Clean Solutions | Control of Substances Hazardous to Health

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health

Aim of COSHH?

To protect people against risks to their health, whether immediate or delayed, from substances hazardous to health arising from a work activity.

COSHH is a legal objective and requirement.

It is there to enforce and raise safety standards in the workplace.

It is there to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents involving chemicals and other hazardous substances.

COSHH is based on identifying the hazard of a substance and then determining the risk.

COSHH - Who is Responsible?

Supplier

Classify and label products in accordance to government regulations.

Ensure correct product labelling.
Display (if applicable) hazard warning symbols.
Provide Safety Data Sheets.

Employer

Ensure health & safety in workplace, primary responsibility for implementing COSHH.

Carry out Risk Assessments.
Provide Information and Training.
Implement Control Measures (procedures).

Employee

Must protect themselves and others in the workplace.

Comply with employer's control measures (procedures).
Use safety equipment and protective clothing.
Know safety precautions.
Adopt good practice for safe handling of chemicals.
Report any spillages, accidents and concerns.

If in doubt... ASK!

COSHH is everyone's responsibility. We are all responsible for complying with COSHH. COSHH falls under the scope of the Health & Safety at Work Act.

Ignorance of the law is no defence and should your actions (or inaction) cause an accident you could be charged with anything from negligence to manslaughter.

Therefore, it is important that you fully understand your responsibility - not only to ensure your safety and your colleagues safety, but also to avoid falling foul of the law.

This may all sound rather alarming. Thankfully, it is really very, very simple to stay legal and stay safe.

Hazards & Risks?

A Hazard

Is the potential of a substance to cause you harm.

A Risk

Is the likelihood that it will harm you in use, this depends on:

The hazard
How it is used
How it is controlled
Who is exposed to how much, for how long
What they are doing

Consider a hazardous chemical such as an oven cleaner. This is a very strong chemical and will clearly be labelled as such. It has the potential to cause harm if it is splashed onto the skin or into the eyes.

We need a strong product to properly and effectively clean the oven, so we cannot mitigate or reduce the hazard of the task. However, we can manage the risk better, by ensuring we wear gloves to protect our skin and goggles to protect the eyes we reduce the risk of suffering harm.

COSHH is all about identifying the hazards and managing the risks.#

The Golden Rules of Chemical Safety

ALWAYS treat all chemicals with respect - familiarity can breed complacency.
AVOID personal contact with chemicals. Protect the skin and eyes. Avoid swallowing/inhaling.
ALWAYS wear protective equipment. Use eye protection, gloves, protective workwear, etc.
ALWAYS obey instructions supplied with the chemicals. Refer to labels and safety literature.
ALWAYS replace closures on containers.
ALWAYS store chemicals correctly.
ALWAYS ensure that safe systems of work are implemented whenever chemicals are handled.
ALWAYS know the emergency first aid procedures.
PAY ATTENTION to the particular hazards of individual chemicals.
AND...
NEVER indulge in horseplay.
NEVER smoke, eat or drink near chemicals. Use only designated areas.
NEVER mix chemicals unless specialised knowledge is available.
...THINK SAFETY!

Hazard Symobols

IRRITANT	Hazard (Xi): Irritant Chemicals that may cause inflammation to the skin or other mucous membranes.	This symbol covers a wide range of (sometimes relatively minor) hazards - with precautions such as avoid contact with the skin, do not breath, etc. Anyone using an irritant substance should wear eye protection such as goggles and they should take care to wash any spills off their skin immediately.
HARMFUL	Hazard (XN): Harmful Chemicals that may cause damage to health.	Again, this is quite a wide ranging category. Anyone using a harmful substance should wear eye protection such as goggles, and they should take care to wash any spills off their skin immediately - or better still, reduce the risk of contact by wearing appropriate workwear and gloves.
CORROSIVE	Hazard (C): Corrosive May on contact cause destruction of living tissue or burns.	Can attack and destroy skin, eyes, etc. Concentrated solutions of strong acids would be labelled with the corrosive symbol. Concentrated solutions of strong alkalis would also be labelled this way. Anyone using a corrosive substance should wear gloves and eye protection, such as goggles or a face shield.
TOXIC	Hazard (T): Toxic Chemicals that at low levels cause damage to health.	Anyone using a toxic or very toxic chemical would need to take great care. They should wear gloves and eye protection, and they may wear a mask over their mouth and nose or handle the chemical in well ventilated or specialist conditions.
VERY TOXIC	Hazard (T): Toxic Chemicals that at low levels cause damage to health.	Anyone using a toxic or very toxic chemical would need to take great care. They should wear gloves and eye protection, and they may wear a mask over their mouth and nose or handle the chemical in well ventilated or specialist conditions.
HIGHLY FLAMMABLE	Hazard (F): Highly Flammable Chemicals that may catch fire in contact with air, only need brief contact with an ignition source, and have a very low flash point or evolve highly inflammable gases in contact with water	Only a handful of actual cleaning chemicals fall under this category. This symbol is more often seen on aerosol containers. The chemical itself may not be flammable but the propellant that drives it out of the can is often flammable. Aerosols will always carry a warning about avoiding sources of ignition, direct sunlight and heat.
EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE	Hazard (F+): Extremely Flammable Chemicals with extremely low flash points and boiling points, gasses which are flammable in contact with air at ambient temperature and pressure.	Only a handful of actual cleaning chemicals fall under this category. This symbol is more often seen on aerosol containers. The chemical itself may not be flammable but the propellant that drives it out of the can is often flammable. Aerosols will always carry a warning about avoiding sources of ignition, direct sunlight and heat.
EXPLOSIVE	Hazard (E): Explosive May react exothermically without atmospheric oxygen, thereby quickly evolving gases, which may detonate, or upon heating explode.	We know of no cleaning chemical that bears this symbol. If we discover one - we will avoid using it! This sort of chemical requires and ignition source (such as a flame or spark) but there are some substances that movement alone could trigger it.
OXIDISING	Hazard (O): Oxidising Give rise to highly exothermic reactions in contact with other substances, particularly flammable substances.	This sort of chemical is extremely rare in cleaning. Oxidising chemicals are materials that spontaneously evolve oxygen at room temperature or with slight heating, or that promote combustion. To be kept away from flammable chemicals at all costs.
DANGEROUS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT	Hazard (O): Dangerous for the Environment Presents or may present a danger to one or more parts of the environment.	A rarity in our product range. We have a very good environmental profile and avoid manufacturing chemicals bearing this symbol. Of course, products such as fly killers invariably carry this symbol as they are supposed to be dangerous to flies and bugs.