Blog / Are you COSSH Compliant?
10 JANUARY 2022
Thousands of employees across the United Kingdom work daily within hazardous environments. Risks need to be taken seriously, which is why companies should have compliance with COSHH regulations within the workplace.
Every business needs to know about the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). COSHH compliance laws apply to nearly every business type, from work in offices to work on construction sites, factories, warehouses, hospitals, or schools.
COSHH is the law that requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to the health of their employees. You can prevent or reduce your employees and workers exposure to hazardous substances by:
Most businesses use substances or products that are mixtures of substances. These could cause harm to employees and other people.
Let’s assume for a moment that you have successfully carried out a COSHH risk assessment, and the hazards have been identified. You will need to determine what steps should be taken to eliminate such dangers.
While the COSHH compliance aims to prevent accidents from occurring, you will need a plan to deal with foreseeable accidents and emergencies. This will include the right equipment, procedures, and people on-site to deal with emergencies such as spills of hazardous substances. When dangerous substances are spilt, this will require arrangements to deal with any waste created to prevent this from causing any further accidents.
Last year alone, 1.4 million workers in the UK suffered from work-related ill-health. Many injuries and medical conditions were caused by exposure to dangerous substances.
COSHH aims to keep employees out of harm’s way and reduce the number of work-related injuries and health conditions across the UK. If you employ anyone who might come into contact with hazardous substances, it’s essential you fully understand the COSHH regulations and how your business can comply with them.
Most of the COSHH requirements and responsibilities fall on employers. However, employees can share some responsibility by ensuring they follow health and safety procedures and implement COSHH control measures.
At integratedAIR Filtration, our team will be happy to answer your questions about COSHH or assist you with compliance for dust control in the workplace.
