§ Mr. Forresterasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make regulations requiring the Health and Safety Executive to visit at least once per 629W year all factories and warehouses making or storing potentially dangerous chemicals.
§ Mr. MayhewI do not believe that such a requirement is necessary. Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate already operates a policy of assessing each workplace known to it on its merits, and of choosing each year to inspect those workplaces most deserving of special attention. An important part of the assessment is the intrinsic hazard of the processes carried on, and where these are considered to offer a risk of substantial injury to employees and the public, they come forward for frequent, and in many cases annual inspection on the grounds of hazard alone. Establishments making and storing potentially dangerous chemicals form a large proportion of this group.
§ Mr. Forresterasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make regulations requiring all firms making or storing potentially dangerous chemicals to notify the appropriate authorities so that a directory of such premises and their contents will be available to the emergency services.
§ Mr. MayhewThere are no proposals at present to require all firms making or storing potentially dangerous chemicals to notify the appropriate authorities. Inspectors have powers under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act to obtain, where necessary, information concerning hazardous chemicals in such firms. There are no formal arrangements for the exchange of information following all visits, but there is close liaison both with fire prevention officers and local authorities and especially where serious deficiencies are noted.
The Health and Safety Executive is now looking at the whole question of the exchange of information to see in what ways it can be improved.
§ Mr. Forresterasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make it a requirement that all factories making or storing potentially dangerous chemical substances must display a notice on the outside of the building indicating the contents of the materials inside.
§ Mr. MayhewThe Advisory Committee on Dangerous Substances has under630W consideration proposals for regulations to provide for the sign marking of buildings or places containing materials or substances which would be dangerous to firemen in the event of a fire. The issues raised are not clear cut and the results of pilot studies carried out in selected fire brigade areas will soon be available. The advisory committee will consider these results together with any recommendations with a view to ascertaining the best method of making information available about dangerous substances to those who need to know it.