Occupational Hygiene : Review Notification

In most aspects of Health Safety & Hygiene it is advisable to be pro-active rather than reactive. Too often companies assume everything is satisfactory until an incident or injury occurs. Most current health & safety legislation identifies review intervals to re-assess process or activities.

Some of these review intervals are specified in the regulations, while others are recommended in the associated Guidance Notes (GN) or Approved Codes of Practice (ACOP).

The typical review intervals are as follows:

• Exposure monitoring - Annual*¹
• Testing of local exhaust ventilation systems - 14 months
• Noise investigation - 2 years*
• Hand Arm Vibration assessments - 3 years*
• COSHH health risk assessments - 5 years*
• Breathing air quality testing - 1 month / 3 months^†

* These intervals are all dependant on no changes in the intervening period. Review on this basis is still the responsibility of the company.

^† As recommended in the COSHH Approved Codes of Practice breathing air quality testing should be carried out at least every 3 months and where the air quality cannot be guaranteed more frequently.

¹ The exposure monitoring of selected substances can be shorter as defined in the COSHH Regulations. Occupational hygienists may also recommended shorter intervals following high results.

For any ad-hoc work undertaken by Newcastle Occupational Health & Hygiene, there is usually a review suggested, even though there is no requirement under legislation. The purpose of this is to assess the effectiveness of the remedial action implemented.

For any work undertaken by Newcastle Occupational Health & Hygiene, these review intervals are cited in the reports. In addition to this the Newcastle Occupational Health & Hygiene a review notification free of charge.

This service transfers the responsibilities under the regulations from the company to a third party taking away the worry of failing to remember the due dates.

The notification is usually 6 to 8 weeks prior to the due date, allowing a suitable time for practical arrangements to be made. Depending on the clients’ wishes, the notification can be made by telephone or e-mail.

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