Hazardous Substances Competent Person
Hazardous-substance risk assessment, substitution checks, exposure determination and protective-measure design, hazardous-substance register. A qualified competent person under GefStoffV § 2, distinct from the appointed Gefahrstoffbeauftragter; assessments follow TRGS 400/410.
GefStoffV § 2 (Fachkunde) · TRGS 400/410
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What is a Hazardous Substances Competent Person?
A Hazardous Substances Competent Person (fachkundige Person) is the qualified individual who prepares and underpins the hazardous-substance risk assessment in a business under the German Ordinance on Hazardous Substances (GefStoffV). § 6 Abs. 11 Satz 1 GefStoffV allows the risk assessment to be carried out only by qualified persons; where the employer lacks that knowledge, Satz 2 obliges them to take qualified advice. § 2 Abs. 16 GefStoffV defines what Fachkunde means. Technical rule TRGS 400 supplies the assessment method, and § 6 Abs. 12 GefStoffV governs the hazardous-substance register.
It is important to distinguish this role from an appointed Gefahrstoffbeauftragter. The GefStoffV does not mandate a named officer in the way some other regimes do; it requires that the risk assessment be carried out by, or with the involvement of, a person holding the necessary Fachkunde. The distinction matters in practice. An appointed officer is an organisational decision, with a letter of appointment, a defined remit and a deputy arrangement. Fachkunde under § 6 Abs. 11 GefStoffV attaches to the work product instead: it is either present for the assessment at hand or it is not, whatever job title the person carries.
The competent person identifies the hazardous substances present and the activities involving them, and evaluates the hazards along the aspects listed in § 6 Abs. 1 GefStoffV. A central element is the substitution check under § 6 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 4 GefStoffV: on the strength of it, § 7 Abs. 3 GefStoffV obliges the employer to substitute as a priority. Where a technically feasible substitution is waived, § 6 Abs. 8 Nr. 3 GefStoffV requires a justification once measures under § 9 or § 10 GefStoffV apply. The ranking of measures follows § 7 Abs. 4 GefStoffV.
The output is concrete and durable: a risk assessment documented under § 6 Abs. 8 GefStoffV, a register kept under § 6 Abs. 12 GefStoffV, and a defined set of protective measures with the rationale for each. Under § 19 Abs. 4 GefStoffV the competent authority may demand proof that a qualified person prepared the assessment. Common findings are a register that does not know a substance sitting in the store, a substitution check asserting a conclusion without naming the alternatives examined, and an assessment with no identifiable author. The organisation behind the role therefore counts too: a named deputy, and an orderly handover of assessment and register.
Duties of the Hazardous Substances Competent Person
- Prepare the hazardous-substance risk assessment under § 6 GefStoffV following TRGS 400; under § 6 Abs. 11 GefStoffV only a qualified person may do so.
- Identify hazardous substances and the activities involving them across the workplace.
- Carry out the substitution check under § 6 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 4 GefStoffV and justify any waiver under § 6 Abs. 8 Nr. 3 GefStoffV.
- Determine exposure where required and assess it against the occupational exposure limits of § 7 Abs. 8 GefStoffV.
- Design and prioritise technical, organisational and personal protective measures following the ranking in § 7 Abs. 4 GefStoffV.
- Maintain the hazardous-substance register under § 6 Abs. 12 GefStoffV with name, classification, quantity ranges, working areas and a reference to the safety data sheet.
- Define the operating manual under § 14 Abs. 1 GefStoffV and the basis for employee instruction under § 14 Abs. 2 GefStoffV.
- Review and update the risk assessment under § 6 Abs. 10 GefStoffV when substances, quantities or processes change.
- Document assessment and measures under § 6 Abs. 8 GefStoffV so the proof required by § 19 Abs. 4 GefStoffV can be produced.
- Advise the employer on the protection hierarchy and on residual-risk acceptance.
Appointment and qualification
Responsibility for the hazardous-substance risk assessment rests with the employer. The GefStoffV does not require a separately named officer in the manner of some other appointment regimes. What it requires, in § 6 Abs. 11 Satz 1, is that the assessment be carried out only by qualified persons, and in Satz 2 that an employer lacking that knowledge take qualified advice. Satz 3 names the occupational safety specialist and the company doctor as possible qualified persons. This is why the role is described as a competent person rather than an appointed Beauftragter.
Under § 2 Abs. 16 GefStoffV, Fachkunde is a functional standard: a person is qualified who holds the specialist knowledge the given task requires. The requirements scale with the type of task and cover relevant vocational training, or relevant professional experience, or recently exercised comparable work, plus attendance at specific refresher measures. A workplace handling only a few low-hazard substances needs less than one running complex chemical processes, where deeper expertise or external specialist support is appropriate.
The duty arises as soon as activities involving hazardous substances take place. Under § 7 Abs. 1 GefStoffV the employer may let such an activity start only after the assessment under § 6 has been carried out and the necessary protective measures taken, and § 6 Abs. 8 Satz 1 requires the assessment to be documented before the activity begins, whatever the headcount. The employer either ensures an internal person holds the Fachkunde or engages external expertise, and records who carried it, because § 19 Abs. 4 GefStoffV lets the authority demand exactly that proof. The assessment is then kept current under § 6 Abs. 10 GefStoffV.
- Starting any activity involving hazardous substances; § 7 Abs. 1 GefStoffV requires the assessment beforehand.
- Introduction of a new hazardous substance or process.
- Change in quantity, exposure conditions or way of working.
- New classification or safety data sheet information for a substance in use.
- Findings from incidents, measurements, workplace inspections or occupational health provision under § 6 Abs. 10 Satz 4 GefStoffV.
- Updated TRGS or exposure limits affecting the assessment.
Where the role is needed
- Chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing
- Metal processing, surface treatment and electroplating
- Paint, coating and adhesive production and application
- Laboratories in research, industry and healthcare
- Cleaning, disinfection and facility services
- Plastics and rubber processing
- Construction trades handling hazardous building materials
- Waste management and recycling operations
- Printing and packaging with solvents and inks
How CIVAC supports the Hazardous Substances Competent Person role
CIVAC keeps the hazardous-substance risk assessment, the substitution rationale and the register in one structured place rather than in disconnected spreadsheets. The documentation pillar holds each assessment with its protective measures and the reasoning behind them, so the basis for every decision stays retrievable for an authority or accident insurer. The register can be maintained with the entries required under § 6 Abs. 12 GefStoffV and linked to the relevant assessments. Tasks route the recurring review of the assessment, and re-checks triggered by a new substance or process, to the competent person, with reminders so updates are not missed. CIVAC also holds the competent person's Fachkunde evidence alongside, making it clear who carried responsibility for the assessment at any time.
Frequently asked questions
This page explains the duty. If you have already decided to hand the work over, these are the services that carry it.
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