OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 1994

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (USE AND STANDARDS OF EXPOSURE OF CHEMICALS HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH REGULATIONS 2000
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

PART 1

. PRELIMINARY

Regulation 1. 2. 3. 4. Citation and commencement Interpretation Application Duty of employer and self-employed person

PART II IDENTIFICATION OF CHEMICALS HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH 5. Register of chemicals hazardous to health

PART III PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE LIMIT 6. 7. 8. Ceiling limit Eight-Hour time-weighted average Compliance with permissible exposure limit using respirator

PART IV ASSESSMENT OF RISK TO HEALTH 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Assessment of risk to health Review assessment Assessment to be carried out by an assessor Assessment of risk to health repot Assessment report

PART V ACTION TO CONTROL EXPOSURE Regulation 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Action to control exposure Control measures Use of approved personal protective equipment Engineering control equipment Design, construction and commissioning of local exhaust ventilation equipment Record of engineering control equipment

PART VI LABELLING AND RELABELLING 20. 21. Duty of employer to ensure labelling Relabelling

PART VII INFORMATION, INTRUCTION AND TRAINING

22. 23. 24. 25.

Information, instruction and training Information, instruction and supervision of person Chemical Safety Data Sheet Provision of Chemical Safety Data Sheet in a place of work

PART VIII MONITORING OF EXPOSURE AT THE PLACE OF WORK 26. Monitoring of exposure

PART IX HEALTH SURVEILLACE 27. Health surveillance programme

PART X MEDICAL, REMOVAL, PROTECTION Regulation

28.

Medical removal protection

PART XI WARNING SIGN 29. Warning sign

PART XII RECORD KEEPING 30. Retention of records by employer

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 1994

IN exercise of the powers conferred by section 66 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 [Act. 514], the Minister makes the following regulations.

PART 1 PRELIMINARY Citation and Commencement 1. (1) These regulation may be cited as the Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standard of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulation 2000. These Regulation shall come into operation on April 2000

(2)

Interpretation 2. In these Regulation, unless the context otherwise requires

airborne concentration in relation to a chemical means the quantity of a chemical measured in terms of its volume or its mass in a specified volume of air or the number of fibres, if the physical form of the chemical is fibrous, in specified volume of air which is carried by or through the air; apporved means approved in writing by the Director General; assessor means an employee or any other person appointed by the employer and registered with the Director General to carry out assessments of risks to health; ceiling limit means the airborne concentration that should not be exceeded during any part of the working day: chemicals means chemical elements, or compounds or mixture thereof, whether natural or synthetic, but does not include micro-organisms: chemicals hazardous to health means any chemical or preparation which (a) (b) is listed in Schedule I or II; possesses any of the properties categorised in Part B of Schedule I of the Occupational Safety and Health (Classification, Packaging and Labelling of Hazardous Chemical) Regulation 1997 [P.U (A) 143/97;

(c)

comes within the definition of pesticide under the Pesticides Act 1974 [Act 149]: or is listed in the First Schedule of the Environmental Quality (Schedule Wastes) Regulations 1989 [P.U. (A) 139/89]:

(d)

Chemical Safety Data Sheet means a document which contains relevant information on a chemical and is furnished in pursuance of the Occupational Safety and Health (Classification, Packaging, and Labelling of Hazardous Chemicals) Regulation 1997 [P.U. (A) 143/97]: Director General means the Director General of Occupational Safety and Health appointed under subsection 5(1) of the Act: engineering control equipment means any equipment which is used to control exposure of employees to chemical hazardous to health and includes local exhaust ventilation equipment, water spray or any other airborne chemical removal and containment equipment; health surveillance means any examination and investigations which may be necessary to detect exposure levels and early biological effects and responses, and include biological monitoring, biological effect monitoring, medical surveillance, enquiries about symptoms of occupational poisoning or occupational disease and review of records and occupational history; hygiene technician means an employee or any other person appointed by the employer and registered with the Director General to carry out any inspection, examination or test on engineering control equipment installed in a place of work or to carry out chemical exposure monitoring; maximum exposure limit means a fifteen-minute time-weighted average airborne concentration which is three times the eight-hour time-weighted average airborne concentration of the chemicals specified in Schedule I; medical surveillance means the monitoring of a person for the purpose of identifying changes in health status due to occupational exposure to chemicals hazardous to health; occupational health doctor means a medical practitioner who is registered with the Director General to conduct medical surveillance programmes of employees; permissible exposure limit mean a ceiling limit or an eight-hour time-weighted average airborne concentration or the maximum exposure limit; personal protective equipment means any equipment which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects him against one or more risks to his health or safety and any additional accessory designed to meet that objective; supplier means a person who supplies chemicals and include a formulator, a manufacturer, an importer or a distributor; time-weighted average in relation to airborne concentration, means an average airborne concentration over a specified period of time;

use means production, processing, handling, storage, transport, disposal and treatment.

