Work Health and Safety (Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace) Code of Practice 2015

The Work Health and Safety (Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace) Code of Practice 2015 is an approved code of practice made under section 274 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. The Code describes itself as a practical guide to achieving the standards of health, safety and welfare required under the WHS Act and the Work Health and Safety Regulations.

That legal status matters. The Code is not the same thing as the Regulations, and it does not say every recommendation is mandatory. The Code explains that words such as must, requires or mandatory indicate a legal requirement, while should indicates recommended action and may indicates optional action. Even so, approved codes of practice are admissible in court proceedings, and courts may rely on them when deciding what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances. Inspectors may also refer to a code when issuing an improvement or prohibition notice.

The Code also makes an important limit clear. It deals with particular issues and does not cover all hazards or risks that may arise. Businesses still need to consider all work health and safety risks, not only the ones specifically addressed in this Code.

The Code provides practical guidance for persons conducting a business or undertaking, or PCBUs, who use chemicals in their workplace. The official text says a PCBU can be a manufacturer, importer or supplier of hazardous chemicals, or a business owner who uses, handles, generates or stores hazardous chemicals at the workplace.

The Code applies to substances, mixtures and articles used, handled, generated or stored at the workplace that are defined as hazardous chemicals under the WHS Regulations. It also applies to hazardous chemicals generated from work processes, for example toxic fumes released during welding.

The Code also refers to duties of other people under the WHS framework. Officers, such as company directors, must exercise due diligence to ensure the business has and uses appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks from hazardous chemicals. Workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety, avoid adversely affecting others, comply with reasonable instructions, and cooperate with reasonable policies and procedures relating to hazardous chemicals.

The Code does not apply to the transportation of dangerous goods. That is regulated separately under State and Territory laws based on the Australian Dangerous Goods Code.

Under the WHS Regulations, a hazardous chemical is any substance, mixture or article that satisfies the criteria of one or more hazard classes under the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, including a classification in Schedule 6 of the WHS Regulations, subject to some exclusions.

The Code explains two broad types of hazards. Health hazards are properties that can cause adverse health effects, often through inhalation, skin contact or ingestion. These effects may be acute, such as headaches, nausea or skin corrosion, or chronic, such as asthma, dermatitis, nerve damage or cancer. Physicochemical hazards are physical or chemical properties that create risks such as fire, explosion, corrosion, chemical reactivity or oxidising effects.

Most substances and mixtures that are dangerous goods under the ADG Code are also hazardous chemicals, except those with only radioactive hazards, infectious substances and most class 9 miscellaneous dangerous goods. Many chemicals have both health and physicochemical hazards.

For businesses, the practical point is that hazardous chemicals are not limited to drums and bottles with warning labels. They can include chemicals inside plant and pipework, and chemicals created by your own operations, such as welding fumes, grinding dusts, timber dusts, diesel exhaust fume or solvent vapours.

If your business uses, handles, generates or stores hazardous chemicals at work, the Code is relevant straight away. The first trigger point is simply the presence of hazardous chemicals in the workplace, including chemicals generated by work processes.

The next trigger points relate to specific systems and thresholds. If hazardous chemicals are present, you generally need to identify them, obtain and use current Safety Data Sheets, and keep a register of hazardous chemicals. If you have Schedule 11 hazardous chemicals above prescribed threshold amounts, you must prepare a manifest. If the quantity of a class of hazardous chemical at the workplace exceeds the manifest quantity for that hazardous chemical, the Code says an emergency plan must be prepared. If workers may be exposed to airborne contaminants with exposure standards, you must ensure the relevant exposure standard is not exceeded, and monitoring may be needed. If you use, handle or store hazardous chemicals listed in Schedule 14 of the WHS Regulations, health monitoring guidance should also be checked.

The Code also flags special categories of chemicals and sites. Certain hazardous chemicals are prohibited or restricted except in specified circumstances. Where hazardous chemicals are used, handled or stored at or above prescribed threshold quantities, guidance material for major hazard facilities should be referred to.

The Code says the first step in managing risks is identifying all chemicals used, handled, stored or generated at the workplace, in consultation with workers. In many cases, the identity of chemicals can be determined from the label and the Safety Data Sheet, including the listed ingredients.

Manufacturers and importers must classify hazardous chemicals. That classification determines what information must appear on labels and Safety Data Sheets, including hazard statements and pictograms. The Code says manufacturers and importers are required to provide labels and Safety Data Sheets and review the information on them at least once every five years, or whenever necessary to ensure the information is correct.

The register of hazardous chemicals must be prepared and kept up to date. The Code explains that the register is a list of the product names of all hazardous chemicals used, handled or stored at the workplace, accompanied by the current Safety Data Sheet for each listed chemical. A current Safety Data Sheet is one that is not more than five years old. The register must be readily accessible to workers involved in using, handling or storing hazardous chemicals and to anyone else likely to be affected by a hazardous chemical at the workplace.

If your workplace exceeds the relevant thresholds for Schedule 11 hazardous chemicals, a manifest is also required. A manifest is not the same as a register. It is a more detailed written summary intended primarily for emergency services and includes information such as quantity, classification, location, site plans and emergency contact details.

