Relevant Health and Safety legislation includes:
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA74)
Provides a framework for ensuring that employees and other persons are protected against risks to health, safety and welfare in the workplace. This includes protection against risks associated with work activities involving the storage, handling and conveyance of hazardous substances and materials. The Act is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Local Authorities.
The Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/494)
Defines areas of responsibility. Essentially, HSE is responsible for factories, the chemical industry and construction activities, with Local Authorities responsible for offices, warehouses and other commercial concerns.
The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No. 568)
These embrace all previous carriage of dangerous goods legislation. See Transport of Dangerous Goods section.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application to Environmentally Hazardous Substances) Regulations (SI 2002/282) (as amended by 2005 No. 1308)
These Regulations extend the reference to dangerous substances in section 1(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to include environmentally hazardous substances. (The term “environmentally hazardous substances” is defined in regulation 2. The 2005 amending regulations allow inclusion of certain EU Directives.)
Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances Regulations 1982 - NIHHS (SI 1982/1357) as amended by SI 2002 No. 2979
Requires the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to be notified when a site has specified substances above certain quantities. Lists the substances and identifies the notifiable quantities. These amending regulations change the principal Regulations in relation to ammonium nitrate and mixtures containing ammonium nitrate.
Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 - COMAH (SI 1999/743) as amended by SI 2005/1088
The COMAH Regulations implement the EC COMAH (Control of Major Accident Hazards) Directive of December 1996, known as the ‘Seveso II Directive’. They replace the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1984 (CIMAH) and came into force on 1 April 1999.
The Regulations aim to prevent and mitigate the effects of major accidents involving dangerous substances (e.g. chlorine, LPG, explosives) which can cause serious harm to people and/or the environment. They set out the requirements and considerations for specified industrial situations that involve the use, storage or handling of significant quantities of dangerous substances. The enforcement body in England and Wales will be called a ‘Competent Authority’ (CA) and consists of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency.
Installations are covered by the Regulations if they store above certain threshold amounts of dangerous substances. The installations are classified as ‘top-tier’ or ‘lower-tier’ sites depending on the amount of dangerous substances stored. For example, Companies which store between 500 and 1999 tonnes of Gas Oil with a risk classification of R51/R53 will attract Lower Tier status in these Regulations. Those storing 2000 tonnes and above are Top Tier.
Operators of all COMAH installations are required to notify basic details to the competent authority (unless they have previously submitted safety reports under CIMAH). Lower tier sites are required to © EEF 2005
prepare a ‘Major Accident Prevention Policy’ (MAPP). This is a statement of intent rather than a detailed description of the arrangements which are in place.
Top Tier sites do not need to produce a MAPP as a separate document. They will include the same information in a Safety Report which also contains detailed information to demonstrate that all necessary measures have been taken to prevent and limit the consequences of any major accident. Safety Reports are submitted to the CA for assessment. These sites also have to produce on-site emergency plans and provide their neighbours with information. Local Authorities are required to produce off-site emergency plans based on information received from the operator.
The changes introduced by the 2005 amending regulations, which come into effect on 30th June 2005, include: a time limit for preparing a MAPP; notification of certain modifications; modifying the requirements to consult; amending the quantities and classification of dangerous substances to which the regulations apply and requiring specific training in planning for emergencies for all personnel. Guidance on these Regulations is contained in the HSE publication A Guide to the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999. Other relevant guidance is listed in the Major Incidents chapter.
Planning (Control of Major Accident Hazards) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/981)
Implements land-use planning requirements from the EC COMAH (Control of Major Accident Hazards) Directive of December 1996, known as the ‘Seveso II Directive’. These cover the requirements to ensure that the objectives of preventing major accidents and limiting their consequences are taken into account in land-use planning policies and that these objectives are pursued through controls. They also cover requirements to ensure that planning authorities set up appropriate consultation procedures to facilitate implementation of these policies.
Dangerous Substances (Notification and Marking of Sites) Regulations 1990 (SI 1990/304)
Require the notification to the fire authority and HSE (or the Local Authority, depending who is the enforcing body) of sites where there is a total quantity of 25 tonnes or more of dangerous substances present. The sites must also be marked (with appropriate hazard warning signs). The regulations also specify the information required.
Notification is not required when the site is notified under the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 - COMAH (SI 1999/743) and the Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances Regulations 1982 (SI 1982/1357).
Notification of New Substances Regulations 1993 - NONS (SI 1993/3050)
Set out the requirements for those responsible for placing on the market of new substances (i.e. those placed on the market after 18 September 1981) in quantities of one tonne or more per year. This includes prenotification and the provision of information to HSE (on health and safety aspects) and to DEFRA (on environmental aspects). The regulations implement provisions of the EU Directive 67/548/EEC as amended on testing and notification of new substances.
New substances are listed in the annual European List of Notified Chemical Substances (ELINCS) - published in the Official Journal of the EC, available from the Stationery Office.
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002 (SI 2002/2677) as amended by SI 2004 No. 3386
Set out the requirement for employers to systematically assess the risks to health for all work activities which deal with hazardous substances, including waste materials. Having assessed the risk, measures which prevent or control that risk are to be put in place, including appropriate training of the workforce. They also set out the requirements to monitor worker’s exposure to hazardous substances which may include health surveillance. The 2004 amending regulations, which took effect on 6th April 2005, introduce Workplace Exposure Limits in place of the previous Occupational Exposure Limits.
The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2776)
These regulations set out risk assessment requirements for assessing fire/explosion risks for dangerous
(e.g. flammable and/or explosive) substances and for the formation of explosive atmospheres.
Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002 (CHIP 2002) (or 'CHIP 3)' (SI 2002/1689) as amended
The regulations apply to any substance or preparation that is dangerous for supply, unless exempted. They transpose the requirements of a number of EU Directives dealing with the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances and on information relating to such substances.
Dangerous substances and preparations can only be supplied if classified under the ‘CHIP’ regime. One of the classifications is ‘dangerous for the environment’, although the other headings such as toxic, explosive and flammable have environmental significance.
The regulations set out packaging and labelling requirements, including relevant risk and safety phrases. Safety data sheets must be available from suppliers of dangerous substances and preparations. Ecological information must be included on the safety data sheet.