New rules and regulations around Hazardous Substances come into force this December (2017). This may affect approximately 150,000 businesses in New Zealand who use, handle, manufacture or store hazardous substances in their workplaces. There are over 100,000 hazardous substances in use throughout NZ.
It's estimated that between 500-800 New Zealanders die from occupational illness every year, and many of these deaths are linked to hazardous substance exposure at work.
What's safe and what rules apply to individual chemicals are set by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) here in NZ. Those rules won't necessarily change simply because we have new regulations, but obligations, standards and penalties may well. With the 580 pages of Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 now passed we will be bringing you updates on important changes and new functionality in the Health & Safety module of the Employers Toolbox to reflect this.