An EU wide campaign for all member states created by the European Safety Agency in relation to chemical and hazardous materials management has been widely welcomed by member states.
Of note, The HSE have been strong advocates which is welcoming news, reinforcing the importance for companies from all industries handling Chemicals, Dangerous & Hazardous Materials.
“The HSE are delighted to support the European Safety Agency’s campaign and have taken this opportunity to review chemical safety to provide helpful information and tools for all our colleagues to better manage hazardous chemicals in the workplace.” HSE website
The most important message we can draw from this is that all Safety Managers should be aware of their requirements when it comes to hazardous chemical compliance management in their workplace.
Workers are exposed to dangerous substances in many European workplaces. Such exposures are more common than most people realise and, in fact, may occur in almost all workplaces. This presents major safety and health concerns.
A step by step process has been published by the HSE which details your requirements for chemical management in stages.
A common issue for the workplace is awareness of exactly what chemicals are used and stored in their workplace. It is imperative that a detailed chemical inventory is carried out for chemical management. By knowing what is on-site is the first step and can work as a useful exercise to carry out the long finger task of clearing out the “shelf in the corner” or “locked old storeroom”. It can serve as a housekeeping exercise to reduce over-ordering of materials which is another common issue with Chemicals we discover on site.
There is no greater risk than expired chemicals sitting in storage, It is a catastrophe sitting in wait!
Reading container labels is a start;
When purchasing chemicals, it is a legal requirement that all manufacturers issue a Safety Data Sheet for your consultation. You need to have all SDS sheets on file or you can’t possibly know all the risks that exist! It is also a legal requirement that you have these to hand in the event of an accident or emergency.
Another quick note is if there are any hazardous chemical containers on your site with the older CHIP hazard labels, it would suggest this chemical is now at least three years old and you need to consider safe disposal if the expiry dates are approaching. This is an essential element of correct chemical management.
As a manager, have you assessed your staff’s exposure to chemicals?
You are required to fully review all chemicals running a Chemical Agent Risk Assessment fully considering the following factors:
Once you have assessed the risk associated with the use of chemicals, you are required to identify the control measures necessary to reduce the risks to a reasonable level, another essential for proper chemical management
Ensure you have considered the following the “STOP” principle according to the EU’s Chemical Agents Directive (CAD).
Do you have a Chemical Management System in place currently that you feel addresses your requirements as a manager above? Ask yourself the following questions:
If you are unsure or would like to arrange a free no obligations site compliance assessment with a trained professional, please contact Chemstore by clicking here or by using the LiveChat in the bottom left of your browser.
References:
Chemstore Compliance (www.chempli.com) provides the most advanced software platform for the management of an organisation’s hazardous material; mitigating risk, lowering costs and guaranteeing compliance.
Using our 27 years of experience we have listened to you, the customer and understand the challenges and risks your job present. Through years of hard work and research, we have developed the compliance management software to enable you with a live, ready for use system guaranteeing compliance on your site.
Chempli will keep you step ahead with the latest safety regulations and expert articles and guides.
Comprising of a suite of modules, it provides your company with a cost-effective point of entry, coupled with a scalable architecture, enabling seamless migration to more advanced management, control and workflow functionality at any future point.
Imagine one centralised platform allowing you to:
Chempli is already being utilised in key industries such as Food Processing, Pharmaceutical, Universities & Medical Devices as some of our keynote clients have been instrumental for Chemstore developing this Compliance Management Software for Hazardous Materials – Chempli.
Chempli is compatible with the complete range of Chemstore storage solutions for flammables, compressed gases, hazardous, temperature-controlled, battery and corrosive material stores. It may also be seamlessly integrated with your organisation’s existing chemical storage infrastructure, to provide a central platform for the effective management of hazardous materials enterprise-wide.
For further information and to book a demo today please visit www.chempli.com
You can also download our pdf brochure detailing fully our compliance management software for hazardous materials here:
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