What this check covers

This free check tests a chemical safety programme against the Regulations for Hazardous Chemical Agents, 2021. Twelve questions follow the order the regulations expect: an up-to-date inventory and matching safety data sheets, information and training for exposed employees, an exposure assessment by a competent person, air monitoring by an approved inspection authority where the assessment requires it, medical surveillance where the triggers are met, control through elimination, substitution, engineering and work practice before PPE, respirator zones and respirator management, chemical-resistant PPE and washing and change facilities, labelling and storage, maintenance of extraction and containment, and records. Six of the twelve are safety-critical, from the exposure assessment through to PPE and facilities, and they are flagged separately in the result. It is written for the person responsible for chemicals on site, in a factory, laboratory, workshop, cleaning operation, agricultural business or warehouse. A folder of safety data sheets on its own does not pass; the check asks whether the inventory is connected to exposure, monitoring, controls and evidence. Which substances and sites the regulations apply to must still be established for your operation.