Occupational Hygiene : COSHH

COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health)
The COSHH Regulations have been in existence for many years now, and it is likely that employers, employees and employees representatives are aware of their basic requirements under the Regulations. It is unlikely; however, that all are aware that the COSHH regulations have evolved several times since first being introduced in 1989 and the last revision was as recent as April 2005. This introduced the new Workplace Exposure Limits (WEL’s) and the concept of ‘best practice’.

With each new revision, duties and requirements change therefore it is important that COSHH records and assessments are reviewed regularly so that they are kept up to date. With this in mind, a number of questions should be asked by an employer to check if there is compliance, i.e.:

What substances do I have on site?
Are the substances hazardous?
How are these substances used, produced?
Are my employees exposed to them?
What are the level, frequency and duration of the exposures?
Are there control measures in place?
Do they work?
Do I check the control measures are working properly?
Do I monitor exposures regularly?
Do I need health surveillance?
Does everyone know what they need to know?
Will the HSE be satisfied with what has been done?

If you or your company is not confident with a positive answer to any of these questions, you may need some external assistance!

Newcastle Occupational Health & Hygiene can assist with most aspects of the COSHH regulations, including:

Initial COSHH factory audits
Compilation of assessments
Exposure monitoring of airborne substances
Examination & testing of LEV systems
Instruction of managers, supervisors and employees

In all areas recommendations are given where appropriate to assist the company in compliance.

< For more information contact the Occupational Hygiene team

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