Hazardous Substances (Exempt Laboratories) Regulations 2001

Reprint
as at 1 June 2001

Crest

Hazardous Substances (Exempt Laboratories) Regulations 2001

(SR 2001/115)

Silvia Cartwright, Governor-General

Order in Council

At Wellington this 28th day of May 2001

Present:
Her Excellency the Governor-General in Council

Note

Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this reprint.

A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this reprint, together with other explanatory material about this reprint.

These regulations are administered by the Ministry for the Environment.

Pursuant to section 140(1)(g) of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, Her Excellency the Governor-General, acting on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council (given on the recommendation of the Minister for the Environment made in compliance with section 141(1) of that Act), makes the following regulations.

Regulations

1 Title

  • These regulations are the Hazardous Substances (Exempt Laboratories) Regulations 2001.

2 Commencement

  • These regulations come into force on 2 July 2001.

3 Interpretation

  • In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—

    approved hazardous substance—

    • (a) means a substance for which an approval to import or manufacture for release, or to import into containment or to manufacture in containment, has been issued by the Authority under the Act; and

    • (b) includes a hazardous substance approved under section 48 of the Act for release or use in an emergency

    emergency response plan means an emergency response plan referred to in regulation 16

    laboratory manager means a person designated under regulation 13(1) as a manager of a laboratory or of part of a laboratory

    requirements for disposal, in relation to a hazardous substance, means the relevant controls prescribed by the Hazardous Substances (Disposal) Regulations 2001, subject to any variation for the time being in force under section 77 of the Act

    small container—

    • (a) means a container in which a hazardous substance is being held before or during use in a laboratory in quantities typically used for that purpose; and

    • (b) includes any laboratory equipment in which any hazardous substance remains after that use.

4 Application

  • These regulations apply, for the purposes of section 33 of the Act, to every laboratory in which any small-scale use of hazardous substances in research and development, or teaching, occurs.

Laboratory design requirements

5 Parts of laboratory to be impervious to hazardous substances

  • All parts of a laboratory that could come into contact with a hazardous substance, either in the course of normal use of the substance or as a result of spillage, must either—

    • (a) be made of a material that is not capable of absorbing or retaining the substance; or

    • (b) be treated and finished to that level of imperviousness; or

    • (c) while those parts come into contact with the substance, be covered by a disposable material that is capable of absorbing or retaining the substance.

6 Design of laboratory in which approved hazardous substances used

  • (1) If an approved hazardous substance is used or is available for use in a laboratory, the laboratory must be designed and operated so as to prevent the substance from escaping from the laboratory and entering the environment.

    (2) Subclause (1) does not apply if—

    • (a) the laboratory has a system for the disposal of hazardous substances; and

    • (b) that system is designed and operated so as to meet the requirements for disposal of the hazardous substance.

7 Design of laboratory in which unapproved hazardous substances used

  • (1) If a hazardous substance that is not an approved hazardous substance is used or available for use in a laboratory, the laboratory must be designed and operated so as to prevent the substance from escaping from the laboratory and entering the environment.

    (2) The design of the laboratory must include the provision of storage arrangements for the substance.

    (3) Those design, operational, and storage arrangements must remain in place until—

    • (a) the substance becomes an approved hazardous substance; or

    • (b) the substance is treated so that it is no longer a hazardous substance; or

    • (c) the substance is lawfully exported from New Zealand.

8 Entry to laboratories

  • (1) All entrances to a laboratory to which regulation 6 or regulation 7 applies must be clearly marked by signs that—

    • (a) warn that only authorised persons are permitted inside the laboratory; and

    • (b) meet the requirements for comprehensibility and clarity of signage specified in Part 3 of the Hazardous Substances (Identification) Regulations 2001.

    (2) At all times when a laboratory is not supervised by a laboratory manager or by any other person nominated by a laboratory manager to be in charge in his or her absence, the laboratory must be secured so that a person can only enter the laboratory by using a tool, a key, or any other device used to operate a lock.

    (3) In this regulation,—

    authorised person, in relation to a laboratory,—

    • (a) means a person (person A) who, in the normal course of his or her work, research and development, or teaching, is required to enter the laboratory; and

    • (b) includes any other person under person A's direct supervision while person A is present in the laboratory

    entrance, in relation to a laboratory, means a door, gate, or passage that is a point of entry into the laboratory.

Recording of hazardous substances

9 Recording of hazardous substances in laboratory

  • (1) An accurate record must be kept of the quantities of the following hazardous substances in a laboratory:

    • (b) all substances that are likely to be hazardous substances and that are not approved hazardous substances.

    (2) That record must be kept for not less than 12 months after the substance is consumed or removed from the laboratory.

Handling and storage of hazardous substances

10 Handling and storage of approved hazardous substances

  • (1) A laboratory manager must ensure that any approved hazardous substance is handled and stored in the laboratory in the way in which a substance with the same hazard classification must be managed under the applicable provisions of the Hazardous Substances (Classes 1 to 5 Controls) Regulations 2001 and the Hazardous Substances (Classes 6, 8, and 9 Controls) Regulations 2001.

