Health and Safety Calendar Autumn 2010

Welcome to the Autumn 2010 Health & Safety Calendar.

The Health and Safety Calendar highlights key implementation dates for existing and proposed Health & Safety legislation. It also contains information on consultations and initiatives by the Health & Safety Executive and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Businesses, directors and Health & Safety managers ought to find the Calendar a useful tool with which to track legislation, control risk and improve safety management performance.

To view the article in full, please see below:

Full Article

Introduction

This calendar covers some of the key dates for proposed and existing health & safety legislation in the EU and UK (colour-coded accordingly). For a brief explanation of the different types of EU legislation, please refer to the last page.

The content is ordered as follows:

New UK and EU legislation in force UK and EU legislation coming into force Key dates for REACH Bills in the 2010-2011 session Current & completed consultations Current HSE initiatives This calendar is provided by way of general guidance only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. While we aim for it to be as up-todate as possible, some recent developments may miss our publication deadline and some dates may change at short notice. The calendar is not intended to cover every policy or legislative initiative, only major health and safety issues.

New Legislation in force

1 May 2010

Amendment to Annex 1 of the Export and Import of Dangerous Chemicals Regulations (Regulation EC 689/2008)

The Export and Import of Dangerous Chemicals Regulations implement the Rotterdam Convention which places restrictions on the international chemicals trade. The Regulation is commonly known as the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation and places notification requirements on exporters.

Commission Regulation (EU) No. 196/2010 is the second amendment to Annex 1 of the PIC Regulation and has been effective since 1 May 2010. Part 1 of Annex I provides a list of chemicals that are subject to export notification procedure under the Regulations. Twenty seven entries have been amended/created.

Further amendments to Annex 1 have been proposed. If implemented, they would:

Add further substances to part 1, making them subject to notifcation requirements Add further substances to Part 2, which means they will require explicit consent prior to being exported outside the EU Add nine substances to part 1 or 2 of Annex V, which means that they will be subject to an EU export ban. For more information on the second amendment, list of regulated substances and further proposals please go to: www.hse.gov.uk/pic/new.htm

Legislation coming into force

December 2010

Genetically modified organisms (Contained Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2010

These Regulations introduce minor amendments to the existing Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations 2000.

The amendments are necessary because the European Commission notifi ed the UK that its existing Regulations were not compliant with the Directive that they were intended to implement.

The proposed amendments will be of particular interest to duty holders who work with genetically modified organisms.

An HSE consultation on the proposed amendments took place between 31 March 2010 and 31 May 2010. For information on the outcome and the substance of the amendments, see the part 5 of the calendar.

For further information on Genetically Modified Organisms, please go to: www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/gmo/index.htm

December 2010

Regulation on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of substances and mixtures (Regulation (EC) no. 1272/2008) (CLP)

This Regulation is known as the "CLP" Regulation. It came into force on 20 January 2009 and has direct effect in all EU Member States. That means that it requires no 'enabling' UK legislation.

CLP gives effect in the EU to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), which categorises substances according to their impact on health and the environment. It will soon replace the existing European classification and labelling rules. Manufacturers and exporters should be aware of the imminent deadlines.

CLP introduces an important new notification duty which becomes mandatory on 1 December 2010. It requires that importers and manufacturers of hazardous chemicals notify the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) if the chemicals are being placed on the market. Notification must be made within one month of the chemicals being placed on the market. That means that the first notification deadline will be 3 January 2011.

The following businesses need to know about notification:

Manufacturers of substances (including isolated intermediates) subject to registration in accordance with the REACH Regulation. Importers of substances (e.g. dye products) subject to registration in accordance with the REACH Regulation Manufacturers or importers of substances which are classified as hazardous, irrespective of the quantity involved. Importers of mixtures containing hazardous substances, irrespective of the quantity involved. Importers of articles containing substances which are subject to registration under REACH Article 7. For more information on REACH, see Section 3 of the calendar. For more information on notification, please go to: www.hse.gov.uk/ghs/liveissues.htm

For further information on the CLP Regulation please go to: www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/europe/euronews/dossiers/ghs.htm

1 December 2010

1st and 2nd Adaptations To Regulation of the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (Regulation (EC) No.1272/2008) (CLP)

The Dangerous Substances Directive (67/548/EEC) classified around 7000 hazardous substances. When the CLP Regulation (above) came into force on 20 January 2009, it repealed those classifications but immediately re-enacted them. They now appear in Table 3.2 in Part 3 of Annex VI to the CLP Regulation.

The 1st Adaptation to Technical Progress (ATP) adds several hundred new entries and amends several hundred existing entries in the list of substances and classifications.

The 1st ATP is contained in Commission Regulation No 790/2009 which came into force on 25 September 2009. The implementation date is 1 December 2010, which is the same date for implementation of the CLP Regulation.

The 2nd ATP adopts the changes made in the 3rd edition of the UN 'Purple Book' (which sets out the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS)). It is anticipated to come into force in early 2011 but that an 18 month period will be allowed before it becomes binding on exporters and suppliers.

For further information, please go to: www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/europe/euronews/dossiers/dsd3031.htm

2010

Proposed Directive amending the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (2004/37/EC)

The European Commission has proposed an amendment to the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (2004/37/EC). This Directive consolidated the Carcinogens Directive (90/394/ EEC) and subsequent amendments.

The first stage of consultation occurred in 2004 and the second stage in spring 2007. It is expected that the EU will soon publish a draft, taking account of comments received during the consultation process.

The main proposals in the second stage of Social Partner consultation are:

That the scope of the Directive be extended to cover substances classified as Category One and Category Two Toxic to Reproduction. That exposure limits for the three substances listed in Annex III of the Directive be reviewed. That additional exposure limits for carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic to reproduction substances be placed in Annex III. Once the Commission publishes a draft text of a Directive, HSE will prepare a Regulatory Impact Assessment.

For further information on the proposed Directive please go to: www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/europe/euronews/dossiers/carcinogens.htm

2010

Pressure Equipment Directive (97/23/EC)

The Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) came into force in May 2002 and is due to be reviewed this year. It covers pressurised equipment with maximum allowable pressure PS greater than 0.5 bar, such as vessels, piping and safety accessories.

The proposed amendments concern cylinders for breathing apparatus and market surveillance issues. The minutes of meetings held in October 2009 to discuss these issues and a Pressure Equipment Stakeholder Report dated August 2010 can be viewed by going to: www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/business-sectors/docs/ped-stakeholder-report-august-2010.pdf

The next meeting of the Pressure Equipment Directive Working Group is due to take place on 24 November 2010.

For further information on PED please go to: www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/sectors/sustainability/regulations/ecdirect/page12629.html

6 April 2011

Amendment of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (Application Outside Great Britain) Order 2001

A 2009 Variation Order was introduced to ensure that certain high risk offshore work activities (e.g. the construction of wind farms outside UK territorial waters) were subject to the Health...