What is COSHH?

What does COSHH mean?

Control of substances hazardous to health (aka COSHH) is a set of regulations that has been put into place to protect employees from ill health when working with hazardous substances.

The areas which the employers have a duty to protect their staff with regard to the COSHH laws include:

Exposure - prevent or control exposure to hazardous substances. This can be done with PPE (personal protective equipment) where necessary.
Control measures - Control measures around hazardous substances and ensure these are maintained and kept up to date.
Instruction - Train employees on how to use and store the hazardous materials and substances correctly.
Procedures - Measures in place to deal with accidents and emergencies relating to hazardous substances
Surveillance - Ensure employees exposed to hazardous substances are under adequate surveillance
Risk assessments - Carry out COSHH risk assessments.
Supervision - Check employees are carrying out tasks as they are supposed to.

Employees do have some responsibility as well when using COSHH materials / substances. These include:

Safety - making sure the area is safe for working and supporting other members of the team to abide by the COSHH regulations
Procedures - Follow the procedures put in place to prevent accidents and overexposure
PPE (personal protective equipment) - Wear the correct PPE, where applicable. This includes ensuring all PPE is stored correctly in the appropriate place.
Reporting - Report and record all accident, spillages and breakages
Check-ups - Attend medical check-ups when required to
Cleaning - Use cleaning and showering facilities provided by employers in line with official procedures
Training - Keep up to date with training provided by employers.

Control Equipment for COSHH

Knowing what equipment is needed to control COSHH materials/ substances can be a minefield, whether it is compliant or not.

As a general rule control equipment can be classed as general ventilation, extraction systems such as local exhaust ventilation, enclosure to store the substances, or where the air cannot be cleaned, refuges and respiratory protective equipment (RPE). (PDF)

Other control equipment includes spillage capture, decontamination, clean-up procedures and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Which Chemicals do i need to store?

Most chemicals, come with safety data sheets, which provide information on chemical products that help users of those chemicals to make a risk assessment. Within this data sheet they describe the hazards the chemical presents, and give information on handling, storage and emergency measures in case of accident.

Safety data sheet information may lead to guidance appropriate for your task. COSHH essentialstool is a web tool that advises employers on good control practice.

By law, suppliers of chemicals must provide an up-to-date safety data sheet if a substance is dangerous for supply.

Here at Fuel Tank Shop, we offer a range of COSHH compliant products which can help with the storage of COSHH substances and clearing up leakages and spillages, if they were to happen.