b part 3 european coshh

European Week for Safety

and Health at Work 2003

Founded in 1992

Different theme every year

Promotes safe and healthy

work across all European

Member States

Coordinated by European

Agency for Safety and Health

based in Bilbao

Run in the UK by Health and

Safety Executive (HSE)

http://agency.osha.eu.int/index_en.htm



Why Dangerous

Substances?

The worldwide picture:

•Approx 825,000 deaths from work

related illness every year

•160 million live with an industrial

disease




Across Europe:

•350 million working days lost

•7 million victims of industrial disease

•1 in 6 workers handle dangerous

substances

•1 in 5 report breathing in fumes and

vapours

•1 in 4 exposed to cancer-causing

agents




In the UK

•575,000 people made ill by exposure to dangerous

substances

•66,000 with a work related skin disease

Every year

•7,000 people contract occupational asthma

•6,000 people die from work related cancer including

•5000 deaths from past asbestos exposure




Dangerous Substances

Allergens – causes of allergic reactions

Biological agents – bacteria, virus, parasites and fungi

Carcinogens – cancer causing agents

Mineral dusts causing cancers and respiratory disease

Vegetable dusts causing asthma, allergic reactions and

cancers

Toxic chemicals and agents causing neurological and

reproductive disorders, cancers and poisoning.

Toxic

Corrosive




UK Law covering dangerous substances at work includes

•Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

•Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

•Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977

•Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002




Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the

health, safety and welfare at work of their employees.

This includes the

‘safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use,

handling, storage and transport of articles and substances’.

(HSW 74 Part 1 Section 2b)




Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

Assess the risks to which employees are exposed at work.

Ensure employers comply with all health and safety laws and regulations.

Comply with the law on the basis of the general ‘principles of prevention’




Safety Representative & Safety

Committees Regulations 1977

Trade Union Safety Representatives have the legal right to:

• Investigate potential hazards at work and investigate complaints by

any employee they represent relating to that employee's health,

safety or welfare at work;

•Inspect the workplace at least once every three months or when the

Health and Safety Executive publish new information relevant to the

hazards found in the workplace.

•Inspect and take copies of any document relevant to the workplace

or to the employees the Safety Rep represents. This includes copies

of COSHH and risk assessments.




Control of Substances Hazardous

to Health Regulations 2002

‘An employer shall not carry out work which is liable to expose any

employees to any substance hazardous to health unless he has made a

suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk created by that work to the

health of those employees and of the steps that need to be taken to meet

the requirements of these Regulations;’

(COSHH Regulation 6,1a)






The requirements of these regulations include

‘that the exposure of his employees to substances hazardous to

health is either prevented or, where this is not reasonably

practicable, adequately controlled.’

(COSHH Regulation 7,1)






Employers must, where reasonably practicable, eliminate

completely the use or production of substances hazardous to

health in the workplace.

This might be achieved by:

(a) changing the method of work

(b) modifying the process

(c) substituting with a non-hazardous substance

Where prevention of exposure to substances hazardous to health is

not reasonably practicable, employers must comply to adequately

control exposure.

From COSHH Regulation 7




1. Elimination: the best way to reduce the risks from dangerous

substances is to remove the need to use them by changing the

process or product in which the substance is used.

2. Substitution: substitute the dangerous substance with a less

hazardous one or change the process to reduce the risks if

elimination is not possible.

3. Control: if a dangerous substance process cannot be eliminated

or substituted then exposure must be prevented or controlled.

Hierarchy of Controls




•Enclosing the process emitting the dangerous substance.

•Changing the management of the process to better control

emissions.

•Utilising technical solutions to minimise concentration of

dangerous substances in the exposure zone.

•Organisational measures such as minimising the number

of workers exposed and the duration and intensity of

exposure.

•Use of Personal Protective Equipment [always the last resort].

[Source: European Agency for safety and Health at Work]

Control Methods




The TUC ESCAPE Route from Dangerous Substances

Eliminate

Substitute

Control

And

Prevent

Exposure




ELIMINATE

Can you stop using or producing the substance?

Can you stop the process or use a different method?

Do you need to use caustic soda if elbow grease will do

the job?

Would you need to grind down components if the first cut

was accurate?

Do you need to keep motor vehicle engines running while

stationary at the depot?

Can you replace a diesel vehicle with an electric one?

PREVENT

EXPOSURE

TUC ESCAPE RouteDANGEROUS SUBSTANCE

YESNO

NEXT

STEP

SUBSTITUTE




ELIMINATE

PREVENT

EXPOSURE

DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE

YES

TUC ESCAPE Route

SUBSTITUTE

Can you use safe alternatives?

Can you use a safe process?

Do you need to use chemical cleaners if soap and water will do the job?

Can you use a vacuum instead of sweeping?

Can your supplier provide you with safer chemicals with a similar

performance?

Can you obtain raw materials in solid pellet form instead of a dusty

powder?

NO

NO

NEXT STEP CONTROL




PREVENT

EXPOSURE

DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE

TUC ESCAPE Route

SUBSTITUTEELIMINATE

CONTROL

Can you separate people from the substance?

Can you reduce exposure to a safe level?

For example:

Can you restrict chemical cleaning to when the least workers

are on site?

Can you use water when cutting or grinding to create sludge

instead of dust?

Can you contain the process in a sealed vessel?

Can you restrict access to the environment through a safe

system of work?

NO

YES




PREVENT EXPOSURE

DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE

ELIMINATE

CONTROL

TUC ESCAPE Route

SUBSTITUTE

NO

NO

YES

YES

YES




Summary

Exposure to dangerous substances:

•Kills thousands of workers

•Causes disease in millions of others

•Is illegal

•Is preventable

Follow the TUC ESCAPE Route to Eliminate Substitute Control

and Prevent Exposure to Dangerous Substances


b part 3 european coshh

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