Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Poland is a leader in a new European project titled "Chemical Safety Management Training Hub for Chemicals Users" - ChemSM-HUB.

ChemSM-HUB is a 3-year project (01/09/2017 - 31/08/2020) funded by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Union which aims to develop comprehensive training packages on Chemical Safety

Management (CSM) for the following target groups:

1. Downstream users (DU) and distributors (D) of chemicals involved in Chemical Safety Management activities
2. OSH specialists among downstream users (DU) and distributors (D) of chemicals
   

Starting from 2006, EU legislation on chemicals has undergone crucial changes due to the introduction of regulations for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) aiming at the better protection of human health and environment. While awareness of these new legal obligations in leading chemical companies seems to be satisfying, there is still a strong need to improve the level of relevant competences and skills among smaller actors and actors with less chemical knowledge in the supply chains. Downstream users (DU) and distributors (D) of chemicals are present in every branch of industry. DU is anyone established within the Community, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who uses a substance, either on their own or in combination, in the course of industrial or professional activities and D is anyone, established within the Community, including a retailer, who only stores and places on the market a substance, on its own or in a mixture, for third parties. Free movement of goods (including chemicals) across Europe forces them to fulfill the EU legal standards. Nevertheless, funds for Chemical Safety Management (CSM) trainings are lacking and the offer of non-commercial courses is insufficient.

The evaluation of REACH and Chemicals Legislation (CLP) implementation leads to the conclusion that people responsible for chemical safety among DU and also D are insufficiently trained and often lack the knowledge and understanding of the EU legislation in this field. Especially when it comes to skills to classify chemical mixtures and assess the exposure in working environment, relatively lower awareness and insufficient legal and educational support has been found.
The main project aim is to design and deliver innovative vocational training on the elements of CSM, integrated with an e-learning hub and mobile application, dedicated mainly to employees responsible for CSM among downstream users and to distributors of chemicals. The training will help to better understand and fulfill legal duties. In order to ensure high quality of the training, all materials and tools will be progressively developed, evaluated and peer-reviewed by the project consortium (5 organizations from 4 countries). To ensure strong cooperation between the world of education and the world of work, the training materials and used tools will be verified based on the feedback from target groups representing DU and D. This exchange of knowledge between education/training institutions and labour market will enable to adapt the training package to the real needs of the enterprises.

Contact information
Daria.Pakulska@imp.lodz.pl
bezpieczeństwo.chemiczne@imp.lodz.pl

Project coordinator
NIOM - Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland

Project partners
Prolepsis Institute, Greece
Romtens Foundation, Romania
KOOP - Kooperationsstelle Hamburg IFE, Germany
TUL - Politechnika Lodzka (the Lodz University of Technology), Poland

Human Resources Strategy for Researchers

Asbestos

Quality policy in laboratories

Central Register of Occupational Diseases