4. Action to Control Exposure
The employer must implement control measures within 1 month of receipt of the assessment report of the reports showed a need to eliminate or reduce actual or potential exposure. Control methods include redesign and changes to work processes, methods, procedures, machinery and control equipment.

5. The Hierarchy of Exposure Control Methods
The hierarchy of control of exposure must follow the specified measures:
a) Elimination of chemicals hazardous to health from place of work
b) Substitution of a less hazardous chemical for chemicals hazardous to health
c) Total enclosure of the process and handling systems
d) Isolation of the work area
d) Modification of process parameters
e) The use of engineering control equipment
f) Adopt a safe work system and practices to eliminate health risks
g) Provision of approved personal protective equipment

Employer must ensure all safe work system are documented, implemented and reviewed when there is a significant changes to the process, equipment, materials or control measures installed.

6. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
The provision of PPE is appropriate only when other control methods are impractical, as an interim measure while other control methods are being designed or installed or when other control methods are still inadequate to control exposure to employees. The employer must establish and implement procedure for issuance, maintenance, inspection and training of PPE. PPE used must be approved in writing by the Director-General. PPE must be appropriate for the type of work, fitting to the employees, does not have effect on the employee's health and provided in sufficient suplly to the employees.

7. Engineering Control Equipment
Engineering Control Equipment must be inspected at least once a month by the employer and at least once in 12 months by a registered Hygiene Technician. A local exhaust ventilation equipment must be designed to approved standards by a registered professional engineer and constructed according to design specifications. After construction and installation, testing must also be done by a registered professional engineer. All relevant records must be kept available for future inspection.

8. Labeling and Relabeling
The employer must ensure proper labeling of all hazardous chemicals at the workplace. Full labeling is required when a chemical is transferred to another container. Consequently, full labeling of new container also applies to chemicals transferred from the original container if used in a testing laboratory regardless of when it is going to be used. Label specifications shall follow existing regulations either for hazardous chemicals, pesticides or scheduled wastes.

9. Information, Instruction, Training and Supervision
Employer must provide information, instruction and training to employees to educate them on the risks associated with the hazardous chemicals at the place of work and the required precautionary measures. Information here includes the results of workplace exposure monitoring and health surveillance. Training must be repeated at least once in two years or when a change has occured to the process, work practices or on the chemical itself. Similarly, training is required when an employee is assigned to a new area or a new task with potential for exposure to chemicals hazardous to health. Employers must also ensure that employees are sufficiently provided with adequate information, instruction and supervision to carry out work in connection with the employers duties under the regulations.

10. Chemical Safety Data Sheet (CSDS)
The employer must ensure that proper labeling and CSDS are available before a chemical hazardous to health is used at the workplace. This CSDS shall be made available and easily accessible to all employees.

11. Monitoring of Exposure at the Place of Work
Following the Assessment of Risk to Health, exposure monitoring must be done if the results indicate that such monitoring is necessary to protect the employees from exposure to the hazardous chemicals. For chemicals listed in Schedule II of the regulations, monitoring must be done by at intervals of not more than 6 months or at shorter interval as recommended by the Assessor. Monitoring must be done by a Hygiene Technician. The minimum retention period for records pertaining to personal monitoring is 30 years. For other types of records such as area monitoring, the minimum retention period is 5 years.

12. Health Surveillance
If the Assessment of Risk to Health also indicates a need for health surveillance, then the employer must carry out a health surveillance programme. Medical surveillance may only be performed by a registered Occupational Health Doctor. For chemicals listed in Schedule II of the regulations, health surveillance must be done by at intervals of not more than 12 months or at shorter interval as recommended by the Occupational Safety and Health Officer who is also a medical practitioner. The minimum retention period for health surveillance records is 30 years. The record must be made available for inspection and examination by request from the DG and by the employees.

13. Medical Removal Protection
If medical finding indicates that the employee has a detected medical condition that places him in an increased risk of danger or impairment of health from exposure to chemicals hazardous to health, the employer must undertake to remove him from the workplace where these chemicals are used. Similarly, this also applies to pregnant or breastfeeding employees.

These employees can only return to their former job if the employee no longer has the detected medical conditions or no longer pregnant or breastfeeding as certified by Occupational Health Doctor (OHD).

14. Warning Sign
Warning signs must be illuminated and placed at conspicuous locations at the entrance to the workplace. It must be written in the national language and English printed in dark red against a white background.

15. Record Keeping
All records must be handed over to the new person succeeding him if the previous employer ceases to carry on the business. The new employer must take on to retain and maintain the records. If cases where no new successor exists, the records must be forwarded to the DG. At the expiry of the retention period for records the employer shall inform the DG that he intends to dispose of such records.

Guidelines Accompanying the USECCH Regulations 2000:

1. Guideliens for the Registration of Assessors, Hygiene Technician and Occupational Health Doctor
2. Assessment of the Health Risks Arising from the Use of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace
3. Guidelines for the Preparation of a Chemical Register
4. Guidelines on the Control of Chemicals Hazardous to Health

Reference:

1. Occupational Safety and Health (Classification, Packaging and Labeling of Hazardous Chemicals) Regulations 1997
2. Pesticides Act 1974
3. Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulations 1989
4. Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984
5. Registration of Engineer Act 1967
6. Medical Act 1971

Contributed by:
CICM Regulatory Affairs Committee

Note: CICM welcomes your suggestions to further improve the content of this write-up on the USECCH Regulations 2000. To do so, please contact the CICM Secretariat at pek_wan@fmm.org.my.