Hazardous chemical agents
South Africa's Department of Labour issued the expected Hazardous Chemicals (HCA) Regulations on 19 March 2021 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1993, following consultation with the Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Board.
These new regulations replace the Hazardous Chemicals Regulations 1995 issued through Government Notice (GN) No. 1179 on 25 August 1995.
The newly issued regulations apply not only to manufacturers, importers and suppliers who are exposed to HCA in the workplace, but also to employers and the self-employed.
The scope of these regulations does not apply where lead regulations or asbestos abatement regulations apply.
According to the provisions of this regulation, employers are obliged to:
Take precautions to prevent the release of HCA
Provide employees with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).
Carry out air monitoring to measure exposure to substances in the workplace and ensure that they are below the thresholds listed in the regulatory annexes.
Observe housekeeping, personal hygiene, health, safety and environmental practices at work.
Follow the instructions and tutorials in Section 3 of these rules.
These regulations also adopt the Globally Accepted System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). Manufacturers and importers of chemicals must classify, provide and package safety data sheets (SDS) and labels in accordance with the GHS.
The following endpoint categories are excluded;
Explosives
Flammable gas
Pyrophoric and chemically unstable gases
Aerosol, category 3, chemicals under pressure
Flammable liquids, category 4
Desensitization explosives, all categories
Acute toxicity, category 5
Skin corrosion/irritation, category 3
Eye irritation/damage, Category 2B
Short-term (acute) risk for the aquatic environment category 2 and 3.
Short-term (chronic) harmful to the aquatic environment category 3 and 4.
A list of prohibited hazardous chemicals has been added to the recently published HCA regulations, as shown in Appendix 2, Table 1.
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