Metal Working Fluids
Cooperation between the United Kingdom Lubricants Association (UKLA) and HSE has led to a revised version of the UKLA Good Practice Guide for the Safe Handling and Disposal of Metalworking Fluids being published.
This is a comprehensive guide giving advice on how to maintain metalworking fluids to prevent ill-health in machine workshops.
Updates to the guide include further advice on health surveillance and acting on dipslide results.
Cleaning your workplace to
reduce risk from coronavirus
(COVID-19)
As an employer, you must protect people from harm. This includes taking reasonable steps to protect your workers and others from coronavirus.
Coronavirus can transfer from people to surfaces. It can be passed on to others who touch the same surfaces. Keeping your workplace clean reduces the potential for coronavirus to spread and is a critical part of making and keeping your business ‘COVID-secure’.
You may need to increase how often and how thoroughly you normally clean, as well as cleaning surfaces that you do not normally clean.
If you are cleaning because of a known or suspected case of COVID-19 in your workplace you should follow the guidance COVID-19: cleaning in non-healthcare settings on GOV.UK
Risk Assessment
Before you can decide what cleaning is suitable for your situation, you’ll need to do a risk assessment to help you manage risk and decide how best to work safely and protect people during coronavirus
Clean to reduce risk from coronavirus
Your risk assessment will help you to identify what your cleaning regime will look like, but there are some general things that you should consider.
Identify frequently touched surfaces
Doors, bannisters, buttons and anything that is frequently touched, especially if it’s touched by lots of people, will need more regular cleaning than normal.
Examples of frequently touched objects include:
- work surfaces like desks, platforms and workstations
- handles on doors, windows, rails, dispensers and water coolers
- common areas like toilets, reception, changing rooms, corridors and lifts
- vehicle handles, steering wheel, seat belts and internal surfaces
- control panels for machinery, control pads and switches
- computer keyboards, printers, touch screens, monitors and phones
- taps, kettles, water heaters, fridges, microwaves and cupboards
- shared equipment like tools, machines, vehicles, pallet trucks delivery
- boxes post and goods coming in or being shipped out
Put in place measures to clean surfaces and objects after each use where possible, for example phones and conferencing facilities in a meeting room. If it’s not practical to clean after each use, for example lift buttons that are used continuously throughout the day, make sure they are cleaned often.
Home Working
Employers have a duty to protect the health and safety of all employees, including homeworkers.
Assessing the risks
• A risk assessment must be carried out which identifies the hazards relating to the homeworkers’ work activities and show the steps that have been taken to prevent harm to them or to anyone else who may be affected by their work.
• It may be necessary for the employer to visit their homeworkers to carry out a risk assessment particularly for higher risk work, however a system of self-assessment that is supported by photographs and detailed descriptions, may be adequate to ensure adequate contrails are in place, risk assessments must be reviewed periodically.
• When deciding who may be affected by the work done at home and how they may be affected, this should include the homeworker and members of the household, including visitors.
• Appropriate steps need to be taken to eliminate or reduce any identified risks and if the employer has five or more employees the assessment must be written down – however it is good practice to always do this.
• The risk assessment must consider homeworkers who are new and expectant mothers. Risks include those to the unborn child or to the child of a woman who is still breast feeding, not just risks to the mother herself.
The most common heath problems experienced by homeworkers are headaches, back/ neck ache and eyestrain.
Some common hazards associated with homeworking are:
• manual handling – loads that are heavy, bulky, difficult to grasp or unstable; awkward lifting, reaching or handling; pushing or pulling; repetitive handling with insufficient rest breaks; twisting and stooping
• use of work equipment at home – incorrect equipment for the job, insufficient provision of training or information, lack of maintenance, insufficient controls/guards, failure to provide suitable and sufficient personal protective equipment
• using electrical equipment at home
• using substances and materials
• fire safety, particularly if the working area is above the ground floor
• working with DSE
• lone working.
If homeworkers use electrical equipment provided by the employer as part of their work, the employer is responsible for its maintenance. Employers are only responsible for the equipment they supply and not responsible for any electrical sockets and other parts of the homeworkers’ domestic electrical system.
The employer must give consideration to any first aid needs of the homeworker.
Barbour 2020
Crystalline silica
What is Crystalline silica?
Silica is the name given to a group of minerals composed of silicon and oxygen, the two most abundant elements in the earth’s crust. In spite of its simple chemical formula, SiO2, silica exists in many different forms. Silica is found commonly in the crystalline state but occurs also in an amorphous (non-crystalline) state. Crystalline silica is hard, chemically inert and has a high melting point. These are prized qualities in various industrial uses.
