Difference between revisions of "Safety"

Revision as of 10:25, 23 February 2007

This article needs expanding: please see Discussion page

DIY has an unfortunate relationship with Safety: in hospital A&E departments across the country Easter Sunday - traditionally the most popular time of the year for DIY activities - is known as Bloody Sunday!

Of course nobody intends to have an accident and nobody thinks it can happen to them! When an accident does occur we can sometimes see with hindsight how we could have avoided it: preventing this sort of accident is a matter of cultivating better foresight - taking the time and giving the mental energy to thinking through the job (as not epitomised by Hoffnung's story about a builder and a barrel of bricks!).

However there are many dangers inherent in things in everyday life which are not at all obvious to those without specialist knowledge. For example how many people know that

dismantling a battery-operated disposable camera could kill them?
mixing toilet cleaners from two different bottles could do so?
a circular saw kicks backwards?
patio gas can cause a major explosion outdoors?

DIY (and Life in general) doesn't come with any foolproof safety guarantees, but we can stack the odds in our favour by:

understanding the science and technology around us
learning from the mistakes of others
being cautious, and knowing our limitations: sometimes it is more appropriate to get in a professional who has the skills and possibly equipment to do a job safety than to take risks by working outside our own competence. If you are accident-prone then maybe many DIY activities just aren't for you?!

General safety information

The uk.d-i-y newsgroup and its Google groups archive are a good source of advice
Joking aside, the Darwin Awards are a good guide to some sorts of pitfalls to avoid.

Subject-specific guides

Electrical Safety

A very through guide to safety in working on electrical equipment (including some battery-operated appliances) is the Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Safety Guidelines It's worth a read even if you're fairly familiar with and experienced in dealing with electrical & electronic appliances.

Gas Safety

Ed Sirett's Gas Fitting FAQ

By Law you must be competent to carry out any gas work! - read this before even thinking of doing your own.

LPG

Liquid Petroleum Gas - usually bottled, e.g. camping and patio gas - is heavier than air. Leaks may not be detected by smell since the source of gas is likely to be below nose height, and can accumulate in hollows and drains. Be aware of this when using gas barbecues, patio heaters etc.

Chemical & Biological Hazards

Toilet cleaners

Common toilet cleaning chemicals are based either on bleach or on mild acids: if the two types mix they will generate chlorine gas which can kill in only few breaths! If you smell a strong swimming-pool smell get out into fresh air immediately!

Drain Cleaners

Drain cleaning chemicals are usually strongs acids or alkalis which are extremely dangerous.

Strong alkalis

Commonly found in/known as:

Some drain cleaners
Oven cleaners
Caustic Soda
Sodium Hydroxide

Contact between strong alkalis and skin is particularly dangerous: whilst acid causes pain immediately alkali can attack skin without causing immediate discomfort and so more damage can be done before it becomes apparent. Alkali damage to eyes can cause loss of sight!

Lime

Lime is a weaker alkali which may irritate some skins, and is the component in cement that causes skin irritation. Note that some mortar mixes also contain other alkaline components such as fly ash.

When the job is over, applying vinegar to hands after washing seems to make skin comfortable again much more quickly.

Sewage

Sewage works & pipes contain high levels of bacteria, some of which can be very dangerous to humans if ingested.

Observing good hygiene is especially important around sewage
When clearing a drain using a pressure washer, wear protection to prevent splashing to eyes, nose or mouth.

Falling Debris

Hard hats should be worn when there is a risk of falling debris.

Lifting

When lifting heavy loads you should bend your knees and keep your back straight, not legs straight and back bent over the load. Steel toe-capped footwear is good when working with heavy loads: apart from reducing danger if the load is inadvertently dropped on a foot it can be useful to use the steel toe-cap as a support when manoevering the load (provided there is no sharp edge which can stray over the cap onto the unprotected foot. Grip-enhancing gloves can also make lifting easier and reduce the risk of dropping.

