Working with hazardous substances (Working Conditions Act)

If you work with hazardous substances in your company, you have to protect your staff. Hazardous substances are substances that may be explosive, poisonous, or carcinogenic.

What are hazardous substances?

Hazardous substances are substances that, even in small quantities, can cause danger, damage, or serious harm to people, animals, and the environment. These substances have, for example, an ADR classification or have been classified as CMR substances (carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic chemicals, in Dutch). Producers or suppliers that supply a hazardous substance must provide you with a safety data sheet, that includes information on the properties of the substance or mixture, its hazards and instructions for handling. Hazardous substances include: 

• asbestos
• explosives
• allergens
• wood powder and fine crystalline quartz dust (in Dutch)
• exhaust fumes from diesel engines (in Dutch)
• acids

Protecting staff from hazardous substances

You must protect your staff from working with hazardous substances and prevent negative impact on your staff, such as an accident at work caused by mistakes. You must ensure that your staff cannot inhale a hazardous substance or get it on their bodies. Many rules on working with hazardous substances are laid down in the Working Conditions Act (Arbowet, in Dutch). You must also comply with EU rules and legislation on working with hazardous substances.

These rules include provisions on:

• personal protective clothing
• safe working processes
• staff training
• prevention of exposure to hazardous substances (in Dutch)

Measuring exposure to hazardous substances and taking additional measures

A hazardous substance can enter the body in various ways. For example, through inhalation, ingestion, or via the skin. The severity of a person’s exposure to a hazardous substance is indicated by an exposure level. You must measure and assess this exposure level (in Dutch). The exposure assessment must always be carried out by a certified occupational hygienist. If the exposure level exceeds the legal limit, you must take additional measures. Use the occupational hygiene strategy (in Dutch) for this:

1. Replace the hazardous substance
2. Apply technical measures
3. Apply organisational measures
4. Provide personal protective equipment to individual employees.

If there is a health and safety catalogue for your sector, it will often contain a list of measures to take. If you can replace carcinogenic substances in your company by substances that are not or less hazardous, you must do so.

Risk assessment and evaluation (RI&E)

If your staff work with hazardous substances, any hazards within your business are stated in your company’s risk assessment and evaluation (RI&E). The RI&E also describes the protective measures you have taken. You have a legal obligation to conduct an RI&E and it should always be available to your employees.

Additional risk assessment and evaluation (ARIE)

Do you work with large quantities of hazardous substances that pose a risk of major accidents? Then you must comply with the rules of the additional risk assessment and evaluation (ARIE) under the Working Conditions Decree. You must describe how you manage safety risks, assess the measures you implement, evaluate the risks and include a plan of approach on how to manage those risks. How you do this depends on the quantity and categories of hazardous substances present at your company. 

Large quantities of hazardous substances (Seveso)

If there are large quantities of hazardous substances present at your company, it is a Seveso company (formerly known as a Brzo company). You must comply with the European Seveso III Directive. The purpose of this directive is to:

• prevent major accidents, and
• limit their consequences and harmful impacts on human health and the environment

Seveso industrial installations must, for example:

• implement all necessary measures to prevent major accidents and limit their consequences
• have a valid environment and planning permit
• put in place an internal emergency plan

Applying for environment and planning permits for hazardous substances

For working with and storing hazardous substances you may need one or several environment and planning permits, or submit a notification. Go to the Environment and Planning Portal Omgevingsloket (in Dutch) to check if you need an environment and planning permit (omgevingsvergunning), and use the permit check (in Dutch) to find out which rules from your municipality, province, or water board apply to your situation. You can then use the Environment and Planning Portal to apply online for an environment and planning permit or submit a notification.