Have a look at this:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/sr19.pdf


Andy

No you have not misread, under Schedule 1 of COSHH- used fuel oil is a carcinogen but it is not a prohibited substance, those are listed in reg 4 and schedule 2.
The if you look at the guidance (para 24) that comes with the ACop it talks a bit more about carcinogens.
The issue with carcinogens is that the health effects of them are not immediate like an acid. If you spill an acid on your hand you will get a burn. By contrast if you expose yourself to a carcinogen you increase the likelihood of developing cancer but there is no guarantee that you will or will not get it, just like everybody has an Uncle Albert who smoked 60 woodbines a day for fifty years and died at 90 after being run over by a tram, and cousin Jill spent a few days working in a pub breathing in second hand smoke and was dead by the time she was 30.
Carcinogens are classified under the Global Harmonisation System (which has replaced CHIP) into two categories, of which the first may be divided again into subcategories if so desired by the competent regulatory authority:
Category 1: known or presumed to have carcinogenic potential for humans
Category 1A: the assessment is based primarily on human evidence
Category 1B: the assessment is based primarily on animal evidence
Category 2: suspected human carcinogens
I believe used engine oil is classed as being Category 1.

So..... don't panic!! Your precautions for dealing with oil should be sufficient wether it is Carcinogenic or not. That is, don't get on skin or in eyes, contain it, dispose of rags etc correctly, use appropriate PPE, don't inhale any vapour from hot oil and so on. Keep minimum quantities, don't let it spread around. COSHH requires that expsoure to Carcinogens should be "ALARP" - I would suggest that owing to it's horrible nature, you should be doing that anyway. Make employes aware of dangers (eg especially as regards to not having oily rags in pockets) and you will be fine.

The following is extracted from the fact sheet of the USA Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry:

"How likely is used mineral-based crankcase oil to cause cancer?
Long-term exposure (365 days or longer) of the skin to used mineral-based crankcase oil causes skin cancer in mice. Oils contain PAHs (polycyclic aromatice hydrocarbons). Some PAHs have been identified as the cancer-causing agents. Animal tests have shown that the higher the PAH content in oil the more likely for the oil to be carcinogenic.

The Department of Health and Human Services, the International Agency for Research on Cance and the EPA have not classified used mineral-based crankcase oil with regard ot its carcinogenicity in people."

They are much more concerned with dermatitis, blood effects (anemia), headaches and tremors from skin exposure, as well as ingestion.

So if you have the oil on your skin for a whole year start to worry!

So are we getting the right balance in our concern about used engine oil?

Chris