The environment and legislation
The aim of this working group is to have safe, effective and workable legislation for our members. We can achieve this by keeping track of and giving guidance in developments concerning relevant regulations.
PGS 15-2011 ‘Opslag van verpakte gevaarlijke stoffen’ (Storage of packaged hazardous substances) has been updated; the new version is available on http://PGS 15–september 2016.
The new Environment and Planning Act will come into effect in 2018. In this context, a new structure is being developed for the guidelines in the Publication Series on Hazardous Substances (PSHS). The risk approach in particular will be playing a major part in the new style PSHS. It is the intention that these new style publications will be ready by the end of 2017.
PGS 32 ‘Explosieven voor civiel gebruik: Bovengrondse opslag’ (Explosives for civilian use: Aboveground storage)
Administrative Environmental Consultations The Administrative Environmental Consultations are the central administrative consultations held about the issuing of permits and their supervision and enforcement. The consultations are held under the auspices of the minister of Infrastructure and the Environment. During these consultations, they lay down the basic assumptions for the PSHS guidelines, and as such they are the commissioning authority for the PSHS management organisation.
NTA-9065 (Dutch Technical Agreement). Currently, work is being done to review NTA-9065. This agreement concerns air quality, odour measurements, and the measuring and calculating of odour dissemination. The new agreement will probably be ready at the end of 2016, and then we will be able to identify and list the most important changes.
Controlling MAC values requires a great deal of effort on the part of companies and employees. CompositesNL has the ‘Leidraad voor de bewaking van beroepsblootstelling aan styreen bij de verwerking van polyesterhars’ (Guidelines for monitoring occupational exposure to styrene in the processing of polyester resin). This guideline complies with the methodology described in NEN-EN 689 ‘Werkplekatmosfeer: Leidraad voor de beoordeling van de blootstelling bij inademing van chemische stoffen voor de vergelijking met de grenswaarden en de meetstrategie’ (Workplace atmosphere: Guideline for assessing exposure when inhaling chemical substances for comparison with limit values and the measurement strategy). As such it has been recognised by Labour Inspectorate.
In the meantime, the FAQ’s tables are online (see below). These can also be obtained from the association office on request. Positive additional responses are always welcome.
Developments in all regulations and environmental affairs will be monitored and kept in the Expertise Centre that is being set up. The expertise centre will create a database that all members will be able to consult.
