I'll mention some of the shortcomings often found in COSHH systems: 1. COSHH assessments based on substances (eg bleach) instead of activities (eg cleaning) 2. COSHH "assessments" that consist of transposing information from the msds into another format 3. COSHH assessments done without any involvement of people who do the job 4. COSHH "assessments" that copy the PPE requirements from the msds 5. COSHH assessments that specify PPE without considering the hierarchy of controls 6. COSHH assessments that only include normal operations and not spills / leaks 7. Neglecting maintenance & testing of control measures eg LEV 8. Requiring "gloves" without specifying what kind of gloves 9. Not communicating the assessment findings in an accessible way to the people who do the job

15. Failing to identify carcinogens, mutagens and substances toxic to reproduction 16. Failing to identify sensitisers 17. Failing to identify where medical surveillance, health surveillance or health records are required (e.g. in conjunction with 15. and 16.)

Wow - better quality thread than many! 20. I hesitate to add this, but from a user's point of view, please keep it simple!

Concur with all of that; had the very same task to perform at my place of work and definitely start on the principles of control, I had at least a dozen hazardous substances struck off and replaced with less hazardous alternatives. Yes too, the assessment has to take account of the product AND its application, I have some applications that differ for the same substance, direct liquid concentrate application V's diluted aerosol spray bottle application, separate assessment for each obviously. Get your supply, storage, uses and disposal lines clearly defined in your Policy Document, the assessment should be structured with due regard to your work place, sounds obvious but often overlooked, it's quite pointless declaring on an assessment "dispose of IAW SEPA Regulations" when the end user (reader) has no knowledge of those regulations, so assess your disposal methods relative to your site and keep the language easily understood e.g. - "dispose of via domestic skips on site" or "quarantine to on site hazardous waste container for disposal via local council hazardous waste collection site". You will probably have a huge catalogue of suppliers that will have to issue you with an appropriate MSDS, but did you know that any item sold at B&Q has an MSDS to download free, just go to the website and follow the link to the H&S page, COSHH/MSDS, punch in the number that appears below the Bar Code and presto, PDF format MSDS; its good for those lesser items that constantly appear on site no? Also Screwfix, similar deal; for real!

Hi Jim, Links are fine, and this could be me being old fashioned - but what if an incident occurs and computers, electricity, internet, website are lost. E.g - an acetylene bottle is on fire already - in the decomposing state, are you going to tell somebody to log in and get the info rather than muster away from the danger zone with the information readily available? The fire service or ambulance etc may need a hard copy due to this scenerio, to ensure the right antidote or fire fighting method is correct! I have spoken with DSEAR - PFEER experts on this very matter and electronic copies of these documents is fine, if you have considered the "What if's", which is near on impossible to overcome without hard copies. There is no border on COSHH materials, if it is deemed hazardous regardless of what it's application then an assessment must be carried out. REACH could see the restrictions of materials that are not hazardous in any way - the hazardous agents involved in the manufacturer may become banned rendering the non-hazard item "no longer available"... hence the chemical and business risks surrounding COSHH, REACH, EH40, CHIP-GHS all need to be considered. Regards Kev P.S Those simple labels will be a thing of the past soon as well, as those labels will be incorporating all the EU member state languages! Hence the need for a complete revision now, to save a repeat system review in few years time..