COSHH Regulations for Tradespeople

Quick Answer: The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) legally require every employer and self-employed tradesperson to assess the risk from hazardous substances they create or use, prevent or control exposure, and keep that control working. For trades, the biggest COSHH risks are not labelled chemicals — they are the dusts you create: silica from cutting stone, brick and concrete, and wood dust from sanding and sawing.

Summary

COSHH is the regulation tradespeople break most often without realising it, because the most dangerous substances on a building site do not come in a bottle with a hazard label. They are generated by the work itself. Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) — the fine dust from cutting, grinding or drilling concrete, brick, stone, mortar and tiles — is a Group 1 carcinogen and the second biggest cause of occupational lung disease in construction after asbestos. Wood dust, particularly hardwood and MDF dust, is also a carcinogen. Neither arrives with a safety data sheet.

COSHH applies to the self-employed as well as employers. If you create silica dust cutting paving slabs, COSHH applies to you, even working alone. The regulation does not require paperwork for its own sake — it requires you to think through what you are exposing yourself and others to, eliminate it where you can, control it where you cannot, and check the controls are still working. A COSHH assessment for a typical trade task can be a single page; what matters is that it is specific to the actual work, not a generic form.

The common misconception is that COSHH is about reading hazard labels and wearing gloves. It is, but only for the obvious chemical products — adhesives, solvents, cleaning agents, two-pack paints, expanding foam. The hidden killers are the process-generated dusts and fumes, and the control measure that matters most is stopping the dust at source: water suppression or on-tool extraction (LEV), with RPE as a backup, never as the only line of defence.

Key Facts

• COSHH applies to the self-employed — not just employers; a sole trader creating hazardous dust must assess and control it.
• Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) for respirable crystalline silica — 0.1 mg/m³ as an 8-hour time-weighted average; HSE has signalled this should be treated as a level to get well below, not a target.
• Wood dust WELs — hardwood dust 3 mg/m³ (8-hour TWA); softwood dust 5 mg/m³; hardwood and certain wood dusts are classed as carcinogenic.
• Control hierarchy — eliminate, substitute, engineering controls (water suppression, LEV/on-tool extraction), then RPE and PPE as the last line, never the first.
• Dry cutting of masonry without controls can produce silica concentrations many times the WEL within minutes.
• RPE must be adequate and suitable — the right protection factor for the job, and face-fit tested for tight-fitting masks (FFP3 or better for silica).
• Health surveillance is required where there is a residual risk to health — for example lung function checks for high-dust trades, skin checks for those working with sensitisers.
• Safety data sheets (SDS) must be obtained for supplied chemical products and used to inform the assessment.
• COSHH assessments must be reviewed when the work, the product, or the controls change — they are not a one-off.
• Asbestos and lead are NOT covered by COSHH — they have their own regulations (Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002).

Quick Reference Table

Detailed Guidance

Doing a COSHH assessment that is actually useful

A COSHH assessment is not a filing exercise. It answers, for a specific task: what hazardous substance is involved, who could be exposed and how, how bad could it be, and what you are doing to control it. For a trade task it can be one page. The structure:

1. Identify the substance or process. Include process-generated dusts and fumes, not just labelled products. "Cutting concrete kerbs with a disc cutter" is a COSHH activity.
2. Identify the route of exposure. Inhalation is the big one for trades. Also skin contact (cement dermatitis, isocyanates) and ingestion (hand-to-mouth).
3. Decide the controls using the hierarchy. Can you eliminate it — order pre-cut kerbs? Substitute — use a less hazardous product? If not, engineering control: water suppression on the cutter, or on-tool LEV. RPE is the backup.
4. Specify the RPE precisely. "Wear a mask" is not a control. FFP3 disposable or a reusable half-mask with P3 filters for silica, face-fit tested, clean-shaven at the seal.
5. Plan for the leftovers — cleaning up without re-suspending dust (never dry-sweep silica; use an M/H-class vacuum or wet methods), waste disposal, and what to do if a control fails.

