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We'd like to take a look at the new safety and environmental regulations that came into force on January 1 of this year.
Regulatory developments in Safety
- Social and Economic Committee (CSE): the new staff representation body
(Labor Code Articles L. 2312-5 to L. 2312-60, L. 2313-1 to L. 2315-94, R. 2312-1 to R. 2312-28 and R. 2315-9 to R. 2315-23)
According to recently published regulations, by January 1, 2020, all companies with more than 10 employees (except public health establishments) must have elected their CSE, replacing their DP employee delegates, their works councils (CE) and their health, safety and working conditions committees (CHSCT).
We invite you to read our articles on how this body works, its remit and how it is set up.
- Compulsory internal regulations for 50 or more employees
(French Labor Code Article L. 1311-2)
Internal regulations are now compulsory in companies or establishments employing at least 50 employees, instead of 20 previously.
- Mandatory AEDs in ERP categories 1 to 3
(Code de la construction et de l'habitation Articles R. 123-57 to R. 123-60 & Arrêtés du 29 octobre 2019)
An automated external defibrillator (AED) is now compulsory in Category 1 to 3 public-access establishments.
As a reminder, category 1 to 3 ERP are those able to accommodate more than 300 people (public + staff).
This AED must be installed in a location that is easily accessible and can be used at all times by anyone present on the premises. Signage must comply with the decree of October 29, 2019.
In addition, operators must declare information on the location, accessibility and technical characteristics of their AEDs to the national database.
Note: this obligation to install an AED will become mandatory on January 1, 2021 for category 4 facilities, and on January 1, 2022 for certain category 5 facilities, i.e. railway stations, high-altitude hotels and restaurants, mountain refuges, enclosed and covered sports facilities, facilities for the elderly, facilities for the disabled, healthcare establishments and multi-purpose sports halls.
- Pre-work asbestos detection for railway rolling stock and other transport rolling stock and for ships, boats, floating equipment and other floating structures
(Order of November 13, 2019, Order of June 19, 2019)
All owners, contractors and project managers of ships, boats and other floating structures, as well as railway rolling stock and other transport rolling stock, are now required to check for the presence of asbestos prior to any operation involving the risk of workers being exposed to asbestos.
Asbestos spotting prior to construction work involves searching for, identifying and locating asbestos-containing materials and products likely to be directly or indirectly affected by the work being carried out.
This asbestos survey is to be carried out by one of the following operators:
- Standard NF X 46-101 - January 2019 - "Asbestos detection - detection of asbestos-containing materials and products in ships, boats and other floating structures - Mission and methodology" for ships, boats and other floating structures.
- Standard NF F 01-020 - October 2019 - "Identification of asbestos-containing materials and products in railway rolling stock - Mission and methodology" for railway rolling stock and other transport rolling stock.
As a reminder, in the case of built-up buildings, this survey is mandatory from July 19, 2019. See our article on this subject: https://hse-reglementaire.com/reperage-amiante-avant-travaux-immeubles-batis/
- New CST® report template
(Order of May 29, 2009)
The safety advisors' reports (CSTMD) for 2019 will have to take into account the regulatory changes to its content introduced by the December 11, 2018 amendment to the TDG decree. The main regulatory changes concern the following points:
- the addition of the notion of sender ;
- the obligation to specify the identity of the advisor(s) who carried out the visit(s), if not the person who drafted the report;
- the possibility of grouping in a single table the information currently required in several tables, including the elements required for each of the operations, provided that the activities concerned are specified;
- in part 2 of the report, the creation of a specific table listing the dangerous goods shipping activities newly concerned by the obligation to have a CSTMD;
- the appearance of a question relating to parking lots subject to the requirements of 2.3.2 ;
- the deletion of the general conclusion of the annual report, which must now be included in the introductory summary of the report;
- a more precise and complete description of the actions and checks carried out by the safety advisor during the year, broken down into 6 themes.
Environmental regulatory developments
- RSDE: compliance with emission limit values (ELVs)
(Amending order dated August 24, 2017)
Existing ICPE sites and new sites that submitted a dossier before January 1, 2018, affected by RSDE (*), must comply with the ELVs introduced by the order of August 24, 2017 (known as the RSDE order) for their aqueous discharges.
