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The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation 2002 have been significantly updated, as from 6 April, 2005. The new focus has been placed on good practice to help employers prevent their employees' health being harmed by the chemicals used in their workplace. There is also a change to the way limits are set for exposure to chemicals in the workplace. (See EH40 below).
What should safety representatives be doing? Ensure you are involved in the COSHH assessment, so that no substance is used without having first been fully assessed. Use your rights to health and safety information to request and take copies of COSHH assessments and records of monitoring, including the results of local exhaust ventilation tests. Check that measures to first prevent and then control exposure are introduced. Ensure that the employer provides information and training in the risks and alternative means of working with substances hazardous to health. Ask your employer whether there is a COSHH Essentials control solution for the jobs you do. If there is, make sure it is applied.
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