Employers have a range of duties to meet concerning their use of hazardous substances (see the Control Of Substances Hazardous To Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)as amended in 2003 and 2004). These duties are closely defined in the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) for COSHH and outlined in the table below.
See also the EEF Health and Safety Law Summary Sheet A16.
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Duty for the protection of:
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Duty of the employer relating to: |
Employees |
Other people on the premises |
Other people likely to be affected by work |
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Assessment (regulation 6) |
Yes
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SFAIRP
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SFAIRP
|
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Prevention or control of exposure (regulation 7) |
Yes
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SFAIRP
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SFAIRP
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Use of control measures and maintenance, examination and test of control procedures (regulations 8 and 9) |
Yes
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SFAIRP
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SFAIRP
|
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Monitoring exposure at workplace (regulation 10) |
Yes, where requisite
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SFAIRP
|
No
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Health surveillance (regulation 11) |
Yes, where appropriate
|
No
|
No
|
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Information, training etc. (regulation 12) |
Yes
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SFAIRP
|
No
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Arrangements to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies (regulation 13) |
Yes
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SFAIRP
|
No
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SFAIRP= So far as is reasonably practicable. |
COSHH applies to a very wide range of substances and preparations (mixtures of two or more substances) with the potential to cause harm through contact or if they are inhaled or ingested, or absorbed through the skin. These include individual chemical substances or preparations such as paints, cleaning materials, metals, pesticides and insecticides.
They can also be biological agents, such as pathogens or cell cultures. Substances hazardous to health can occur in many forms, such as solids, liquids, vapours, gases, dusts, fibres, fumes, mist and smoke.