Application 3. (1) These Regulation shall apply to all places of work which are within the jurisdiction of the Act where chemicals hazardous to health are used except chemicals which are (a) defined as radioactive material under the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 [Act 306]; foodstuffs; hazardous to health solely by virtue of their explosive or flammable properties, or solely because they are at a high or low temperature or a high pressure; and pharmaceutical products

(b) (c)

(d) (2)

For the purpose of this regulation, pharmaceutical product means a drug in a pharmaceutical dosage form for use by humans as medicine.

Duty of employer and self-employed person 4. (1) Where any duty is imposed by these Regulations on an employer in respect of his employees, he shall, so far as is practicable, be under a like duty in respect of any other person who may be affected by the work activity carried on by the employer, whether at work or not, except that the duties of the employer(a) under regulation 26 shall not extend to persons who are not his employees, unless those persons are on the premises and carrying out work for the employer; and under regulation 27 shall not extend to persons who are not his employees.

(b)

(2)

These Regulation, except regulations 26 and 27, shall apply to a selfemployed person as they apply to an employer and an employee.

PART II INDENTIFICATION OF CHEMICALS HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH

Register of chemicals hazardous to health 5. (1) An employer shall identify and record in a register all chemicals hazardous to health used in the place of work. The register shall be maintained in good order and condition and be updated from time to time and shall contain the following information: (a) (b) a list of all chemicals hazardous to health used; the current Chemical Safety Data Sheet for each of the chemicals hazardous to health except for pesticides which shall have information as specified in Schedule III; the average quantity used, produced or stored per month or per year whichever is applicable for each of the chemical hazardous to health ; the process and work area where the chemicals hazardous to halth are used; and the name and address of the supplier of each of the chemicals hazardous to health.

(2)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(3)

The register shall be accessible to all employees at the place of work who may be exposed or are likely to by exposed to chemical hazardous to health. The requirement in subregulation (1) and (2) shall not apply if the employer has complied with the requirements of regulation 9 and subregulation 11(1) of the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waster) regulation 1898 [P.U. (A) 139/89].

(4)

PART III PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE LIMIT Ceiling limit 6. An employer shall ensure that the exposure of any person to any chemical hazardous to health listed in Schedule I at no time exceeds the ceiling limit specified for that chemical in that Schedule.

Eight-hour time-weighted average

7.

(1)

An employer shall ensure that the exposure of any person to any chemical hazardous to health listed in Schedule I in any eight hour work shift of a work week does not exceed the eight-hour time-weighted average airborne concentration specified for that chemical in that Schedule. Notwithstanding subregulation (1), the exposure of any person to any chemical hazardous to health listed in Schedule I shall not exceed the maximum exposure limit for that chemical during the work shift.

(2)

Compliance with permissible exposure limit using respirator 8. (1) For the purpose of determining whether the employer has complied with the permissible exposure limit, the degree of protection afforded by the respirator for the periods during which the respirator is worn shall be taken into account. The period referred to in subregulation (1) shall be averaged with the exposure level of the airborne concentration during the period when respirators are not worn to determine the employees daily time-weighted average exposure. For the purpose of this regulation degree of protection means the ratio of the airborne concentration of the contaminant outside the respirator to the concentration of contaminant inside the face piece of the respirator.

(2)

(3)

PART IV ASSESSMENT OF RISK TO HEALTH

Assessment of risk of health 9. (1) An employer shall not carry out any work which may expose or is likely to expose any employee to any chemical hazardous to health unless he has made a written assessment of the risks created by the chemical to the health of the employee. The assessment mentioned in subregulation (1) shall sontain the following; (a) the potential risk to an employee as a result of exposure to chemicals hazardous to health; the method and procedure adopted in the use of the chemicals hazardous to health; the nature of the hazard to health; the degree of exposure to such chemicals hazardous to health; the risk to health created by the use and the release of chemicals from work processes:

(2)

(b)

(c) (d) (e)

(f) (g)

measures and procedures required to control the exposure of any employee to chemicals hazardous to health; the measures, procedures, and equipment necessary to control any accidental emission of a chemical hazardous to health as a result of leakage, spillage, or process or equipment failure; the necessity for employee exposure monitoring programme; the necessity for health surveillance programme; and the requirement for the training of employees as required under regulation 22.

