The safety of workers will be inspected by 28 EU and EEA Member States. The key element of the project will be to investigate the quality of the safety data sheets that contain guidelines on the safe use of hazardous substances.

Inspectors will check if the extended safety data sheets match the information established by the chemical safety reports (CSRs) that substance manufacturers prepare. They will also go through the exposure scenarios attached to the safety data sheets. An exposure scenario describes the amount and character of exposure to its hazards when a substance is manufactured or used for its destined purposes. It also advises how the exposure of humans and release to the environment can be controlled.

One of the objectives of this enforcement project is to ensure that workers handling hazardous chemicals, especially those dealing with substances of very high concern, receive sufficient and correct safety information. The project will also map how effectively extended safety data sheets are passed on and communicated all the way through the supply chain, i.e. from manufacturers of chemicals to the users.

The European Chemical Agency (ECHA) has added four new substances of very high concern (SVHCs) to the Candidate List for authorisation which now contains one hundred and seventy-three substances.  The substances in question are:

HSE has launched new draft Health and Work strategy and plans. They cover work-related stress (HSE report that stress, along with anxiety and depression, is the second most commonly reported cause of occupational ill health in Great Britain), musculoskeletal disorders and occupational lung disease. http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/strategiesandplans/health-and-work-strategy/health-and-work-strategy.pdf

Thirty charities will receive more than £1.5 million for projects benefiting wildlife and the environment as a result of enforcement action by the Environment Agency. There are twenty-six Enforcement Undertakings on the list with payments ranging from £1,500 – £375,000, including six which are of six figures. As well as making a suitable payment to an appropriate environmental charity, each company has accepted liability, demonstrated restoration of harm and invested to reduce the risk of similar breaches occurring in future.

The Environment Agency’s ability to accept Enforcement Undertakings was extended in 2015 to a far wider range of offences. The Agency is increasingly using this method of enforcement for suitable cases to swiftly restore the environment, improve practices of the offending company and avoid longer criminal court cases. However prosecutions will still be taken, particularly in the most serious cases.