    (2) However, subclause (1) does not require compliance with any provision of those regulations requiring that a substance be under the control of an approved handler.

    (3) If an approved hazardous substance is being used in a laboratory, or is being held in small containers in a laboratory and is available for use, the following information must be provided:

    • (a) the identity of the substance; and

    • (b) if the hazardous substance is diluted with a non-hazardous substance, the concentration of any hazardous substance present; and

    • (c) a warning of the hazardous properties of the substance if the substance is classified, under the Hazardous Substances (Classification) Regulations 2001, as—

      • (i) subclass 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, or 1.4; or

      • (ii) hazard classification 3.1A, 3.2A, 4.1.2A, 4.1.2B, 4.1.3A, 4.2A, 4.3A, 5.1.1A, 5.1.2A, 5.2A, 5.2B, 6.1A, 6.1B, 6.1C, 8.2A, 8.3A, 9.1A, 9.2A, 9.3A, or 9.4A.

    (4) The information referred to in subclause (3) must be available so that a person inside the laboratory is able to access the information within 10 seconds.

    (5) The information referred to in subclause (3) must meet the requirements for comprehensibility, durability, and clarity set out in Part 1 of the Hazardous Substances (Identification) Regulations 2001.

11 Handling and storage of unapproved hazardous substances

  • (1) A laboratory manager must ensure that a substance that is likely to be hazardous and is not an approved hazardous substance is handled and stored in the way in which a similar quantity of an approved hazardous substance with similar hazardous properties and equivalent degrees of hazard must be handled and stored under the applicable provisions of the Hazardous Substances (Classes 1 to 5 Controls) Regulations 2001 and the Hazardous Substances (Classes 6, 8, and 9 Controls) Regulations 2001.

    (2) In managing a hazardous substance that is not an approved hazardous substance, a laboratory manager must have regard to—

    • (a) the hazardous properties of all products that are likely to result from a reaction used to form the substance; and

    • (b) any known physical or chemical properties of—

      • (i) the substance; or

      • (ii) any of the compounds, elements, or chemical functional groups that make up the substance; and

    • (c) any known hazardous properties of substances that have a similar chemical structure; and

    • (d) if the substance is a mixture, any known or likely interactions between the compounds, elements, or chemical functional groups that make up the mixture; and

    • (e) if the substance was imported from another jurisdiction, any information about the substance available from that jurisdiction.

    (3) If a hazardous substance that is not an approved hazardous substance is being used in a laboratory, or is in small containers in a laboratory and is available for use, the following information must be provided:

    • (a) the identity of the substance; and

    • (b) if available, information about any hazardous property of the substance; and

    • (c) if available, an indication of the precautions that should be taken when handling the substance.

    (4) The information referred to in subclause (3) must be available so that a person inside the laboratory is able to access the information within 10 seconds.

    (5) The information referred to in subclause (3) must meet the requirements for comprehensibility, durability, and clarity set out in Part 1 of the Hazardous Substances (Identification) Regulations 2001.

12 Specification of containers used to hold hazardous substances

  • A small container in a laboratory used for holding a hazardous substance must,—

    • (a) when closed, be able to contain the hazardous substance within the range of temperatures in which that container will be used; and

    • (b) be resistant to the hazardous substance so that any chemical reaction that may occur between the substance and the container will not release a hazardous substance; and

    • (c) prevent entry by any organism capable of transporting the substance out of the laboratory.

Personnel requirements for laboratories

13 Laboratory manager

  • (1) At least 1 person must be designated as a laboratory manager for a laboratory.

    (2) A laboratory manager—

    • (a) may be designated as the manager of all or a specified part of the laboratory; and

    • (b) is in charge of—

      • (i) the laboratory or specified part of the laboratory; and

      • (ii) all hazardous substances contained within the laboratory or part of the laboratory; and

    • (c) may nominate any other person to be in charge in his or her absence.

    (3) If more than 1 person is designated as a laboratory manager under subclause (1), the terms and conditions of the designation must—

    • (a) be recorded in writing; and

    • (b) ensure that, at any given time, only 1 person is in charge of the laboratory or part of the laboratory, and of all hazardous substances contained within the laboratory or part of the laboratory.

14 Skill and knowledge requirements for laboratory managers

  • A person designated as a laboratory manager must have—

    • (a) technical knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of all substances managed or used in the laboratory, including the likely hazardous properties of substances being synthesised, in order to prevent or manage the adverse effects of those substances; and

    • (b) knowledge of—

      • (i) precautions for handling the hazardous substances managed or used in the laboratory; and

      • (ii) disposal of those substances in accordance with these regulations; and

      • (iii) the most recent version of any relevant code of practice approved by the Authority under section 78 of the Act; and

    • (c) any specific knowledge and skill requirements contained in the laboratory's emergency response plan; and

    • (d) the ability to demonstrate the correct operation and maintenance of equipment, including personal protective clothing and equipment, necessary to manage the substances in the laboratory throughout their life cycle.