(h) (i) (j)

(3)

Where work which may expose or is likely to expose any employee to chemicals hazardous to health was commenced before the coming into operation of these Regulations, the employer shall conduct the assessment within one year from the date of coming into operation of these Regulation.

Review assessment 10. The assessment carried out under regulation 9 shall be reviewed if (a) there has been a significant change in the work to which the assessment relates; more than five years have elapsed since the last assessment; or directed by the Director General, Deputy Director General or the Director of Occupational Safety and Health.

(b) (c)

Assessment to be carried out by an assessor 11. The employer shall ensure that any assessment carried out pursuant to this Part is conducted by an assessor.

Assessment of risk to health report 12. (1) Any person appointed by the employer under regulation 11 to carry out any assessment shall, within one month of the completion of the assessment, furnish the employer with a report of the assessment. If the assessment carried out under subregulation (1) indicates that a place of work, plant, substance or process is likely to cause immediate danger to life or property, the person carrying out the assessment shall immediately inform the employer about the danger.

(2)

Assessment report 13. (1) The employer shall ensure that the report of the assessment conducted pursuant to regulations 9 or 10 is maintained in good order and condition for a period of not less than thirty years. The employer shall make available the assessment report for examination upon request by the Director General or by any employee exposed or likely to be exposed to chemicals hazardous to health.

(2)

PART V ACTION TO CONTROL EXPOSURE Action to control exposure 14. (1) Where an assessment report indicates that action is required to eliminate or reduce the actual or potential exposure of an employee to chemicals hazardous to health, an employer shall carry out such action, which may include changes to work processes, practices, procedures, plants or engineering control equipment, within one month after receiving the assessment report from the assessor. The employer shall ensure that all control measures implemented under subregulation (1) reduce the exposure level of employees to chemicals hazardous to health to the lowest practicable level, or for those chemicals to which have been assigned with permissible exposure limits, to below the limits.

(2)

Control measures 15. (1) The employer shall control chemicals hazardous to health through the following control measures: (a) (b) Elimination of chemicals hazardous to health from the place of work; Substitution of less hazardous chemicals for chemicals hazardous to health; Total enclosure of the process and handling system; Isolation of the work to control the emission of chemicals hazardous to health; Modification of the process parameters; Application of engineering control equipment; Adoption of safe work systems and practices that eliminate or minimise the risk to health; or

(c) (d)

(e) (f) (g)

(h) (2)

Provision of approved personal protective quipment.

The employer shall ensure that all safe work system and practices are documented and implemented. The employer shall ensure that all safe work systems and practices are reviewed whenever there is a significant change to the process, equipment, materials or control measure installed.

(3)

Use of approved personal protective equipment 16. (1) Approved personal protective equipment shall be used(a) where the application of control measures specified in paragraphs 15(1)(a) to (g) would be impracticable. As an interim measure while other preferred control measures are being designed and installed; or Where the measures taken to comply with paragraphs 15(1)(a) to (g) not adequately control an employees exposure to chemicals hazardous to health.

(b)

(c)

(2)

Where the approved personal protective equipment is used to control exposure to chemicals hazardous to health, the employer shall establish and implement procedures on the issuance, maintenance, inspection and training in the use of the approved personal protective equipment. The approved personal protective equipment provided to employees pursuant to subregulation (1) shall(a) (b) (c) be suitable to the type of work in which they are emplyed; fit the employees; not adversely affect the health or medical condition of the employees; and be in sufficient supply and readily available to employees who require it.

(3)

(d)

Engineering control equipment 17. (1) Any engineering control equipment provided pursuant to subparagraph 15(1)(f) shall be(a) inspected at an appropriate inntervals by the employer, each interval being no longer than one month; and

(b) examined and tested for its effectiveness by a bygiene technician at appropriate intervals, each interval being no longer than twelve months.

