2.4 Composite material

The description of the manufacturing cycle for composite material boats reveals a range of operations which is much simpler and involves fewer activities in relation to those for shipbuilding and fibreglass boat building. The organisation of the yard and the work place is also more straightforward.

2.4.1. Conventional risks in composite material boat-building

The generally restricted size of boats built in composite materials and the different stages of construction make the “conventional risks” different from those discussed previously. In boatyards for the construction of composite material vessels no movement of large pieces or elevated scaffolding is required. Conventional risks are therefore only present during the tailoring and joining stages.

The first operations, as in an industrial tailors, may entail small injuries such as cuts, crushing of hands and slipping. In the joining department possible injuries may result from machine mechanisms or from crushing under the mould presses, electric shocks during high frequency joining, falling from the platforms where the larger machines are kept or from burns caused by the high temperatures (500°C) which are reached during hot joining.

2.4.2 Specific risks in the construction of composite material vessels

The greatest risk connected to exposure to harmful substances is in the department dedicated to cleaning the cloth pieces, in product checking and in gluing areas, where the fibreglass products are glued to the material.

For gluing operations, as for fibreglass, different types of glue emit small quantities of solvent with a consequent risk of explosion.

There is a risk of exposure to noise, but much less so than in shipbuilding and fibreglass boat building.

2.4.3 High potential risks in the construction of composite material vessels

There is a risk of fire and explosion largely due to the presence of highly inflammable solvents and glues.

2.4.4 Risks for the health of workers in the construction of composite material vessels

2.4.4.1 Risks

Risks to the health of workers in yards constructing vessels in composite materials come from exposure to harmful substances.

Table 6 shows the activity/risk matrix for activities which give rise to specific risks.

Type of risk Activity		Inhalation Risks
		Solvents		Glue vapours		Soap oils
Bonding			x
Vessel refurbishing	x				x
Material cleaning	x

Table 6 - Activity/risk matrix for activities giving rise to specific risks in the costruction of composite material vessels

The information in the table is not sufficient to evaluate the risks, as it would be necessary to identify the harmful agent and its effect on the respiratory system and the other organs of the worker.

2.4.4.2 Means of protection

In closed environments localised ventilation plants which directly remove the harmful vapours emitted are not installed, as the quantities involved are modest. There are only ventilation systems which guarantee the necessary change of air and limit the accumulation of harmful substances in the environment.

Individual means of protection (IMP) may also be used in addition to the type of machinery described above. These include suitable clothing and footwear, gloves goggles, headwear, masks, earplugs and headphones.

The need to use particular IMPs such as masks, earplugs and headphones to protect the eardrums is evaluated by means of readings carried out in the work environment.

Protection against injuries and fire must be in accordance with law and is not included in this study.

3 Conclusions

The naval shipyard industry in Tuscany and, in particular, in the province of Livorno, is sufficiently representative of the Italian situation.

There is a naval shipyard industry which, building ships with exclusively steel hulls, represents a mature productive sector, where the risks for workers health were identified some time ago, likewise the safety systems, which nevertheless can be further improved.

The fibreglass shipbuilding industry is already quite developed, building boats of different dimensions with more or less innovative techniques. It is foreseeable that, in this productive sector, new technologies and new products will be introduced with the objectives of improving the boats’ performances and of decreasing the risks derived from the use of the products. It is a sector that should be carefully followed in order to promptly identify new risks connected to technological innovation.

Analogous considerations can be made when completely new materials and techniques are used. The example of boats made out of compound material was examined in this study. The risks present in those productions, although insidious due to the use of harmful substances, are not major because of the simplicity of the building technique and the reduced dimensions of the struts.

In conclusion, in order to protect the health of workers in the shipbuilding industry, resources must be dedicated to:

- Carefully and accurately applying existing naval engineering knowledge

- Promoting the use of new machines or technologies and of new products capable of decreasing the risk in the constructions that use fibres and resins

- Examining the building technologies and the harmfulness of the substances used when they are new and sufficient experience has not yet been accumulated.