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Substances Hazardous to Health

By Dale Allen

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Published: 17Mar2010
Word count: 495
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The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (CoSHH) Regulations 2002 relates to a large variety of substances and preparations which have the capability of causing harm if they are inhaled, ingested or exposed or absorbed through the skin.

These encompass individual substances or preparations such as paints, metals, cleaning materials, pesticides and insecticides.

They also include chemicals which are deemed toxic, harmful, corrosive, irritant, sensitising, carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction.

Biological agents are also covered under CoSHH Regulations for example micro organisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. Most pathogens that have one or more harmful properties are infectious but some agents can be dangerous in other ways for example, via the production of toxins or by encouraging allergic reactions.

Substances hazardous to health can appear in many other forms such as solids, liquids, vapours, gases, dust, fumes and smoke.

There are certain gases and vapours which, when present at high concentrations in the air at the workplace, act as simple asphyxiants. This means that the oxygen levels are reduced so much that life cannot be supported. It is imperative that employers protect the health of employees and monitor the oxygen content as many gases are colourless and undetectable. Many gases are also highly flammable and can cause fire and explosion.

In order for an employer to decide whether substances produced in the workplace are covered by CoSHH they need to consider the following:

Some substances can present different hazards in their different forms, e.g., a substance may not be harmful in solid form but could be harmful when made into powder form which can be inhaled into the lungs;

Contaminants in a substance can make it toxic; some fibrous substances can be potentially hazardous to health;

Some substances have a known health effect although the cause is unknown;

Exposure to more than one substance at the same time or one after the other can have an added or collective effect;

New or emerging agents could cause a hazard to health which has not already been identified;

An unforeseen emergency situation during work such as a dangerous chemical reaction could produce a substance hazardous to health.

It is imperative that a CoSHH assessment is undertaken in the workplace by Employers, to protect their employees.

A CoSHH assessment concentrates on the hazards and risks from substances in the workplace. There are a number of steps to follow when making a CoSHH assessment.

These include walking around the workplace to look for areas where there may be potential hazards and exposure to substances that could be harmful to health.

As an employer, it is important to check how these substances may be hazardous to health. It is vital to keep up to date with Safety Data Sheets.

What jobs do employees do which may lead them to exposure?

Also, are there any other areas of concern, such as an incident from the Accident Book, for example?

Assessments need to be constantly reviewed and if necessary amended.

Dale Allen delivers CoSHH compliance as one of the UK's leading compliance authorities. Find out more about how you can use his online COSHH365 CoSHH asssessment tool to produce compliant CoSHH assessments with the benefits of a managed Safety Data Sheet library.

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