The Factories Act

The exposure of workers to chemicals, dusts and vapours has for many years been recognized as hazardous to health and in Britain the conditions under which nitro- and amino- derivatives of benzene are manufactured are under the control of the Chemical Works Regulations section of the Factories Act (see also Vol. I, section 7.5.1). As a result adequate draughting to take away noxious dusts and vapours and the provision of positive airbreathing apparatus are obligatory. 

In the special cases of the carcinogenic materials j5-naphthylamine and benzidine, manufacture and use have now been discontinued worldwide by consent and in the case of the UK as a result of the Health and Safety at Work, Etc. Act, 1974 which itself arose from the Carcinogenic Substances Regulations, 1967. As mentioned earlier, certain derivatives of benzidine such as di-o-anisidine and o-tolidine have been designated controlled substances, their use being under rigorously specified conditions. 

All new products and processes are nowadays exhaustively tested for toxic, fire and explosion hazards modified existing processes are not excepted from these safeguards. There have been many cases where there has been free exchange of information on process hazards. 

It is relevant to recall that the Japanese in the 1970s imposed a total ban on the discharge of mercury-containing effluent. This has led to the devising of alternatives to the Hg-catalysed sulphonation of anthraquinone leading by amination to the valuable 1-aminoanthraquinone, e.g. the nitration of A/Q, separation of the 1-nitro compound and reduction to the amine or the amination of 1-chloro-A/Q separated from the 2-isomer. In both cases isomer separation is difficult and further investigation is needed. 

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There is a wide range of legislation laying down standards of safety and health. In the UK, the most notable and wide ranging are the Factories Act 1961, the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Act 1988, breach of any of which can result in liability to civil and/or criminal action against the offenders. 

Except for some defined types of accommodation, the use of fuel or electricity to heat premises above a temperature of 19°C is prohibited by the Fuel and Electricity (Heating) (Control) Order 1980. The current Order is an amendment to an earlier Regulation, which limited the temperature to a maximum of 20°C, and although 19°C is generally taken to refer to air temperature the Order does not specify this. The minimum temperature was laid down in the Factories Act 1961 and should be reached one hour after the commencement of occupation. 

The Factories Act 1961 and the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 are the result of Bills, which, after being debated in Parliament, have received the Royal Assent, and now from part of criminal law. 

Employers and others who now have duties under the 1974 Act will have had some form of responsibilities under previous legislation (e.g. the Factories Act 1961) to ensure the health and safety and welfare of people at work. However, a number of employers will be subject to such legislation for the first time. 

Where work is to be carried out in a confined space within a factory. Section 30 of the Factories Act 1961 lays down specific requirements when work is performed... 

Section 38 of the Factories Act 1961 defines a steam boiler as a any closed vessel in which for any purpose steam is generated under pressure greater than atmospheric pressure . Economizers used to heat water being fed to such a vessel and superheater for heating steam are also included. Every boiler must be fitted with the recommended safety measures (e.g. safety valve, stop valve, water gauge, low-water alarms, pressure gages, etc.). 

Entry into boilers are controlled by Section 34 of the Factories Act 1961, which states that no person shall enter or be in any steam boiler which is one of a range of two or more boilers unless ... 

In premises in which the Factories Act 1961 apply. Section 15 of the Act acknowledges that certain dangerous parts of machinery can only be adjusted or lubricated while in motion. Employees carrying out this work must be properly trained and their employers must specify their tasks in writing. 

The big boost for reform came, in fact, with the Factory Acts in England. Three such acts were passed between 1833 and 1867, and they did much to improve working conditions and, in particular, initiated the training and use of Factory Inspectors to ensure that the provisions of the acts were implemented. These factory inspectors grew into the labor inspectors, safety officers, and occupational hygienists of today. 

When a Bill has been debated in Parliament and received Royal Assent it becomes law regulations made under the Acts also become law. The Factories Act of 1961 and the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 must be obeyed because they are part of criminal law. 

