Do I Need a CHRA in Malaysia?

Yes. A CHRA is mandatory in any workplace that uses chemicals hazardous to health. Under the Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000 (USECHH), an employer must not carry out work that may expose, or is likely to expose, employees to such chemicals unless a written Chemical Health Risk Assessment (CHRA) has been done first, by an assessor registered with DOSH. Review it at least every five years, sooner after a significant change, or when DOSH directs.

What is a CHRA under USECHH?

The Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000 (USECHH) set the expectation for how chemicals hazardous to health are managed at Malaysian workplaces. The Regulations do not always use the term “CHRA”. The legal duty, set out in Regulation 9, is a written assessment of the risks to employee health from these chemicals. Industry and DOSH call it a Chemical Health Risk Assessment (CHRA), or Penilaian Risiko Bahan Kimia Berbahaya kepada Kesihatan in Malay.

• The duty (Regulation 9(1)): an employer shall not carry out any work which may expose, or is likely to expose, any employee to a chemical hazardous to health unless he has made a written assessment of the risks that chemical creates to the employee’s health.
• What the assessment must cover (Regulation 9(2)), among other things:
  • the potential risks to health from the chemical
  • methods and procedures of use, and the nature of the hazard
  • the degree of exposure, and risk from use or release
  • control measures already in place, and measures for accidental emission
  • whether exposure monitoring is necessary
  • whether health surveillance is necessary
  • training and retraining under Regulation 22
• DOSH guidance: assessors follow DOSH’s Manual of Recommended Practice on Assessment of the Health Risks Arising from the Use of Chemicals Hazardous to Health at the Workplace (3rd Edition, First Reprint 2018). The Manual guides how competent persons do the work. It does not replace the Regulations.

Does my workplace need a CHRA?

CHRA is mandatory in any workplace that uses chemicals hazardous to health. Work through these four questions:

1. Is this a place of work under OSHA 1994 where chemicals hazardous to health are used? “Use” under USECHH includes production, processing, handling, storage, transport, disposal and treatment.
2. Is the chemical hazardous to health? (See below.)
3. Does a Regulation 3 exception apply? (See below.)
4. If the answer to the first two is yes and no exception applies, a written CHRA is required before that work starts (Regulation 9).

• Is it a chemical hazardous to health? In practice, start with the product’s Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and its hazard classification under the Occupational Safety and Health (Classification, Labelling and Safety Data Sheet of Hazardous Chemicals) Regulations 2013 [P.U.(A) 310/2013] (CLASS 2013). Then check the other routes in USECHH Regulation 2: chemicals listed in Schedule I or II, pesticides under the Pesticides Act 1974, and chemicals listed in the First Schedule of the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 1989. If the result points to a chemical hazardous to health and employees may be exposed, treat Regulation 9 as in play unless a Regulation 3 exception clearly applies.
• Exposure is not only a factory issue. The trigger is work that may expose, or is likely to expose, any employee. Handling, storage, transport, cleaning, laboratory work and workshop solvents can all fall inside “use”.
• Regulation 3 exceptions. USECHH does not apply to, among other limited cases: radioactive materials under the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304); foodstuffs; substances hazardous to health solely because of explosive or flammable properties, or solely because of high or low temperature or high pressure; and pharmaceutical products. If you think an exception applies, confirm the current Regulation 3 text with your DOSH state office. Do not stretch these carve-outs.
• Everyday cleaners and “office chemicals”. In MESH’s practice, we check the SDS and the CLASS hazard classification. If the product is classified as hazardous to health, USECHH can still apply even if the chemical feels routine. Irritants and corrosives are common on cleaning products. If it is classified as hazardous, treat Regulation 9 as in play unless a Regulation 3 exception clearly applies.

Who can conduct a CHRA, and how often must it be reviewed?

