Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)RegulationsHazardous Biological Agents Regulations6. Risk assessment by employer or self-employed person |
| 1) | An employer or a self-employed person contemplated in regulation 2 shall, after consultation with the relevant health and safety representative or relevant health and safety committee, cause a risk assessment to be made and thereafter at intervals not exceeding two years, to determine if any person might have been exposed to a HBA. |
| 2) | An employer shall inform the relevant health and safety representative or health and safety committee in writing of the arrangements made for the assessment contemplated in subregulation (I), give them reasonable time to comment thereon and ensure that the results of the assessment are made available to the relevant health and safety representative or health and safety committee, which may comment thereon. |
| 3) | When making the assessment, the employer or self-employed person shall keep a record of the assessment and take into account matters such as – |
| a) | the nature and dose of the HBA to which an employee may be exposed and the suspected route of exposure; |
| b) | where the HBA might be present and in what physical form it is likely to be; |
| c) | the nature of the work, process and any reasonable deterioration in, or failure of, any control measures; |
| d) | what effects the HBA can have on an employee; and |
| e) | the period of exposure. |
| 4) | An employer or a self-employed person shall cause the risk assessment to be conducted on the basis of all available information as far as is reasonably practicable, including – |
| a) | classification of the HBA into the relevant risk group, according to its level of risk of infection; |
| b) | recommendations from the manufacturer, supplier or a competent person regarding the control measures necessary in order to protect the health of persons against such agents as a result of their work; |
| c) | information on diseases that may be contracted as a result of the activities at the workplace; |
| d) | potential allergenic or toxic effects that may result from the activities at the workplace; and |
| e) | knowledge of diseases from which an employee might be suffering and which may be aggravated by conditions at the workplace. |
| 5) | An employer shall review the assessment required by subregulation (1) forthwith if there – |
| a) | is a reason to suspect that the previous assessment is no longer valid; or |
| b) | has been a change in a process involving a HBA or in the methods, equipment or procedures in the use, handling, control or processing of HBA, and the provisions of subregulations (1), (3) and (4) shall apply. |