Many substances can cause ill health – it is essential to determine potentially harmful exposure to these. Gather information from suppliers about the potential risks.
Carry out an assessment of your use of the substance to determine the actual risk for your employees. Determine the best method of protecting your employees to reduce their exposure.
What do you need to do?
- Make sure you have Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) from suppliers.
- Carry out a risk assessment.
- Determine and implement controls.
- Monitor the effectiveness of the controls.
- Remember vulnerable persons e.g. young people or pregnant women who might need special attention
Do’s and Dont’s
Having MSDS is not the full answer. These are simply the manufacturer’s guidance for using the substance – what really counts is your use of it; how much, how often, where and in what manner. This is what determines employee exposure.
Controls must follow the statutory guidance – elimination or substitution of the harmful substance is the best form of control.
If the substance is essential and must be used then it might be necessary to use engineering controls to contain and draw away harmful dusts and fumes.
Using personal protective equipment e.g. respirators or gloves can only be a stop gap solution and used as a last resort, never as a replacement for other control measures.
Record it
It is useful to keep records of your risk assessment findings. They will enable you to check things in the future and ensure that employees are protected from the risk of ill health or disease.
If you or your staff need to be trained on how to properly manage hazardous substances, call us on 01985 878652. Alternatively you can view the Principles of COSHH course page for more information.