HSE launches revised guidance on sheep dipping

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has produced revised and updated guidance for farmers, farm workers and others involved in dipping sheep to help protect their health and the environment.

Booklet AS29(rev3) "Sheep dipping – Advice for farmers and others involved in dipping sheep" is a revised version of an earlier booklet with the same title, reference AS29(rev2), published in 1998.

The document gives advice on how to plan and carry out the work safely, including how to assess the risks under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 and outlines what practical measures should be taken to help protect health. The booklet takes a step by step approach to help users consider the range of products that are available to treat sheep ectoparasites, and how to control risks to health, with particular emphasis on the use of engineering controls, safe systems of work and personal protective clothing for the use of dips. 

The updated version contains advice on issues not previously covered in earlier HSE guidance, such as the legal requirements for a certificate of competence, the use of showers and jetting equipment, and the use of closed transfer systems for organophosphorus dips.  In view of the ongoing concerns about contamination of watercourses and risks to aquatic life, it also features enhanced advice on environmental precautions and disposal of dip to help support the “Stop Every Drop” campaign.

The revised leaflet is available as a document to download from the agriculture pages of the HSE website at hse.gov.uk/pubns/as29.pdf or single hard copies are available free of charge from HSE Books, telephone 01787 881165 or from http://books.hse.gov.uk.