Silica — the priority for almost every trade

Respirable crystalline silica deserves singling out because nearly every construction trade generates it and the health effect — silicosis, lung cancer, COPD — is irreversible and progresses for years after exposure stops. The numbers are stark: dry-cutting masonry can put a worker into many multiples of the WEL within the first minute.

Control silica at source, every time:

• Water suppression — a steady feed of water to the cutting point, not a token spray. This is the most effective control for disc cutting.
• On-tool extraction — an M-class (or H-class) dust extractor connected to a shrouded tool, for grinding, chasing and drilling where water is impractical.
• RPE as backup — FFP3 or a powered/half-mask with P3 filters, face-fit tested. RPE alone, with no source control, is not COSHH compliance.

Even with good controls, the residual risk usually triggers health surveillance for regular high-dust work.

Wet cement and skin hazards

Cement, wet mortar and wet concrete are alkaline and contain trace chromium VI. Prolonged skin contact causes irritant and allergic dermatitis and, in bad cases, alkaline burns — kneeling in wet screed in soaked trousers has put people in hospital. Controls: waterproof gloves, knee protection that keeps the wet out, washing facilities on site, and not letting wet concrete sit against skin. This is a COSHH risk even though there is no aerosol.

RPE — getting it right

Respiratory protective equipment only works if it is adequate (high enough protection factor) and suitable (right for the wearer, the task and the environment). For a tight-fitting mask:

• It must be face-fit tested to the individual — a beard, stubble or the wrong face shape breaks the seal.
• The wearer must be clean-shaven at the seal each time it is worn.
• It must be stored clean and filters changed per the manufacturer's guidance.
• For long-duration or high-exposure work, a powered (loose-fitting) hood removes the fit-test and clean-shaven constraint.

See ppe guide for the wider PPE picture and dust control for source-control methods in detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does COSHH apply to me if I work alone?

Yes. COSHH applies to the self-employed in respect of risks they create for themselves and for others. If you cut paving, chase walls, sand floors or spray paint, you are creating hazardous substances and COSHH requires you to assess and control that exposure. Working alone does not remove the duty — it removes the colleague who would otherwise be a second line of defence, which makes your own controls more important, not less.

Do I need a written COSHH assessment for every job?

You need a suitable and sufficient assessment. For a substance or process you use routinely, a generic assessment for that task is acceptable provided it genuinely reflects how you do the work. You do not rewrite it for every house, but you must review it when the substance, the method or the controls change. The test is whether the assessment actually helps you control exposure — a ticked generic form that you ignore on site is not compliance.

Is an FFP2 mask enough for cutting concrete?

No. Cutting concrete, brick and stone generates respirable crystalline silica, and the protection needed is FFP3 (or a reusable half/full mask with P3 filters), face-fit tested. More importantly, the mask is the backup — the primary control is stopping the dust at source with water suppression or on-tool extraction. An FFP3 mask on a dry-cut with no source control is not COSHH compliance; the dust cloud also exposes everyone else nearby.

What is the difference between COSHH and asbestos regulations?

COSHH covers most hazardous substances, but asbestos and lead are deliberately excluded because they have dedicated regulations — the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002. If you suspect asbestos, you stop and follow the asbestos regime, not COSHH. Treat anything you cannot identify in a pre-2000 building as potential asbestos until proven otherwise.

Regulations & Standards

• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) — the core duty to assess, prevent or control, and maintain control of exposure to hazardous substances.

• EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits — HSE's list of WELs, including silica and wood dust, periodically updated.

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — the overarching duty of care to employees and others.

• Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 — separate regime for asbestos (not COSHH).

• Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 — separate regime for lead (not COSHH).

• Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022) — duties around PPE, including RPE.

• HSE — COSHH — the regulator's COSHH guidance hub

• HSE — Construction dust — silica and wood dust control for construction

• HSE EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits — current WEL list

• HSE — Respiratory protective equipment at work (HSG53) — selecting and using RPE

• dust control — water suppression, on-tool extraction and dust control methods on site

• ppe guide — selecting PPE and RPE by job type, including FFP3 and face-fit testing

• asbestos — identifying and managing asbestos, the substance excluded from COSHH

• skin protection — preventing dermatitis from cement, solvents and sensitisers