SWEDISH RISK MANAGEMENT

Rasmussen J., Svendung I., 2000. Pro-active Risk Management in a Dynamic Society, Swedish Rescue Services Agency, Karlstad. 

Distinct and clearly formulated legislation on chemicals is, together with efficient implementation and enforcement, a necessary prerequisite for effective chemicals risk management. Two recent publications from the Swedish Chemicals Agency, KemI, analyse and discuss in more depth the need for an appropriate national infrastructure for chemicals control, such as legislation and institutional capacity and capability (KemI PM 1/07 and KemI PM 4/08). KemI PM 4/08 includes an example of a full-text basic law on chemicals. 

KemI (2008) Legislation for risk management at marketing of chemicals. KemI PM 4/08, Swedish Chemicals Agency, Sundbyberg, Sweden, http //www.kemi.se... 

Sweden exhibits a particularly good performance in terms of avoiding fatalities and injuries in this sector. These statistics could support the view that a culture of safety exists in Swedish companies, but chemical risk management in Sweden is arguably simpler for regulators and stakeholders due to fewer total chemicals produced and used within its territories (Section 4.1). This was exemplified during the interview with Swedish chemical industry representatives (paraphrased) ... 

J. de Bruijn, Risk Management of Chemicals The Challenges of REACH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, News Swedish Royal Institute of Technology, 2005. 

In 1999, the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) adopted a bill establishing 15 Environmental Quality Objectives [351]. The bill follows SEPA proposals and only one objective specifically relates to chemicals, that of a non-toxic environment. The primary objective of a non-toxic environment states that The environment must be free from man-made substances and metals that represent a threat to human health or biological diversity [544], With regards to chemical risk management the following should be achieved within one generation [544] ... 

Rasmussen and 1. Svedung, Proactive Risk Management in a Dynamic Society, Swedish National Rescue Services (2000) and J. Rasmussen, Risk Management in a Dynamic Society A Modeling Problem, Safety Science, v. 27, n. 2/3 (1997), 183-213. 

The recommendations for chemicals prioritised for risk-reduction measures correspond to the current proposal for the new EU-legislation, REACH, and also to the environmental quality objective a Non Toxic Environment adopted by the Swedish parliament. The tool is also appreciated by companies and organisations outside Sweden, as a source of knowledge or inspiration. This tool may be used and further developed by Asian ASEM countries to suit their chemicals management needs. 

At the beginning of the 1980s, the author conducted an evalnation of six large Swedish companies accident and near-accident reporting and workplace-inspection rontines (Kjellen, 1982). The study was performed before any of the companies had been affected by the recent trends within corporate SHE management. The data that actually were collected in these activities depart from the ideal scope according to Figure 12.1. There were barriers and filters in the data collection at the six companies that suppressed certain types of data on accident risks. 

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