The Ministry of Industry has established quality standards and control of industries and factories involved with chemicals, particularly those generating hazardous or toxic chemicals under the provision of the Factory Act of 1969 (amended in 1972, 1975, 1979, and 1992). The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has the authority to control toxic substances in agriculture, particularly pesticides. Under the same Act, the Ministry of Public Health also controls the toxic substances used as consumer products and for some purposes of human health. After 1992, those ministries included a lot of hazardous substances in the Ministerial Notification by periodically following the evaluation of such substances, either old or newly introduced. 

It might be thought that 1 am reading too much into this passage. Marx does not say in so many words that the collective interest of the capitalist class explained the Factory Acts, although it is natural to understand him in this way when he refers to the actions of a "state that is ruled by capitalist and landlord". An important passage from the 1861-3 Critique, while still not unambiguous on this point, at least leaves no room for doubt as to the conflict between the collective and the individual interests of the capitalists ... 

In Capital /, p. 270, note 2, there is a reference lo a petition for legislative enactment by 26 firms in the pottery industry. This, however, occurred in 1863, and is irrelevant for the explanation of the Factory Acts. 

Sknmd, Sazioh ie, pp. Baff, citing the delMte over the Factory Acts as an important example. 

Acts of Parliament. The most important Act is the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 there are other similar occupational health and safety statutes such as the Factories Act 1961 which must also be observed. 

The buildings used for the factory shall be constituted so as to permit production of drugs under hygienic conditions. They shall conform to the conditions laid down in the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948). 

Pupils in schools do not have the same rights as employees and are not covered by the Factories Acts. However, existing employment law is a good basis from which to start when considering potential risks and how they might be avoided. Teachers, clerical workers and technicians are employees of either LEAs or schools. Those who work with ICT are subject to the requirements of the law and schools should seek to protect them from health risks. 

It is The Watt Committee on Energy s understanding that the powers of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate under the Nuclear Installations Act, are very similar to those of the Factory Inspectorate under the Factories Act/Health and Safety at Work Act. 

In 1833 the Factory Act was introduced in Britain. It empowered the government to appoint paid factory inspectors and the four divisions into which Britain was divided each had its own inspector. This act only applied to textile mUls, and some 12 inspectors had to inspect in excess of 3000 mills. 

During this year clauses relating to the fencing of machinery and the providing of other safeguards were incorporated into the Factory Act of 1802. The reporting of certain accidents was also included in the act. 

The Factory Act of 1844 further reduced hours of work for children and applied the many provisions of the Factory Act of 1833 to women. The act applied to the textile industry, and some of its main features were as follows. 

Most of the duties in the new regulations are not completely new hut clarify and make more explicit what is in current health and safety law. A lot of out-of-date law will be repealed by the new regulations, e.g. many parts of the Factories Act 1961. Some of these have been updated since 1993. 

The Health and Morals of Apprentices Act of 1802 was introduced by Robert Peel in an attempt at reducing apprentice working hours to 12 hours per day and improving the conditions of their employment. The Factories Act of 1833 restricted the working week for children aged 13-18 years to 69 hours in any working week. 

These regulations tidy up a number of existing requirements already in place under other regulations such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Factories Act 1961 and the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963. 

The backdrop to much of the legislation passed in this period was the extension of the franchise by the Reform Act of 1832, the rationalisation of poverty relief and the workhouse system by the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1844, and continued opposition to legislation restricting free trade, notably the Corn laws, repealed in 1847 (Ward 1962 302). These trends all contextualise the Factory Acts that were passed in this period they slowly extended protective rights to a wider class of people, gradually systematised the infrastructure of an interventionist state, but... 

The Factory Acts (Extension) Act 1864 expanded the scope of the legislation passed in relation to the textile industry, extending it to other industries including earthenware production, match-making, and explosives manufacture. In 1867, the legislation was again extended to... 

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