Free COSHH Assessment Template — PDF
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A COSHH assessment template structured the way an HSE inspector reads it: substance and supplier, exposure route, who's affected, control measures, PPE, monitoring, health surveillance and emergency response. Built for UK COSHH 2002 compliance and tested against the kinds of substances trade contractors actually use — solvents, dusts, cement, fuels, cleaning chemicals.
Designed for: Contractors, site supervisors, facilities managers and small employers handling hazardous substances on site
COSHH Assessment example document — COSHH Assessment — Flat-Roof Re-cover, 22 Cromwell Road. Client: Bristol City Council Housing — Repairs Team. Site: 22 Cromwell Road, Bristol, BS6 5EX. Scope: Substance-led COSHH assessment for the hazardous substances used during the flat-roof strip and torch-on re-cover: bitumen primer, LPG for the torch, and cementitious repair mortar. Covers exposure routes, persons exposed, the hierarchy of control, PPE/RPE, storage, spill and first-aid response, waste disposal and review.
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Complete Guide to COSHH Assessment (UK)
What is a COSHH Assessment?
A COSHH assessment is a written assessment of the risk to health from any hazardous substance used or generated at work — chemicals, dusts, fumes, gases, biological agents. It identifies the substance, the exposure routes (inhalation, skin, ingestion, eye), who's exposed, the controls that reduce exposure to as low as reasonably practicable, and the action to take if the controls fail. The template gives you the structure; the assessment itself has to reflect your actual job, your actual product and your actual gang.
When is it legally required?
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require an employer to assess the risk before using any substance that could harm health. That includes anything with a CLP hazard pictogram, anything that generates dust or fume (cement, silica, MDF, hot work), and biological agents. The assessment must be in writing if you have five or more employees and must be reviewed when anything material changes — new product, new process, new symptoms.
Who is responsible?
The employer owns the assessment. It must be carried out by a competent person — someone who understands the substance, the task and the workplace. On a construction site that's usually the site supervisor or H&S advisor; on a small contract it might be the owner. The principal contractor will spot-check COSHH assessments and bin anything that's just a copied SDS.
Where is it commonly used?
COSHH assessments are needed across construction (cement, silica dust, solvents, fuels, two-part adhesives), maintenance (cleaning chemicals, drain products), industrial (process chemicals, coolants), healthcare (disinfectants, sterilants), agriculture (pesticides) and any workshop using paints, thinners or degreasers. If the SDS has a hazard pictogram, you need an assessment.
What a Complete COSHH Assessment Includes
- Substance name, supplier and SDS reference (with date — SDSs go out of date)
- Hazard classification (CLP pictograms, H-statements)
- Quantity used and frequency
- Exposure routes — inhalation, skin, ingestion, eye
- Who is exposed — operatives, others nearby, vulnerable groups
- Workplace exposure limits (WEL) where set
- Control measures following the hierarchy (eliminate → substitute → engineering → admin → PPE)
- PPE specified with standard (e.g. EN 14387 filter type, EN 374 glove grade)
- Health surveillance requirement (yes/no, type)
- Exposure monitoring requirement
- Emergency response — spill, fire, first aid, eye flush
- Disposal route
- Reviewer, date and review trigger
What's included in this template
Substance details
Product name, supplier, SDS reference and date, CLP hazard classification.
Task & quantity
What the substance is used for, how much, how often, where.
People at risk
Operatives, others on site, visitors, vulnerable groups (pregnant workers, young people).
Exposure routes & limits
Inhalation, skin, ingestion, eye — with any Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL).
Control measures
Hierarchy of control — eliminate, substitute, engineering, administrative, PPE.
PPE specification
Glove grade, RPE filter type, eye-protection standard — not just 'PPE worn'.
Health surveillance & monitoring
Skin checks, lung function, biological monitoring, exposure measurement.
Emergency response
Spill, fire, first aid, eye flush — with location of nearest facilities.
Disposal & storage
How leftovers and empties are handled, storage segregation.
Review
Reviewer, date, next review and what triggers an early review.
