Chemicals Legislation - A regulatory route map01 March 2004

There is an abundance of regulatory requirements for the safe use of chemicals within factories, warehouses and other facilities, most important of which are the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002. Substances not included within COSHH, but requiring safe handling, are covered by the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSW) - the overarching legislation.

HSW places specific requirements on employers/employees to secure the health, safety and welfare of people at work, as well as protecting the general public from the risks arising from the business's activities; it also places duties on the control, storage and use of dangerous substances.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/2051) augment HSW, taking precedence when any overlap occurs. Regarding chemicals, the primary requirements are:
- Risk assessments for health and safety of employees at work (COSHH 2002 will override here) and others;
- Planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review procedures, and health surveillance where necessary - such tasks to be performed by suitably qualified staff;
- Emergency procedures must be in place; and
- Provision of information and adequate safety training for employees.

COSHH

As the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidelines COSHH: a brief guide to the regulations state, COSHH is a management tool which aims to protect people against risks arising from exposure to substances hazardous to health (SHH). Specific substances or preparations covered include those:
- which are listed on the Approved Supply List as very toxic, toxic, corrosive, harmful or irritant;
- for which the Health and Safety Commission has approved an occupational exposure limit (OEL), listed in HSE publication EH 40; or
- which are biological agents, inhalable and respirable dusts, or carcinogens.

The essential source of information is the Approved Code of Practice and Guidance L5. This HSE guide identifies eight steps towards COSHH compliance:

1. Assess the risks to health from hazardous substances used or created in your workplace. The assessment should consider substances in use, possible effects and possible means of exposure. It should also contain an estimate of exposure, taking into account engineering controls (such as barriers, venting systems or workplace design) and recommendations for action (if necessary). The risk assessment must be written and available to employees, reviewed regularly (or at least every five years) and updated if work practices change or new information arises.

2. Decide what precautions are needed. The regulation sets out good practice, demanding engineering controls to limit exposure as far as reasonably practicable, and refers to the maximum exposure limits (MELs) and occupational exposure standards (OESs) listed in the HSE publication EH40 Occupational Exposure Limits. Personal protective equipment (PPE) should only be used where engineering controls cannot be applied (described in SI 1992/2966).

3. Prevent or adequately control exposure. Employees' exposure to hazardous substances must either be prevented, or, where not reasonably practicable, controlled sufficiently to reduce exposure to below the tabulated limits for the substance.

4. Ensure that control measures are used and maintained properly, and that safety precautions are followed.

5. Monitor exposure of employees to hazardous substances where appropriate to the hazard and the possibility of measurement of any effect.

6. Carry out appropriate health surveillance.

7. Prepare plans and procedures to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies involving hazardous substances.

8. Ensure employees are properly informed, trained and supervised. An employee working with an SHH must be fully informed of the health risks involved and any recommended precautionary measures.

Workplace conditions

As the DTI Chemical Atlas website (www.dti.gov .uk/chemicals/atlas/) describes, hazardous substances should not be considered in isolation from infrastructure (facilities and procedures) as the two areas interact with each other so much in respect of health and safety.

The HSE has published a number of ACOPs that are of relevance to the chemical industry, covering general matters such as respiratory hazards and explosion hazards from dusts and flammable substances. Regulations that come under this umbrella include:

- The Fire Precautions Act 1971
- The Highly Flammable Liquids and Liquefied Petroleum Gases Regulations 1972
- The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulation 1992
- The Equipment and Protective Systems for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmosphere Regulations 1996 (see also ATEX 137 (the 'end user directive')) covering health and safety of workers potentially at risk from exposure to explosive atmospheres and implemented in the UK with the Chemical Agents Directive (Directive 98/24/EC) in the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR).
Emergencies and accidents generally fall under the general control of the Health and Safety at Work Act. However, there are some specific regulations dealing with emergencies. Also worthy of note is the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation 1995 (RIDDOR), governing the reporting requirement for accidents dealing with any death, or major injury.

Regulations relating to chemical storage

Regulations relating to planning approval for sites include:

- Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/656), made under the Planning (Hazardous Substances ) Act 1990, which apply to facilities where controlled hazardous substances are stored, manufactured, processed, transferred or used in quantities above a specified minimum.

- Dangerous Substances (Notification and Marking of Sites) Regulations 1990 (SI 1990/304), which requires sites holding 25 tonnes or more of dangerous substances to notify the local fire authority and the enforcing authority (either HSE or local authority). Sites already notified under the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 1992 or COMAH 1999 (see below) are exempt.

HSW also contains statutory provisions that control the keeping and use of substances classified as dangerous. Regulations drawn up under the Act of direct relevance to the storage of chemicals include:

- The Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/743). Key points include a requirement for on/off site emergency plans to be prepared to cover accidents involving some potentially hazardous industrial activities using dangerous substances. Planning involves discussions between operator and HSE and production of a Safety Report, including foreseeable accident scenarios, relevant preventive measures, and demonstration of their appropriateness. The onus is on the operator to make a 'safety case', justifying that an activity is being carried out safely. COMAH also highlights the local population's rights of access to information on an operator's accident provisions. The regulations also cover production, processing and storage of dangerous substances: an assessment of the location, design, construction and operation of facilities used for these activities is required. COMAH requires companies to have a major accident policy of hazard and risk assessment. Operators must take all necessary precautions to prevent or minimise adverse environmental or human health effects arising from a major accident on site.

- The Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations, commonly referred to as CHIP, covering how substances and preparations should be classified for their intrinsic hazards, setting out the labels and packaging based on properties, and detailing how hazard information should be communicated to users of substances by safety data sheets.

Storage of particular classes of substances falls within the scope of other regulations:

- Bulk storage of certain chemicals is a 'prescribed process' under the Environmental Protection (Prescribed Processes and Substances) Regulations 1991 (SI 1991/472), and so is subject to integrated pollution control (IPC) to minimise environmental impact. The regulations specify storage quantities that trigger IPC measures for seven chemicals.

- The Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 and its associated regulations
- The Highly Flammable Liquids and Liquefied Petroleum Gases Regulations 1972 (SI 1972/917).
- The Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (SI 1986/1510) require that sites storing 200kg or more of pesticides must be under the control of a person holding a recognised certificate of competence.

SOE

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