COSHH in the

Workplace

1 Course Handbook
 The Training Hub
This handbook has been published by The Training Hub
as part of its Training and Development programme for
people who work with children and young people.

The course which you have completed has been

designed to assist you with relevant and practical
training practices which can be implemented into your
work with young people.

This guide covers the essential points of good practice

when working with children and young people.

It provides information which you can download and

review in your own time – this way you can reflect and
remind yourself of the key messages you have learnt.

2 Course Handbook
 Learning Objectives

To know how to identify hazardous substances

To know how to recognize the potential health effects
To know the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations
To understand COSHH assessments
To be aware of how to control hazardous substances

Introduction
The potential consequences of improperly managed hazardous substances in
the workplace or care environment range from bodily injury to death.
Therefore, following COSHH guidance can, in some circumstances, be a matter
of life or death. Its importance cannot be overstated.

This course will give you the tools you need to protect yourself and those
around you from the dangers of hazardous substances in the workplace.

We will look at how dangerous substances can get into the body, international
warning symbols that we can find on substance containers and different risks
and ways to mitigate them.

Legislation
COSHH legislation is a systematic approach to the control of risk presented by
substances in the workplace. It is defined under the Health and Safety at Work
Act 1974.

Important information regarding the control of hazardous substances is found

in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999 and 2002
and 2020.
New or revised workplace exposure limits for 13 substances have been
introduced from 17 January 2020.

This latest version of EH40/2005 workplace exposure limits has been updated
to include the new and revised workplace exposure limits (WELs) as
introduced by the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (EU) 2017/2398
amending Directive (2004/37/EC).

This new version will guide those responsible for controlling exposure to
hazardous substances at work.

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 Important note: The WELs listed in EH40/2005 workplace exposure limits
supersede any WELs contained in other HSE guidance or publications.

Defining Hazardous Substances

The legal definition of substances hazardous to health is any substance or
mixture of substance which:
● Displays a very toxic, toxic, corrosive, harmful or irritant hazard symbol
on the label
● Has an exposure limit approved by the Health and Safety Executive
● Is a biological agent
● Is any dust at a substantial concentration in the air
● Is not mentioned above but creates a health hazard comparable to any
of them

Different Forms
Hazardous substances come in many forms including:
● Liquids (e.g. cleaning chemicals)
● Dust (e.g. lead and asbestos)
● Fumes
● Gases (e.g. carbon monoxide)
● Living organisms (e.g. bodily fluids)

Routes of Entry
Hazardous substances can get into our bodies through different routes, and
each combination of substance and route has its own dangers and symptoms.

Different routes of entry are as follows:

● Inhalation: Through breathing in hazardous substances, such as toxic
fumes
● Ingestion: Through swallowing a hazardous substance or where one
might be splashed into the mouth
● Eyes: Substances can irritate the eyes either directly, by splashes, dust or
fumes entering the eyes, or indirectly by people handling hazardous
substances and then rubbing their eyes
● Absorption: Where a hazardous substance gets onto the skin and is
absorbed through the skin into the body and the bloodstream. Skin can
prevent most hazardous substances from passing through, but not all.
Absorption is normally associated with dermatitis when the skin comes
into contact with strong acids, alkalis and solvents
● Injection: Where a sharp object, such as a needle has a hazardous
substance on it and cuts or punctures the skin

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 Defences Against Entry
Our bodies have many natural defences against dangerous substances, such
as the following:
● Skin
● The lining of gut and airways
● Coughing
● Sneezing
● Diarrhoea
● Vomiting

Bodily Effects of Hazardous Substances

Hazardous substances can have various effects on the body. Some of those are
the following:
● Irritant: Causing a reaction such as inflammation or swelling
● Corrosive: Destroying or burning tissue
● Toxic: Poisoning
● Carcinogenic: Causing cancerous tumours and lesions
● Pathogenic: Causing disease
● Radioactive: Causing both short-term effects and long-term effects
including tumours, damage to genetic material and harm to fetuses

Effects that may arise from exposure to hazardous substances could be:
● Acute: Short-term
● Chronic: Long-term
● Intermediate: Mid-term

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 International Warning Symbols
The following are international warning symbols and their meanings:

Dangerous to
Corrosive
environment

Toxic Explosive

Under pressure Flammable

Caution - used for Longer term health

less serious health hazards such as
hazards like skin carcinogenicity and
irritation respiratory

Oxidising

Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is a way to think about what could go wrong in the workplace
and how to stop excessively risky activities before someone gets hurt

Risk assessments are not only good practice, they are also required by law.

COSHH Assessment
The purpose of a COSHH assessment is to enable employers to decide what
measures are necessary to control risks associated with the use of substances
hazardous to health in the workplace.

Conducting a COSHH assessment is a basic legal requirement that applies to

all employers.
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 There are 5 steps involved in a COSHH assessment:
1. Identify the hazards
There are several ways to identify hazardous substances in the
workplace. These include:
2. Supply label
3. Safety datasheet
4. Safety and Occupational Health
5. Industry information e.g. trade associations, colleagues knowledge
6. Publications e.g. the HSE publications

7. Decide who might be harmed and how

Consider the following:
● New and young workers
● New or expectant mothers
● People with disabilities
● Lone workers
● Contractors
● Visitors
● Anybody else affected by the business
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
The risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by
these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the
harm could be
4. Record
Record your findings and implement them - putting the results of your
risk assessment into practice will make a difference when looking after
people and your business
5. Review your assessment and update if necessary
Look at your risk assessment again and consider the following:
● Have there been any changes?
● Are there improvements you still need to make?
● Have you learnt anything from accidents or near misses?
● Make sure your risk assessment stays up to date

Control Measures
There are many ways of controlling hazardous substances (including PPE) but
good practice is to try to implement the most effective and reliable controls,
and this is achieved by working through a sequence of priorities known as the
hierarchy of control.

