Gas

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 aim to safeguard the public from the dangers arising from the use of gas, although they also set out some duties for employers.

Employers must ensure that gas-fitting work is carried out by a competent person. This must be someone who is, or is employed by, an organisation that is registered with the Gas Safe Register (www.gassaferegister.co.uk) and has therefore undergone suitable training and has sufficient experience.

Gas fittings must be of good construction, sound material, of adequate strength and size and appropriate for the type of gas being used. The installation of lead pipes is prohibited and there are controls on the use of non-metallic pipes and fittings. Steps must be taken to prevent the release of gas during work on a gas fitting and fittings must be sealed and tested for gas tightness after work is completed. The use of ignition sources is prohibited where there is a risk of fire or explosion.

Gas fittings must be protected from damage due to corrosion, or blockage by dust or dirt. Where alterations are made to premises where gas is used, the health and safety implications have to be taken into account. New gas supplies must have an emergency control provided, which can be the meter control if there is a meter.

The regulations also set out detailed requirements on:

• meters and meter housings and safe use of pipes;

• gas appliances — new gas appliances should conform to the Gas Appliances (Safety) Regulations 1995. These require that appliances are installed in compliance with the gas instructions. Employers must not use or permit the use of any unsafe appliance; and

• maintenance.

Gas safety ACoPs

Following the recommendation by Löfstedt that the HSE review all its approved codes of practice (ACoPs), it has consolidated two ACoPs on gas safety, L56, Safety in the installation and use of gas systems and appliances and COP20, Standards of training in safe gas installation, into a single revised ACoP (L56). In addition it withdrew L81, Design, construction and installation of gas service pipes, and replaced it with web-based guidance and referrals to existing industry guidance.

Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)

A public inquiry (www.theiclinquiry.org) into an explosion at ICL Plastics Ltd in Maryhill, Glasgow in May 2004, found many weaknesses in the safety regime in existence at the time. The explosion was caused by an LPG leak and killed nine people and injured many more. A subsequent report by Lord Gill in 2009 proposed a new regime for the use of LPG in industrial and commercial premises. At the ICL factory, LPG had leaked from an on-site underground metal pipe into the basement of the factory and ignited, causing an explosion which led to the collapse of the four story Victorian factory.

The HSE agreed a comprehensive programme with the UK LPG suppliers for buried metal pipe work to be replaced with newer and more robust plastic pipes. Businesses with buried metallic service pipework, which can corrode over time, were required to replace it with more durable materials, such as polyethylene. The oldest buried metallic service pipework in the least well-maintained condition and located in the most corrosive soils was targeted first.

The HSE gas micro site (www.hse.gov.uk/gas) includes information about the safe use of LPG.

Confined spaces

The third edition of the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) and guidance (L101) was published in December 2014. This explains the definition of a confined space in the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 and gives examples. It aims to help those involved in work within confined spaces, those who employ or train such people and those that represent them to assess the risk of working within a particular confined space and put precautions in place for work to be carried out safely. The revisions bring the document up to date with regulatory and other changes. The guidance has been simplified to make the understanding and use of the document easier, particularly with clarifying the definition of a confined space. It can be found on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l101.pdf

Pressure systems

The ACoP and guidance to the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 was updated for clarity at the end of 2014, but the HSE says that its content was not radically changed, as it was fit for purpose. It can be found on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l122.pdf. It is aimed at duty holders who are involved with pressure systems used at work: users, owners, competent persons, designers, manufacturers, importers, suppliers and installers of pressure systems used at work.