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AIM & OBJECTIVES

Aim:

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002.

Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

State the different substances used on a construction site that must be controlled.
Discuss the COSHH requirements and regulations.
Produce a COSHH risk assessment for the product.
Determine the acceptable exposure limits for hazardous substances.

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CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH (COSHH) REGULATIONS 2002

Many different substances used on a construction site have to be controlled. Can you name any?
Fumes from chemicals and solvents such as paints, glue, etc.
Dust created by construction work.
Cement, hardwood dusts, used engine oil, etc.
Biological hazards such as animal waste.

The risk is not created by the substance itself but by how it is used, so the emphasis should be on the activity rather than the substance itself.
The COSHH Regulations are designed to control any substance that is used or found in a workplace.

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CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH (COSHH) REGULATIONS 2002

Diverse substances categorised as 'hazardous to health' manifest in various ways, and they include (Health and Safety Executive, 2012):
Vapour and mists
Nanomaterials: used in surface coatings, concrete, window glass, insulation, concrete, steel, etc. To provide water repellence, abrasion resistance, ultraviolet protection, high compressive strength, etc. Examples include nanosilica, graphene, aerogels, nanoclay, Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs), etc.
gases and asphyxiating gases.
germs that cause diseases such as leptospirosis or legionnaires disease.

COSHH does NOT cover the following because they have their own specific regulations.

lead (The Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002)
asbestos (The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012)
radioactive substances (Radioactive Substances Act 1993)

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(COSHH) REGULATIONS 2002

COSHH places duties upon an employer to ensure that:
Complete a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk created by the work and the hazardous substances to the health of the employees.
Control measures on the use of substances have been put into place and are maintained.
Health surveillance of employees working with hazardous substances.
Continuous monitoring of employees handling these substances
Sufficient information, instruction, and training of employees on the use of hazardous substances prior to their use.

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(COSHH) REGULATIONS 2002

COSHH places duties upon an employee such as:
Carrying out activities by following the method statement or correct procedure provided by the employer.
Wearing the appropriate PPE.
Cooperating with the employee by keeping up-to-date with safety trainings, and health surveillance.
Correct reporting of defects on the control measures to the employer.

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CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH (COSHH) REGULATIONS 2002

using control equipment, e.g. ventilation systems, enclosures, or isolation of the process. Appropriate PPE such as gloves, respirators, goggles, or protective clothing.

controlling procedures, e.g. proper storage, handling, and disposal procedures; providing step-by-step instructions to ensure safe and consistent practices; maintenance, examination and testing of control measures; changing how often/when a task is undertaken, or reducing the number of employees nearby, etc.

worker behaviour, e.g. establishing clear lines of communication regarding safety expectations; encouraging workers to report unsafe conditions and providing feedback on their contributions to safety; encouraging a culture where workers actively participate in maintaining a safe workplace, etc.

The objective of COSHH is to protect workers from the health risks associated with hazardous substances. You can do this by:

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CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH (COSHH) REGULATIONS 2002

Control measures are always a mixture of equipment and ways of working to reduce exposure.

Combining control equipment, procedures, and behavioural changes for comprehensive risk management.

Ensuring that control measures are integrated into the daily workflow seamlessly.

Encouraging a continuous improvement mindset to enhance overall safety.

Integration of Control Measures

Figure 1. Examples of control measures (Health and Safety Executives, 2012).

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CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH (COSHH) REGULATIONS 2002

How do you find out if a substance is hazardous?
Safety data sheet (SDS)
Product label
Risk Assessments
Professional Advice
Testing and Analysis

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CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH (COSHH) REGULATIONS 2002

Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

Safety data sheet is a standardised document that provides essential information about a chemical product. It is useful to make risk assessments as required by COSHH Regulations.
They ensure that anyone handling, using, or coming into contact with a hazardous substance has access to detailed information about its properties, hazards, safe handling procedures, and emergency response measures.
By law suppliers of chemicals must provide an up-to-date safety data sheet if a substance is dangerous for supply.

Samples one and two.

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IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY DATA SHEETS (SDS)

Hazard Communication:

It provides information about the potential hazards associated with the chemical product, helping workers and employers understand the risks involved.

Emergency Response:

It includes information on first aid, firefighting, and spill response procedures.

Safe Handling and Use:

SDS offers detailed instructions on the safe handling, storage, and use of the chemical product.

Exposure Controls:

It provides information on exposure limits, engineering controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE) recommendations. This assists employers in implementing effective control measures to minimize worker exposure.

Chemical Composition:

Details about the chemical composition, including ingredients and impurities, are listed in the SDS. This information is crucial for understanding the potential health effects and environmental impact of the substance.

Environmental Impact:

Information about the environmental hazards and precautions for safe disposal of the substance is included. This helps organisations comply with environmental regulations and reduce their ecological footprint.

Transportation and Storage:

SDS includes guidance on the safe transportation and storage of hazardous substances. This ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and minimises the risk of accidents during transit or storage.

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CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH (COSHH) REGULATIONS 2002

Exposure to a substance is uptake into the body. According to Health and Safety Executive (2012), the exposure routes are:
Through the nose; breathing in.
By skin contact.
By injection into the skin.
By swallowing.

