COSHH
By the Riskora Editorial Team · Last reviewed
COSHH is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 — the UK regulations that require employers to control exposure to hazardous substances.
COSHH covers chemicals, fumes, dusts, vapours, mists, nanotechnology, gases, asphyxiating gases and biological agents. Lead, asbestos and radioactive substances are covered by separate regulations.
Employers must assess the risk from any hazardous substance used or produced at work, prevent exposure where reasonably practicable, and otherwise control it through engineering controls, safe systems of work and PPE — in that order of priority.
On a construction site, a COSHH assessment typically sits alongside the RAMS. The RAMS describes the work; the COSHH assessment covers the substances created or used during that work, such as silica dust from cutting blockwork or fumes from hot bitumen.
Why it matters
Long-latency illnesses — silicosis, occupational asthma, cancer — kill far more UK construction workers each year than acute injuries do. COSHH assessments exist because exposure controls are the only thing that prevent these.