Keeping people healthy around hazardous substances at work

Most workplaces use something that can harm health, even if nobody thinks of it as a chemical.

The law that covers this in Great Britain is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, known as COSHH. It asks employers to work out the risks and control them.

These notes follow the Health and Safety Executive's guidance for small businesses, to help you keep the people who work for you healthy.

What counts as hazardous

COSHH covers chemicals and products that contain them. It also covers fumes, dusts, vapours, mists, gases and germs that cause disease. Lead, asbestos and radioactive substances have their own regulations instead.

Some hazards come from the work itself. HSE gives wood dust from sanding, silica dust from cutting tiles and fumes from welding as examples. Natural materials can be harmful too. Wood dust can cause asthma, and wet work such as cleaning can cause dermatitis.

The rules apply to the self-employed as well. If you have no employees, the parts on monitoring and health surveillance do not apply.

Reading the label and the safety data sheet

Hazard symbols on a label are red-bordered diamonds called pictograms. A product may carry more than one.

When a product is dangerous for supply, the supplier must give you a safety data sheet. HSE suggests starting with sections 2 and 16, which describe the dangers. Sections 4 to 8 deal with emergencies, storage and handling.

HSE also warns that a safety data sheet is not a risk assessment. It is information to help you write your own.

Doing the assessment

Start by listing the substances you use and the ones your work produces. Then think about how people could be exposed. A substance may be breathed in, get onto or through the skin, or be swallowed.

Consider how often people do the task and for how long. Remember maintenance workers, contractors, visitors and members of the public. Then decide what further action is needed, who will take it and by when.

Choosing the right controls

The first question is whether you need the substance at all, or whether something safer would do. Changing the process can help, such as using pellets instead of powder because they are less dusty.

After that comes enclosing the process, extracting dust or fume at the source, and limiting who works in the area. Clean with a vacuum rather than a brush. Personal protective equipment comes last. HSE says it is less reliable than other controls and should be used alongside them.

Writing it down and keeping it current

If you have five or more employees, you must record the assessment. HSE suggests writing down your steps even with fewer.

Tell workers what the risks are and train them to use the controls. Review the assessment when staff, processes or substances change, and after an accident or a near miss.

Being ready for spills

HSE asks employers to plan and practise for foreseeable accidents such as spills. That means the right equipment, a procedure for anyone hurt, trained people, and a way to deal with the waste. Everyone should know the plan.