31 March 2004
On Thursday 1 April 2004, single substance Dangerous Goods will be effectively transferred to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 by Notice in the New Zealand Gazette. These are the first transfer to occur by this mechanism, rather than by Regulation.
The Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA New Zealand) in consultation with industry groups and other stakeholders has completed a major part of the work involved in transferring existing hazardous substances from old legislation to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act. In this instance the transfer of dangerous goods means that they are no longer regulated under the Dangerous Goods Act but instead are subject to controls assigned to individual substances in line with the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act. These controls reflect HSNO Regulations, but also take account of the sense of continuing current practice where this has been effective in managing risks.
'This is a significant event', says Neil Walter, Chair of ERMA New Zealand, 'It will increase the volume of direct coverage of hazardous substances by the HSNO Act from less than 1% to 80%. This is mainly because the major fuels like petrol, diesel and natural gas will come under HSNO, as will most bulk chemicals.'
A major shift in compliance and risk management regimes such as this has practical implications for most industry groups in New Zealand. To assist with the practical process of becoming compliant under the HSNO regime, a Staged Implementation process has been adapted. This will not only allow industry time to become familiar with the HSNO compliance regime, but will allow the new test certificates required in some situations to be progressively introduced.
Neil Walter said, 'There will now be a shift of focus away from the technical detail of classifying and assigning controls to dangerous goods, to general practical information on achieving compliance. In the next six to twelve months there will be an active information campaign targeted at industry groups to help ensure that everybody understands what they need to do under the new regime.'
The new HSNO regime is aimed at streamlining and updating the system for managing risks from hazardous substances in New Zealand. The HSNO Act replaces the Explosives Act 1957, the Dangerous Goods Act 1974, the Toxic Substances Act 1979 and the Pesticides Act 1979. The purpose of the HSNO legislation is to "protect the environment and the health and safety of people and communities by preventing or managing the adverse effects of hazardous substances and new organisms."
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