COSHH Assessments should be conducted not only for high risk substances in the workplace ( e.g. oils), but also for low risk products, used on a daily basis by members of staff, which may cause potential ill health if used regularly for a long period of time.
Did you know that COSHH Assessments in your workplace should also include your cleaning products or printer cartridges?
The majority of customers don’t consider it important to check products or conduct COSHH assessments on cleaning products or even printer cartridges which can be extremely dangerous to health.
If you are working with any substances (high or low risk) it is vital you read and understand the product you are working with to ensure your own safety and the safety of others. The correct way of handling, storage, type of personal protective equipment, first aid measures and fire-fighting measures should be stipulated as part of your COSHH Assessments.
As an employer you are legally required to conduct suitable and sufficient COSHH Assessments for all substances in use. Once COSHH Assessments are conducted, they must be brought to the attention of employees and signed to confirm they have read and understood them. All employees working with COSHH substances should receive appropriate information, instruction and training to ensure full compliance.
It is important to be aware that certain substances have a workplace exposure limit (WEL) implemented to help protect workers from the ill-health effects of exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace. It is especially important as some substances effects may not appear until many years after exposure, causing long-term health issues.
To ensure compliance with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 employers are required to ensure that substances used by contractors and any members of staff do not exceed the Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL), implement suitable and sufficient control measures to protect workers from hazardous substances, prevent or adequately control exposure to hazardous substances, and ensure all employees exposed to hazardous substances whilst at work are offered suitable health surveillance.
More information relating to COSHH Assessments can be found on COSHH basics – COSHH (hse.gov.uk).
If you need any assistance conducting COSHH Assessments or measuring exposure limits, please contact MBO Safety Services Limited on 08000 842 297 / info@mbo.ltd