Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
| Year | 2002 |
2002 No. 2677
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
Made 24th October 2002
Laid before Parliament 31th October 2002
Coming into force 21th November 2002
The Secretary of State being the Minister designated1for the purpose of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to the abolition of restrictions on the import or export of goods, in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by the said section 2(2) and sections 15(1), (2), (3)(b), (4), (5)(b), (6)(b) and (9), 52(2) and (3) and 82(3)(a) of, and paragraphs 1(1) to (4), 2, 6(1), 8, 9, 11, 14, 15(1), 16 and 20 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 19743(“the 1974 Act”) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf and for the purpose of giving effect without modifications to proposals submitted to him by the Health and Safety Commission under section 11(2)(d) of the 1974 Act after the carrying out by the said Commission of consultations in accordance with section 50(3) of that Act, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 and shall come into force on 21st November 2002.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the 1974 Act” means the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974;
“the Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 19934and adopted as respects Great Britain by the European Economic Area Act 19935;
“appointed doctor” means a registered medical practitioner appointed for the time being in writing by the Executive for the purpose of these Regulations;
“approved” means approved for the time being in writing;
“approved classification” of a biological agent means the classification of that agent approved by the Health and Safety Commission;
“approved supply list” has the meaning assigned to it in regulation 2(1) of the CHIP Regulations;
“biological agent” means a micro-organism, cell culture, or human endoparasite, whether or not genetically modified, which may cause infection, allergy, toxicity or otherwise create a hazard to human health;
“carcinogen” means—
(a) a substance or preparation which if classified in accordance with the classification provided for by regulation 4 of the CHIP Regulations would be in the category of danger, carcinogenic (category 1) or carcinogenic (category 2) whether or not the substance or preparation would be required to be classified under those Regulations; or
(b) a substance or preparation—
(i) listed in Schedule 1, or
(ii) arising from a process specified in Schedule 1 which is a substance hazardous to health;
“cell culture” means the in-vitro growth of cells derived from multicellular organisms;
“the CHIP Regulations” means the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 20026;
“control measure” means a measure taken to reduce exposure to a substance hazardous to health (including the provision of systems of work and supervision, the cleaning of workplaces, premises, plant and equipment, the provision and use of engineering controls and personal protective equipment);
“employment medical adviser” means an employment medical adviser appointed under section 56 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974;
“the Executive” means the Health and Safety Executive;
“fumigation” means an operation in which a substance is released into the atmosphere so as to form a gas to control or kill pests or other undesirable organisms and “fumigate” and “fumigant” shall be construed accordingly;
“Group”, in relation to a biological agent, means one of the four hazard Groups specified in paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 to which that agent is assigned;
“hazard”, in relation to a substance, means the intrinsic property of that substance which has the potential to cause harm to the health of a person, and “hazardous” shall be construed accordingly;
“health surveillance” means assessment of the state of health of an employee, as related to exposure to substances hazardous to health, and includes biological monitoring;
“inhalable dust” means airborne material which is capable of entering the nose and mouth during breathing, as defined by BS EN 481 1993;
“maximum exposure limit” for a substance hazardous to health means the maximum exposure limit approved by the Health and Safety Commission for that substance in relation to the specified reference period when calculated by a method approved by the Health and Safety Commission;
“medical examination” includes any laboratory tests and X-rays that a relevant doctor may require;
“member State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the Agreement;
“micro-organism” means a microbiological entity, cellular or non-cellular, which is capable of replication or of transferring genetic material;
“mine” has the meaning assigned to it by section 180 of the Mines and Quarries Act 19547;
“occupational exposure standard” for a substance hazardous to health means the standard approved by the Health and Safety Commission for that substance in relation to the specified reference period when calculated by a method approved by the Health and Safety Commission;
“personal protective equipment” means all equipment (including clothing) which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects that person against one or more risks to his health, and any addition or accessory designed to meet that objective;
“preparation” means a mixture or solution of two or more substances;
“public road” means (in England and Wales) a highway maintainable at the public expense within the meaning of section 329 of the Highways Act 19808and (in Scotland) a public road within the meaning assigned to that term by section 151 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 19849;
“registered dentist” has the meaning assigned to it in section 53(1) of the Dentists Act 198410;
“relevant doctor” means an appointed doctor or an employment medical adviser;
“respirable dust” means airborne material which is capable of penetrating to the gas exchange region of the lung, as defined by BS EN 481 1993;
“risk”, in relation to the exposure of an employee to a substance hazardous to health, means the likelihood that the potential for harm to the health of a person will be attained under the conditions of use and exposure and also the extent of that harm;
“the risk assessment” means the assessment of risk required by regulation 6(1)(a);
“safety data sheet” means a safety data sheet within the meaning of regulation 5 of the CHIP Regulations;
“substance” means a natural or artificial substance whether in solid or liquid form or in the form of a gas or vapour (including micro-organisms);
“substance hazardous to health” means a substance (including a preparation)—
(a) which is listed in Part I of the approved supply list as dangerous for supply within the meaning of the CHIP Regulations and for which an indication of danger specified for the substance is very toxic, toxic, harmful, corrosive or irritant;
(b) for which the Health and Safety Commission has approved a maximum exposure limit or an occupational exposure standard;
(c) which is a biological agent;
(d) which is dust of any kind, except dust which is a substance within paragraph (a) or (b) above, when present at a concentration in air equal to or greater than—
(i) 10 mg/m3, as a time-weighted average over an 8-hour period, of inhalable dust, or
(ii) 4 mg/m3, as a time-weighted average over an 8-hour period, of respirable dust;
(e) which, not being a substance falling within sub-paragraphs (a) to (d), because of its chemical or toxicological properties and the way it is used or is present at the workplace creates a risk to health;
“workplace” means any premises or part of premises used for or in connection with work, and includes—
(a) any place within the premises to which an employee has access while at work; and
(b) any room, lobby, corridor, staircase, road or other place—
(i) used as a means of access to or egress from that place of work, or
(ii) where facilities are provided for use in connection with that place of work,
other than a public road.
(2) In these Regulations, a reference to an employee being exposed to a substance hazardous to health is a reference to the exposure of that employee to a substance hazardous to health arising out of or in connection with work at the workplace.
(3) Where a biological agent has an approved classification, any reference in these Regulations to a particular Group in relation to that agent shall be taken as a reference to the Group to which that agent has been assigned in that approved classification.
Duties under these Regulations
3.—(1) Where a duty is placed by these Regulations on an employer in respect of his employees, he shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, be under a like duty in respect of any other person, whether at work or not, who may be affected by the work carried out by the employer except that the duties of the employer—
(a)
(a) under regulation 11 (health surveillance) shall not extend to persons who are not his employees; and
(b)
(b) under regulations 10, 12(1) and (2) and 13 (which relate respectively to monitoring, information and training and dealing with accidents) shall not extend to persons who are not his employees, unless those persons are on the premises where the work is being carried out.
(2) These Regulations shall apply to a self-employed person as they apply to an employer and an employee and as if that self-employed person were both an employer and an employee, except that regulations 10 and 11 shall not apply to a self-employed person.
(3) The duties imposed by these Regulations shall not extend to the master or crew of a sea-going ship or to the employer...
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