
The headcount thresholds raise the same question as elsewhere in the Code: whether contract workers count toward the 50 for the committee and the 250 for a safety officer. The Code does not settle it in so many words, and a site near either number should know both its direct and contract headcount.
What a site should check
- Read the First Schedule against what the plant does, process by process, and record the answer, with the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator's view where there is doubt.
- Read Tamil Nadu's dangerous-operations list too, since painting, welding, plastics and textile processing can bring their own schedules even where the First Schedule does not apply.
- Tell every contractor which areas are hazardous before its crew is deployed there, so fitness certificates and protective equipment are in place on the first day.
- Give the hazard information to contract workers in their own language, with the evacuation role that goes with it.
- Recheck when the process changes. A new line, a new chemical or a new product can bring a factory into the definition, and the thirty-day notice runs from before the process starts.
How Velura Services helps
Before we deploy to a site, we ask which areas our crew will work in or near carry a hazardous process or a declared dangerous operation, and plan the fitness certificates, training and protective equipment that follow. Our supervisors make sure each worker has the site's hazard information, and their evacuation role, in their own language before the first shift.
Sources
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act 37 of 2020), Gazette text hosted by DGFASLI. Sections cited: s.2(1)(za) (hazardous process), s.22(2)(b) (safety officers at 250 in a hazardous-process factory), s.82 (dangerous operations), s.83 (site appraisal committees), s.84 (disclosure, policy, emergency plan, thirty days' notice), s.85 (health records, competent persons, medical examination), First Schedule (35 industries). Opened and read.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 2022 (draft), G.O. Ms. No. 38, 11 April 2022, Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary No. 216. Rules cited: r.18(1)(ii) (safety committee at 50 in a hazardous process), r.81 (dangerous operations), r.83 (information to workers), r.86 (information to the public), r.87 (health and safety policy), r.89 (cautionary notice), r.90–93 (health records, examinations, health centres, ambulance). Opened and read.