Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Which basic metal manufacturing regulations apply to your business

Every basic-metal producer shares the same high-hazard workplace-safety foundation, then the rules diverge by scale, process and what you place on the market — whether you run a steelworks, a non-ferrous smelter, a foundry, or a nuclear-fuel processing site.

Guide summary

Follow health and safety laws for your metal production plant, including the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Depending on what you make and sell, you may need environmental permits, major-accident controls (COMAH), or product conformity marking (UKCA or CE). If you process nuclear fuel, you must get a site licence from the Office for Nuclear Regulation before starting.

  • Follow the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for all metal production
  • Apply for environmental permits and COMAH controls if your site has major hazards
  • Get UKCA or CE marking and a declaration of performance for structural steel products
  • Obtain a nuclear site licence from ONR for fuel enrichment, fabrication or reprocessing
  • Use the basic metal manufacturer compliance checklist before each production campaign
  • Control risks from metal fume, silica, explosive atmospheres, noise and manual handling
  • Unlimited fines and up to 2 years in prison for serious health and safety breaches
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Basic-metal production — steelworks, electric-arc furnaces, non-ferrous smelting, precious-metal refining, tube making and foundries — is among the highest-hazard manufacturing there is: molten metal, hot work, heavy plant, process gases, fume and noise. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates workplace safety in Great Britain and HSENI in Northern Ireland. Beyond that foundation, the rules diverge by scale and process — environmental permits, major-accident controls, nuclear-fuel licensing — and by whether you place products such as structural steel on the market.

What you need to do

Identify the description that best fits what you make. If more than one applies, follow every obligation that applies.

  1. 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.

  2. 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".

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

Official sources

Authoritative starting points for basic-metal production health and safety.