From April 2004, the hazardous substances you may be using, storing or manufacturing will no longer be covered by existing licences or certificates issued under Acts such as the Dangerous Goods Act, Explosives Act, Toxic Substances Act or Pesticides Act.
They will be replaced by Test Certificates. The Environmental Risk Management Authority [ ERMA ] will now administer this under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act [ HSNO ] and a myriad of Regulations.
A Test Certificate can be issued to a:
- Facility/location to certify that hazardous substances are being managed in a way that complies with the HSNO regulations.
- Person to certify competence as an approved handler.
The main changes will be in formalizing many of the controls you should already have. Your fitness to store and handle these products will be determined by independent Test Certifiers, who will look at a broad range of procedural and physical risk management measures, including the knowledge and abilities of your employees.
The two main requirements to show compliance will be Location Certificates and Approved Handlers Certificates.
What
is a Location certificate?
What is an Approved Handler?
Location Certificates
A Location certificate is the "new" equivalent of a Dangerous Goods, Toxic Substances etc licence. It must be awarded by an ERMA approved Test Certifier and is normally valid for 12 months. To check on your suitability, they will conduct what could most accurately be described as an audit. Whereas Dangerous Goods (etc) licences were mostly to do with the physical environment in which the substance was stored or prepared, a Location Certificate will look more widely at the skills and knowledge of staff and the management system you have in place to control risks.
Let's look at an example of what the requirements would be for flammable liquids class 3.1:
[ A liquid is a flammable liquid if it gives off a flammable vapour which ignites in a closed cup flash point test at a temperature £ 93°C, however, see sub classifications below ].
Does
not apply to quantities less than:
| Classification Quantity | Quantity | |
|
3.1A, B, and C |
Flammable liquid | 100
L [ closed ] 25 L [ decanting ] 5 L [ open occasionally ] 1 L [ if in open container for continuous use ] |
The Test Certifier's checks may be broken down into six elements:
- Administrative Controls
- Control of Ignition
- Segregation and Storage
- Protective Equipment and Clothing
- Spills and Failures
- Identification and Signage
- Emergency Management
Administrative Controls
- An Enforcement Officer must be provided with details of the location, the substances, quantities, manufacturing and use.
- Where required Approved Handlers have been appointed and they hold current certificates.
- The substances are held in secure areas.
- There is a site plan available for inspection.
Control of Ignition
·
A hazardous atmosphere zone has been established.
· A set of conditions has been selected to reduce
the likelihood of unintended ignition and the installation
conforms to these conditions.
Segregation and Storage
- The flammable liquids are segregated from incompatible substances
Protective Equipment and Clothing
- This requirement is confined to Class 5 substances.
Spills and Failures
- This requirement is confined to Class 5 substances.
Identification
- Substances are identified as required by the Hazardous Substances [ Identification ] Regulations. This will apply to suppliers and "persons in charge". The rules for flammable liquids [ and others ] go into some detail about priority and secondary identifiers, the speed with which these can be seen, the specific label, the clarity and durability.
Emergency Management
- Emergency management systems conform to those set out in the Hazardous Substances [ Emergency Management ] Regulations. For flammable liquids, this applies to suppliers and "persons in charge" and will require readily available information that is comprehensive, clear and durable; fire extinguishers, emergency response plans, secondary containment and signage.
The above information uses flammable liquids as an example, however, all other substances follow a similar pattern. Many of the specifics vary depending on the quantity and sub class of the substance.
What Tools will be Available to Help?
ERMA will issue or approve Codes of Practice that will be legally acceptable means by which controls may be met. They are intended to be the day to day operator's guide to compliance. At the time of writing [ February 2004 ], no Codes of Practice were yet available.
Many of the requirements of HSNO are covered in either New Zealand or Australian Standards. Several are referred to in the HSNO regulations.
Approved Handlers (AH)?
An Approved Handler [ trained and certified person ] is required, depending on the quantity and hazard classification of the substance. Using flammable liquids again as an example, class 3.1A in any amount requires an Approved Handler, whereas class 3.1B requires an AH only if the volume is over 100L [ closed), 25L [ decanting ], 5L [ open occasionally ] or 1 L [ open continuously ]. Class 3.1D does not activate an Approved Handler requirement
Class 3.1A also requires tracking, as will some other substances, such as explosives, acutely toxic, spontaneously combustible or high hazard oxidizers.
An AH must have the substance under personal control, (others may handle, provided the AH is present, available and has given guidance).
Existing licences [ e.g. CAA, MSA, LTSA ], or experience may have equivalence in terms of gaining a transitional certificate, however, these are only issued for 2 years. Any previous experience must have been for a minimum of 2 years from July 1999.
A full certificate is issued for 5 years and to attain this, a handler must satisfy a Test Certifier that they have knowledge of the hazards, controls and rules applicable to a substance, including emergency actions and personal protective equipment. The knowledge will include basic knowledge of the HSNO Act.
For certain substances, such as explosives and poisons, the AH may also need to be assessed as a "fit and proper person".
- Ensure you know what classifications your hazardous substances are.
- Go to one of the ERMA seminars
- Find out about Approved Handler training
-
If you don't want to trawl the ERMA website, e-mail
us with your enquiry.
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