Health and Safety at Work - Hazardous Substances Regulations

Monday May 2, 2022 12:11

On 5th January this year, a raft of amendments to the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 came into force.  These amendments not only gave the legislation a tidy-up but also addressed several long-standing non-compliance issues.  The Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Amendment Regulations 2021 amend over 60 clauses in the 2017 Regulations.  Many of these are minor changes correcting errors and clarifying problem areas with the legislation.

Changes include:

• Correction to a long-standing problem where LPG storage tanks that were compliant under the old Dangerous Goods Act & Regulations, were not compliant with HSNO due to the fire walls only having a 3 hour rating rather than 4 hours required under HSNO. The amendment allows tanks installed prior to HSNO to be accepted as compliant.  
• Clarification that the 2010 changes to the Regulations for LPG tanks that introduced stricter separation distances were not intended to be retrospective.
• New way of assessing the suitability of Fire Hoses at LPG installations
• Increase in the size of diesel tanks for glasshouse heating systems that require stationary container certification.
• Correction of the error in the regulations for retail shops where the maximum quantity of flammable liquid that can be store referred to Classification 3.1A instead of 3.1B & 3.1C.
• Clarification for the storage of toxic and corrosive substances in retail shops.
  Note: Retail Stores are now called Retail Shops

• Clarification around Paint mixing rooms.
• Removal of classification 6.1D from the Regulations specifying separation distances for stationary containers of toxic substances, although they can be imposed in some situations.
• The use of intervening walls to mitigate separation distances for Class 8 tanks.
• Providing other options for managing ethanol dilution in distilleries, etc.

Clients who have sites that require certification (Hazardous Substances Location, Stationary Container, etc) under the regulations should discuss with their Certifier to see if any of the amendments have an impact for their site(s). 

Your Securo consultant is available to help and assist you through this process, so please give them a call or alternatively, you can contact Securo head office on 0800 55 33 44.