Procedure for Purchase of chemicals

Purpose

Will be updated during 2025.

The purpose of this Procedure for Purchase of Chemicals is to ensure that the quantities of chemicals bought are minimised, and that those that are purchased are intended for use in the University’s activities. This document is also intended as support for developing detailed routines for handling chemicals safely, from reception to waste management, in terms of health and accident risks and the environment.

Responsibility and division of tasks

The head of department or equivalent is responsible for ensuring that purchases conform to this procedure.

The number of people who order chemicals should be restricted. Each department should appoint one or more procurement managers.

Scrutiny of invoices should be delegated to programme managers, group leaders or others in charge of projects for which chemicals need to be purchased. This is to reduce the risk of orders being placed for chemicals that are not intended for projects under Uppsala University’s aegis.

Packages that have arrived at the goods reception must be retrieved by only a limited number of people, who are aware of the types of products that have been ordered.

Preparations for ordering chemicals

If any aspects of the procurement procedure are unclear, the chemical coordinator at the Buildings Division can help. At the Staff Portal (Medarbetarportalen), information in various areas relating to handling of chemicals is available.

Risk assessment

Anyone wishing to buy a chemical must, before placing an order, carry out a risk assessment to prevent risks that may arise anywhere along the procurement chain. The entire handling process, from purchasing to waste management, needs to be risk-assessed.

Permission or prohibition

For certain chemicals, a handling permit from, for example, the Swedish Work Environment Authority is required. Handling of other chemicals is prohibited, and some handling also requires special measures.

Permits are required, for example, for certain carcinogenic, sensitising or reprotoxic substances. Appendix

1 of Chemical Hazards in the Working Environment, in the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s Statute Book (AFS 2011:19), lists substances that are prohibited or require a permit. In the KLARA system for handling of chemicals, there are searchable lists in which, for example, substances authorised for the department may be found. Contact the KLARA administrator if questions arise about the system’s functions. . When suppliers receive orders for substances for which permits are required, they must assure themselves that the person placing the order has a permit.

In addition, handling of CMR substances labelled with the hazard statement code H350, H340 or H360 requires an investigation showing that it is technically impossible to replace the product with a less hazardous one. For further information about handling of CMR substances, see the Staff Portal, under ‘Working environment and occupational health A–Z’.

Under the Swedish Act (1999:42) on the prohibition of certain goods dangerous to health, authorisation is required for certain substances that, owing to their intrinsic properties, may be hazardous and serve the purpose of attaining intoxication or other effects. The Ordinance (SFS 1999:58) on the prohibition of certain goods dangerous to health contains an appendix listing the substances in question. Contact Uppsala University’s Chemical Coordinator if such a substances is to be purchased. The Chemical Coordinator has a delegation to apply for a permit for the handling of this type of substance.

Training requirements

For certain allergenic chemical products, training certificates are required prior to the start of handling. This includes work with diisocyanates, epoxy resins, organic acid anhydrides, formaldehyde resins, methacrylates or acrylates labelled with H317 or H334. More information on how to obtain training to handle allergenic chemical products is available on the Staff Portal.

Medical examinations

Under provisions on occupational medical examinations in the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s Statute Book (AFS 2019:3), certain work requires the employer to arrange health checks for staff before work begins. This applies, for example, where there is a risk of exposure to lead or cadmium, and to work involving some of the allergenic chemical products that are marked with H317 or H334. Other medical examinations should be offered to employees under the same legislation, but the employee may decline the offer. On issues concerning medical examinations, contact the unit for environment and physical work environment at Uppsala University’s Buildings Division.

Volume minimisation

To avoid accumulation of packages containing chemicals that are never used, it is important to make an effort to order only the estimated quantity required for use. To reduce the number of shipments, orders should be coordinated as far as possible.

Substitution principle

The University must work actively to replace dangerous chemical products with less dangerous ones where possible. Suppliers are required to provide information about alternative products if these are included in the supplier’s range. As a purchaser, you can assist in making this substitution process work by posing pertinent questions to the supplier when you order chemicals.

Placing orders

Framework agreements

Through procurements, Uppsala University has concluded agreements for purchase of chemicals. Orders should be made through Produktwebben (the University’s e-commerce system) whenever possible. If a product is missing from Produktwebben, contact the Procurement and Purchase Office.