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 DIY has an unfortunate relationship with Safety: in hospital A&E departments across the country Easter Sunday - traditionally the most popular time of the year for DIY activities - is known as '''Bloody Sunday'''!
-These injuries are not inherent in the job, but are normally due to failure of the DIYer to see the risks and take measures to eliminate or minimise them.
+Of course nobody ''intends'' to have an accident and nobody thinks it can happen to them! When an accident does occur we can sometimes see with hindsight how we could have avoided it: preventing this sort of accident is a matter of cultivating better foresight - taking the time and giving the mental energy to thinking through the job (as '''not''' epitomised by Hoffnung's [http://www.bluegum.com/Humour/Assorted/bricks.html story] about a builder and a barrel of bricks!).
-Here are some resources for staying out of A&E and into DIY:
+However there are many dangers inherent in things in everyday life which are not at all obvious to those without specialist knowledge. For example how many people know that
+* dismantling a battery-operated disposable camera could kill them?
+* mixing toilet cleaners from two different bottles could do so?
+* a circular saw kicks '''backwards'''?
+* patio gas can cause a major explosion outdoors?
-; Electrical Safety
-: [http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/safety.htm Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ '''Safety Guidelines''']
-: Read at least once before taking the cover off any electrical equipment!
-; Gas Safety
+DIY (and Life in general) doesn't come with any foolproof safety guarantees, but we can stack the odds in our favour by:
-: [http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html Ed Sirett's Gas Fitting FAQ]
+* understanding the science and technology around us
-: By Law you must be '''competent''' to carry out any gas work! - read this before even thinking of doing your own.
+* learning from the mistakes of others
+* being cautious, and knowing our limitations: sometimes it is more appropriate to get in a professional who has the skills and possibly equipment to do a job safety than to take risks by working outside our own competence. If you are accident-prone then maybe many DIY activities just aren't for you?!
+== General safety information ==
+* The '''uk.d-i-y''' newsgroup and its [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.d-i-y/topics Google groups archive] are a good source of advice
+* Joking aside, the [http://www.darwinawards.com/ Darwin Awards] are a good guide to some sorts of pitfalls to avoid.
-=Assessment=
+== Subject-specific guides ==
-This is all very basic, but too often overlooked. This results in DIY related injuries every day. Knowing something is not enough, you also have to do it.
-Before doing work it is wise to assess your awareness of the risks. If your knowledge level is insufficient to know the risks, a bit of reading first should help keep you out of A&E. News:uk.d-i-y and [[Special:Allpages|Wiki Contents]] are useful for this.
+=== Electrical Safety ===
+A very through guide to safety in working on electrical equipment (including some battery-operated appliances) is the
+[http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/safety.htm Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ '''Safety Guidelines''']
+It's worth a read even if you're fairly familiar with and experienced in dealing with electrical & electronic appliances.
-Also check you have adequate precautions in place to avoid or minimise the risks.
+=== Gas Safety ===
+[http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html Ed Sirett's Gas Fitting FAQ]
-Most DIY jobs are worth the minimal risks involved, but there are exceptions. Some jobs are dangerous enough that it would not be a good choice for most people to attempt them, and sometimes people dont have enough skill to stay safe. Paying a tradesman can be a good choice in these cases.
+By Law you must be '''competent''' to carry out any gas work! - read this before even thinking of doing your own.
-Lastly there is a minority of individuals that simply should not get involved in DIY at all. The TV series 'Some mothers do ave em' illustrates that one. News:uk.d-i-y can sometimes help by offering another perspective on your planned work, but assessing someone's abilities on the strength of a few posts is not a reliable process.
+==== LPG ====
+Liquid Petroleum Gas - usually bottled, e.g. camping and patio gas - is heavier than air. Leaks may not be detected by smell since the source of gas is likely to be below nose height, and can accumulate in hollows and drains. Be aware of this when using gas barbecues, patio heaters etc.
+=== Chemical & Biological Hazards ===
-=Chemicals=
+==== Toilet cleaners ====
-==Cleaning Chemicals==
+Common toilet cleaning chemicals are based either on bleach or on mild acids: if the two types mix they will generate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine chlorine] gas which can '''kill''' in only few breaths! If you smell a strong swimming-pool smell '''get out into fresh air immediately!'''