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COSHH - CASE STUDY

How many employees were affected?
What were the health damages?
What caused the health problems?
What regulations/legislations did they breach?
What could have been done to prevent the damage?

Group-assessment Task

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COSHH REQUIREMENTS

What COSHH requires –

To comply with COSHH you need to follow these eight steps.

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COSHH ASSESSMENT: IDENTIFYING HAZARD AND ASSESSING RISK: STEPS TO MAKING A COSHH ASSESSMENT:

Walk around your workplace. Where is there potential for exposure to substances that might be hazardous to health?

- Examples include processes that emit dust, fume, vapour, mist or gas; and skin contact with liquids, pastes and dusts. Substances with workplace exposure limits (WELs) are hazardous to health.

In what way are the substances harmful to health?

-Get safety data sheets, and read your trade magazines. Some substances arise from processes and have no safety data sheet. Examples include fume from welding or soldering, mist from metalworking, dust from quarrying, gases from silage.

What jobs or tasks lead to exposure?

-Note these down. Note down what control measures you already use. For these jobs, how likely is any harm to workers' health?

Are there any areas of concern, e.g. from the Accident Book?

-Examples include burns from splashes, nausea or lightheadedness from solvents, etc.

-Consult this link for further details.

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SELF-ASSESSMENT TASK (45 MINS)

1. The joinery team on site is fixing the second fix joinery items, such as skirtings and architraves, using a product called EVO-STIK. It is a bonding compound that fixes by adhesion any material to another material. It has a high bonding strength when dry. You have looked at the writing on the tubes of EVO-STIK and there are several hazard warning signs.

What must you do in accordance with the COSHH Regulations?
First you must contact the manufacturer of the product and request their safety data sheet, or find it on their website. Use the SDS below: https://www.farnell.com/datasheets/630163.pdf

Read the data sheet and specifically the control measures required for using the product.

Produce a COSHH risk assessment for the product (Use the template provided).

2. Discuss at least THREE duties for each employer and employee under the COSHH regulations.

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WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS (WELS)

Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) are numerical values set to protect the health and safety of workers by specifying the maximum concentrations of hazardous substances in the air within the workplace.
These limits are designed to prevent adverse health effects resulting from exposure to various chemical agents, including gases, vapours, dust, and fumes.
WELs represent the maximum airborne concentration of a hazardous substance, averaged over a specified period of time, referred to as a time-weighted average (TWA).
Two time periods are generally used:
long-term exposure limit (8-hour work-day); and
short-term exposure limit (15 minutes).

Consult this link for the lists of the substances that have Workplace Exposure Limits.

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WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS (WELS)

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WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS (WELS)

Worked Example 1

The operator works for 8 hours on a process in which he is exposed to a substance hazardous to health, arsenic compound with a long-term exposure limit of 0.1 mg/m³. The average exposure during that period is measured using a special meters/smoke tubes/colorimetric detector tubes as 0.15 mg/m³. Check if the exposure is acceptable.

Solution

The 8-hour TWA =

(0.15 x 8/ 8) = 0.15 mg/ m³

Exposure is not acceptable since 0.15 > 0.1 mg/m³

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WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS (WELS)

Example 2

The operator works for 7 hours 10 minutes on a process in which he is exposed to a substance hazardous to health, aluminium oxides respirable dust with a long-term exposure limit of 4 mg/m³. The average exposure during that period is measured as 0.18 mg/m³. Check if the exposure is acceptable.

Solution

The 8-hour TWA = 7 h 10 min (7.17 h) at 0.18 mg/m³

50 min (0.83 h) at 0 mg/m³

That is [(0.18 x 7.17) + (0 x 0.83)]/ 8 = 0.16 mg/ m³

Exposure is acceptable since 0.16 < 4 mg/m³

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An operator works for 6 hours 15 minutes on a process in which he is exposed to a substance hazardous to health, asphalt, with a long-term exposure limit of 5 mg/m³. The average exposure during that period is measured using special meters as 0.95 mg/m³. Check if the exposure is acceptable.
An operator works for the duration in table below on a process in which he is exposed to a substance hazardous to health, carbon monoxide, with a long-term exposure limit of 23 mg/m³. The average exposure during that period is measured using special meters as 0.95 mg/m³. Exposure is assumed to be zero during the periods 10:30 to 10:45, 12:45 to 13:30 and 15:30 to 15:45. Check if the exposure is acceptable.

Working period	Exposure , mg/m³	Duration of sampling (h)
08:00 – 10:30	20	2.5
10:45 -12:45	17	2
13:30 – 15:30	14	2
15:45 – 17:15	10	1.5

Self-assessment Task

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REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Health and Safety Executive (2004) A step by step guide to COSHH assessment. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg97.pdf (Accessed: 20 September 2023)
Health and Safety Executive (2012) Working with substances hazardous to health. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg136.pdf (Accessed: 20 September 2023)
iHasco (2019) COSHH –employee and employer responsibilities. Available at: https://www.ihasco.co.uk/blog/entry/2175/employee-employer-responsibility-coshh (Accessed: 20 September 2023)