The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Biological Agents) Regulations 2010

Assessment of health risks

6.—(1) In the case of any activity likely to involve a risk of exposure, the employer shall—

(a) in carrying out the risk assessment required by regulation 7 of the General Duties Regulations—

(i) determine the nature, degree and duration of workers’ exposure in order to make it possible to assess any risk to the workers’ health and safety and to lay down the measures to be taken;

(ii) assess that risk on the basis of the danger presented by all hazardous biological agents present in the case where any activity involves exposure to several groups of biological agents;

(iii) have regard to regulation 19(1); and

(iv) identify those workers for whom special protective measures may be required;

(b) conduct that assessment on the basis of all available information including—

(i) the classification of biological agents which are or may be a hazard to human health;

(ii) recommendations from the Secretary of State which indicate that a biological agent should be controlled in order to protect workers’ health when workers are or may be exposed to it as a result of their work;

(iii) information on diseases which may be contracted as a result of the work of the workers;

(iv) potential allergenic or toxigenic effects as a result of the work of the workers; and

(v) knowledge of a disease from which a worker is found to be suffering and which has a direct connection with that worker’s work;

(c) renew that assessment regularly and in any event when any change occurs in the conditions which may affect workers’ exposure; and

(d) supply the Secretary of State on request with the information used for making that assessment.

(2) An assessment carried out in accordance with this regulation, whether for the first time or by way of renewal, is in these Regulations called a regulation 6 assessment.