COSHH Assessments

COSHH assessments for most businesses and organisations form part of their health and safety procedures and assessments. COSHH stands for Control of Substances Hazardous to Health.

The following is an extract from the HSE Health and Safety Executive’s website on COSHH assessments:

The rules for whether a COSHH assessment is based on the principle that a risk only arises when you use them - if the container is never opened there’s no risk. The level of risk depends on the amount you are exposed to, how long for and sometimes personal factors (such as genetics and previous exposures). So it is essential for the assessment to consider how and where in the process/task exposure can occur and how significant the exposure is likely to be.

Once the potential sources and points of exposure have been identified your assessment should:

• Clearly identify where the risk is not adequately controlled, suggest further control measures that may be required, and link to a time date improvement plan.
• Seek to improve control measures and fully justify the measures you have used to achieve adequate control. Remember the assessment is your proof to your employees and the company (as well as the enforcing authority) that you can justify your control measures and should demonstrate you have done all that is necessary to achieve adequate control.
• Identify areas where monitoring is appropriate, and justify where you have decided it is not appropriate, considering factors such as the consequences of exposure or over-exposure
• Provide appropriate links to relevant documents such as health surveillance, monitoring strategies and results, training records, PPE maintenance and local exhaust ventilation test results.
• Be regularly reviewed, especially if Regulations or exposure standards change, employees begin to suffer ill effects, or monitoring results show deterioration in control.”

Risk Master through its health and safety management software system and its consultancy services can help you with COSHH assessments and their ongoing management of the problem of hazardous materials and chemicals. We make it easy to understand and comply with the COSHH regulations.

Risk Master health and safety management software has built in tools to enable you to undertake adequate assessments as required under COSHH.