Vysus environmental consultants support our clients in conducting COSHH assessments. A COSHH assessment concentrates on the hazards and risks from hazardous substances in your workplace. Health hazards are not limited to substances labelled as 'hazardous'. Some harmful substances can be produced by the process you use, for example:

Wood dust from sanding
Silica dust from tile cutting
Fumes from welding

The assessment is conducted through a series of steps

Identifying the hazards

Identifying which substances are harmful by reading the product labels and safety data sheets (SDS).

Reviewing harmful substances produced by your processes, such as cutting or grinding, or to which workers may be otherwise exposed. Such as:

Processes that emit dust, fume, vapour, mist or gas
Skin contact with liquids, pastes and dusts
Substances with workplace exposure limits (WELs) are hazardous to health

Assessing the risks

Determining who might be harmed and how.
How workers might be exposed (whether the substance can be breathed in, get onto or through the skin or can even be swallowed) and the effects of exposure by each of these routes
How often people work with the substance and for how long
Anyone else who could be exposed - do not forget maintenance workers, contractors and other visitors or members of the public who could be exposed
What you're already doing to control the risks
What further action you need to take to control the risks
Who needs to carry out the action
When the action is needed by

Controlling the risks

After conducting a risk assessment and identifying which harmful substances are present, and how workers can be harmed, methods to reduce exposure through an ALARP process are conducted.

Elimination
Changing the process to reduce risks
Containment
Systems of work
Cleaning
Personal protective equipment
Information and training
Record of findings
Review of controls