Day 131 - 06 Jun 95 - Page 31

     
     1        operation.
     2
     3   Q.   On page 13, I think it is, somebody called Karen Anstee
     4        complains about not having protective clothing for doing
     5        the cooking.  You write that you have never heard reference
     6        to protective clothing to prevent minor burns from that
     7        kind of an activity?
     8        A.  Not from that kind of activity, no; you would not wear
     9        gauntlets or anything during a cooking operation.
    10
    11   Q.   You would not wear gauntlets?
    12        A.  No.
    13
    14   Q.   Have you ever seen that?
    15        A.  Certainly not.  I have never seen that in a kitchen.
    16        Obviously, in the metal industry, one wears spats and
    17        things of that sort, but that is a very specific
    18        application ---
    19
    20   Q.   -- or changing the hot oil?
         A.  Absolutely.
    22
    23   Q.   I think, Mr. Purslow, the McDonald's people are also
    24        supposed to wear protective clothing when they are cleaning
    25        the grill.  What is the reason for that?
    26        A.  If you are cleaning the grill, you are trying to remove
    27        carbon, and, consequently, the chemical that is used has to
    28        be aggressive, and, being aggressive, it would obviously be
    29        harmful if it came into contact with the skin.
    30        Consequently, we would normally recommend that people wore
    31        a face mask and gloves while they were doing that
    32        operation.
    33
    34   Q.   So it is not against burns from heat; it is against
    35        corrosive burns?
    36        A.  No.  Yes, it is against chemical burns.
    37
    38   Q.   Page 15, Nicholas McGill, you write:  "It is a legal
    39        obligation that there should be a supply of drinking water,
    40        but no other kind of fluid"?
         A.  Yes.
    42
    43   Q.   Where does that derive from, that legal obligation?
    44        A.  It was originally, again, part of the Offices, Shops
    45        and Railway Premises Act.  It has now been supplanted by
    46        the workplace regulations.  But, historically, it was the
    47        Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act.
    48
    49   Q.   Page 16, in the second paragraph, you mention:  "The
    50        chemicals used by McDonald's, essentially, provided are 
    51        mainly mild degreasants"? 
    52        A.  Yes. 
    53
    54   Q.   "COSHH assessments are available for this."  We will leave
    55        the second sentence there for the moment.  What do you mean
    56        by "mild degreasants"?
    57        A.  Well, a cleaning chemical is designed to remove the
    58        grease film, basically, to which the dirt adheres.  So,
    59        consequently, if you think of something like washing-up
    60        liquid, that is basically a mild degreasant, because it