CLEAPSS Guidance - The Small Print

Over the past few years, the Health and Safety Inspectorate (HSE) has developed its work in inspecting and reporting on health.

Breathing is one of the areas on which HSE focuses and something that we, at CLEAPSS, take very seriously. 

Over the past year we have done a lot of work on wood dust control, fumes and particulates from 3D printers, and continue to work on systems for monitoring air quality. 

We still get quite a few queries from schools regarding the type of vacuum cleaner they need to use to clear up dust in school workshops. 

There is lots of reference to managing harmful dust across many guides and advice sheets, by both HSE and ourselves:

Not providing regular health surveillance is one of the common reasons that manufacturing companies fail to demonstrate compliance with COSHH regulations, particularly smaller companies.

Where there is exposure to fluid or mist from metalworking fluids, it is a legal requirement to carry out health surveillance even when preventative controls, such as fluid quality checks and local exhaust ventilation (LEV), are in place.

Two key control measures when working with metalworking fluids are: 

• Local exhaust ventilation

LEV should be fitted to machines (including CNC machines) where operators are exposed to metalworking fluid mist. It is the key control measure to reduce inhalation exposure. 

• Maintaining fluid quality

Water-mix metalworking fluid deteriorates over time and can become contaminated with harmful bacteria and other contaminants. Monitoring and maintaining fluid quality is key to controlling risk.

For more information on this or other topics, use the search function on the website, or follow the links below.