UK Requirements and Best Practice
Legal expectations
- ● COSHH 2002 reg 6 — employer must assess the risk before any work involving exposure
- ● COSHH 2002 reg 7 — prevent exposure or, where not practicable, control it to as low as reasonably practicable
- ● Hierarchy of control is mandatory — PPE is the last resort, not the first
- ● Workplace Exposure Limits (EH40) must be observed for listed substances
- ● Health surveillance is required where exposure may cause identifiable disease (e.g. dermatitis, occupational asthma, HAVS)
What inspectors typically look for
- ● Assessment matches the actual product in use — SDS reference and product name agree
- ● Hierarchy of control is visible — elimination and substitution considered, not just PPE
- ● Exposure routes addressed individually — eye, skin, inhalation each have controls
- ● RPE has a face-fit test record for every wearer when required
- ● Health surveillance arranged where indicated (skin checks for solvents, lung-function for dusts)
- ● Workforce briefed and the COSHH register is up to date
Common compliance mistakes
- Filing the SDS and calling it the assessment — the SDS is an input, not the assessment
- Generic 'wear gloves and a mask' control with no spec of glove grade or RPE filter type
- Forgetting the cumulative-exposure substances (silica, cement dust, isocyanates)
- No face-fit test records when tight-fitting RPE is the control
- Health surveillance ticked 'not required' for substances that legally require it
- Assessment not reviewed when the product was reformulated or the supplier changed
Example Use Cases
Cement and silica dust on a groundworks contract
A groundworker is mixing screed and cutting slabs with a petrol disc cutter. The COSHH assessment covers wet cement (skin burns, dermatitis, eye irritation) and respirable crystalline silica (lung disease, with a WEL of 0.1 mg/m³). Controls include water suppression on the cutter, on-tool LEV where applicable, FFP3 RPE with face-fit records, nitrile gloves to EN 374, eye protection and a wash-and-change facility on site. Health surveillance: skin checks and annual lung function for any operative regularly exposed.
Two-part epoxy on a flooring install
A flooring contractor is laying a resin floor in a warehouse. The assessment covers the resin and hardener separately — both skin sensitisers, with isocyanate content in the hardener triggering occupational asthma risk. Controls include forced ventilation, restricted access during install and cure, EN 14387 ABE-P3 RPE for the applicators, gauntlet gloves to EN 374 Type A, full-face shield and a documented health-surveillance programme for asthma.
Commercial cleaning chemicals on a facilities contract
A facilities-management cleaning team uses a chlorine-based sanitiser and a quat-based degreaser. The COSHH assessment covers both — the high-risk one is the chlorine sanitiser, which can release chlorine gas if mixed with acids. Controls include never-mix signage, dispenser systems to avoid neat handling, EN 374 nitrile gloves, eye protection, and an emergency-response card with spill and inhalation actions. Operatives briefed quarterly, with a sign-on record.
How to use this template
- 1
Pull the current SDS for every product
Section 2 (hazards), 8 (controls), 11 (toxicology) and 16 (review date) are the ones you'll use. Bin SDSs more than 12 months old.
- 2
Describe the actual task, not the substance in isolation
Risk depends on use — a sealed container is low risk, the same substance in a spray application is high risk.
- 3
Apply the hierarchy of control, in order
Can you eliminate the substance? Substitute it for something safer? Use engineering controls (LEV, enclosure)? Only then add admin controls and PPE.
- 4
Specify PPE by standard, not by name
'Gloves' is not a control. 'Nitrile EN 374 Type A, replaced per shift' is.
- 5
Decide on health surveillance
Use HSE guidance — solvents, sensitisers, dusts, isocyanates all carry surveillance triggers.
- 6
Write the emergency response
Spill kit location, eye-wash location, nearest A&E, first-aider name. Numbers and names, not generic '999'.
- 7
Brief the team and capture sign-on
An unbriefed assessment doesn't reduce exposure. Sign-on is part of the record.
- 8
Diary the review
Annual at minimum; immediately on product change, near-miss or symptom report.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Filing the SDS and calling it the COSHH assessment
- No exposure-route detail — just 'irritant'
- PPE with no spec — 'wear gloves' doesn't pass an audit
- Hierarchy ignored — straight to PPE without considering substitution
- Forgetting cumulative dusts (silica, cement, MDF) that aren't on a single SDS
- Health surveillance ticked 'not required' to avoid the cost
- Review date that's already passed
Share or Use This Template
This COSHH Assessment template is free to use and share. Feel free to reference it with your team, include it in training materials, or link to it from your own resources.
Why templates have limitations
Templates provide a solid starting point, but they require manual editing to match your specific site conditions, hazards, and work activities. This can be time-consuming and important site-specific risks may be missed if sections are left generic.
For projects where accuracy and speed matter, many contractors prefer tools that generate structured documents automatically based on real project inputs.
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