15 Knowledge requirements for persons handling hazardous substances

  • A laboratory manager must ensure that every person handling a hazardous substance in the laboratory is provided with all of the following information before handling the substance:

    • (a) procedures to prevent the contamination of any equipment, clothing, or part of the laboratory:

    • (c) if the substance is not an approved hazardous substance, the method of management required under regulation 11:

    • (d) disposal of the hazardous substance in accordance with these regulations:

    • (e) the actions required under the laboratory's emergency response plan in the event of an accident or accidental exposure to the substance.

Emergency response plan requirements

16 Emergency response plan requirements

  • (1) All laboratories, irrespective of the quantities of hazardous substances present, must have an emergency response plan that meets the requirements of Part 4 of the Hazardous Substances (Emergency Management) Regulations 2001.

    (2) The emergency response plan may be part of any other planning for an emergency, whether required by the Act or any other Act, or be undertaken for any other reason.

Martin Bell,
for Clerk of the Executive Council.

Explanatory note

This note is not part of the regulations, but is intended to indicate their general effect.

These regulations, which come into force on 2 July 2001, prescribe the requirements to be met by a laboratory in order to utilise the exemption for small-scale uses of hazardous substances in research and development or teaching that is provided for in section 33 of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. If approved hazardous substances are used or are available for use in a laboratory, the controls imposed by the Act do not apply to those substances because, under section 33, nothing in the Act applies to small-scale uses of those substances in research and development or teaching.

The regulations prescribe requirements relating to—

  • the design of a laboratory, including signage at entrances to the laboratory:

  • recording the quantities of hazardous substances kept in a laboratory:

  • handling a hazardous substance, including the information that must be provided on a container holding the substance:

  • the designation of a laboratory manager, and the knowledge and skills that person must have:

  • the knowledge that a person handling a hazardous substance in a laboratory must have:

  • emergency response plans.

Issued under the authority of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989.

Date of notification in Gazette: 31 May 2001.

Contents

  • 1General

  • 2Status of reprints

  • 3How reprints are prepared

  • 4Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989

  • 5List of amendments incorporated in this reprint (most recent first)

Notes
1 General

  • This is a reprint of the Hazardous Substances (Exempt Laboratories) Regulations 2001. The reprint incorporates all the amendments to the regulations as at 1 June 2001, as specified in the list of amendments at the end of these notes.

    Relevant provisions of any amending enactments that have yet to come into force or that contain relevant transitional or savings provisions are also included, after the principal enactment, in chronological order.

2 Status of reprints

  • Under section 16D of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, reprints are presumed to correctly state, as at the date of the reprint, the law enacted by the principal enactment and by the amendments to that enactment. This presumption applies even though editorial changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in the reprint.

    This presumption may be rebutted by producing the official volumes of statutes or statutory regulations in which the principal enactment and its amendments are contained.

3 How reprints are prepared

  • A number of editorial conventions are followed in the preparation of reprints. For example, the enacting words are not included in Acts, and provisions that are repealed or revoked are omitted. For a detailed list of the editorial conventions, see http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/editorial-conventions/ or Part 8 of the Tables of New Zealand Acts and Ordinances and Statutory Regulations and Deemed Regulations in Force.

4 Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989

  • Section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 authorises the making of editorial changes in a reprint as set out in sections 17D and 17E of that Act so that, to the extent permitted, the format and style of the reprinted enactment is consistent with current legislative drafting practice. Changes that would alter the effect of the legislation are not permitted.

    A new format of legislation was introduced on 1 January 2000. Changes to legislative drafting style have also been made since 1997, and are ongoing. To the extent permitted by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, all legislation reprinted after 1 January 2000 is in the new format for legislation and reflects current drafting practice at the time of the reprint.

    In outline, the editorial changes made in reprints under the authority of section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 are set out below, and they have been applied, where relevant, in the preparation of this reprint:

    • •omission of unnecessary referential words (such as “of this section” and “of this Act”)

    • •typeface and type size (Times Roman, generally in 11.5 point)

    • •layout of provisions, including:

      • •indentation

      • •position of section headings (eg, the number and heading now appear above the section)

    • •format of definitions (eg, the defined term now appears in bold type, without quotation marks)

    • •format of dates (eg, a date formerly expressed as “the 1st day of January 1999” is now expressed as “1 January 1999”)

    • •position of the date of assent (it now appears on the front page of each Act)

    • •punctuation (eg, colons are not used after definitions)

    • •Parts numbered with roman numerals are replaced with arabic numerals, and all cross-references are changed accordingly

    • •case and appearance of letters and words, including:

      • •format of headings (eg, headings where each word formerly appeared with an initial capital letter followed by small capital letters are amended so that the heading appears in bold, with only the first word (and any proper nouns) appearing with an initial capital letter)

      • •small capital letters in section and subsection references are now capital letters

    • •schedules are renumbered (eg, Schedule 1 replaces First Schedule), and all cross-references are changed accordingly

    • •running heads (the information that appears at the top of each page)

    • •format of two-column schedules of consequential amendments, and schedules of repeals (eg, they are rearranged into alphabetical order, rather than chronological).

5 List of amendments incorporated in this reprint (most recent first)