Coshh

[Jayne Swanson]

Oh my gosh, is it me or when it comes to COSHH no one wants to give you a straight answer! I'm not a thick person but I'm trying to get my head around things and not getting very far!

I'm getting conflicting advice from people about COSHH assessments. One says we can just print of manufacturers and another says I have to produce my own.

And when it comes to COSHH cabinets, do all cleaning products need to go in there as they could all be irritant to some degree?? One person is saying all, another is saying not. What do you keep in your COSHH cabinets, or do you not have them??

 

[Nick Robertson-Vousden]

Hi Jayne

COSHH covers both products and working practices. so, manufacturers CLP ( safety data sheets) for products and then you need to complete your own risk assessments and method statements for the actual task. the risk and method statements can be somewhat generic, but have to have the ability to make it site/task specific.

As far as chemical storage goes,if in doubt put it in the cabinet.

You can find more detailed help and forms etc here

http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/controlling-risks.htm

Hope this helps

Best regards

Nick

 

[Mark Roberts]

http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/basics.htm

http://www.hse.gov.uk/cleaning/index.htm

 

[Garry Neilson]

The cabinet side would depend on the assessment of where the cabinet is located, if its in a locked room then the answer is no with the exception of perhaps dangerous chemicals(flammable, strong acids/alkali, weedkillers, pesticides ect) those that are designated for cabinet storage only. For example if you were storing in an area accessed by the general public as opposed to staff only then yes things need to be locked(ie a school) but if storing say in a catering kitchen or a back office area the answer is no. Its generally back to the old simple risk assessment logic, who can access them, who is at risk. Most cleaning chemicals do not meet the requirement for must be stored in a cabinet but they still should not be freely accessed by members of the public(for example kitchens and hospitals will have dispenser units on the wall in staff only areas for cleaning solutions like the D1 D2 style chemicals).