Manufacturing basic metals covers primary and downstream metal production — integrated iron and steelworks, electric-arc steelmaking, aluminium and other non-ferrous smelting and refining, precious-metal production, tube making, and iron, steel and non-ferrous foundries. These are among the highest-hazard manufacturing activities there are: molten metal, hot work, heavy plant, process gases, fume and noise. They share one starting point: the workplace health and safety duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply to all of you. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates in Great Britain and HSENI in Northern Ireland.
Beyond that shared foundation, the rules diverge by the scale and nature of your plant — environmental permits, major-accident controls and, for a handful of sites, nuclear-fuel licensing — and by whether you place products such as structural steel on the market. Use the routes below to find the guides written for your kind of business.
Find your route
Identify the description that best fits what you make. If more than one applies — for example you run a foundry and also place castings on the market as construction products — follow every route that fits.
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1
Every basic-metal producer
Whatever you melt, cast, roll or refine, start with the universal spine. Follow "Set up and run a safe metal production plant" for your high-hazard health and safety, COSHH (metal fume and silica), explosive-atmospheres (DSEAR), work equipment, manual handling, fire safety, insurance, equality and data protection, plus the environmental permits and — at threshold — the COMAH major-accident controls for your installation.
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2
You place structural steel or metal products on the market
Structural steel and reinforcing steel to a designated standard (for example BS EN 1090), or other metal goods sold on. These need conformity assessment and conformity marking — UKCA, or CE which is still accepted on the GB market — and a declaration of performance before they go on sale. Follow "Place basic metal products on the GB market".
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3
You process nuclear fuel (SIC 24.46)
Enrichment, fuel fabrication or reprocessing of nuclear fuel cannot begin until the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has granted a nuclear site licence under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, alongside a radioactive-substances environmental permit. This is a regulator-distinct gateway covered in the production-plant guide — see "If you process nuclear fuel" in that guide.
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4
Confirm you have covered everything
Whatever you produce, finish with the basic metal manufacturer compliance checklist to confirm your obligations are met before a production campaign.
Open the guide you need
- Set up and run a safe metal production plant — the universal spine for every producer, including environmental permits, COMAH and the nuclear-fuel gateway.
- Place basic metal products on the GB market — conformity and marking for structural steel and metal products you sell.
- Basic metal manufacturer compliance checklist — confirm you have covered everything.
Official sources
Authoritative starting points for basic-metal production health and safety.