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On February 10, 2023, Malaysia's Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) initiated an online public consultation to revise the Guidelines for the Preparation of A Chemical Register (hereinafter referred to as the Guideline). Comments are welcome until March 10.
The Guideline was formulated in 2000 to assist employers in identifying and registering chemicals hazardous to health* at the workplace in pursuance of the Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standard of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations, 2000 (USECHH Regulations 2000). In September 2020, Malaysia released the draft of USECHH Regulations 202x for public opinion. The proposed amendment introduced extra details required in a chemical register**.
* A chemical hazardous to health refers to any chemical or preparation which is:
** In Malaysia, an employer shall prepare a chemical register accessible to all employees(SDS, average quantity, process and work area, supplier information) and submit it to authority in charge for review. |
The draft takes into account the new provisions in the draft of USECHH Regulations 202x and the need to align with the Occupational Safety and Health (Classification, Labeling and Safety Data Sheet of Hazardous Chemicals) Regulations 2013 (CLASS Regulations 2013). The major changes are proposed as below:
Introducing the definitions of chemicals hazardous to health and chemical suppliers;
Clarifying the application of chemical register to all workplaces where chemicals hazardous to health are used;
Adjusting the required elements of chemical register to include process and work area, physical form, and hazard classification of the chemicals hazardous to health;
Adding a new section of declaration to the recommended format of chemical register;
Amending Appendix 2: Classification of Sectors and Industrial Classification based on the Malaysian Industry Classification Standard 2008.
In addition, chemical register is not required if a chemical is solely classified as:
skin corrosion or irritation category 2; or
serious eye damage or irritation category 2; or
skin sensitization category 1.
It should be noted that the register (except the SDS) shall be submitted to DOSH after six months once the USECHH Regulations 202x take effect and no later than March 31 of the following year for each calendar year. Stakeholders should be aware of the updated information and prepare chemical register in advance. The draft can be accessed here.
