Hazardous Substances Act Updated

The new Industrial Safety Act has been in effect since the start of June. The Hazardous  Substances Act (GefStoffV in its German abbreviation) was also updated as part of the revision. That Act now includes regulation of explosion protection. The [German] Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs justifies the transfer of explosion protection to the Hazardous Substances Act as follows: “Because the dangers of an explosion primarily result from hazardous substances, the evaluation of the danger involved and the determination of protective measures now belongs exclusively to the Hazardous Substances Act.”

The Act has supplemented some points, particularly items related to terminology, requirements for evaluating the danger, and protective measures. And because multiple references to such items appear (technical documentation, for example), multiple updates are needed for evaluations of the dangers and the subordinate technical rules. Responsibility has also changed. The Committee on Hazardous Substances is now responsible for technical rules.

The Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs has published a concordance of the old and new Industrial Safety Acts.

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