S.L. 646.16 Art. 4Determination and assessment of risk of hazardous chemical agents.

(1) An employer shall determine whether any hazardous chemical agents are present at the workplace, and shall:

(a) evaluate the risks to the health and safety of workers, in the choice of work equipment, the inter alia chemical substances or preparations used, and the fitting-out of work places, and as necessary: - assuring an improvement in the level of protection afforded to workers with regard to health and safety, - be integrated into all the activities of the undertaking and, or establishment and at all hierarchical levels;

(b) where he entrusts tasks to a worker, take into consideration the worker’s capabilities as regards health and safety;

(c) ensure that the planning and introduction of new technologies are the subject of consultation with the workers and, or their representatives, as regards the consequences of the choice of equipment, the working conditions and the working environment for the health and safety of workers;

(d) take appropriate steps to ensure that only workers who have received adequate instructions may have access to areas where there is serious and specific danger;

(e) be in possession of an assessment of the risks to health and safety at work, including those facing groups of workers exposed to particular risks;

(f) decide on the protective measures to be taken and, if necessary, the protective equipment to be used;

(g) keep a list of occupational accidents resulting in a worker being unfit for work for more than three working days;

(h) draw up reports on occupational accidents suffered by his workers, which shall be forwarded to the Authority without undue delay.

(2) Where chemical agents are present at a workplace, the employer shall assess any risk to the health and safety of workers arising from the presence of those chemical agents, taking into consideration the following:

(a) their hazardous properties;

(b) information on safety and health shall be provided by the supplier (e.g. the relevant safety data sheet in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, including the relevant Material Safety Data Sheet, a copy of which shall be kept at the place of work and made available to the workers and, or the Workers’ Health and Safety Representatives, and to the persons designated by the employer in terms of regulation 9 of the General

Provisions for Health and Safety at Work Places Regulations;

(c) the level, type and duration and frequency of exposure;

(d) the circumstances of work involving such agents, including their amount;

(e) any occupational exposure limit values or biological limit values established on the territory of Malta;

(f) the effect of preventive measures taken or to be taken;

(g) where available, the conclusions to be drawn from any health surveillance already undertaken.

(3) The employer shall obtain additional information which is needed for the risk assessment from the supplier or from other readily available sources. Where appropriate, this information shall comprise the specific assessment concerning the risk to users established on the basis of national legislation on chemical agents.

(4) The employer must be in possession of an assessment of the risks mentioned in sub-regulation (1)(e) to (h), and shall identify which measures have been taken in accordance with regulations 5 and 6. The risk assessment shall be documented in a suitable form according to national law and practice, and may include a justification by the employer that the nature and extent of the risks related to chemical agents make a further detailed risk assessment unnecessary. The risk assessment shall be kept up-to-date, particularly if there have been significant changes which could render it out-of-date, or when the results of health surveillance show it to be necessary.

(5) Certain activities within the undertaking or establishment, such as maintenance, in respect of which it is foreseeable that there is a potential for significant exposure, or which may result in deleterious effects to health and safety for other reasons, even after all technical measures have been taken, shall be included in the risk assessment.

(6) In the case of activities involving exposure to several hazardous chemical agents, the risk shall be assessed on the basis of the risk presented by all such chemical agents in combination.

(7) In the case of a new activity involving hazardous chemical agents, work shall only commence after an assessment of the risk of that activity has been made and any preventive measures identified have been implemented.