Factories Act 1937

52 Humid factories.

(1) The occupier of every humid factory shall, on or before the first occasion on which artificial humidity is produced at that factory, give notice thereof in writing to the inspector for the district.

(2) In every humid factory in which regulations made under this Act or under the enactments thereby repealed, with respect to humidity, are not for the time being in force, the provisions of this subsection shall have effect:—

(a) subject to the provisions of this section, there shall be provided and maintained in every room in which artificial humidity is produced, two hygrometers, conforming to such conditions, as regards construction and maintenance, as may be prescribed, and the following requirements with respect thereto shall be complied with :—

(i) one hygrometer shall be fixed in the centre and one at the side of each room, or in such other position as may be directed or sanctioned by an inspector, so as to be plainly visible to the persons employed;

(ii) a copy of the table of humidity set out in the First Schedule to this Act, or such other table as may be substituted therefor by regulations of the Secretary of State, shall be kept hung up near to each hygrometer;

(iii) the occupier or other person authorised for the purpose shall read the hygrometers twice daily, namely, between ten and eleven o'clock in the morning and between three and four o'clock in the afternoon on every day on which any persons are employed in the room in the morning or afternoon as the case may be, and when persons are employed before six o'clock in the morning or after eight o'clock in the evening, at such other times as may be directed by the inspector for the district, and shall enter the readings on a record which shall be provided for each hygrometer in the prescribed form;

(iv) the forms on which the readings of each hygrometer are recorded shall be kept hung up near the hygrometer, and when filled up shall be preserved at the factory for reference. The entries recorded in the form shall be prima facie evidence of the humidity of the atmosphere and temperature in the factory :

(b) there shall be no artificial humidification in any room at any time when the reading of the wet bulb thermometer exceeds seventy-two and a half degrees, or, in the case of a room in which the spinning of cotton or in which the spinning of merino or cashmere by the French or dry process or the spinning or combing of wool by that process is carried on, eighty degrees :

(c) there shall be no artificial humidification in any room at any time when the difference between the readings of the dry and wet bulb thermometers is less than that indicated in the table of humidity :

(d) no water which is liable to cause injury to the health of the persons employed, or to yield effluvia, shall be used for artificial humidification, and for the purpose of this provision any water which absorbs from acid solution of permanganate of potash in four hours at sixty degrees more than half a grain of oxygen per gallon of water, shall be deemed to be liable to cause injury to the health of the persons employed.

(3) The chief inspector may direct in writing, in the case of any factory or any room in a factory, that the provision and maintenance of one hygrometer shall be sufficient instead of two, the hygrometer to be fixed in such position as may be directed by an inspector, and the last foregoing subsection shall have effect accordingly.

(4) Where as respects any room notice has been given in the prescribed manner to the inspector for the district that it is intended that the humidity of the atmosphere should never be greater than will maintain a difference of at least four degrees between the readings of the dry and wet bulb thermometers, the provisions of sub-paragraphs (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (a) of this section shall not apply as respects that room so long as at least that difference is maintained and a copy of the said notice is kept posted in the room.