COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. It is the law that requires employers to control exposure to substances at work that can cause ill health. If you have asked "what is COSHH?" because the term appears on a product label, a safety document or a waste enquiry, this guide explains what the regulations cover, what counts as a hazardous substance under them and how COSHH sits alongside the rules on chemical waste.
What is COSHH and what does it stand for?
The full name of the law is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, and they came into force on 21 November 2002. They are usually shortened to COSHH, or "the COSHH Regulations". The text published on legislation.gov.uk shows the regulations applying in England, Wales and Scotland.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) describes COSHH in its COSHH basics overview as the law requiring employers to adequately control exposure to materials in the workplace that cause ill health.
COSHH meaning in practice: why the regulations exist
Many materials used or created at work can harm health. Examples range from dusts, gases and fumes that are breathed in, to liquids, gels and powders that come into contact with the eyes or skin. Harmful micro-organisms can also be present.
Some substances can cause asthma or other diseases, including cancer, and that many can damage the skin. Effects can be immediate, such as dizziness or stinging eyes, or can take many years to develop. Ill health caused by substances used at work is preventable, which is the purpose of COSHH.
What counts as a substance hazardous to health?
HSE's page on what COSHH covers says substances can take many forms, including:
- chemicals and products containing chemicals
- fumes, dusts, vapours and mists
- nanotechnology
- gases and asphyxiating gases
- biological agents (germs), such as those that cause leptospirosis or legionnaires' disease, and germs used in laboratories
In legal terms, the regulations apply to several groups of substance. They are substances listed in the classification, labelling and packaging (CLP) rules with an indication of danger of very toxic, toxic, harmful, corrosive or irritant, substances with a workplace exposure limit approved by HSE, biological agents, dust of any kind above set concentrations in air, and any other substance that creates a risk to health because of its chemical or toxicological properties and the way it is used or present at work.
If product packaging carries any of the hazard symbols, the product is classed as a hazardous substance.
Substances outside COSHH
COSHH does not cover lead, asbestos or radioactive substances. Each of these has its own specific regulations.
What the COSHH Regulations cover
The regulations are set out in numbered regulations from 1 to 21, followed by a series of schedules. The table of contents on legislation.gov.uk gives a clear picture of their scope. The main regulations include:
- Assessment of the risk to health created by work involving substances hazardous to health (regulation 6)
- Prevention or control of exposure (regulation 7)
- Use of control measures (regulation 8)
- Maintenance, examination and testing of control measures (regulation 9)
- Monitoring exposure at the workplace (regulation 10)
- Health surveillance (regulation 11)
- Information, instruction and training for people who may be exposed (regulation 12)
- Arrangements to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies (regulation 13)
The schedules cover more specialist subjects, such as the principles of good practice for controlling exposure, additional provisions for work with biological agents and the fumigations that require notification.
Employer duties under COSHH
On its What the law says page, HSE explains that the COSHH Regulations require employers to plan, manage and monitor the use of chemicals, micro-organisms and other substances hazardous to health. At a high level, the employer's role covers finding out what the health hazards are, deciding how to prevent harm through risk assessment, providing and maintaining control measures, providing information, instruction and training, carrying out monitoring and health surveillance where appropriate, and planning for emergencies.
Duties do not stop at employees. Regulation 3 extends many of an employer's duties, so far as is reasonably practicable, to other people who may be affected by the work, with some exceptions for health surveillance, monitoring, training and accident arrangements. The same regulation applies COSHH to certain self-employed people as if they were both employer and employee, except for the regulations on monitoring and health surveillance.
All employers have to carry out a risk assessment, and those with five or more employees have to record the significant findings. The detail of how assessments and controls work is a matter for HSE's own guidance rather than this article.
Safety Data Sheets and COSHH
A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is a document supplied with a hazardous chemical. HSE explains that the SDS contains the information an employer needs to carry out the risk assessment required by COSHH, but that the SDS itself is not an assessment.
Suppliers of chemicals have a legal duty to provide an up to date SDS for a substance that is dangerous for supply. Information on handling, storage and emergency measures for a particular product is found on its SDS. In an emergency, contact the emergency services.
How COSHH relates to chemical waste
HSE lists waste among the places harmful substances can be found, alongside paints, cleaners, flour dust, solder fume and blood. Leftover solvents in a workshop, part used tins of paint or old reagents in a laboratory are the kinds of material that can contain substances hazardous to health while they remain on site.
The COSHH Regulations also show how some waste materials are treated. Schedule 1, which lists other substances and processes covered by the definition of "carcinogen", includes used engine oils. Waste streams like this often come up alongside oil disposal, solvent disposal and laboratory waste disposal.
COSHH is health and safety law. It is about protecting people at work from exposure. Once a substance becomes waste, separate waste law also applies. GOV.UK guidance explains that the producer has to classify the waste and describe it with a List of Waste code, often called an EWC (European Waste Catalogue) code, before it is collected. Our guides on what hazardous waste is and hazardous waste legislation in the UK explain those rules.
In short, COSHH and waste law run side by side. One covers people working with the substance, and the other covers how the waste is classified, moved and disposed of. If you are unsure how the two apply to a waste you hold, speak to our team.
To discuss your waste, contact our team on 0845 366 9306 or email enquire@hazardousdisposal.co.uk.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute professional, legal or chemical advice. Waste producers are legally responsible for correctly classifying their waste. For guidance on your specific waste, please contact our team.