COSHH Assessment Consultants

It’s a set of UK health and safety regulations called the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. It’s your duty of care as an employer to prevent and reduce workplace risks for employees and workers. Specifically against chemicals, dust, fumes, and vapours.

To ensure business compliance, it’s mandatory you carry our risk assessments, implement control measures, and train staff in safety awareness. Non-compliance may result in significant consequences, including injury to employees/workers. This may result in significant fines or criminal prosecution.

While not an exhaustive list, the main legislation relating to the management of chemical hazards in the workplace include the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002, the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 2015, the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002, the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 and the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005.

This will depend on the nature and quantity of the substances in use and should be considered as part of the COSHH assessment. Many substances have Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) and LEV is often an important control measure in reducing employees’ exposure to below this level.

Yes, you will need to consider how you use the substance (quantity, state, ventilation in the area, etc.) as well as its hazardous properties in order to complete a suitable assessment.

This will depend on who is in the area. If vulnerable people such as children are likely to be present, then it would be sensible to keep all hazardous substances in a locked container.

Our award-winning Health & Safety Software can take the hassle out of managing your chemical hazards by allowing you to upload data sheets and risk assessments and reminding you when these are due. It also allows you to record the monitoring activities conducted by supervisors, as well as any actions needed to improve adherence to the controls listed in your assessments.

Biological hazards are hazards that can cause infections and diseases. Common examples include Legionella, animal droppings, hazardous plants, bodily fluids, discarded injection needles from use of medication or drugs, and coronavirus.

Some form of Legionella assessment will always be necessary but the scope of it will be dependent on the activities being undertaken and the state of the water supply system. Your consultant will advise on this as part of the General Risk Assessment.

A risk assessment will need to be complete for this hazard. Typical controls will include training for staff on handling needles safely, disposal kits and provision of needle bins where deemed to be appropriate.

This will depend on the nature and scope of the work undertaken, and the need for inoculations should be considered as part of your risk assessment. Where there is a likely risk of infection from blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis A and B, inoculation should be considered. Your consultant can advise on this further as needed.