Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

[F1 5 General duty of persons in control of certain premises in relation to harmful emissions into atmosphere. U.K.

(1) [F2 Subject to subsection (5) below,]] It shall be the duty of the person having control of any premises of a class prescribed for the purposes of section 1(1)(d) to use the best practicable means for preventing the emission into the atmosphere from the premises of noxious or offensive substances and for rendering harmless and inoffensive such substances as may be so emitted.

(2) The reference in subsection (1) above to the means to be used for the purposes there mentioned includes a reference to the manner in which the plant provided for those purposes is used and to the supervision of any operation involving the emission of the substances to which that subsection applies.

(3) Any substance or a substance of any description prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1) above as noxious or offensive shall be a noxious or, as the case may be, an offensive substance for those purposes whether or not it would be so apart from this subsection.

(4) Any reference in this section to a person having control of any premises is a reference to a person having control of the premises in connection with the carrying on by him of a trade, business or other undertaking (whether for profit or not) and any duty imposed on any such person by this section shall extend only to matters within his control.

[F3 (5) The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply in relation to any process which is a prescribed process as from the date which is the determination date for that process.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) above, the “determination date” for a prescribed process is—

(a) in the case of a process for which an authorisation is granted, the date on which the enforcing authority grants it, whether in pursuance of the application or, on an appeal, of a direction to grant it;

(b) in the case of a process for which an authorisation is refused, the date of the refusal or, on an appeal, of the affirmation of the refusal.

(7) In subsections (5) and (6) above “authorisation”, “enforcing authority” and “prescribed process” have the meaning given in section 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the reference to an appeal is a reference to an appeal under section 15 of that Act.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 5 repealed (16.12.1996 for E.W. and otherwise prosp.) by Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43, SIF 46:4), ss. 162(2), 164(3), Sch. 16 Pt. I; S.I. 1996/3056, art. 2

F2 Words in s. 5 inserted (1.4.1991) by Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43, SIF 46:4), s. 162(1), Sch. 15 para. 14(a); S.I. 1991/1042, art.2

F3 S. 5(5)–(7) inserted (1.4.1991) by Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43, SIF 46:4), s. 162(1), Sch. 15 para. 14(b); S.I. 1991/1042, art.2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Ss. 1–25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 33, 34–59, 80, 81 and 82 applied by S.I. 1989/840, arts. 2–10

C2 Ss. 1-59, 80-82 applied (11.7.2001) by S.I. 2001/2127, arts. 4(1), 5(1)(2), 6(1), 7(1), 8(1), 10 (with art. 11) (as amended by S.I. 2009/1750, art. 2(2)(4))

C3 Ss. 1-59, 80-82 applied (temp.) (5.8.2009) by The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application outside Great Britain) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/2127), arts. 8A, 8B (as inserted by S.I. 2009/1750, art. 2(3))