Regulating Risk Management of Hazardous Chemicals

The approach to representation on such committees as on the HSC itself has broadened somewhat since their original creation in 1975, with rqpiesentation from other stakehcUfkirs beii included in addition to the representatives of trade uniems and employers in many of the committees. 

In contrast with the debates that were to come over the wider r t of risk assessment that would be used in relation to ftiture more generic directives on OHS management such as the Framework Directive 89 91. 

As we mentioned in the previous chapter, its approach used a codification system (Risk Phrases) that was based on toxicological evidence of harm arising from exposure to substances. Criteria for codification were set out in Annex VI to the Dangerous Substances Directive (67/548/EEC) as amended by its Seventh Amendment (92/32/EEC). Annex I to the Dangerous Substances Directive included risk phrases (R-phrases) for all substances with an agreed hazard classification in the EU. This information was reproduced in the UK in the Approved Classification and Labelling Guide (Third Ed.) whilst specific substances and their R-phrases were listed in the Approved Supply List. If any substance supplied to a workplace within the European Community was not listed in Annex I to the Directive, the supplier was required to consider whether a hazard classification was appropriate and if so, based on the classification criteria, apply the appropriate R-phrases as well as other information. 

Amongst other things then, CHIP required that suppliers classified the substances they supplied according to the extent of hazard they represented to human health. It required they used the R-phrase rating system to do so and that suppliers state the appropriate R-phrase on the Safety Data Sheets they were obliged to provide when supplying chemicals or preparations for use at work. These measures were to be of considerable significance in relation to the future policy expectations 

Although an independent British list it was nevertheless largely based on the adoption of limits from the TLV list of the ACGIH. This was coupled with the commitment of WATCH to gradually review the evidence for these limits and to replace them and establish new limits for additional substances as appropriate. 

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