• Only a registered assessor. Regulation 11 requires the employer to ensure the assessment is conducted by an assessor. Under Regulation 2, an assessor is an employee or other person appointed by the employer and registered with the Director General.
• Check the list. In practice, use a person on DOSH’s registered CHRA assessor list, available from the DOSH chemical management portal, and confirm the individual’s current registration before you appoint them. Do not appoint an unregistered colleague because they know chemicals.
• MESH’s team. MESH has DOSH-registered Chemical Health Risk Assessment (CHRA) Assessors, plus Hygiene Technician 1 and Hygiene Technician 2 for related monitoring and LEV work.
• Review (Regulation 10). The assessment must be reviewed if:
  • there has been a significant change in the work it relates to;
  • more than five years have passed since the last assessment; or
  • the Director General, Deputy Director General or a Director of Occupational Safety and Health directs a review.
• What counts as a significant change? The Regulation does not list examples. In practice: a new process line, a new chemical hazardous to health, a major change to engineering or work controls, or a substantial change in how a chemical is used or stored. Diarise the five-year date and reopen the assessment earlier when the work or chemicals change.

What happens after the assessment?

• Regulation 12: the assessor gives the report to the employer within one month of completing the assessment. If there is immediate danger, the assessor must tell the employer immediately.
• Regulation 13: the employer keeps the report for not less than 30 years, in good order, and makes it available to the Director General or to exposed employees on request.
• Regulation 14: if the report calls for action to eliminate or reduce exposure, the employer must carry it out within one month of receiving the report. That may mean changes to process, practice, plant or engineering controls. Exposure should be reduced to the lowest practicable level, or below the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) where one is assigned.
• Follow-on duties only where indicated. Exposure monitoring, health surveillance and further training (Regulation 22, reviewed at least once every two years) follow where the assessment or the Regulations indicate they are needed. They do not happen automatically after every CHRA.
• Chemical register (Regulation 5). Alongside the CHRA, the employer must keep a register of chemicals hazardous to health used at the place of work, and keep it accessible to employees who may be exposed. It covers the list of chemicals, current SDS, average monthly or yearly quantities, process and work areas, and supplier details.

Keep CHRA, CEM and LEV examination distinct. The CHRA decides what else is needed. CEM and LEV are follow-on duties when indicated.

Full chemical management services (CHRA, CEM, LEV inspection and monitoring, and chemical safety and spill training) are on MESH’s Hazardous Chemical Management page. Broader chemical register and SDS support is on our DOSH / JKKP Compliance page.

Getting a CHRA done: steps and common mistakes

The steps most employers follow:

1. Compile your chemical register and current SDS pack (Regulation 5 sits alongside the CHRA).
2. Engage a DOSH-registered CHRA assessor, and check their registration on DOSH’s list before you appoint them. Contact MESH for a free quotation and our DOSH-registered assessors will scope the work for your site: request a CHRA quotation.
3. Support the site assessment: walk-through, process information, controls and exposed groups.
4. Receive the written report (Regulation 12 timeline).
5. Carry out the recommended actions within one month where action is required (Regulation 14). Arrange CEM or LEV examination if the report, or Regulation 17 or 26, indicates it.
6. Diarise the five-year review, and reopen the assessment earlier after a significant change or a DOSH direction.

MESH’s practice: We provide quotations based on the number of chemicals used at your site, its location and the complexity of the assessment. Send your chemical list or register through the contact form on our Contact page and we will send a free quotation within 24 hours.

Common mistakes we see:

• Assuming “no factory means no CHRA”. Offices, clinics, hospitality, warehouses and cleaning contractors can still use chemicals hazardous to health.
• Ignoring cleaners, solvents and workshop aerosols because they feel routine.
• Treating the CHRA as a one-off, and forgetting the five-year and significant-change triggers in Regulation 10.
• Confusing a CHRA with HIRARC paperwork. HIRARC does not automatically satisfy the USECHH written chemical assessment.
• Assuming that appointing an OSH Coordinator or Safety and Health Officer (SHO) removes the need for a CHRA. It is a different duty.

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