(2)

Every engineering control equipment shall be maintained and operated at all times while any machinery or plant is operation, and for such time thereafter as to comply with subregulation 14/(2)

Design, construction and commissioning of local exhaust ventilation equipment 18. (1) Without prejudice to the requirement of subregulation 17(1), any local exhaust ventilation equipment installed shall be(a) designed according to an approved standard by a registered professional engineer and constructed according to the design specifications; and tested by a registered professional engineer after construction and installation to demonstrate that the equipment meets the design specifications.

(b)

(2)

For the purpose of this regulation, registered professional engineer means an engineer registered under the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 [Act 138].

Record of engineering control equipment 19. Records of the design, construction, testing, inspection, examination and maintenance of engineering control equipment persuant to regulations 17 and 18 shall be maintained by the employer and shall be produced for inspection when directed by the Director General.

PART VI LABELLING AND RELABELLING Duty of employer to ensure labelling 20. (1) An employer shall ensure that all chemicals hazardous to health supplied or purchased by him and used in the place of work are labelled and that the labels are not removed, defaced, modified or altered. When the labels mentioned in subregulation (1) are removed, defaced, modified or altered while the chemical hazardous to health is being used at the place of work, the employer shall relabel the chemical.

(2)

Relabelling 21. (1) When a chemical hazardous to health is transferred to another container, other than that in which it was originally supplied, and the contents of that container are not used within a normal workshift, the employer shall ensure that the container is relabelled. If the contents of the container referred to in subregulation (12) are used within a normal workshift the employer shall ensure that the container is relabelled with the chemical name or the trade name as written on the original label. If the contents of the container referred to in subregulation (1) are chemical used in a testing chemical laboratory the container shall be relabelled in accordance with subregulation (2), whether or not the contents are used within a normal workshift. Norwithstanding subregulation (1), (2) and (3), the container need not be relabelled if the chemical hazardous to health is used immediately. For the purpose of this regulation, labelling and relabelling means labelling or relabelling(a) in the case of a chemical hazardous to health, in accordance with the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health (Classification, Packaging and Labelling of Hazardous Chemicals) Regulation 1997 [P.U. 143/97]; in the case of pesticide, in accordance with the requirements of the Pesticides Act 1974 [Act 149]; or in the case of a schedule waste, in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Quality (Schedule Wastes) Regulation 1989 [P.U. (A) 139/89].

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(b)

(c)

PART VII INFORMATION, INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING Information, instruction and training 22. (1) An employer who undertakes work which may expose or is likely to expose his employees to chemicals hazardous to health shall provide the employees with such information, instruction and training as may be necessary to enable them to know(a) (b) the risk to health created by such exposure; and the precautions which should be taken.

(2)

Without prejudice to the generality of subregulation (1), the information provided shall include (a) information on the results of any monitoring of exposure at the place of work in accordance to regulation 26; and information on the collective results of any health surveillance programme undertaken in accordance with regulation 27 and presented in a manner which prevent them from being identified as relating to any particular person.

(b)

(3)

The employer shall review and conduct the raining programme (a) (b) at least once in two years; if there is a change in the hazard information on the chemicals hazardous to health, safe work practices or control measures; or each time employees are assigned to new task or new work areas where they are exposed or likely to be exposed to chemicals hazardous to health.

(c)

(4)

All training programmes shall be documented and kept for inspection by any occupational safety and health officer.

Information, instruction and supervision of person 23. Every employer shall ensure that any person and who carries out any work in connection with the employers duties under these Regulation has the necessary information, instruction and supervision to carry out such duties.

Chemical Safety Data Sheet 24. An employer who receives a supply of chemicals hazardous to health for which the chemicals are not labelled or the Chemical Safety Data Sheets have not been provided, shall obtain the relevant information from the supplier and shall not use the chemicals until such information in obtained.

Provison of Chemical Safety Data Sheet in a place of work 25. In any place of work where a chemical hazardous to health is used, the current Chemical Safety Data Sheet for that chemical or a copy thereof shall be kept in a conspicuous place close to each location where that chemical is used, and shall be easily accessible to the employees.

