the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations

Why are the CoSHH regulations in force?

Using chemicals or other hazardous substances at work can put people's health at risk. So the law requires employers to control exposure to hazardous substances to prevent ill health.

Or download our FREE CoSHH Assessment Starter Pack.

What do I do to protect my company?

You need to keep an up-to-date inventory of your hazardous substances and the locations at which they are used. Once you understand your substance inventory you need to collect and keep up-to-date you library of safety data sheets and make them availble to your workforce.

Next, CoSHH assessments must be completed for all work activities that involve the use of your hazardous substances. There is no particular standard for which a CoSHH risk assessment needs to conform to. A CoSHH risk assessment is intended to reduce the likelihood of an incident occurring and to reduce the severity. For this reason you must ensure that a competent health and safety professional has carried out your assessment to ultimately reduce your risk to an acceptable level. The danger arises when you don't know that you don't know! So if it doubt always seek advice, there is no one person that can understand the whole of health and safety and that it why specialists focus in each area. We have a partner network of specialists that can help.

You must review your assessments on a regular basis and should at first focus on those work activities that are higher risk to your workforce and your business.

How to create a CoSHH risk assessment

To produce a compliant CoSHH risk assessment we advise you to download our Free Ultimate CoSHH Assessment Starter Pack. You may also wish to follow our 'Revitalising CoSHH risk assessment' pages which guide you through the process of CoSHH assessment and risk management.

The HSE have this advice to offer however this does not make you a competent risk assessor:

Step 1Step 1 - Assess the risks

Assess the risks to health from hazardous substances used in or created by your workplace activities. Risk needs to be assessed specific to the person whom is using the substance also. For example, teratogens must not be used by pregnant women because they can cause birth defects. - Assess the risks
Step 2Step 2 - Decide what precautions are needed

You must not carry out work which could expose your employees to hazardous substances without first considering the risks and the necessary precautions and what else you need to do to comply with CoSHH. - Decide what precautions are needed
Step 3Step 3 - Prevent or adequately control exposure

You must prevent your employees from being exposed to hazardous substances. Where preventing exposure is not reasonably practicable, then you must adequately control it. The advice in this leaflet and in the other guidance it refers to will help you to make correct assessments and to put the appropriate controls into place. - Prevent or adequately control exposure
Step 4Step 4 - Ensure control measures are used and maintained

Ensure that control measures are used and maintained properly and that safety procedures are followed. - Ensure control measures are used and maintained
Step 5Step 5 - Monitor the exposure

Monitor the exposure of employees to hazardous substances, if necessary. - Monitor the exposure
Step 6Step 6 - Carry out appropriate health surveillance

Carry out appropriate health surveillance where your assessment has shown this is necessary or where CoSHH sets specific requirements. Take particular notice of risk and safety phrases on the manufacturers safety data sheet. - Carry out appropriate health surveillance
Step 7Step 7 - Prepare plans and procedures to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies

Prepare plans and procedures to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies involving hazardous substances where necessary. - Prepare plans and procedures to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies
Step 8Step 8 - Ensure employees are properly informed, trained and supervised

You should provide your employees with suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training. Your CoSHH and CoSHH risk report should be thorough whilst simple to understand for the person carrying out the tasks within your organisation. After all the outcome should lead to employee safety and reduced liabilities for your company. - Ensure employees are properly informed, trained
and supervised

HSE CoSHH Publications

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended). Approved Code of Practice and guidance L5 (Fifth edition) HSE Books 2005 ISBN 0 7176 2981 3

COSHH essentials: Easy steps to control chemicals. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations HSG193 (Second edition) HSE Books 2003 ISBN 0 7176 2737 3

Have recently purchased COSHH365 and upgraded to COSHH365 V2.0. I can highly recommend this system which allows you to generate high quality CoSHH risk assessments. The system is quick, easily navigable, flexible and allows assessments to be easily edited and published. The ability to access MSDS's saves time and assists in keeping them up to date.

Colin Wehrle, Group Adviser Health, Safety & Environmental Risk

Virgin Atlantic Airways (www.virgin-atlantic.com)

- Senior HSE Inspector, Health and Safety Executive

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