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Report 4 (of 6): Safety Caps
- South Africa
Introduction
Paraffin is the major source of energy for the majority
of the population in South Africa and is relied upon
as the primary fuel by millions of South Africans
for cooking, heating and lighting. An estimated 685
million litres of paraffin are used every year for
domestic energy in South Africa. Even where people
have access to electricity they often use paraffin
stoves and lamps as electrical appliances are expensive.
Paraffin Ingestion and Accidental Poisoning,
The most common cause of accidental poisoning in
South Africa is paraffin ingestion and each year,
approximately 20,000 children suffer from the effects
of this, with children under five years old the highest
at risk. Poisoning rises steeply during the summer
months when children are thirsty. Another associated
danger of paraffin is fire which results in thousands
of people losing their homes and lives every year.
Children drink paraffin thinking that it is water
or a cool drink such as coca cola, as it is often
stored in recycled bottles. They may also drink paraffin
out of a secondary container, such as a cup or a
jug, which has been used as a funnel to decant paraffin
into stoves or lamps. Ingesting a mere 0.1ml of paraffin
may cause pneumonia which can only be treated in
hospital. Consequently, there is a relatively high
fatality rate in the rural areas because there is
no access to hospitals.
< Africa Southern of Association
Paraffin>
The oil industry, comprising of Shell, Caltex, BP,
Engen, Total and Zenex, (figure 2), responded to
the need for paraffin safety by establishing the
Paraffin Safety Association of Southern Africa (PASASA)
in January 1996. The campaign developed by PASASA
focuses on the prevention of poisoning through the
production and distribution of purple, child resistant
safety caps. These safety caps are given away free
to paraffin users for use on bottles storing paraffin.
They are available in small sizes which fit onto
750ml glass bottles and in larger sizes for 1, 2,
5 and 10 litre plastic bottles.
Child Resistant Safety Caps
The introduction of child resistant safety caps
on paraffin bottles, by PASASA, (figure 3), reduced
accidental poisonings through ingesting paraffin
by 50% amongst children in South Africa. Each bottle
has a label (figure 4) with safety instructions on
it and pictures showing how to use the child resistant
safety caps. These safety instructions are available
in eleven of South Africa's languages and they inform
the public about prevention and treatment of paraffin
poisoning and fires.
However, no single measure can be totally effective
in isolation and the person buying the paraffin is
responsible for ensuring that the child resistant
safety cap is always used and that the paraffin is
stored out of a child's reach. If a child does drink
paraffin, they must not be given anything at all
to eat or drink and they should not be allowed to
vomit as this forces the paraffin onto the lungs
and causes pneumonia.
Sassy Safety Cap
The purple safety cap is marketed using a cartoon
character called Sassy (figure 5). To open a bottle
with a Sassy safety cap on, the user must push down
hard onto the cap and turn it anticlockwise at the
same time. This motion will allow the cap to be unscrewed
but ensures that children cannot twist the cap off.
This simple mechanism prevents a substantial percentage
of accidental poisonings because the bottles equipped
with these caps can only be opened by people who
have knowledge of the specific technique required.
Indeed, adults using these safety caps in South Africa
have been given tuition in order to ensure that they
are able to open the caps.
The purple Sassy safety cap is a two part cap -
the inner part is white and the outer part is purple.
The inner part has wedges at regular intervals on
the top and screws directly onto the bottle. The
purple cap has ridges on the inside of it. The two
parts of the cap are locked together by sliding the
white cap into the purple cap and slotting the wedges
and ridges together. This means that when the cap
is turned, it will freewheel one way and lock in
the other.
Manufacturing Child Resistant Safety Caps
Child resistant safety caps are easy to manufacture.
In fact, it only takes about 18 seconds for the whole
process (heating, injecting, cooling and ejecting)
to be completed (figure 6). Raw plastic pellets are
loaded into a hopper which feeds them (by gravity)
into the cylindrical barrel of the moulding machine.
These are forced down the barrel by the rotation
of a spiral screw or by a plunger which is operated
by the turning of a capstan handle. The pellets become
heated and softened in the process. The temperature
is controlled by electrical heaters or water coolers
round the barrel and it needs to remain constant.
If it becomes too high the caps will be ruined. The
softened plastic is forced, under high pressure,
through a specifically shaped nozzle into a strong,
split, steel mould. The mould is kept cool so that
the cap will quickly solidify. The mould is then
opened and the cap is removed.
Cost of the Sassy Safety Cap
Despite the widespread acknowledgement of the advantages
of the Sassy safety cap, its cost might prove to
be a constraining factor in its distribution and
use. The cap costs about ten cents more to produce
than a traditional closure and the public may be
unwilling (indeed, many may be unable) to meet the
costs. However, it can be seen that the Sassy child
resistant safety cap is an essential part of household
safety and it should be encouraged for mandatory
use.
[approximately US $1 = 4.94 South African Rand @
January 1998] For more information, please contact:
The Paraffin Safety Association of Southern Africa
P.O. Box 6094 Roggebaai 8012 South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 21 418 6330 Fax: +27 (0) 21 418 6334
For any enquiries on purchasing Safety Caps, please
contact:
Richard Rath Rath Solutions PO Box 20022 Humewood
Port Elizabeth 6013 South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 41 551 686 Fax: +27 (0) 41 560 658
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