Manage dangerous substances campaign launched

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work have launched a two-year Healthy Workplaces Manage Dangerous Substances campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of preventing risks from dangerous substances, in particular by promoting risk assessment and providing information on practical tools and creating opportunities to share good practices.

In the UK many dangerous substances are covered by the Control Of Substances Hazardous To Health regulations.

The campaign will focus on eliminating or substituting dangerous substances in the workplace and the hierarchy of control i.e.:

• using safer form of a substance,
• changing the process to emit less of the substance
• enclosing the process so that the product does not escape,
• extracting emissions of the substance near the source,
• having as few workers in harm’s way as possible, and finally
• providing personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, coveralls and a respirator.

There will be various events over the period of the campaign including a European Week for Safety and Health at Work in October and a Healthy Workplaces Film Award in November.

You can find more about the campaign on the EUOSHA website at: https://osha.europa.eu/en/healthy-workplaces-campaigns/dangerous-substances-18-19