Handbook launched: managing chemical risks in service businesses
Free guide now available from the LIFE Fit for REACH-2 project
Dry cleaners, car repair shops, cleaning services and construction companies all work with chemicals every day, even though they don't manufacture them. A new practical guide, the "Chemicals Risk Management Handbook for Service Providers", is now available to help these businesses handle chemicals more safely and systematically.
The handbook is written for small and medium-sized enterprises that use chemicals to deliver services, whether in their own facilities or at their customers' sites. It shows step by step how to set up a new Chemicals Risk Management System (CRMS) or improve an existing one. It works like a toolbox. Companies can start with the elements that matter most to them and build from there, with or without outside help.
The handbook covers:
Legal compliance: how to set up a simple system to track chemicals legislation and keep compliance records.- Chemicals inventory: the national inventory requirements in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, plus an Excel template to get started.
- Company policy, goals and responsibilities: how to set clear targets and decide who does what, even in very small teams.
- Purchasing: how to keep unwanted chemicals out of the company from the start.
- Storage and installation safety: how to prevent accidents.
- Workplace safety: risk assessments for workers and the STOP principle (substitution, technical measures, organisational measures, personal protective equipment).
- Emissions, waste and consumer safety: reducing environmental impact and making sure services are safe for customers.
- Communication: working with suppliers, customers, consumers and authorities.
Each chapter explains the legal background and the benefits for the business, gives step-by-step instructions, and links to further tools and sources.