Respirable crystalline silica (RCS)
Respirable crystalline silica is created when things containing Crystalline Silica are broken down and released. This can happen during processes such as drilling, sawing, cutting, grinding, laying ballast or even sweeping up after a task has been performed. RCS can penetrate deep into the lungs, and the body’s natural defence mechanisms to eliminate the respirable dust inhaled do not work. Over time this causes significant scaring to the lungs and can lead to both Silicosis and lung Cancer.
Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)
The Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016 are concerned with protecting those at work from the risks associated with Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs).
EMFs are present in all workplaces and homes due to ordinary electrical equipment. However, dangers can arise from equipment or activities producing high levels of exposure, causing health effects such as heating effects in the body, burns or effects on the central nervous system.
Some type of equipment such as MRI scanners and powerful electromagnets can produce what are called indirect effects for example where danger is caused by a flying metallic object dragged into the magnetic field
Equipment which can cause risks
Some types of equipment such as MRI scanners and powerful electromagnets can produce what is called indirect effects where danger is caused by a flying metallic object dragged into the magnetic field.
Employees at particular risk
Some people can be more vulnerable to electromagnetic fields than others. Examples are those wearing or fitted with medical devices such as heart pacemakers or similar devices, or those who are pregnant. You should always tell your employer if you think you are at increased risk.
Some types of work can put employees at particular risk such as work with explosives and flammable materials. In some cases fires or explosions can be triggered by EMFs and special precautions are needed.
Exposure Limit Values & Action Levels
The Regulations lay down Exposure Limit Values and Action Levels:
• An Exposure Limit Value relates to a health effect (such as burns, effects on the nervous system, electric shocks or heating body tissue) or a sensory effect (such as nausea, vertigo, or a metallic taste in the mouth). Sensory effect ELVs an be exceeded if the employer takes action to safeguard employees and has an action plan to reduce effects. ELVs are difficult to measure.
• Action Levels relate to quantities that can be more easily measured or obtained from manufacturers. Some types of Action Level can be used to demonstrate that ELVs are not exceeded. Other types relate to indirect effects such as a ferrous metal object being dragged into a magnetic field causing danger to anyone in the way.
Employer actions
The regulations also require employers to:
• undertake an exposure assessment relating to the work of their employees; this may be very simple and can use HSE guidance and indicate that little or no further action is needed
• if the exposure assessment indicates that ELV’s are likely to be exceeded, indirect ALs are exceeded or there are employees at particular risk, a risk assessment is required to be undertaken by the employer
• take action to reduce the risk to employees and control the exposure below the ELVs (except in certain circumstances where only sensory effect ELVs are exceeded and other precautions, listed in the Regulations, are taken)
• where necessary, the employer must take steps to eliminate or minimise the risks, to provide information and training to employees and to provide health surveillance for employees who report sensory effects.
What you should do
In order to minimise any risks to yourself or other workers you should:
• make sure you tell your employer if you are at particular risk due to having a medical implant or body worn device which could make you more vulnerable to EMF, or if you are pregnant
• be familiar with the exposure assessment and any risk assessment for EMFs which relates to your work
• follow the procedures and training you have been given in order to minimise risks to yourself and others
• report any sensory effects to your employer and attend health surveillance.
Legislation and resources
• The Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016
• HSG 281 HSE Guide to the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016
Dust
Dust is a general term for particles of any substance that become suspended in the air. Sometimes the particles are so small they are not visible to the naked eye
Dangers of dust:
• any dust can be dangerous if its particles are small enough to stay suspended in the air.
• certain dusts cause serious health problems even at low levels (eg some wood dusts may cause cancer) – the HSE’s EH40 document gives exposure limits for general and specific dusts.
• dusts can form explosive mixtures in air, eg flour, so it is important to prevent dust building up and to control ignition sources such as electrical equipment
Ways of controlling dust:
• the Workplace (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations require effective and suitable ventilation.
• design and maintenance of ventilation is crucial to how well it works.
• ventilation may be either general room/space ventilation system or a local exhaust ventilation (LEV) targeted at problem areas/processes.
• where dust cannot be adequately controlled by other means then personal protective equipment (PPE) can be necessary, eg respirators, breathing apparatus and eye protection.
• good housekeeping and cleaning are needed, particularly vacuum cleaning, but this is often not enough on its own – other dust controls are usually needed, eg ventilation.
• dusts should never be cleaned using brushes, brooms etc. as this makes the dust airborne – special vacuum cleaners with high efficiency filters are needed.
• COSHH risk assessments are needed to analyse hazards of specific dusts and dusty processes and identify the best controls.
Legislation and resources
• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
• Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002
• HSE: EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits.