Every company should already be familiar with the Risk Inventory and Evaluation, in other words: the RI&E. But not everyone knows his youngest brother ARIE yet. Who is this newcomer? And perhaps more importantly: do you have to do something with it? Our law and regulation expert René Uijtdewilligen will help you out.
ARIE stands for Supplementary Risk Inventory and Evaluation: a new regulation for companies that work with hazardous substances. Think of ARIE as an addition to the RI&E, which has been obliging companies with staff for years to keep working conditions in line with the Working Conditions Act.
So only the A is new. But according to René, that one letter raises quite a few questions. “The arrival of ARIE means that companies must, among other things, identify which substances pose a potential risk to their employees. And how much of those hazardous substances you have in your home. Do the quantities of hazardous substances exceed the threshold values? Then the company is subject to ARIE.
Total picture
Many customers ask us whether our products contain substances that fall under the ARIE. Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut answer to that question. “It’s about the total picture of quantities of raw materials and end products,” says René. “There are many categories of substances that you should take a good look at. Corrosive substances, for example, but also flammable substances. The ARIE has different threshold values for all those categories. Companies will therefore have to work on the inventory themselves.”
“It takes a while, but safety comes first”
Spectro products
According to René, this starts with mapping out the labeling of your (stored) products. Also the labels of our cleaning products. “It is important to take a good look at the raw materials, because they are undiluted,” says our expert on laws and regulations. “But an end product can also fall under ARIE, such as cleaning agents with a skin-corrosive substance, such as a strong acid.”
Report
Did you do the math? Then you know whether you exceed the ARIE threshold. “If you stay below the threshold, you don’t have to do anything,” says René. “But will you get over it? Then you must report this to the Labor Inspectorate. You still have some time for that, because they will only enforce from 1 January 2024.”
René understands better than anyone that it is quite a bit of a hassle. Nevertheless, he advises clients to map out the situation as soon as possible. “It takes a while, but we all have to do it. Besides, of course you do it for something. Safety at work should always be number one. Sometimes it is possible to move to less classified or even unclassified products. Our sales team is happy to advise on this.”