(*) These are all classified facilities subject to authorization, as well as facilities subject to registration, which are likely to have significant discharges of hazardous substances.
It should be noted that the ELVs set for the substances PFOS, Trifluralin, quinoxyfen, dioxins, aclonifen, bifenox, cybutryn, cypermethrin, HBCDD and heptachlor apply from January 1, 2023.
- Collection and declaration of TGAP (except waste TGAP) to DGFIP
(Customs Code Articles 266 sexies to 266 quindecies)
Collection of TGAPs other than waste TGAPs is now handled by the DGFIP (public finance directorate) rather than by customs.
For VAT taxpayers subject to the normal actual taxation system: the TGAP declaration must be made at the same time as the VAT declaration, and filed in the month following the first calendar quarter of the year following the year in which the tax became due.
For VAT payers subject to the simplified actual taxation system: the TGAP declaration must be made at the same time as the VAT declaration, and filed for the financial year in which the tax became due.
In all other cases: the declaration must be made to the tax collection department responsible for the taxpayer's head office or principal place of business by April 25 of the year following the year in which the tax became payable.
Transitional provisions have been introduced for the 2020 tax year. These provisions are detailed in the Circular of June 27, 2019 - General tax on polluting activities.
- Bans on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (GHGs)
(Regulation no. 517/2014 of April 16, 2014)
The following bans on HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), greenhouse gases, have come into force:
- ban on the production of HCFCs (e.g. R22 or R408A);
- ban on the marketing of equipment containing HFCs with a GWP (Global Warming Potential) greater than or equal to 2500 (e.g. R404a);
- ban on recharging for servicing or maintenance of equipment with a load of over 40 teq CO2 using virgin fluorinated* GHGs with GWP >= 2500.
(*) Fluorinated greenhouse gases => Examples: HFCs (e.g. R134a or R143), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
- Ban on certain plastic products
(Environment Code Articles L. 541-10- and D. 543-294 to D. 543-296)
The following single-use plastic products (except those that can be composted at home and made, in whole or in part, from bio-sourced materials) are forbidden: disposable kitchen cups, glasses and plates for the table, straws, cutlery, steak picks, disposable glass lids, meal trays, ice-cream tubs, salad bowls, cans and drink stirring sticks made from plastic.
Note that this ban will only apply to these products as packaging from July 3, 2021.
- General requirements applicable to ICPEs subject to declaration under one of the headings 4440, 4441 or 4442
(Order of August 1, 2019)
Classified facilities subject to declaration under headings 4440, 4441, or 4442 must now apply the order of August 1, 2019 in place of the order of December 5, 2016. This applies to facilities using and storing solid oxidizing substances and mixtures in categories 1, 2 or 3, oxidizing liquids in categories 1, 2 or 3, or oxidizing gases in category 1, where the total quantity likely to be present in the facility is greater than or equal to 2 t, but less than 50 t.
The decree lays down requirements relating to layout (ventilation, electrical installations, boiler and battery charging rooms, retention tanks, etc.), operations (monitoring of operations, access control, product knowledge - labelling, state of oxidizer stocks, storage layout, reserves of products or consumables), risks (personal protection, fire-fighting resources, work permits, safety instructions, operating instructions, staff training), water (withdrawals, consumption, collection network and rainwater) and noise and vibration (noise limit values, vehicles - site machinery, operator monitoring of noise emissions). Facilities declared before January 1, 2020 are considered as existing and are exempt from certain obligations.
- AIPR mandatory for tipper truck drivers
(Order of February 15, 2012)
When working near networks and pipelines, employees must be issued an Autorisation d'Intervention à Proximité des Réseaux (AIPR) by their employer:
- persons carrying out work management or supervision on behalf of the project owner,
- persons working on behalf of the contractor as supervisors,
- and machine operators listed in Appendix 4 of the Order of February 15, 2012.
Dump truck drivers have been added to this list.
Conclusion
In conclusion, in a context of major regulatory changes, we invite you to check whether any of these measures apply to you, and if so, to study them in detail and implement them if you haven't already done so. Consult the regulatory summary of unavoidable EHS subjects or the list of regulatory provisions applicable on January 1, 2021.