Working with hazardous substances can, as the name suggests, be hazardous. Extra caution should be taken and appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (known for short as PPE) should be provided. PPE could be in the form of gloves, overalls, goggles, masks or whatever other equipment is necessary to make the job as safe as possible and to protect workers from harm.
Governing this area of law is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). Substances hazardous to health can include chemicals, products containing chemicals, fumes, dust, vapours, gases, germs etc. These substances are covered by COSHH but things like asbestos and radioactive substances are covered by alternative Regulations. COSHH is covered extensively by the Health and Safety Executive on their website.
Some substances have exposure limits. This obviously means that exposure to that substance whether it is through breathing in fumes or by skin contact etc is limited. With some tasks a permit to work may be required to carry out a certain task which involves some contact or potential exposure to hazardous substances. A permit to work would be based on a risk assessment to ensure that all potential risks and precautions are taken.
Exposure to hazardous substances can lead to all kinds of injuries and/or diseases, including death. We have all seen the product labels on hazardous substances. Labels notify users of toxic substances, harmful substances, irritant’s, flammable substances explosive substances, substances dangerous to the environment, corrosive substances etc. Some substances that we use in everyday life will contain these labels including paint, bleach, solvents etc.
The COSHH Regulations require employers to assess the risks to their employees and to adequately prevent or control these risks. Risk assessments are not just a paper based exercise, when it comes to worker safety with hazardous substances risk assessments are essential.
In terms of controlling methods in relation to hazardous substances the best method would be to eliminate the use of a harmful product all together. If this is not possible then consider whether a safer form of the product could be used (i.e. a paste rather than a powder).
Other controlling methods include changing the process so that less of the harmful substance is emitted and of course to have as few workers as possible in harm’s way. Although far down the list of controlling methods, a method often used is PPE. This is often used in conjunction with other controlling methods. If the substance cannot be made safer at source or reduced at source then the only other option is to protect the workers from the harm. In this scenario it is recognised that there is a potential risk to hazardous substances (i.e. dust) but workers subject to the exposure are provided with PPE to keep them safe (i.e. masks). PPE is essential and it must be enforced so that no one is exposed to the harmful substance without adequate PPE. PPE needs to be checked with the manufactures and tested adequately to ensure that it is suitable for each different scenario. Different PPE is required for different risks. Simply providing protective equipment is not usually enough to escape liability; often the use of the protective equipment would have to be enforced.
If you have sustained injury or illness through working with or coming into contact with hazardous substances then you may be entitled to make a claim.
Do not hesitate to contact The Injury Lawyers today.
