COSHH: what does the assessment need to say?
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Pick the substance, how long and where, and get the exposure limit, the route of harm and the controls your assessment has to record, in hierarchy order.
When COSHH applies
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 apply to any substance that can harm health - not just things with a hazard pictogram. Dust from cutting concrete has no label and is one of the biggest killers in construction. Regulation 6 requires a suitable and sufficient assessment before work starts; regulation 7 requires exposure to be prevented or, where that is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled, with PPE the last resort; regulation 11 requires health surveillance where there is a reasonable likelihood of an identifiable disease. The checker takes the common construction exposures and lists the exposure limit from EH40, the route of harm and the controls the assessment should record, in the order the hierarchy of control expects.
What a COSHH assessment has to contain
The substance and where it comes from. Who is exposed, how, for how long. The workplace exposure limit if there is one. The controls, starting with elimination and substitution, then engineering controls, then PPE. How the controls are maintained and checked. Health surveillance where needed. The information and training given. And a review date. Our COSHH assessment guide and the silica dust assessment guide go through each section.
FAQs
Do I need a COSHH assessment for dust?
Yes. Construction dust - silica, wood, general - is a substance hazardous to health under COSHH even though the material has no hazard label. Cutting concrete, block or stone without a COSHH assessment and controls is one of the most common enforcement points on small sites.
What is the exposure limit for silica dust?
0.1 mg/m³ respirable crystalline silica as an 8-hour time-weighted average, from EH40. Dry cutting exceeds it many times over, which is why water suppression or on-tool extraction is the expected control, with FFP3 RPE as the last line.
Is a safety data sheet a COSHH assessment?
No. The SDS is the supplier's information about the product. The COSHH assessment is your record of how that product is used on your site, who is exposed, and how you control it. The SDS is an input to the assessment, not a substitute.
How long do I keep COSHH records?
The assessment itself for as long as it is current plus a sensible period. Exposure monitoring records where they relate to identifiable people, and health surveillance records, must be kept for 40 years under regulations 10 and 11.
Get the documents ready-made
The checker gives you the structure and the controls. The template gives you the document - substance, exposure, WEL, hierarchy of control, health surveillance, training, review - in Word, ready to make site-specific.
Editable COSHH assessments for silica dust, wood dust, cement, solvents, isocyanates, welding fume and more, plus a blank master.
See the COSHH templatesBuilt by Pro Site Docs from the HSE guidance and regulations named on the page. Published 3 September 2026. It is a planning aid, not a substitute for a competent person's assessment of the actual work.
Templates for this
Keep reading
General guidance only. This article explains how the rules generally work in UK construction. It is not advice for your specific site, task or project, and it is not legal advice. Your own risk assessment, method statement and arrangements must be prepared and checked by a competent person for the actual work being done.