EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT) ACT 2020
The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 became law on 23 January 2020. As a result, the UK will leave the EU on 31 January 2020.
The Act implements the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and EU. The ‘transition period’ commences on 11:00pm on 31 January 2020 and runs until 11:00pm on 31 December 2020.
Amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
The 2020 Act amended the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to apply the Withdrawal Agreement.
As a result, directly-applicable EU legislation (e.g. Regulations and Decisions) made up to the 31 December 2020 will be retained as UK law.
Amendments by the 2020 Act also support the application of any trade agreement reached between the EU and UK during the transition period.
Transition Period (also known as ‘Implementation Period’)
During the transition period, the UK will no longer be an EU Member State but will remain part of the European Economic Area, single market and customs union.
As a result, changes to EU law before the end of 2020 will be applicable in the UK. EU law will also remain in force in the UK during the transition period.
Northern Ireland
Unlike the rest of the UK, a Protocol included in the Withdrawal Agreement commits Northern Ireland to the continued application of EU single market regulations on goods after Brexit.
The agreement requires the Northern Ireland Assembly to vote every four years on the continued application of these requirements.
Political Declaration
The withdrawal agreement is accompanied with an adopted political declaration. Notable changes to the political declaration from the 2018 original potentially affecting EHS legislation include:
However, the declaration commits to continued application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures. It also retains a commitment to “explore the possibility of cooperation of United Kingdom Authorities with Union Agencies” including the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
New publications this month:
HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE (HSE) AND HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE NORTHERN IRELAND (HSENI)
EH40/2005 Workplace exposure limits
This document, which lists workplace exposure limits (WELs) for a range of substances, has been updated.
WELs have been applied for respirable crystalline silica and bromoethylene for the first time.
WELs have been reduced for the following substances:
Skin notations have also been added for Ethylene oxide.
EUROPEAN CHEMICALS AGENCY (ECHA)
Although the UK has now left the EU, the UK will continue to cooperate with ECHA during the transition period, which is due to end on 31 December 2020.
Four new substances added to candidate list
In January 2020 the following substances were added to the candidate list of substances of very high concern (SVHCs). These will be subject to further control under REACH in the future.
Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and its salts.
Contractor fined for failing to provide minimum welfare facilities
A principal contractor has been fined after repeatedly failing to provide minimum welfare facilities at a construction site in Staffordshire.
For a period up to August 2018, Mr Jevgenijs Sondors of J S Services failed to provide minimum welfare facilities for workers on the site of a residential refurbishment in Burton on Trent.
An HSE inspection found there were no welfare facilities available for workers on the site for at least four and a half months. The site did not have hot water, a toilet, washing facilities and rest facilities.
The HSE served two Improvement Notices and a Prohibition Notice on Mr Sondors, who was acting as principal contractor. Mr Sondors then installed a toilet in the property but it was not linked to the water supply. A watering can had to be used to “flush” the toilet. Water in the property was provided via a single cold water pipe attached to a wall with a bucket underneath. No cleaning or drying facilities were provided. Follow up visits after the compliance date for the notice expired, found that the necessary improvements had not been made.
Breach
Mr Jevgenijs Sondors was found guilty in his absence of breaching Regulation 13(4)(c) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and Section 21 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Penalty
A warrant was issued for the arrest of Sonders, who was fined £300 and ordered to pay full costs of £3,851.06.
Sheffield-based cylinder manufacturer fined after worker fatality
Chesterfield Special Cylinders Ltd has received a major fine for safety breaches after a worker was killed.
64-year-old worker was fatally wounded by shrapnel ejected from testing equipment.
On 10 June 2015, a worker was leak testing eight 1,500 litre cylinders at the company’s Sheffield site. Testing was being undertaken by applying compressed air inside to create pressure. While in the process of venting the air through the test manifold, it catastrophically failed. Shrapnel ejected from the testing equipment fatally injured the worker.
An HSE investigation found that prior to installing the fittings, 1.5 litres of a mineral oil-based corrosion inhibitor had been placed into each of the cylinders. The incident occurred because the inhibitor contaminated the leak test manifold during venting of the cylinders. The corrosion inhibitor was subjected to enough pressure inside the manifold to ignite and cause the test equipment to fail.
Chesterfield Special Cylinders Ltd was found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974:
Chesterfield Special Cylinders Ltd was fined £700,000 with full costs of £169,498.82.
Client and contractor fined for failing to control asbestos removal during construction work
A property owner and his building contractors have both been sentenced after a refurbishment project was found to contain asbestos containing materials (ACMs) while work was still taking place.
During September 2017 the property in Newquay was to be partially demolished and refurbished under the control of one of its owners, Michael Cutmore. The hotel had been left derelict for several years. During this period it had been vandalised, squatted had been soft-stripped by its owner.
Asbestos surveys had identified the presence of ACMs, but these were not managed appropriately or removed prior to the work. B and S BM Limited had been appointed by the hotel’s second co-owner to carry out works in half of the property while Mr Cutmore himself also stripped asbestos from within the former hotel.
During a proactive HSE inspection, it was identified that the former hotel was being refurbished and partially demolished while ACMs remained in-situ. Some of these ACMs were licensable products, for example asbestos insulating board, which contains amosite.
Due to the extent of the spread of asbestos dust and debris throughout the building and the lack of adequate control measures, workers and visitors to the properties were at risk of exposure to asbestos fibres.
Breaches
B and S BM Limited of Prow Park, Newquay pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974:
Michael Cutmore pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974:
Penalties
B and S BM Limited was fined £22,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,000.
Michael Cutmore was ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £7,500.