The Code links hazardous chemical management to the general WHS risk management process. It says a duty holder must identify reasonably foreseeable hazards, eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable, or if elimination is not reasonably practicable, minimise risks so far as is reasonably practicable by implementing control measures in accordance with the hierarchy of control. Control measures must then be maintained and reviewed.

When managing risks, the Code says regard must be had to the hazardous properties of the chemical, any potentially hazardous reaction between the chemical and another substance or mixture, the nature of the work to be carried out, and any structure, plant or system of work used in the use, handling, generation or storage of the chemical or that could interact with it.

That means a business should not stop at asking whether a product is toxic or flammable. You also need to consider how it is used, whether it can react with something else on site, whether plant or pipework could fail, whether maintenance work changes the risk, and whether the process itself creates hazardous by-products.

The Code includes a dedicated section on controlling risks and refers to the hierarchy of control. The starting point is elimination where reasonably practicable. If elimination is not reasonably practicable, risks must be minimised using appropriate control measures. The Code also refers to specific control measures, maintaining control measures, and providing information, training, instruction and supervision.

The official text lists a range of duties and practical control areas that may be relevant depending on the workplace. These include correct labelling of containers and pipework, warning placards and safety signs, identifying risks of physical or chemical reaction, ensuring the stability of hazardous chemicals, controlling ignition sources and accumulation of flammable and combustible substances, providing spill containment if necessary, ensuring the stability and support of bulk containers and pipework, and making fire protection, firefighting, emergency and safety equipment available.

Controls are not a set-and-forget exercise. The Code says implemented control measures must be maintained so they remain effective, and reviewed and revised if necessary so the work environment remains without risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable.

The Code states that a PCBU must ensure no person at the workplace is exposed to a substance or mixture in an airborne concentration that exceeds the relevant exposure standard. It explains that exposure standards represent airborne concentrations that must not be exceeded and refers to three types: 8-hour time-weighted average, peak limitation and short term exposure limit.

The Code also makes clear that exposure standards are not a fine dividing line between a healthy and unhealthy work environment. Businesses should check the Workplace Exposure Standards for Airborne Contaminants and the Hazardous Substances Information System rather than relying only on Section 8 of a Safety Data Sheet.

To comply with the WHS Regulations, monitoring of workplace contaminant levels may need to be carried out for chemicals with exposure standards. The Code also includes a section on health monitoring and points users to the Health Monitoring Guide where hazardous chemicals listed in Schedule 14 are used, handled or stored.

The Code contains a full chapter on emergency preparedness, including emergency plans, emergency and safety equipment, fire protection systems, monitors and alarms, automatic sprinkler systems and water supply. One key trigger is quantity. The official text says an emergency plan must be prepared if the quantity of a class of hazardous chemical at the workplace exceeds the manifest quantity for that hazardous chemical.

Where a manifest is required, its purpose is to provide emergency services organisations with information on the quantity, classification and location of hazardous chemicals at the workplace. It also includes site plans and emergency contact details. The manifest must comply with the requirements of Schedule 12 of the WHS Regulations and be updated as soon as practicable after changes to the amount or types of chemicals being used, stored, handled or generated.

The Code also notes that where certain hazardous chemicals are used, handled or stored at or above prescribed threshold quantities, guidance material for major hazard facilities should be referred to. Businesses with larger inventories should therefore check whether they are moving into a more heavily regulated category.

The Code repeats the WHS Act requirement to consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, with workers who carry out work for you and are, or are likely to be, directly affected by a work health and safety matter. If workers are represented by a health and safety representative, that representative must be involved in the consultation.

The Code says consultation with workers and health and safety representatives is a critical step in managing work health and safety risks. It also says health and safety representatives must have access to relevant information on matters that can affect workers' health and safety, such as the hazardous chemicals register and data from monitoring airborne contaminants.

Where more than one duty holder is involved, the WHS Act requires consultation, cooperation and coordination. The Code gives the example of engaging a contractor to carry out cleaning involving chemicals. In that situation, duty holders should exchange information about what is being used, the hazards involved and how risks will be controlled, and may jointly prepare a risk assessment and coordinate implementation of controls.

The Code says the WHS Regulations prohibit or restrict the use, storage or handling of certain hazardous chemicals in certain situations. It gives examples including substances containing arsenic not being used in spray painting or abrasive blasting, and certain carcinogens being prohibited from all uses except genuine research or analysis authorised by the regulator.

Some chemicals may only be used, handled or stored after receiving approval from the regulator. The Code points readers to Schedule 10 of the WHS Regulations and Appendix C of the Code for further information. The official text also notes a restriction on the age of a person who can supply hazardous chemicals.

If your business deals with unusual, highly hazardous or tightly controlled chemicals, do not rely on general chemical management steps alone. Check whether the chemical is prohibited, restricted or approval-based before purchase, storage, use or supply.

The instrument was approved by the Minister for Employment on 17 December 2015 and commenced on the day after registration. The Federal Register entry shows registration on 30 March 2016, so commencement was the following day. The instrument is listed as in force.

The Code also includes historical context on the implementation of the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. It states that transition to the GHS occurred over a 5 year period from 1 January 2012 until 31 December 2016. That context can help when reviewing older labels, Safety Data Sheets or legacy stock.