In the News
Prevention of fire and explosion, and emergency response on offshore installations.
In this third edition, the ACOP text and associated guidance have been updated and simplified, where appropriate. The main changes have been widely consulted on and include:
emphasising when developing an approach to fire and explosion hazard management, consideration is given to ‘timely detection’ of occurred events and the ‘appropriate reporting and recording of them’; when undertaking a regulation 5 assessment, clarification is given that releases of toxic or asphyxiating gases with the potential to require evacuation, escape and rescue are included. Also, guidance is given on considerations associated with the provision of totally enclosed motor-propelled survival craft; guidance covering when a repeat assessment could be required when changes including improvements are introduced following the initial assessment; and a clearer definition of a ‘performance standard’; adding suitable detection systems for asphyxiating atmospheres to the list of illustrative detection arrangements and providing a further explanation of detection systems, alarm settings and their capabilities; the temporary refuge survival time should be adequately defined in the emergency response plan and events likely to compromise temporary refuge integrity need to be identified and addressed.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now published the full document (PDF, 5.54MB, 758 pages) of the summary of its provisional decision on remedies. This sets out the independent investigation group’s comprehensive package of 33 remedies, which it proposes to introduce following the conclusion of its investigation in June. The full text of the report, supported by 30 appendices which will also be published shortly, includes a detailed assessment of each remedy and the evidence gathered from all interested parties.
The European Chemical Agency has published new tools available to estimate environmental emissions of biocides. Easy-to-use calculation sheets are available for ten biocidal product-types to help estimate the release of substances from the products to the environment. These are for • disinfectants for human hygiene (pt 1), • disinfectants and algaecides not intended for direct application to humans or animals (pt 2), • food and feed area (pt 4), • drinking water (pt 5), • preservatives for fibre, leather, rubber and polymerised materials preservatives (for textiles) (pt 9), • pest control: Rodenticides (pt 14), • avicides (pt 15); Insecticides, acaricides and products to control other arthropods (for textiles) (pt 18), • repellents and attractants (pt 19) • other biocidal products for embalming and taxidermist fluids (pt 22). Sheets for other product-types will follow in the course of 2016.