COSHH stands for Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health. COSHH is a set of regulations that, since 2002, has governed the use of hazardous substances and chemicals in the UK.
The regulations were put into place so as to protect workers and other people from potentially dangerous substances. They state that employers must not expose their staff to such substances without first carrying out a risk assessment and taking steps to minimise the danger.
This can mean making changes that will make the substances themselves safer (e.g. using solids rather than liquids to prevent splashes and spills), but it also means identifying and labelling hazards so that everyone is aware of them.
This should be achieved through the use of COSHH-approved signs and tapes, which are specifically designed to effectively warn of substance-related dangers. These clearly marked and highly visible warning products can alert workers to a variety of hazards, including:
- Flammable goods
- Toxic substances
- Corrosives and irritants
- Biohazards
- Radioactive materials
COSHH signs should also be used to...
- ...remind workers of the appropriate precautions (e.g. keeping doors shut)
- ...advise the use of PPE
- ...warn of the presence of hazardous substances
- ...give additional information on the safe use of these substances
The COSHH regulations are designed to keep you, your employees, and everyone around you safe. Please visit the HSE website for further details, or select one of the links below to see our range of COSHH safety products.
The GHS (Globally Harmonised System) of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals becomes fully effective in the UK at the end of May 2015, and replaces the previous standards for marking of dangerous or hazardous substances and mixtures. So are you ready for the changes?
The GHS standards form part of the CLP Regulations, which make the regulations legally binding throughout the EU. The standards are aimed at protecting human health and safeguarding the environment by preventing chemical-related incidents or accidents where multiple classification systems previously existed and by streamlining health and safety training to reduce the level of injuries or illness.
While many of the GHS pictograms may be familiar to you, since they are closely based on the old EU classifications, there are some subtle changes plus the introduction of health hazards to humans (such as carcinogenic or mutagenic). Therefore, the new classifications replace the longstanding black on orange format classification structure, and these become legally binding on the 31st May.
Click here to purchase your new GHS labels and stay up-to-date with the latest regulations.
