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Soap has become a basic household item, but its manufacture could result in a worker making an industrial injury compensation claim.
Reportedly, the earliest traces of a soap-like substance were found in clay jars during excavations of the ancient city of Babylon and are estimated by scientists and historians to date back to 2800 B.C.
In 1806, William Colgate began manufacturing and selling soaps and his company became one of the most recognised in the western world. Soaps were already being made and sold before that in many different places, such as Marseilles in 1525, but it was not until the Industrial Revolution that the scale of manufacture increased and firms began competing against each other for customers.
Soap factory dangers
The commercial manufacture of soap has not changed much since it began, although advances in technology mean that, for example, instead of heating ingredients over an open fire many parts of the process are now conducted in large temperature-regulated vats.
The main ingredients of soap, not including any scent or colour added for aesthetic purposes, are fat and lye (most commonly sodium hydroxide), which are mixed together to eventually create the finished soap product.
Lye, sometimes known as caustic soda, poses many risks for individuals working with it. It can cause severe illness or even death if ingested, is corrosive to both skin and eyes (resulting in deep ulcerations and scarring in some instances) and its vapours are noxious.
For these reasons it is very important that an employer makes sure that personal protective safety equipment is provided to workers, and that it is worn correctly and at all times when around the dangerous substance.
Other dangers during the soap making process are the temperatures at which the mixture is heated to at different stages of its creation. During manufacture, ingredients can be heated to anything from 50 to 130 degrees Celsius.
Accidents involving the large vats in which the soap ingredients are heated could cause serious personal injury to an employee.
As an example of how dangerous these temperatures can be, bathwater heated to 50 degrees Celsius would be hotter than an adult could stand and water at 55 degrees Celsius can scald a child in ten seconds. In water of 60 degrees Celsius a small child could suffer third degree burns after just one second of exposure.
In many factories soap is now wrapped and placed into boxes by machines, but some companies still employ people to wrap the soap at the end of the production line. It may seem to many individuals that at this point risks to employees are few, but soap can cause burns and irritate skin up until around 48 hours after its manufacture. This is because soap-mix is highly alkaline, so, even in the end stages of production gloves are important.
Industrial injury compensation
If you have suffered an industrial injury due to the negligence of your employer or another colleague, then you could make a compensation claim.
Our solicitors are experts in the personal injury field and could help you receive 100% compensation for your pain, suffering and loss of earnings. Phone today on 0800 10 757 95, or just click to request a call back regarding your industrial injury compensation case.
