Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 232: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if regulation 30 of SI 299 of 2007, Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, is the only regulation governing the testing of local exhaust ventilation; his views on whether this regulation is insufficient to protect workers from equipment which might cause exposure to substances that cause asthma and other health problems, including contaminants; if he will legislate for mandatory testing of local exhaust ventilation as in other European countries to protect workers from airborne contaminants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31277/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (No. 10 of 2005) requires every employer to ensure, in so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety health and welfare at work of his or her employees. The employer's duty extends to the design, provision and maintenance of plant and machinery or any other articles that are safe and without risk to health.

Regulation 30, of Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007), is concerned with inspection of work equipment both permanently installed and also equipment that is moved from place to place requiring assembly each time. Work equipment can be subject to a wide range of causes of deterioration which in turn can present workplace hazards. Regulation 30 provides that equipment should not go into use until it has been inspected by a competent person to ensure that it has been properly installed and is safe for operation. Inspection relates to a wide range of hazards. Evidence of such inspections must be recorded and kept available for inspection by the Health and Safety Authority. Regulation 30 (b) (i) provides for periodic testing where appropriate.

In addition in relation to chemical agents, Regulation 6(1)(b) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Chemical Agents) Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 619 of 2001) places a duty on employers to ensure that any engineering control measure, which can include local exhaust ventilation (LEV) systems, is properly maintained and used. It requires the employer to ensure that adequate inspection, testing and maintenance of plant and equipment occurs. As LEV systems vary in complexity, the frequency of maintenance and testing specified by the manufacturer, supplier or European Standard should be observed as a minimum.

The above regulations derive in the main from EU law which has been formulated taking into account the wide range of hazards which can arise in workplaces. In relation, inter alia, to equipment which might cause exposure to substances that cause asthma and other health problems, including contaminants, the 2005 Act provides that it is the duty of employers in all workplaces to identify hazards and to put in place measures to control exposure to such hazards. Compliance with this general duty, in addition to the specific duties set out above, should provide adequate protection for workers.