-===Bleach===
-Never let bleach and acid meet, or chlorine gas will form. Chlorine gas was one of the main chemical warfare gases used in WW1. It only takes a few breaths to kill, so if you smell chlorine, evacuate immediately, don't hang about to work out what went wrong.
-===Acids===
-Acids used in DIY cover the spectrum from mild food acids such as citric acid to acids like HCl capable of dissolving all body parts.
-====Patio Cleaner====
-====Vinegar====
-Vinegar is entirely innocent until used, but once it gets onto copper (or any copper alloy) it becomes saturated with copper salts. Copper is actully an essential nutrient in miniscule quantities, but the amounts found in copper cleaning runoff are enough to cause serious problems. Even vinegar can land you in trouble.
-===Alkalis===
-Alkalis are worse than acids in some ways. Acid in the eye will receive immediate treatment due to pain, but an alkali in the eye may cause no immediate suffering, and begin eating into the eyeball. Once this process occurs it is difficult to impossible to stop, if you wait before seeking treatment you may lose part of your sight in the affected eye.
-====Caustic Soda====
-Sodium hydroxide
-Probably the strongest alkali used in DIY, caustic should be kept off skin and eyes, and any eye contact should prompt immediate washing and medical assistance. Skin contact is less of an issue in that it causes pain before any serious harm is done, and is easily washed off.
+==== Drain Cleaners ====
+Drain cleaning chemicals are usually strongs acids or alkalis which are extremely dangerous.
-Caustic soda, washing soda and baking soda are all different chemicals.
+==== Strong alkalis ====
-====Lime====
+Commonly found in/known as:
-Lime irritates some skins, and is the component in cement that causes skin irritation. Note that some mortar mixes also contain other alkaline components such as fly ash.
+* Some drain cleaners
+* Oven cleaners
+* Caustic Soda
+* Sodium Hydroxide
-When the job is over, applying vinegar to hands after washing seems to make skin comfortable again much more quickly.
+Contact between strong alkalis and skin is particularly dangerous: whilst acid causes pain immediately alkali can attack skin without causing immediate discomfort and so more damage can be done before it becomes apparent. Alkali damage to eyes can cause loss of sight!
-===Toxins===
+===== Lime =====
-====Oxalic acid====
+Lime is a weaker alkali which may irritate some skins, and is the component in cement that causes skin irritation. Note that some mortar mixes also contain other alkaline components such as fly ash.
+When the job is over, applying vinegar to hands after washing seems to make skin comfortable again much more quickly.
-=Heights=
+==== Sewage ====
-One of the problems with working at height is that things can go a lot more wrong than may be realised in advance. See [http://www.emofree.com/Humor/accident-report.htm Gerard Hofnung's famous story about the barrel of bricks.]]
+Sewage works & pipes contain high levels of bacteria, some of which can be very dangerous to humans if ingested.
-=Lifting=
-==Load Limits==
-Observe the Safe Working Load limits stamped on the ratings plate on your butt, don't exceed your rated values. This is sometimes difficult to read due to its location, in which case your load rating can be assessed by a doctor or physical therapist. Ratings may vary widely between different models of DIYer, so it is not always wise to make assumptions.
-Exceeding the printed ratings may cause some of the zeros to fall off, leaving the DIYer unable to work. Although this damage can often be repaired by a body shop, the repair process is often long and costly, and in some cases the damage is permanent.
-=Sewage=
-Sewage works & pipes are a septic system. The smell is caused by very high levels of bacteria, some of which can be very dangerous to humans if ingested.
 * Observing good hygiene is especially important around sewage
 * When clearing a drain using a pressure washer, wear protection to prevent splashing to eyes, nose or mouth.
+=== Falling Debris ===
+Hard hats should be worn when there is a risk of falling debris.
-=Falling Debris=
+=== Lifting ===
-Hard hats should be worn when there is a risk of falling debris.
+When lifting heavy loads you should bend your knees and keep your back straight, not legs straight and back bent over the load. <!-- need a picture -->
+Steel toe-capped footwear is good when working with heavy loads: apart from reducing danger if the load is inadvertently dropped on a foot it can be useful to use the steel toe-cap as a support when manoevering the load (provided there is no sharp edge which can stray over the cap onto the unprotected foot. Grip-enhancing gloves can also make lifting easier and reduce the risk of dropping.
-=Screws=
-Screwing causes injuries too. See [[Screws]]
 [[Category:Safety]]