COSHH and woodworkers - key messages

Substances hazardous to health in woodworking include:

• hardwood and softwood dust;
• dusts from hardboard, plywood, MDF, timber laminates etc;
• adhesives, paints, stains, varnishes, stripping fluids etc;
• lubricants;
• disinfectants to treat water systems.

Cleaning can give rise to high levels of wood dust in air.

Control measures include:

• dust extraction;
• respirators;
• skin checks;

Example: wood dust.

Wood dust can cause asthma when breathed in. Western red cedar dust is the most dangerous for asthma. Hardwood dust can cause nasal cancer.

Dermatitis may result from work with some types of wood.

You must reduce exposures to all types of wood dust as far below the WEL of 5 mg/m³ as is reasonably practicable. You normally need to use health surveillance (Check employees health for any adverse effects related to work. May involve checking skin for dermatitis or asking questions about breathing and may need to be done by a doctor or nurse.)

Help with identifying the right control is available on the COSHH essentials web tool. Control information for wood dust appears in:

• WD1 bandsaw;
• WD2 circular bench saw;
• WD3 cross-cut saw;
• WD4 vertical spindle moulder;
• WD5 overhead and CNC routers;
• WD6 sanding machines (fixed);
• WD7 sanding machines (hand-held);
• WD8 assembly with a downdraught bench;
• WD9 stand-alone dust collector (occasional use).

Visit the HSE Agriculture web pages for more information.

Employees

Your employer provides equipment to protect your health, such as

• dust extraction;
• personal protective equipment (eg respirator).

You have a duty to use these properly and co-operate with any monitoring and health