INDG136 (rev3) COSHH: A brief guide to the …

1 This leaflet is written mainly for employers to help them to meet their specificduties under COSHH. It will also be useful to safety representatives, healthand safety professionals and anyone interested in health and safety COSHH mattersUsing chemicals or other hazardous substances at work can put people s health atrisk, so the law requires employers to control exposure to hazardous substances toprevent ill health. They have to protect both employees and others who may beexposed by complying with the Control of Substances Hazardous to HealthRegulations 2002 (COSHH) (as amended).COSHH is a useful tool of good management which sets eight basic measures thatemployers, and sometimes employees, must take. These are set out in this leafletwith a simple step-by-step approach which will help you to assess risks, implementany measures needed to control exposure and establish good working you as an employer fail to adequately control hazardous substances, youremployees or others may become ill.

2 Effects from hazardous substances rangefrom mild eye irritation to chronic lung disease or, on occasions, death. This may:nresult in lost productivity to your business;nleave you liable to enforcement action, including prosecution under the COSHHR egulations;nresult in civil claims from your can be positive benefits to your business from carefully following through therequirements of COSHH: nimproved productivity as a result of using more effective controls (eg less use ofraw material);nimproved employee morale;nbetter employee understanding and compliance with health and of all publications mentioned in this leaflet may be found in the referencesection at the end of this leaflet. All publication titles are in substancesHazardous substances include:nsubstances used directly in work activities (eg adhesives, paints, cleaningagents);Health and Safety ExecutiveCOSHH: A brief guide to the RegulationsWhat you need to know about the Control of SubstancesHazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)COSHH: a brief guide to the RegulationsHealth and Safety ExecutiveCOSHH: A brief guide to theRegulationsWhat you need to know about the Control of SubstancesHazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)1 of 12 pagesThis is a web-friendlyversion of leafletINDG136(rev3), revised04/05nsubstances generated during work activities (eg fumes from soldering andwelding);nnaturally occurring substances (eg grain dust);nbiological agents such as bacteria and other are hazardous substances found?

3 In nearly all work environments, for example:nfactories;nshops;nmines;nfarms; nlaboratories; of hazardous substancesExamples of the effects of hazardous substances include:nskin irritation or dermatitis as a result of skin contact;nasthma as a result of developing allergy to substances used at work;nlosing consciousness as a result of being overcome by toxic fumes;ncancer, which may appear long after the exposure to the chemical that caused it;ninfection from bacteria and other micro-organisms (biological agents).What COSHH requiresTo comply with COSHH you need to follow these eight steps:2 of 12 pagesCOSHH: A brief guide to the RegulationsHealth and Safety ExecutiveStep 1 Assess the risksAssess the risks to health from hazardous substancesused in or created by your workplace 2 Decide what precautions areneeded You must not carry out work which could expose youremployees to hazardous substances without firstconsidering the risks and the necessary precautions,and what what else you need to do to comply 3 Prevent or adequatelycontrol exposure You must prevent your employees being exposed tohazardous substances.

4 Where preventing exposure isnot reasonably practicable, then you must adequatelycontrol it. The advice in this leaflet, and in the otherguidance it refers to, will help you to make correctassessments and to put the appropriate controls 4 Ensure that controlmeasures are used andmaintained Ensure that control measures are used andmaintained properly and that safety procedures 5 Monitor the exposureMonitor the exposure of employees to hazardoussubstances, if 6 Carry out appropriate healthsurveillance Carry out appropriate health surveillance where yourassessment has shown this is necessary or whereCOSHH sets specific 7 Prepare plans andprocedures to deal with withaccidents, incidents andemergencies Prepare plans and procedures to deal with accidents,incidents and emergencies involving hazardoussubstances, where 8 Ensure employees areproperly informed, trainedand supervisedYou should provide your employees with suitable andsufficient information.

5 Instruction and isa substance hazardous to health under COSHH?Under COSHH there are a range of substances regarded as hazardous to health:nSubstances or mixtures of substances classified as dangerous to health underthe Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations2002 (CHIP). These can be identified by their warning label and the suppliermust provide a safety data sheet for them. Many commonly used dangeroussubstances are listed in the HSE publication Approved Supply List. Informationapproved for the classification and labelling of substances and preparationsdangerous for supply, as part of the CHIP package. Suppliers must decide ifpreparations and substances that are not in the Approved Supply Listaredangerous, and if so, label them with workplace exposure limits are listed in the HSE publicationEH40/2005 Workplace exposure agents (bacteria and other micro-organisms), if they are directlyconnected with the work, such as with farming, sewage treatment, orhealthcare, or if the exposure is incidental to the work (eg exposure to bacteriafrom an air-conditioning system that is not properly maintained).

