Evening everyone,

Can you please advise if bleach is banned in the workplace.

I've never seen this published anywhere but have heard it many times.

I'm sure that it is like any other substance as long as a COSHH assessment is undertaken it should be fine.


Barney#1

Barney,

Your absolutely right certainly not banned, however i guess what it is actually being used for and amount along with current controls would suggest if it is the correct chemical, conduct your COSHH assessment and follow your findings/controls.

Who spreads these stories; bleach is banned indeed!
If bleach was banned because it’s too dangerous then a lot of people would be out of work very quickly- me included.
Nothing is really banned- it’s mainly down to risk assessment under COSHH ( and other legislation).

As some of the good responses already made have pointed out, bleach is widely used in a wide range of workplaces and should pose no significant risk as long as that users are provided with appropriate precautions AND, crucially, understand the nature of the product and the precautions.

During the late 1980s I received a query about a newly employed cleaner with skin problems in a residential care home. When I went to investigate I met the employee who had horribly red, raw skin on her hands. This was caused by holding cloths soaked with neat bleach - and without any protective gloves - to clean/disinfect worktops and other surfaces in the kitchen and other parts of the home. There were several issues which needed prompt action: The first was to ensure that the employee received appropriate medical attention for her hands, and that she and others working with bleach and other harmful substances were provided with suitable gloves and used them. Also, it seemed that some employees thought that the use of cleaning agents in full or high concentrations somehow gave a better degree of cleaning and disinfection. In fact it did not and therefore was extravagant and wasteful. Furthermore, following the principles of the newly introduced COSHH Regulations, advice was given about using alternative products which were notably safer and also less pungent than bleach. As the same problem might exist in other care homes run by the same organisation, prompt contact was made with their managers and trade union safety reps. Thankfully, it seemed that the case I investigated was a one-off which may have stemmed in part from management changes and inexperience at the establishment involved.

On the subject of bleach, bear in mind that most swimming pools contain a very dilute solution of bleach derived in most cases from sodium hypochlorite (the most commonly available form of bleach) or calcium hypochlorite. However, as those who deal with swimming pools will confirm, problems can occur if the proportion of chlorine in the water is incorrect or errors result in chlorine gas being released into the air above pool water.

Also, though some pool users blame the chlorine in the water for causing eye irritation, etc. I understand that the real culprits are substances created when things like sweat, cosmetics or urine combine with the chlorine. Even though pool operators know or should know this, it seems from experience of various public and private pools I've used in the UK that they could do a lot more to persuade swimmers why they should have a good shower BEFORE entering the pools and refrain from urinating while in them. As pool operators and users in other European countries seem to have no problem with this matter, why does it persist in the UK?

Also, going back to the case I mentioned earlier, I wish that I'd taken a camera with me when I visited the care home. I can still remember seeing state of the employee's hands despite the hand cream she had bought to try and counter the effects of the bleach. If I'd been able to take a colour photo of them, it would have been very effective when explaining the aspects of the matter to other people. Also, I think I heard that, thankfully, the skin on the employee's hands recovered after the contact with bleach ceased.

A lot of our elderly customers do not think that the place has been cleaned because it did not "smell" like it.... It is great at giving the impression that the place is clean (irrelevant of how effective the cleaning process is in the first place...).
And don't get me started on dettol & other associates!!!! After all it is on TV!!
As Bilbo said it is a long process of educating people...

Good point by BernDaley about people, especially older people, associating the smell of chorine and similar products with a perception of cleanliness. I think that was one of the factors in the case I described earlier. Also, I guess that many people buy bleach for home use partly out of sheer habit and partly because it is cheaper than alternative cleaning/disinfecting agents. If they use it at home, they won't think there's anything unusual about using while at work.

As for 'Dettol' I understand that in the past one of its purposes was as an additive to bathwater, probably in the days before modern bathrooms when most people only had a bath once or twice a week. The small dosage involved used to be or might still be included on the labels of bottles of the stuff. I had such a bottle about 20 years ago (though not for adding to bathwater I hasten to add) until I got married. My wife discarded it on the grounds that she wouldn't be using it because couldn't stand its smell. By contrast she doesn't seem to mind the aroma of bleach!

p.s. I could worry (but don't) about adverts for disinfection products which claim to 'kill 99% of known germs dead'. What about the remaining 1% and also the unknown germs?!! :-)

Apparently chlorine releasing agents are the only things which are fully effctive against C. diff, which is why we have been required to use them in Hospices. I guess I believe this information as we have two in-house infection control experts, and they are happy to follow NHS guidance,

John

jwk - Yes our infection control bods insist on chlorine based products in certain circumstances, but in the main they are content with an appropriate detergent accurately diluted in hot water (cleaning) and a spray on wipe off sanitising agent when appropriate

Kept you clean and fresh though!

Outside of work I have an application for surgical spirit. The smell always reminds me of the doctors surgery when I was wee nipper!

Bizarre to say the least but no its not banned, usage should be based purely upon risk, usage and application. There are certainly as hazardous substances that are used as commonly as bleach such as antifreeze and deicer in many working environments but these certainly do not considered in the same risk bracket.

A sensible approach to application should be adopted and clearly if use of bleach can be avoided in preference for other less hazardous cleaning products all the better.

I do wonder sometimes!!!

Chris.p - Though I visited a few game processing factories during my time with HSE I don't recall any of them using bleach for cleaning birds or deer, etc. However, according to TV documentaries about food safety inspections, bleach is used to clean and whiten meat which unscrupulous people have obtained after it has been rejected as unfit for human consumption during inspections at abbattoirs. Considering that bleach is pretty pervasive, I wonder how the smell and taste of chlorine is effectively removed from the meat after it has been processed in this way.

No doubt some forum users watched part 1 of the "The Food Inspectors" TV documentary on BBC1 last night. It included a visit to a sandwich making factory with strict hygiene conditions and showed lettuce leaves being rinsed automatically in what looked like an aerated tank of water. Viewers were told that the liquid was a very dilute solution of 'chlorinated water' used for removing any mud deposits and any harmful pathogens present on the external surfaces of all fruits and vegetables used for making sandwiches. Likely pathogens include e-coli derived from manure in soil and presumably also any urine/faeces deposited by animals and birds on or near the food while it was being grown. For those interested in seeing/hearing more the relevant part of the programme is available around 50:19 minutes on BBC iPlayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/ipl...tors_Series_2_Episode_1/

p.s. To avoid alarming any viewers and customers I just wonder if the man (possibly the factory owner/manager) explaining the precautions taken used the term 'chlorinated water' in preference to 'bleach solution'!