All about the Swiss Chemicals Act
If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later. ― Lewis Carroll
Situation
The Swiss Chemicals Act (ChemA) and the Chemicals Ordinance (ChemO) require that:
- Any business handling or trading any dangerous product must designate a "contact person" according to SR 813.113.11.
- Any person who sells or hands out certain dangerous products ("class 1" and "class 2") to certain clients must possess the permit "remittance of chemicals" according to SR 813.131.21.
This affects every business in Switzerland where dangerous chemicals are bought, sold, imported or exported, transported, produced, stored, used or disposed of - regardless of the core activity and the size of the company! (If you are unsure whether you are affected: please free to call us, we're happy to serve you!)
What is "dangerous"?
Swiss law considers any product that carries any of the 9 CLP pictograms shown above as dangerous. Any company who handles, sell or uses such a product must designate a "contact person".
Within these products, there are two particular sub-categories:
- Group 2 are products with pronounced dangers (e.g. H314: Causes severe skin burns and eye damage). These can be sold to private users, provided that (a) the user is actively informed about the properties of the product at the point of sales and (b) the seller (vendor) has a valid permit "remittance of chemicals" according to SR 813.131.21.
- Group 1 are dangerous products with extreme dangers, such as highly toxic compounds (e.g. H310: Fatal in contact with skin), carcinogens (e.g. H340: May cause genetic defects, H350: May cause cancer) and all explosives. These must only be handed to professional users and the same remittance restrictions as for Group 2 apply.
- Note that both conditions – information of the user, permit for the vendor – must always be fulfilled, even if the products are sold e.g. via Internet and/or shipped by mail!
Skills needed
The skills and expertise required are defined in the corresponding regulations (SR 813.113.11 for the "contact person", SR 813.131.21 for the "remittance of chemicals"). The latter is assessed by a formal test and accompanied by an official certificate. — To pass the test, it is not enough to have some basic knowledge of chemistry. The real emphasis is on the knowledge of the applicable laws and regulations, the capability to read and understand and interpret a material safety data sheet, to resolve technical questions by yourself and to be able to advise the customer!
Training and Certification
We offer a comprehensive training program that covers all aspects of the Swiss Chemicals Act and related regulations. All our courses are run in a highly interactive, down-to-earth workshop atmosphere and are available both as "open", public training and as in-house training:
- Contact person. 1-day course for anyone affected by the Swiss regulations on chemicals: active and future "contact persons", HSE officers, company owners and managers, employees from purchasing and logistics in wholesale and retail trade, internal and external auditors. The course material is available in German and French and we can also hold this course with english-speaking moderation. 1 day. — Next dates: (FR) Lausanne: 26 Oct 2017. – (DE) Bern: 03 Nov 2017. – To register, please follow this link.
- Remittance of chemicals. This is "the" official 2-day training course with exam for anyone who wishes to acquire or refresh the permit according to SR 813.131.21: salespeople and customer advisors, employees in wholesale and retail trade. The course material is available in German and French and we can also hold this course with english-speaking moderation. 2 days. — Next starting dates: (FR) Lausanne: 22 Sep 2017 + 26 sep. – (DE) Bern: 27 Oct 2017 + 30. Okt. – (FR) Delémont: 30 Nov 2017 + 01 déc. – To register, please follow this link.
- Remittance of chemicals / Brush-up course. Special 1-day course for people who already possess the permit according to SR 813.131.21 but need to brush up their knowledge on the latest developments. Note: if your permit is older than approx. 2012, we strongly recommend that you re-take the "full" training course. The course material is available in German and French and we can also hold this course with english-speaking moderation. 1 day. — Next dates: (FR) Lausanne: 26 Oct 2017. – (DE) Bern: 03 Nov 2017. – To register, please follow this link.
- Introduction to GHS and ADR. 1-day course covering storage, transport and shipping of chemicals. This course is an introduction according to ADR 1.3.2.1 and is aimed at anyone who is involved in the packaging, transport or postal dispatch of chemicals: manufacturers, resellers, retailers, product managers, employees from purchasing, sales and logistics. The course material is currently available in German and French and we can also hold this course with english-speaking moderation. 1 day. — Next dates: (FR) Lausanne: 02 Nov 2017. – (DE) Bern: 17 Nov 2017. – To register, please follow this link.
Contact / Register
To register for any public training, follow this link: Dates and Registration.
Do you have any questions, do you need help, do you want to book an in-house course? All our courses are also available as in-hourse training. Just get in touch with us!