CHRA stands for Chemical Health Risk Assessment. In Malaysia it is the written assessment that DOSH (JKKP) requires from every employer whose staff may be exposed to chemicals hazardous to health. It is not the HR exam that shares the same four letters.
Many organizations treat it as one report to file away. DOSH’s own text describes a chain of steps instead. Practitioners point to two weak spots: the chemical register is missing when the assessor arrives, and the finished report stays in a drawer.
In this guide, we follow that chain in DOSH’s own words, so you can see which step your site is missing:
USECHH is short for the Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Exposure Standards of Chemicals Hazardous to Health) Regulations. They have been in force since 2000. DOSH describes their purpose plainly: a legal framework to control exposure to chemicals hazardous to health in the workplace.
The Regulations carry two schedules of chemicals, Schedule I and Schedule II. Being missing from both does not take a chemical out of scope. If it is classified as hazardous to health under the CLASS Regulations and you use it at work, USECHH applies to it.
Safety officers use a simple check. Open the safety data sheet (SDS). If it shows a health hazard classification, the chemical goes on your list.
The rule itself is short. No employer may start work that could expose staff to chemicals hazardous to health without a written assessment first. In DOSH’s words, the employer must have “made a written assessment of the risk posed by the chemicals to the health of the employee.”
The order matters. The assessment comes first and the work second. That is why a CHRA is not just a tick-box: without it, the work should not start.
Under the USECHH Regulations, employers must identify and register every chemical hazardous to health used in the workplace. DOSH calls the record the Register of Chemicals Hazardous to Health. Most people simply call it the chemical register.
It is also the step many workplaces forget. One HSE practitioner sums up why it matters: if you don’t know what chemicals you have, you cannot manage the risk.
Practitioners make two more practical points. The register does not need a CHRA assessor to prepare it, and a safety and health officer or EHS staff member usually does. It should also be ready before the CHRA is carried out. Both points come from field practice, not from the wording of the Regulations.
DOSH is clear on this point. Employers must make sure chemical health risk assessments are carried out by assessors registered with the Department. DOSH publishes the list of CHRA registered persons on its Chemical Management page, so you can check a name before you hire.
Assessors train at centers recognized by DOSH. The training covers methods for assessing chemical hazards, judging whether controls are adequate and recommending the actions an employer should take. They follow DOSH’s Manual of Recommended Practice for chemical health risk assessment, now in its 3rd Edition (first reprint 2018).
An assessment is only as good as what the assessor sees. Practitioners note that the assessor judges exposure from observation on the day of the visit and from experience. So keep normal work running on that day, not a cleaned-up version of it.
For organizations with several similar sites, DOSH also describes a generic CHRA. A report made for one workplace can be used for another when both share the same activities and risks, with the same control measures in place. DOSH’s examples include gas station chains and fast food outlets. Laundries and plantations are on its list too.
The report is where the real work starts. DOSH states that the employer must act within one month of receiving the assessment report. That action may include changing processes, practices, work procedures, plant or engineering control equipment.
The goal is set out too. Exposure must come down to the lowest practicable level. For chemicals that have a permissible exposure limit, it must fall below that limit.
The report may also recommend chemical exposure monitoring (CEM), which measures workers’ exposure to chemicals in the air. Practitioners admit that its cost often pushes it down the list. Including it in the budget early makes it easier to justify to the employer, and DOSH itself advises budgeting for risk assessment as part of doing business.
A CHRA is not done once and forgotten. DOSH’s FAQ lists three situations that call for a new assessment:
Some reports bring the date forward. If the assessment grades a risk as C3, the employer makes improvements and then reassesses. For C4, the assessor proposes interim actions, the employer gathers the missing information on the chemical, and a reassessment follows soon after.
The official sources sit on DOSH’s own website, dosh.gov.my. Its Chemical Management page brings together the CHRA manual, the list of CHRA registered persons and the Self Assessment Checklist for the USECHH Regulations 2000.
The Regulations themselves were published as P.U.(A) 131/2000, which is the reference to search for when you need the PDF. DOSH’s English pages are translated from Malay, so check the Malay version when a term looks unclear.
Chemical health risk assessment and chemical exposure monitoring are both part of our assessment services. If your organization is not sure which step of the chain is missing, we can look at where you stand and what should come next.
Connect with us today to talk it through. Call or WhatsApp +6010 208 0698, email in**@*********************om.my, or get a free consultation.
CHRA means Chemical Health Risk Assessment. It is the written assessment of the risk that chemicals hazardous to health pose to employees, required under the USECHH Regulations 2000. A CHRA assessor registered with DOSH carries it out.
Yes, if any work may expose employees to chemicals hazardous to health. DOSH does not allow that work to go ahead until a written assessment of the risk has been made.
Yes, in both cases. DOSH says the CHRA is the employer’s responsibility even when the chemical’s use is small. It also says a subcontractor is an employer under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and must comply with the USECHH Regulations. For the food sector, DOSH adds that chemical additives count as chemicals hazardous to health, because they are not considered food.
You register the chemicals hazardous to health as defined in the USECHH Regulations, not every product on site. Practitioners point out that everyday items such as cleaning agents, printer toner or solvents still belong on the list when their SDS shows a health hazard classification.
Only an assessor registered with DOSH. DOSH publishes the list of CHRA registered persons on its website, so you can confirm a name before you appoint anyone.
At the latest every five years, and sooner after a significant change in the work or an instruction from DOSH. Reports that grade a risk as C3 or C4 need an earlier reassessment, once improvements are made or the missing information is in hand.
The employer can write to DOSH to request an extension of the time to carry out the assessment. DOSH also advises including safety and health activities, risk assessment among them, in the budget for doing business.
There is no fixed price. The cost depends on the site, the number of chemicals in use and the work involved. Contact us and we can help you scope it.
