Commission your LEV system
A new webpage has been launched on commissioning LEV systems.
LEV helps control exposure to gas, vapour, dust, fume and mist in workplace air by extracting the clouds of contaminant at source before people breathe them in.
‘Commissioning’ is proving that the LEV system is capable of providing adequate control. As an employer, you should commission your LEV system to make sure it adequately protects people from breathing in harmful substances.
Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, 2002 (COSHH) dutyholders must adequately control exposure to substances in the workplace that cause ill-health.
In Great Britain, occupational lung disease accounts for around 12,000 annual deaths, estimated to be linked to past exposures at work. A crucial part of our 10-year strategy ‘The HSE Strategy – protecting people and places’ is to reduce work-related ill-health, with a priority of tackling occupational lung disease.
Read our new webpage: Commission your LEV system.
Updated building control guidance
We’ve made some improvements to our guidance for building control approval for higher-risk buildings.
Visit GOV.UK to view:
- Building control approval for higher-risk buildings
- Preparing information for a building control approval application
- Making changes to a higher-risk building project
- Applying for a completion certificate
After listening to the experiences of people using the guidance, the updates will better support the needs of those preparing to, or applying for, building control approval from BSR.
Risks highlighted during Global Asbestos Awareness Week
Despite being banned for 25 years, asbestos still causes around 5,000 deaths yearly in Great Britain.
Earlier this month was Global Asbestos Awareness Week. Asbestos can be found in any pre-2000 buildings, hidden in:
- lagging on plant and pipework
- insulation products such as fireproof panels
- asbestos cement roofing material
- sprayed coatings on structural steel work to insulate against fire and noise
HSE is running 2 crucial campaigns to raise awareness of the risks, providing free advice, downloadable resources and videos to help prevent exposure to asbestos fibres:
- Asbestos and You for tradespeople
- Asbestos – Your Duty supports those with the legal duty to manage asbestos
Recent prosecutions demonstrate the ongoing need to raise awareness of asbestos safety:
- a builder was sentenced for unlicensed asbestos removal
- a contractor was sentenced after the uncontrolled spread of asbestos.
New to the job: health and safety
Workers are as likely to have an accident in the first 6 months at a workplace as during the rest of their working life.
Anyone new to the workplace will be facing unfamiliar risks from the job they will be doing and from their surroundings.
Highlighting the danger of workplace accidents for new workers, a waste firm was recently fined £250,000 after a worker suffered serious leg injuries on his first day in the job.
The incident occurred when he was struck and run over by a shovel loader while hand picking waste without proper risk assessment or separation from moving vehicles.
We have guidance to protect those new to a job, which includes an in-depth guide to the 6 steps to protect new workers:
- capability
- induction
- control measures
- information
- supervision
- check understanding
There is also guidance to help users and suppliers of gig economy, agency and temporary workers.
