Asthma - Employer Advice
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations requires employers to control exposures to hazardous substances to protect employees’ health.
Employers must assess the risk of exposure (exposure means taking in chemicals by breathing in, by skin contact or by swallowing).
COSHH requires you to consider the substitution of harmful products with less harmful ones.
COSHH requires that all controls be kept in good working order, including:
- Mechanical controls e.g. local exhaust ventilation (LEV), protective gloves;
- Administrative controls e.g. supervision;
- Operator controls e.g. following instructions.
For more information on how to control hazardous substances in your workplace see the COSHH Essentials website.
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Health surveillance
Health surveillance means regularly looking for early signs of work related ill health and putting procedures in place to achieve this.
The purpose of health surveillance is to monitor and protect the health of individual employees.
Collecting simple information may lead to early detection of ill health caused by work and identify the need for improved control measures.
All employees exposed or likely to be exposed to an Asthmagen should receive suitable health surveillance.
The specific requirements are set out in COSHH and might involve examinations by a doctor or trained nurse.
HSE has produced simple guidance on what health surveillance is required in COSHH Essentials
Suggested health surveillance questionnaires;
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Reporting
The law requires employers to report cases of occupational asthma to a central point.
This is under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR NI) 1997.
For further information on reporting please see the following page: Report an Incident
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