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 The hierarchy of control is as follows:
1. Elimination
2. Substitution
3. Isolation
4. Enclosure
5. Local ventilation
6. General ventilation
7. Good housekeeping
8. Exposure time
9. Reduction
10. Welfare facilities
11. Personal protective equipment/clothing

Personal Protective Equipment

Selection of PPE should be based on an assessment of the risk of transmission
of microorganisms to the resident, and the risk of contamination of a care
worker’s clothing and skin by the resident’s blood, body fluids, secretions or
excretions

Disposable gloves and aprons protect both the care worker and the resident
from the risks of cross-infection.

Disposable Gloves
As with all items of PPE, the need for gloves and the selection of appropriate
materials should be subject to careful assessment of the task to be carried out
and its related risks to the resident and the care worker

Gloves reduce the risk of contamination but do not eliminate it; therefore
gloves are not a substitute for hand hygiene.

Disposable Plastic Aprons

These should be worn by care workers when there is a risk of clothing being
contaminated with blood or other body fluids, or when a resident has a known
infection

A disposable plastic apron should be worn during direct care, bed-making or

when undertaking the decontamination of equipment

The apron is a single-use item used for one procedure or episode of care and
then discarded as clinical waste on completion of the task.

Face Masks and Eye Protection

These should only be used when caring for residents on the advice of the
infection prevention and control personnel and may be required if there is a
risk of blood and body fluid splash into the eyes, nose and mouth.

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 PPE Usage
The following are guidelines for which types of PPE to use and when:

Type of PPE Situation

No PPE No blood, body fluids or infection

Blood, body fluids, low risk of splashing, infection or

Aprons and gloves
risk of contaminating products

Aprons, gloves and Blood, bodily fluids, high risk of splashing, infection or
eye protection contamination risk

Responsibilities
The employers’ responsibilities are as follows:
● Assess and periodically review health and safety risks – this will involve
the carrying out of a COSHH assessment
● Decide what precautions are needed
● Prevent or control exposure
● Ensure that control measures are used and maintained
● Monitor exposure and carry out health surveillance if appropriate
● Provide information, instruction, training and supervision

The employees’ responsibilities are as follows:

● Use health and safety precautions provided e.g. PPE, training etc.
● Co-operate with monitoring and health surveillance
● Report loss or defects of PPE
● Report situations of imminent danger

Safe Handling of Sharps

The best practice with sharps after use is the following:
● Sharps must not be left for someone else to dispose of
● Used sharps must never be carried in a receiver or tray
● They must be disposed of directly and immediately into a sharps
container
● Sharps containers should be taken to the point of use

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 Body Fluids
When we talk about body fluids we mean things such as blood, urine, faeces,
vomit, saliva etc.

Body fluids may contain pathogenic microorganisms that are capable of

causing ill health.

All blood should be considered high risk and potentially contaminated with
microorganisms.

Other body fluids should also be considered as potentially contaminated with

microorganisms and treated accordingly.

Handling of Body Fluids

When performing your duties, contact with blood and body fluids may occur.

There is a possible risk of micro-organisms being transmitted according to the

nature of the fluid and the extent of the exposure.
Exposure may occur from one or more of the following:
● Absorption through broken skin
● Needlestick or any other penetrating injury
● Splashing in the eye(s)
● Absorption through mucous membranes
● Inhalation may occur if the fluids become an aerosol
● Ingestion

The risk is increased in the case of any untoward occurrence, e.g. spillage or
haemorrhage.

Consider the following things when handling body fluids:

● When contact with blood or body fluids is anticipated gloves and a
plastic apron should be worn
● Open lesions on the skin must be covered with waterproof dressings
● Staff with open and severe dermatitis should avoid contact with blood
and body fluids
● Hands and any other areas of skin contact must be washed and dried
thoroughly following each client or blood and body fluid contact
● If splashing into the face is likely, eye and mouth protection should be
worn
● To prevent aerosol of body fluids and subsequent inhalation or
ingestion, fluids must be disposed of carefully and in the appropriate
manner

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 ● Needles must not be re-sheathed unless absolutely essential then a
re-sheathing device must be used
● All sharp instruments/objects must be handled with extreme care to
prevent punctures of the skin
● Waste contaminated with body fluids is classified as clinical waste and
must be disposed of carefully following the waste disposal policy
● Linen soiled with body fluids must be held away from the body and
bagged according to the laundry code
● Equipment contaminated with body fluids must be adequately cleaned
and disinfected
● Spillages of body fluids must be cleaned with the appropriate cleaning
agent/disinfectant

Case Study
A care home where a man with Alzheimer's died after eating chlorine tablets
has been fined £270,000.

James McConnell was a resident at Lomond Court in Glenrothes when he died

in August 2015, a week after eating the disinfectant tablets.

The 72-year-old had found and opened a package that he thought contained
strong mints.

The Health and Safety Executive said the company failed to assess the risk
posed by several chemical products.

An HSE investigation also found the care home's operators HC-ONE Limited
failed to manage and review procedures for the delivery of the products for
two years.

Summary
The potential consequences of improperly managed hazardous substances in
the workplace or care environment range from bodily injury to death.
Therefore, following COSHH guidance can, in some circumstances, be a matter
of life or death.

This course has looked at dangerous substances, how they get into the body,
international warning symbols, different risks and how you can manage those
risks in the workplace.

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 Thank you
Web: www.thetraininghub.co.uk
Email: info@thetraininghub.co.uk
Support: onlinehelpdesk@thetraininghub.co.uk

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