PART VIII MONITORING OF EXPOSURE AT THE PLACE OF WORK Monitoring of exposure 26. (1) Where an assessment of risk to health indicates that monitoring of exposure is required or it is requisite for ensuring the maintenance of adequate control of the exposure of employees to chemicals hazardous to health, the employers shall ensure tht the exposure of employees to chemicals hazardous to health is monitored in accordance with an approved method of monitoring and analysis. If an employee is exposed or likely to be exposed to chemicals hazardous to health listed in Schedule II, the monitoring or exposure of employees determined in subregulation (1) shall be repeated at intervals of not more than six months or at such shorter intervals as determined by the assessor and the monitoring of exposure shall continue at this frequency until such time the assessor is satisfied that further monitoring of exposure is no longer required. The monitoring of exposure shall be conducted by a hygiene technician unless the monitoring is confined to checking the presence of toxic or flammable gases and the level of oxygen in a confined space before entry. The employer shall maintain in good order and condition any record or summary of the record of any monitoring carried out for the purpose of these Regulation and shall be kept available. (a) where the record is representative of the personal exposure of a person exposed to any chemical hazardous to health, for at least thirty years; and in any other case, for at least five years. PART IX HEALTH SURVEILLANCE Health surveillance programme 27. (1) Where an assessment indicates that health surveillance is necessary for the protection of the health of employees exposed or likely to be exposed to chemical hazardous to health, the employer shall carry out a health surveillance programme. The medical surveillance component of the health surveillance programme in subregulation (1) shall be carried out by an occupational health doctor.

(2)

(3)

(4)

(b)

(2)

(3)

If an employee is exposed or likely to be exposed to chemicals hazardous to health listed in Schedule II, the health surveillance required under subregulation (1) shall include medical surveillance conducted at intervals of not more than twelve months or at such shorter intervals as determined by the occupational health doctor or an occupational safety and health officer who is also a medical practitioner. (4) The employer shall ensure that the health surveillance record or a copy thereof is maintained in good order and condition and kept for a period of thirty years from the date of the last entry made in it. The employer shall make available upon request all records required to be maintained under subregulation (3) to the Director General for examination and inspection. The employer shall, after a reasonable notice being given alloy any of his employees access to the health surveillance report which relates to the employee.

(5)

(6)

PART X MEDICAL REMOVAL PROTECTION Medical removal protection 28. (1) The employer shall not permit an employee to be engaged in and shall remove him from any work that exposes or likely to expose him to chemical hazardous to health on each occasion that the medical finding, determination or opinion expressed by an occupational safety and health officer who is also a medical practitioner of by an occupational health doctor shows that the employee has a detected medical condition which places him at increased risk of material impairment to health from exposure to chemical hazardous to health. The employers, after being notified by an occupational safety and health officer who is also a medical practitioner or an occupational health doctor of the fact, shall not permit a pregnant employee or breastfeeding employee to be engaged in, and shall remove the employee from work which may expose or is likely to expose the employee to chemicals hazardous to health. The employer shall return an employee to his former job(a) for an employee removed in accordance with subregulation (1), when a subsequent medical determination results in a medical finding, determination or opinion which shows that the employee no longer has the detected medical condition; or for an employee removed in accordance with subregulation (2), at the appropriate time where the employee pregnant or breastfeeding a child.

(2)

(3)

(b)

(4)

for the purpose of this regulation, medical practitioner means a medical practitioner registered under the Medical Act 197 [Act. 50] PART XI WARNING SIGN

Warning sign 29. (1) Where a chemical hazardous to health is used in any area in any manner that is hazardous to the health of any person who may be in that area or who may be or is likely to be at risk of being affected by the chemicals hazardous to health, the employer shall ensure that (a) warning signs are posted at a conspicuous place at every entrance of the area to warn person entering the area of the hazards; and other relevant information are given to persons who may be or are likely to be at risk of being affected by the chemicals hazardous to health.

(b)

(2)

The employer shall ensure that the warning signs required by these Regulations are illuminated and cleaned as necessary so that the legend is readily visible. For the purpose of subregulation (1), the warning shall (a) (b) (c) give warning of the hazards; be written in the notional language and English language; and be printed in dark red against white background.

(3)

PART XII RECORD KEEPING Retention of records by employer 30. (1) Whenever an employer ceases to carry on business and another person succeeds him, the employer ceasing business shall hand over, and the successor employer shall retain, all records to be maintained under regulation 13, 19, 22, 26 and 27. Whenever an employer ceases to carry on business and no person succeeds him, the employer shall transmit the records required to be maintained under regulation 13, 19, 22, 26 and 27.

(2)

(3)

At the expiration of the retention period for the records required to be maintained under regulations 13, 26, and 27 the employer shall give the Director General at least three months notice in writing that he intends to disposes of such records, and he shall transmit those records to the Director General, if requested to do so within that period.