Offshore painters could be at risk of breaching health and safety rules due to their beards, the watchdog has warned.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found during an inspection on the Shell-operated Nelson platform that respiratory equipment worn by painters was compromised by their facial hair.
Inspectors visiting the platform, around 124 miles north east of Aberdeen, found three Stork Fabric Maintenance workers painting pipework on the platform were not wearing the correct respiratory protective equipment (RPE) to protect them from hazardous fumes.
It also recorded that two of them had “full beards” which prevented equipment from working as intended.
Stork said it was proactively addressing the issue in the wake of HSE’s findings.
© Supplied by Viaro EnergyThe work on the platform reportedly included the use of multiple chemicals over several different stages as crews had to inspect, clean, prepare, paint and apply a finish coat to pipework.
A corresponding risk assessment showed the paint contained xylene, ethylbenzene and 4-methylpentan-2-one (also known as methyl isobutyl ketone), all of which are known to be hazardous to human health if inhaled.
However, investigators found that the assessment did not make clear which protective measures should be implemented for each stage of the work. As a result, the three workers were not wearing the correct equipment because the risk assessment implied that it was optional.
In addition, two of the three had “full beards”, which potentially compromised the effectiveness of any RPE in providing an adequate face seal.
Their hirsute appearance was reportedly contrary to the company’s clean-shaven policy, which is in place to ensure RPE remains effective.
Stork therefore “failed to identify these failures and thereby take steps to ensure that reasonably practicable protective measures were implemented, giving rise to risks of exposure to substances hazardous to health,” the HSE said.
A spokesperson for Stork said: “The safety of our employees remains our highest priority. As such, we are proactively addressing the measures identified in the notice alongside our client and the Health and Safety Executive.”
They also clarified their policy on facial hair.
“While the requirement to be clean-shaven when using RPE has always been Stork policy, a review undertaken following this incident has led to the company reinforcing this need.”
It follows a similar warning issued to Petrofac earlier this year over workers’ potential exposure to fumes from welding operations.
It comes amid wider warnings from the offshore safety watchdog, which last month spoke of “extremely worrying” cases of North Sea operators going “backwards” on critical maintenance.
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