Chemicals

Before starting an assessment, you need to gather all the necessary data. This first stage of the assessment should include at least:

• a copy of the latest material safety data sheet (MSDS) from the supplier or importer (if the substance is supplied from outside the European Union) for each substance used in the process;
• a brief description of the process identifying the main stages;
• the number of employees involved in the process;
• the frequency and duration of the process;
• a description of any control measures used in the process; and
• the name of the person gathering the data.

The hazardous substances pre-assessment form is designed for this purpose. Complete it systematically.

The next task is to differentiate between those processes that pose little or no risk and those where the risk is, or could be, significant. This work needs to be completed by a competent person (e.g. an occupational hygienist or similar) as described above. For the process/substance combinations that pose little or no risk, the findings can be recorded on the hazardous substances summary assessment report form.

COSHH Essentials

For the process/substance combinations that pose, or could pose, a significant risk - a more detailed risk assessment is necessary. Again, this needs to be completed by a competent person, although it is possible for a suitably trained person to sort and prioritise these risk assessments using a tool such as COSHH Essentials, an internet based assessment tool developed by the HSE.

An assessment completed using COSHH Essentials will take you through the following steps:

1. In the ‘Processes and Tasks’ screen, identify the process you are assessing and select one or more of the 12 tasks that are appropriate to the process you are assessing, then press the Go button.
2. In the ‘How Many Chemicals are You Using?’ screen, make a note of the 10-digit assessment code assigned to your assessment by COSHH Essentials and enter the number of chemicals you are using in choice 1 or 2 as applicable, then press the Go button.
3. In the ‘Chemical or Product Name’ screen, fill in the name as it appears on the bottle or package: select the substance from the drop-down list and press the Go button.
4. In the ‘How Harmful’ screen, tick all the ‘R’ (risk phrase) boxes that are specified on the material safety data sheet (MSDS) that came with the substance and press the Go button.
5. The ‘Hazard Group’ screen gives the substance(s) an overall classification (A to E) where A in the least hazardous. If appropriate, COSHH Essentials also warns that the substance is harmful (e.g. toxic or corrosive) and suggests you consider an alternative, with links to some guidance material.
6. On the next screen (‘How Much of the Chemical can get into the Air?’), you are asked to enter the process operating temperature and the boiling point or vapour pressure from the material safety data sheet (MSDS) for the substance.
7. On the ‘How Much are you Using and How Often?’ screen, click on the quantity indicator and enter the frequency and duration of the task in the boxes.
8. The next screen presents a summary of user input for you to verify before the assessment is evaluated.
9. On the final screen, ‘Advice on How to Protect Yourself and Others’, the task is assigned a control approach — e.g. ‘Containment’ — and you can download a summary of your assessment together with numbered guidance sheets for the control measures recommended by the system.

Provided you have all the information to hand, i.e. you have completed Form 1 (see appendix) and have a copy of the latest material safety data sheet (MSDS) for the substance(s), it takes only a few minutes to complete each assessment on COSHH Essentials and the summary assessment sheets it provides can be used by a competent person to prioritise any further work that may be required.

The need for competency

If you are completing an assessment on an existing process using COSHH Essentials, you can compare the recommended control measures with the existing ones and decide, in association with a competent person, whether any changes need to be made.

Using a competent person will be useful because, while COSHH Essentials is a very useful indicator of the risks, its assessments are based on relatively generic data. Because of this, COSHH Essentials will tend to over-specify control measures in order to be ‘on the safe side’. A competent person will be able to determine whether the COSHH Essentials recommendations are exactly appropriate for the task and, if appropriate, can make alternative recommendations based on the more detailed information that is available.

After putting in place the appropriate control measures, the risk assessment should also define whether any exposure monitoring and/or health surveillance needs to be organised and whether it is necessary to detail any emergency arrangements as outlined in planning for emergencies.

Finally, it is important to fix a date for review of the risk assessment.