New codes of practice on working with hazardous substances

Citation

(2003), "New codes of practice on working with hazardous substances", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 32 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.2003.12932bab.010

New codes of practice on working with hazardous substances

New codes of practice on working with hazardous substances

Keywords: Hazardous materials, Health and safety

Revised approved codes of practices (ACOP) aimed at protecting workers from the risks of hazardous substances have been published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The ACOPs reflect the new control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH) Regulations 2002, and the control of lead at work (CLAW) regulations 2002. These regulations replace the COSHH Regulations 1999 and CLAW regulations 1998.

While continuing to provide duty holders with comprehensive advice on how to comply with the law, the ACOPs are clearer than their predecessors about the status of the advice they give. The COSHH ACOP benefits from a simplification in its structure, which has incorporated the formerly separate, COSHH general, carcinogens and biological agents ACOPs into a single code of practice.

The new ACOPs also include information on the application of the new hierarchy of control measures necessary to control hazardous substances. They give advice on the new requirement to make arrangements to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies, and the COSHH ACOP has also been extended with an appendix on control of substances that cause occupational asthma.

The revised regulations implement the health requirements of the European Union’s chemical agents directive (CAD). The directive is designed to protect the health and safety of workers from the risks of chemical agents, and largely follows the well-accepted principles already present in UK legislation. These include the need to carry out assessments of risk for chemical agents; prevent or adequately control exposure; monitor exposure; place employees under health surveillance and provide employees with information, instruction and training.

The regulations also include a new requirement for employers, in certain circumstances, to draw up detailed procedures for dealing with accidents, incidents and emergencies that involve hazardous substances.

Bill Macdonald, Head of the COSHH and CLAW policy unit in the HSE, said, “Every year thousands of employees are made ill by the effects of hazardous substances to which they are exposed at work, and most of this misery and the accompanying business losses could be avoided with better risk assessment and control”.

“The new regulations and ACOPs are a significant further development of a well-established system, and will again highlight the risks of exposure to hazardous substances in the work place. I urge employers to use them as an incentive to take a fresh look at their work place procedures and systems to ensure that they are doing everything practicable to protect the health of their workers.”

As well as extending COSHH to implement CAD, a number of changes have been made to make clear that the regulations apply to biological agents as well as to chemicals. The changes introduce some additional measures to control the risk of exposure when intentionally working with biological agents.