UK amends the Chemical Agents Regulations

UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has published a merchant shipping notice amending the Chemical Agents Regulations.

This document (MSN 1888 (M+F) Amendment 3) was published on 12 May 2023.

The purpose of this merchant shipping notice is to provide detailed information required to comply with the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Chemical Agents) Regulations 2010 as amended*: (“the Chemical Agents Regulations”).

*As amended by S.I. 2012/1844, S.I. 2015/21 and the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018

This notice provides guidance on the chemical agents regulations;

Shipowners and employers must assess the risks to those working on their ships from exposure to chemical agents.
Unless the risk is slight, control measures must be put in place, and training and information must be provided and procedures put in place to protect those affected in the case of an accident, incident or emergency.
Production, manufacture or use of certain chemical agents is prohibited on ships.
Health surveillance may be required.

Relationship with the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Chemical Agents) Regulations 2010

The chemical agents regulations need to be read together with this merchant shipping notice as it sets out many of the details, standards and formalities which must be observed in order to comply with the legal obligations under those regulations. Failure to comply with those obligations may be a criminal offence under the chemical agents regulations.

Annex 1 lists prohibited chemical agents and prohibited activities.

Annex 2 and annex 3 cover health surveillance measures.

The chemical agents regulations implemented Directive 98/24/EC (“the Chemical Agents Directive” as supplemented by Directives 2000/39/EC and 2006/15/EC, and forms part of the UK’s retained law.

All the obligations in the EU legislation mentioned in MSN 1888(M+F) Amendment 3, which have affect in the UK prior to the 1st January 2021, are retained in UK law, with any necessary modifications, after the end of the EU Exit implementation period.

Amendment 3 updates references only.

The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Chemical Agents) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/330) (the “Chemical Agents Regulations”) introduced requirements for the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to hazardous chemical agents at work.

The Health and Safety Executive (“HSE”) and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (“HSE(NI)”) have implemented similar protection from these risks through the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended) and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (as amended) respectively (referred to in this notice jointly as “COSHH”).

The chemical agents regulations ensure the protection of seafarers and workers on ships, including fishing vessels, yachts and other small vessel of all types with workers on board, including those operating on inland waters.

This notice provides detailed information required to comply with the chemical agents regulations. Details are at paragraph 17.

It also seeks to provide general guidance to assist shipowners and employers in identifying, by means of risk assessments, any risks to those working on board as a result of exposure to chemical agents, which could have an adverse effect on their health and safety.

Where such risks are identified, the shipowner or employer must take appropriate measures to either remove those risks entirely or, where that is not possible, reduce them as far as is reasonably practicable.