HSC press release C014:03 - 17 April 2003
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has approved an updated
list of Occupational Exposure Standards (OESs) and Maximum Exposure
Limits (MELs).
These will be formally published in May in the 2003 supplement to
the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's) list of OELs in,
Occupational Exposure Limits 2002 (EH40/2002).
The revisions include:
Employers have a duty under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 to control workplace exposures to hazardous substances. HSC sets MELs and OESs to help them do this. The 2003 Supplement will detail changes to some of the MELs and OESs listed in EH40/2002. Both documents are complementary and will need to be read together.
The withdrawal of the OESs happened after HSC's Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances (ACTS) concluded that they were not scientifically robust and were therefore inadequate to protect health.
HSE has published chemical hazard alert notices (CHANs) for nine of the 16 withdrawn OESs to help employers control exposure: divinylbenzene (mixed isomers), furfuryl alcohol (FA), glycerol trinitrate, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen monoxide, sulphur dioxide, ethylene dinitrate, subtilisins and sulphuric acid. The others are not widely used.
The CHANS, which provide information on the health effects associated with exposure to the substances at work and good practice, are available on HSE's website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/chindex.htm
1. The 2003 Supplement to EH40/2002 will be available in late May to download, free of charge from HSE's website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk
The 2003 Supplement is designed to be read in conjunction with EH40/2002 - Occupational Exposure Limits 2002, price £10.50, which remains available from HSE Books, available online at: http://books.hse.gov.uk
2. Substances which may cause harm to health are subject to the COSHH Regulations 2002, which require employers to prevent, or if this is not reasonably practicable, adequately control, employees' exposure to hazardous substances. HSE sets OELs. There are two types of limit MELs and OESs. A MEL is set for substances, which may cause the most serious health effects, such as cancer and occupational asthma. COSHH requires that exposure should be reduced as far below the MEL as is reasonably practicable. An OES is set at a level at which (based on current scientific knowledge) there is no indication of risk to the health of workers who breathe it in.
3. Proposals for new or revised OESs and MELs, or for their withdrawal, come from HSC's Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances (ACTS).
4. ACTS was established to advise HSC on matters relating to the control of toxic substances in the workplace. Its membership comprises nominees from CBI, TUC and local authority associations, together with independent members appointed for their particular expertise or experience.
5. The text of the COSHH Regulations 2002 (which replaced the COSHH 1999 Regulations on 21 November 2002) can be found in Control of substances hazardous to health (Fourth edition), The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, Approved code of practice and guidance, L5, HSE Books 2002, ISBN 0 7176 2534 6, price £10.50, available from HSE Books (see above) or through good booksellers.
6. Details of the substances for which the HSC approved new or revised limits, including typical uses of those substances, can be found in HSE press release: C009:02 (7 March 2002), HSC seeks views on new occupational exposure limits for potentially harmful substances. The HSE consultation document, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999 Proposals for Maximum Exposure Limits and Occupational Exposure Standards (CD182) can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd182.htm.
7. As part of the transition towards a new OEL Framework, HSE has assessed the quality and quantity of data on which all existing MELS and OESs are based and the extent of industrial usage of the substances concerned. ACTS endorsed HSE's analysis of existing limits. The analysis carried out by HSE identified nine OESs that are not scientifically robust, and ACTs recommended to HSC that they should be withdrawn.
8. CHANs provide straightforward information on the health effects associated with exposure to particular substances at work. They also provide advice on good practice which employers will find helpful in considering what they need to do as required by COSHH. CHANs are available free from HSE's website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/chindex.htm. A consultative document, which will be issued in autumn 2003, will provide further detail on the proposals for transferring the remaining OESs and MELs into the new framework.A CHAN has not been produced for the withdrawn OES on dichlorvos because Ministers suspended dichlorvos from use as a pesticide in April 2002.
9. A proposal to change the existing occupational exposure limit framework was first raised publicly by way of an HSC discussion document, this is still available on HSE's website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/disdocs/dde19.pdf. A press release, issued on 20 March 2002, publicised the discussion document; this can still be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2002/c02012.htm. The discussion document contained proposals that would make it easier for firms to comply with their legal duty to control workers' exposure to chemicals. The proposals included suggestions for modernising and streamlining the process of setting occupational exposure limits (OELs) and ideas for linking them to advice on good practice. The deadline for responses was 30 July 2002.
10. Fifty-six replies were received to the discussion document. The majority of respondents agreed that there were difficulties with the present system and only two did not support the proposals for a new framework. A detailed analysis of the responses to the discussion document can be found in a paper considered by ACTS on 21 November 2002, this can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/meetings/iacs/acts/211102/paper43.pdf . The timetable to take the proposals forward include publishing a consultation document in autumn 2003, culminating with the implementation of the new framework in summer/autumn 2004.
All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office
Social media
Javascript is required to use HSE website social media functionality.
Follow HSE on Twitter:
Follow @H_S_E