6 NAny kind of dust if its average concentration in the air exceeds the levelsspecified in other substance which creates a risk to health, but which for technicalreasons may not be specifically covered by CHIP including: asphyxiants (iegases such as argon and helium, which, while not dangerous in themselves,can endanger life by reducing the amount of oxygen available to breathe),pesticides, medicines, cosmetics or substances produced in is nota substance hazardous to health under COSHH?COSHH applies to virtually all substances hazardous to health except:nasbestos and lead, which have their own regulations;nsubstances which are hazardous only because they are: - radioactive; - at high pressure; - at extreme temperatures; or - have explosive or flammable properties (other regulations apply to theserisks);nbiological agents that are outside the employer s control, eg catching aninfection from a workmate.

7 (If in doubt, please contact HSE for advice.)For the vast majority of commercial chemicals, the presence (or not) of a warninglabel will indicate whether COSHH is relevant. For example, there is no warninglabel on ordinary household washing-up liquid, so if it s used at work you do nothave to worry about COSHH; but there is a warning label on bleach, and soCOSHH does apply to its use in the of 12 pagesCOSHH: A brief guide to the RegulationsHealth and Safety ExecutiveStep 1: Assess the risksYour first step is to decide whether there is a problem with the substance(s) yourcompany is using, or those to which your employees are incidentally exposed. Thisis called a risk assessment. You must:nidentify the hazardous substances present in your workplace;nconsider the risks these substances present to people s the hazardous substances present in your workplaceLook at the list on page 3.

8 Remember to think about substances which have beensupplied to you; those produced by your work activity, eg fumes, vapours,aerosols, final products and waste materials; and those naturally or incidentallypresent in your workplace, eg infectious agents carried by farm sources of information which will help you identify hazardous substances are:ntrade associations;nother employers in the same business;nHSE website ( ) and HSE guidance, such as EH40/2005 Workplace exposure limits;nHSE publication CHIP Approved Supply List;nthe the risks these substances present to people s healthAssessing the risk involves making a judgement on how likely it is that a hazardoussubstance will affect someone s health. You need to ask yourself:nHow much of the substance is in use or produced by the work activity andhow could people be exposed to it? For supplied substances HSE hasdeveloped a generic risk assessment guide to help.

9 It uses information onhazard, amount used and simple definitions of dustiness for solids or volatilityfor liquids. The guide is called COSHH essentials: Easy steps to controlchemicals. The guide also helps you with the next two steps deciding whataction you need to take to control risks and controlling exposure. As well asthe published version, COSHH essentialscan be found free on the Internet , where you can follow the steps quickly andeasily could be exposed to the substance and how often? You must rememberto include all groups of people who could come into contact with thesubstance, ie contractors, visitors and members of the public, as well as youremployees. Do not forget those involved in cleaning and maintenance tasks high exposures can occur during this type of work. Also, certain groups ofpeople could suffer more from exposure than others, eg pregnant women,individuals with a suppressed immune there a possibility of substances being absorbed through the skin orswallowed (eg as a result of a substance getting into the mouth fromcontaminated hands during eating or smoking)?

10 Are there risks to youremployees at other locations if they work away from your main workplace? See the HSE guidance Working alone in safety for solitary workers away fromtheir home of 12 pagesCOSHH: A brief guide to the RegulationsHealth and Safety ExecutiveStep 1 Assess the risksStep 2 Decide whatprecautions are neededStep 3 Prevent oradequately controlexposureStep 4 Ensure thatcontrol measures are used andmaintainedStep 5 Monitor exposureStep 6 Carry outappropriate healthsurveillanceStep 7 Prepare plans andprocedures to deal withaccidents,incidents and emergenciesStep 8 Ensure thatemployees are properly informed,trained andsupervisedWho should do the assessment?As the employer, legal responsibility for the assessment is yours, but others can dosome or even most of the work of preparing it on your behalf. Except in very simplecases, whoever carries out the assessment will need to:nhave access to and understand the COSHH Regulations and relevantApproved Codes of Practice or to someone else who does;nbe able to get all the necessary information and have the knowledge andexperience to make correct decisions about the risks and the actions and your employees have the most knowledge of what really happens in theworkplace.