COSHH is the law that requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health. You can prevent or reduce worker exposure to hazardous substances by:
- finding out what the health hazards are
- deciding how to prevent harm to health
- providing control measures to reduce harm to health
- providing information, instruction and training for employees and others
- providing monitoring and health surveillance in appropriate cases
Workplace exposure limits
What is exposure?
Exposure to a substance is uptake into the body. The exposure routes are:
- by breathing fume, dust, gas or mist.
- by skin contact.
- by injection into the skin.
- by swallowing.
Many thousands of substances are used at work but only about 500 substances have Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) listed in EH40 workplace exposure limits
Substances covered by COSHH:
- chemicals
- products containing chemicals
- fumes
- dusts
- vapours
- mists
- nanotechnology
- gases and asphyxiating gases and
- biological agents
COSHH does not cover:
- lead
- asbestos or
- radioactive substances
All of the substances above have their own regulations which govern their use. Please refer to the HSE website for information.
|