Supplier selection is based on at least one of three criteria: quality, delivery time or lowest price on the call-off date. It is permissible to buy outside agreements where a chemical used previously in an ongoing project is required. The University’s framework agreements are listed on the Staff Portal under ‘Ordering goods and services/Uppsala universitets ramavtal’. Contact the Procurement and Purchase Office if you have any questions about the procedure for ordering chemicals.

For import and/or purchase of notifiable products from other EU or EEA countries, an activity report is required. There is a single activity report for the whole of Uppsala University. The University’s work is intended, as far as possible, to make use of chemical distributors in the EU, who then assume responsibility for importing the goods. If purchases from countries outside the EU or EEA are essential, the department (or corresponding unit) becomes the responsible importer. A Classification and Labelling Inventory to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), for example, may be necessary. To import/purchase a quantity exceeding 100 kg per product (in total at the entire university), the products must be reported to the Swedish Chemicals Agency’s Products Register.

Read more at the Staff Portal or contact the chemical coordinator at the unit for environment and physical work environment if you have any questions.

At the goods reception

Different campuses have different procedures for managing incoming goods. In these procedures it must, for example, be defined how communication between the goods reception and the purchasers and/or recipients of goods is to take place. Either purchasers or recipients can contact the goods reception to check whether the goods ordered have arrived, or the goods reception can inform purchasers or recipients that the goods have been delivered. There must also be a written account of the procedure for recording collection or receipt of goods.

When an ordered item is received from the carrier, a check of whether the package is intact, with no visible damage to the outer packaging material, is carried out. In the event of extensive damage to the packaging, with obvious leakage, the goods should not be accepted. Contact the purchaser if anything is unclear.

When goods are transported along the corridors, care must be taken to use the most appropriate route for such products as chemicals, which may have various dangerous properties. Check with the campus management of the relevant campus area to find out whether there are any special procedures for internal transport of dangerous goods.

At the department

Handling

When the product is unpacked at the department, it must be placed in an appropriate storage area. A decision on which area to use must have been made in connection with the risk assessment carried out before the goods were ordered. Decisions must also then have been made on any special labelling measures required before the goods are placed in a storage area. Bear in mind, in particular, the risks posed by large quantities of flammable goods; the fact that especially dangerous substances must be kept inaccessible to unauthorised persons; and the incompatibility of certain chemicals, making them unsafe to store together. See also the University’s Procedure for the Storage of Chemical Products (UFV 2019/1705) and Procedure for the Labelling of Chemical Products (UFV 2019/1706).

The product must be registered in the KLARA system for handling of chemicals. Each department must have at least one KLARA inventory clerk who administers the chemicals register. Everyone who handles chemicals must have access to KLARA. It is possible to e.g. search for safety data sheets without being logged in but information for a specific department is not visible in that case. For more access, personal login is required.

Access to chemical storerooms

Chemical storage facilities can be subject to various access permits. The department decides who is to have access to these areas. The number of people with access to the storerooms should be restricted, without encroaching on the scope for researchers and laboratory staff to carry out their duties in the laboratory. The options range from keeping the storage area locked, with a limited number of people having keys or access cards, to giving everyone access to the storeroom.

Waste disposal

The University has an agreement with a contractor for disposal of chemical waste. To learn about local procedures for handling chemical waste, contact the campus management. General procedures for waste handling are available at the staff portal. Consider the risks of transporting chemical waste indoors. There must be procedures for clearing out chemicals that are no longer used. Removal may be done in conjunction with the annual KLARA inventory.

Just as a new employee is given an induction on being recruited, so when a position comes to an end there must be a procedure that includes a review of chemicals used in the completed project. What other members of the department do not need must be discarded. Check what permits have been granted for the project work, such as for use of chemicals or work on genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs). Notify the chemical coordinator or the biosafety coordinator respectively at the unit for environment and physical work environment if any substances subject to a permit requirement or reporting obligation are to be discarded. If the required permits for Group A and Group B substances listed in Appendix 1 of Chemical Hazards in the Working Environment (AFS 2014:43), for example, are not obtained the consequence may be a sanction charge from the Swedish Work Environment Authority.